Robert Rosen

 

I went to the New York International Auto Show, which is running at the Javits Center through April 12, with the idea that I was going to do a photo essay on electric cars. What could be more topical with the ongoing Iran war and the price of gas topping $4.00 per gallon? And I was going to concentrate on Chinese electric cars, some of which are striking in design and more affordable than any electric car sold in America. But this year there were no Chinese cars on display. Nor will they be for sale in the U.S. anytime soon—thanks to tariffs, national security issues, and protectionist trade policies. (Move to Canada if you want a Chinese car.)

 

And though there were plenty of electric U.S., European, and Asian cars at the show, the only one I shot was one that doesn't yet exist (see below). As environmentally friendly and economical as electric (and hybrid) vehicles are, the ones that do exist are boring to look at. They all share a similar aerodynamic design and are almost indistinguishable from one and other. Instead, I shot the cars that caught my eye, the ones that struck me as rolling works of art. Two were from the past and one is from the future.

 

Chevrolet is calling this Corvette concept car "pure, sophisticated sculpture" and an "electrified vision of the future." It's not all that different from the 2026 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Coupe, which is available as a hybrid containing a V-8 engine and an electric motor. 

And speaking of sculpture, check out this 1935 Auburn 851, part of a display called "Automobiles of the Great Depression." The car originally sold for $2,245, could achieve a top speed of more than 100 miles per hour, and its fuel economy wasn't atrocious: 18–20 miles per gallon. The 851 shows up during the "New Amsterdam Inn" scene in the 1936 Fred Astaire–Ginger Rogers film Swing Time. Should the Iranian war drive the world into another depression, perhaps we can look forward to seeing an updated electric version of the Auburn cruising our streets and highways again.

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