The cars and their models

AutoVladCar Exhibition in Vladivostok

Published: April 30, 2013

AutoVladCar Exhibition/Выставка AutoVladCar
Спортивный комплекс Чемпион-1: П-кт. Партизанский, д. 44
April 10-12, 2013
Free and open to the public

Being from Chicago, one event that I especially miss when I’m abroad is the annual Auto Show. It’s a huge deal back home, and is truly an interesting and exciting time, as you roam among the concept cars and see what are likely to be the newest technology and design concepts ruling the automotive world within the next few years. It was in this spirit that I decided to attend the AutoVladCar exhibition, which took place in the display hall of the Champion Gym connected to VGUES.

What I did not understand is that while there was a car show, it wasn’t really of a kind to which I was accustomed. AutoVladCar, which is basically a truck and work-automobile dealing conglomerate in Vladivostok that focuses on Korean models, rented out the exhibition floor in order to promote the regular car models of their Korean partner companies (Daewoo, Kia, Hyundai, etc.), and in turn garner publicity for themselves. This was definitely not my definition of “car show,” but there were some interesting points nonetheless.

One of the most striking things about the exhibit was that each car was accompanied by a model. Now this concept is not uncommon if you’ve ever been to a boat or bike show in the US, but what did differ markedly was the dress; where one would expect to see bikinis and as much skin as possible at a US exhibition, here the models were in full evening dress with gowns down to their ankles. There is perhaps an interesting nugget of social analysis to be gleaned in this, as the amount of skin shown by Russian woman 30 and under in everyday circumstances is on par with or perhaps even supersedes that shown by women in the US. I should also note that the models played a crucial selling role, as all the cars on the floor were actually for sale and could be driven off the lot.

The other interesting aspect of the car show was an area in the back of the hall that was basically empty except for a huge wooden maze. Through said maze, visitors to the exhibition could drive a remote-controlled car, and above it, fly a remote-controlled plane (what the plane had to do with an automobile exhibition is unclear, however). On the long table that closed this area off from the rest of the exhibition there was also an interesting collection of miniature car models.

All in all, while completely not what I thought it would be, the AutoVladCar exhibition was fun to stop by if only for the people-watching and, of course, the lovely ladies!

About the author

Jordan Bryant

Jordan Bryant is a recent graduate of Harvard University (Go Crimson!), who specialized in both Slavic Languages and Literatures and the Classics. In order to deepen her knowledge of the Russian language and study the culture from a perspective different than the ones she had already experienced in the “two capitals”, she has journeyed to Vladivostok, which is on the other side of the country! After she returns from Russia, she hopes to matriculate into law school and work in the field of international corporate law in Eastern Europe.

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