{"id":3859,"date":"2026-02-08T02:02:23","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T02:02:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=3859"},"modified":"2026-02-08T02:02:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T02:02:23","slug":"chicago-auto-shows-chi-town-alley-celebrates-best-of-the-citys-hidden-car-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=3859","title":{"rendered":"Chicago Auto Show’s Chi-Town Alley celebrates best of the city’s ‘hidden’ car culture"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Back in 1991, Matt Conger spotted a Toyota MR2 Turbo at the Chicago Auto Show.<\/p>\n

Four years later, he scraped money together to buy his own in crimson red.<\/p>\n

Now, after 31 years, 49 oil changes, 56 spark plugs and 11 sets of tires, his car is on display as part of the Chi-Town Alley exhibit at the 2026 show<\/a>, which kicked off Saturday and runs through Feb. 16 at McCormick Place. <\/b>The vehicle was also selected as one of six finalists in a contest celebrating the best of Chicago\u2019s car culture. Votes cast by attendees will determine the winner once the event closes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am so humbled,\u201d said Conger, 54, of West Chicago. \u201cWinning, to me, is just being here, taking part in all this and helping start a new exhibit. I hope it stays.\u201d<\/p>\n

A new attraction this year, Chi-Town Alley also features a variety of vehicles owned by local enthusiasts, including a sleek, 1975 Datsun and an eye-catching 1995 Porsche 911 RWB Sandstorm. Also on display is a row of gleaming Mustangs and tricked-out lowriders from car clubs in the region. The exhibit was created to encourage community-building and celebrate Chicago\u2019s car scene, which participants say is full of talent but not widely recognized.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very passionate about our cars, but I have enough friends on the West Coast and the East Coast who think we\u2019re just simple Midwesterners,\u201d Conger said. \u201cThey don\u2019t know what we bring and the status of our cars, because they just think we live in cornfields. [The culture] is very strong, but hidden.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Matt Conger with his Toyota MR2. \u201cI am so humbled,\u201d Conger said of being selected to be among the Chi-Town Alley Showcase finalists.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

In addition to Chi-Town Alley, the auto show features the usual popular attractions, including kid-friendly activities in the Family Zone, off-roading vehicles in the Overlanding Chicago area, and even indoor and outdoor test tracks. On Saturday, attendees lined up to pet dogs that were part of an adoption initiative hosted by Subaru. They also participated in a meet and greet with \u201cFast & Furious\u201d franchise actor Sung Kang, who made an appearance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the biggest auto show I\u2019ve ever been to,\u201d said Kang, 52, of Los Angeles, who has directed his own racing film, \u201cDrifter,\u201d which does not yet have a release date.<\/p>\n

Kang said he learned about Chicago\u2019s car culture while filming an episode of his Insight TV reality show, \u201cThe Ride Life,\u201d in the city a couple of years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cChicago is awesome because it\u2019s very diverse,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s such a mixture of different ethnic groups.The car culture is not just one color. Everyone came together to celebrate this common love of cars.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Actor-director Sung Kang speaks with fans during the Chicago Auto Show at McCormick Place on Saturday. \u201cThis is the biggest auto show I\u2019ve ever been to.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Many of the city\u2019s car enthusiasts also share a common story of gaining an appreciation for the culture from their parents. Among them is Alan Castro, another Chi-Town Alley contest finalist who was influenced by his father.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt got me out of trouble,\u201d said Castro, 37, of Elgin, whose bayside blue 1998 Nissan R34 Skyline is on display. \u201cInstead of doing other things, I\u2019d rather build cars. You can just sit for hours in the garage thinking, \u2018What should I do next? When\u2019s the next event?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Similarly, Ryan Rivera, another contest finalist, learned how to build cars from his father, who worked in a body shop in Puerto Rico as a kid.<\/p>\n

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Ryan Rivera stands next to his Acura Integra Type-S. Rivera learned how to build cars from his dad, who worked in a body shop in Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

When Rivera was growing up, he watched his father work on cars at home and then eventually started helping him. They also attended the Chicago Auto Show together. Having his yellow 2024 Acura Integra on display at this year\u2019s event is \u201csurreal,\u201d said Rivera, 37, of Portage Park.<\/p>\n

\u201cI kind of want to sit on the floor when there\u2019s nobody here and just look up and take in the moment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Chicago car scene is growing, as younger enthusiasts are picking up the mantle. For example, the Chicago Auto Show\u2019s social media is managed by Capture Company, a Chicago-based marketing firm owned by 21-year-old college student Marcel Sutkowski.<\/p>\n

Once a teenager taking pictures of cars at the event, Sutkowski said he was inspired by the culture.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe auto show brings so many people together, and it\u2019s just an incredible time,\u201d said Sutkowski, who grew up in the northwest suburbs and now attends Purdue University. \u201cLook how many families are here. Look at all the couples. Look at all of the students. It\u2019s a cool community.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Andrew Coldwater (left) and Marcel Sutkowski (right) stand beside a McLaren at the Capture Company booth.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

That community also includes those barely out of kindergarten, said car detailer Andrew Coldwater, 20, of Shorewood, who cleaned up a McLaren 765LT for display at the show.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a little kid, probably 6 years old, and he knew everything about the car \u2014 more stuff than I know,\u201d said Coldwater, who owns Coldwater Car Care. \u201cThat\u2019s how I used to be as a little kid, coming to stuff like the auto show. To see that still going on is very cool. It\u2019s the stuff that makes me really enjoy what I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Attendees roam the floor of the Chicago Auto Show, which runs through Feb. 16 at McCormick Place.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n


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Back in 1991, Matt Conger spotted a Toyota MR2 Turbo at the Chicago Auto Show. Four years later, he scraped money together to buy his own in crimson red. Now, after 31 years, 49 oil changes, 56 spark plugs and 11 sets of tires, his car is on display as part of the Chi-Town Alley […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3860,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3859","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-usa-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3859"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3859\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}