The Los Angeles Auto Show marks the beginning of the major automotive shows around the world each year.  AutoMobility LA is technically the preview event that lasts nearly a week for the global press corps before the doors open to the public.

We bring our cameras, laptops, microphones... and personally, I still bring an old-school notepad and pen.

Big announcements are made, the future is predicted and shiny new products are rolled out with much fanfare.  It's a spectacle.  And it' of electric vehicles, autonomous drivings and more.

The future of mobility was on display in full-force... or at least some predictions and possible samples of it. Clinton "The Professor" Quan and I review AutoMobility LA and some of the LA Auto Show in this iDriveSoCal Podcast.

Click play to listen below, scroll through the pics and enjoy!

***Transcription***

Recorded December 3, 2018, @ Benztown Studios in Glendale, CA

AutoMobility LA 

Tom Smith: Welcome to iDriveSoCal, the podcast all about mobility from the automotive capital of the United States, Southern California. I say it sing-song-y because it's a pretty great place to live here in Southern California.

Clinton Quan: Absolutely.

Tom Smith: I mean, we pay for it, right?

Clinton Quan: We definitely pay for it.

Tom Smith: Financially. Mentally, with all the traffic we gotta deal with. But thankfully, if it wasn't for all that traffic maybe iDriveSoCal wouldn't be in existence, right?

Clinton Quan: Maybe it…

Tom Smith: At any rate, thank you, Professor, for joining me. That is the good professor, Mr. Clinton Quan that you here there. Thank you for tuning in. I shouldn't really say that, right? Because it's a podcast. We're not on the radio. But, whatever I'll say it. I'll continue to say it.

This podcast, as you know by the label because you obviously clicked play either on Spotify or Apple Podcast or Google Podcast or whatever podcatcher you're using. Or you clicked play from iDriveSoCal.com. You know that this is our overview of the LA Auto Show by way of the Professor and my experience at Automobility LA, which is the LA Auto Show's press days.

"...it's a pretty great place to live, here in Southern California."

This was pretty much my first big experience. I kind of dabbled with press days pre-iDriveSoCal. The Professor has done press days for a few years I believe, right?

Clinton Quan:    Yes.

Tom Smith: Basically, what the press days are is its industry focused. It's what's going on within the industry of the automotive business which is now really automotive as well as technology as the way that we move, i.e. mobility kind of comes to a gore point if you will. A convergence.

The Trade Show within the LA Auto Show

It was really, really interesting on a number of levels. The press days started on Monday, I didn't attend Monday but there were some events going on Monday that were women in the automotive industry.

Then, I believe their start-up competition... not the start-up competition, code... I did a podcast on this with Alexis Evans and it was the hackathon but they're not calling it the hackathon. It's a hackathon that's not called a hackathon was part of Sunday/Monday.

Tuesday I was there all day. Wednesday I was there all day, as well. Then, Thursday we were there together.

Clinton Quan: Yes.

Tom Smith: Monday night you attended.

Clinton Quan: I attended the two receptions that took place on Monday night. Those were the kick-off parties for Automobility LA.

Tom Smith: Food and drink and all the other press junkies at the press junket.

Clinton Quan: Yes.