There are people who like cars. And there are people who love cars. Seriously love them. More like obsessed, really.
Ed Foy is one of those people. His wife, Gwen, is not. But the New Castle couple found some common ground Saturday at the 2009 Delaware Auto Show, where they got an eyeful of sleek cars, shiny cars, sexy cars and even smart cars.
“He loves cars, can’t get enough of cars,” Gwen Foy said about her husband as they checked out a silvery-gray smart car, one of the most popular exhibitors at the show inside the Center at the Riverfront in Wilmington. “To me, a car goes from point A to point B. If he could, he would change cars every three months.”
Ed Foy nearly has. In the 15 years they’ve been together, he’s owned about 24 cars by Gwen’s count. His favorite: a Lexus ES350.
So what does he think about the smart car, a cute two-seater heralded for its affordable price and fuel efficiency?
“That’s for delivering pizza,” he said.
With 177 different vehicles, something at the show is bound to strike his fancy, along with the fancies of more than 7,500 people who bought tickets to the third annual event presented by Wilmington Trust and State Farm, and produced by The News Journal.
There are compacts, coupes, sedans, trucks, SUVs, minivans, hybrids, crossovers and motorcycles, all open for those who want to scrutinize or just have fun.
One of the stars of the show is a Nissan GT-R, a sports car with a red-hot paint job and plenty of attitude.
Matthew Miller would have liked slipping into the driver’s seat to see how she feels. But the doors were locked. So he snapped a picture instead of the window sticker that lists the price: a breathtaking $84,000.
“It’s probably the nicest thing here,” he said.
Miller isn’t in the market for a new set of wheels because he just bought a Honda Accord, a longtime best-seller with a reputation for reliability. Not exactly a chick magnet like the red coupe, but “it’s affordable and I don’t have to worry about it for a nice long time,” he said.
The auto show was a big draw for families who used the exhibition as a place to shop for cars without running around from dealership to dealership, or dealing with a sales staff. Some carried around notebooks to write down names and prices; others brought cameras to photograph whatever they liked.
“I looked at the Forte, a 2010 model Kia, and the Civic, the good-old standby,” said Samantha Clark, 18, of Middletown, who came with her mom, Myra Johnson, and nephews, Makail West, 7, Christian Walker, 5, and Marcus Cheatham, 3.
“I’m leaning more toward the Civic. But I haven’t seen any Pontiacs yet,” she said.
Other families just wanted to window shop, saying the crunch of a recession is putting their new-car fantasies in the slow lane for now.
“I just like looking at cars,” said Wilmington resident John Ellikson Jr., who brought his teenage sons J.T. and Joey along. “I’m not in the market. I’m probably getting laid off in two weeks.”
The Hanlon family — Jacque, Kathy and their 4-year-old son, Jacque II — checked out a gleaming white Volvo XC60.
“We come down every year,” Jacque Hanlon said. “Just fun to drool and dream.”
His favorite was a Jaguar sedan, while Kathy was smitten with a $50,000 Cobra.
“It’s sharp, but who wants to spend the money?” she said.
Jason Roebke was having a daddy’s day out with his young daughter Riley as the pair hopped inside a Chevrolet Traverse.
“We come to dream a little bit, but this inspires you,” Roebke said. “I like the Traverse. It’s a nice family car. It’s sharp. Plus, it’s American and that helps.
It seems Riley is destined to be one of those car-obsessed kind of girls. Even at 18 months old, she knows what she likes and gives an approving smile for the Traverse.
“She loves cars,” her dad said. “So she wants to get into every single one. She’s having a blast.”
