NASHVILLE — Nissan will introduce the sixth-generation Altima sedan in March at the New York auto show.
The Altima, Nissan’s highest-volume sedan, will be redesigned and reach the market in the second half of the year.
The company declined to reveal details of the next Altima’s styling or features.
The sedan’s last redesign came in 2012 for the 2013 model year. At the time, Nissan was determined to move up the ranks of the midsize sedan segment, then dominated by the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.
The fifth-generation Altima succeeded like no Altima before it. Previously an also-ran, the Altima began posting U.S. sales that rivaled both of its Japanese-brand competitors, and in some months outsold them.
But the Altima has suffered the same fate as the rest of the midsize sedan segment as U.S. consumers forsake cars in favor of light trucks.
Last year, U.S. car sales fell 11 percent to 6,120,774 units. The midsize car segment declined 16 percent to 1,786,070, while Altima volume declined 17 percent to 254,996. Overall, U.S. car sales are expected to drop for the fifth straight year in 2018.
Once the brand’s leading volume product, requiring two U.S. factory lines, Altima is now eclipsed by the Rogue compact crossover. U.S. deliveries of the Rogue surged 22 percent in 2017 to 403,465.
The redesigned Altima will square off against recently redesigned versions of the Camry and Accord.
Toyota’s new version of the Camry went on sale last summer. U.S. sales of the redesigned Accord began in October.
The NBA All-Star game at Staples Center this weekend is expected to generate $116 million in spending by visiting and local basketball fans, a 36% increase over the economic impact seven years ago when Los Angeles last hosted the event.
The three-day hoops celebration is expected to draw 110,000 people to the events, with about a third of all celebrants coming from outside of the region, according to a study by Micronomics, a Los Angeles research and consulting firm. Visitors are expected to book 27,000 room nights for the event, the study said.
The event, running from Friday to Sunday, will showcase improvements made around the Staples Center and the Los Angeles Convention Center, where hundreds of new hotels and restaurants have been built in an area of downtown Los Angeles once dominated by warehouses and shuttered buildings.
“It’s been the best possible time to be selling L.A.,” said Kathryn Schloessman, president of the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment Commission, which works to draw major sporting and entertainment events to the city. The group also paid for the Micronomics study.
The NBA events themselves — including the All-Star game, the slam dunk contest and other performances — are expected to generate about $26 million for the local economy with an additional $90 million coming from spending by visitors on food, drinks and accommodations, the study said.
The final economic impact number includes a “multiplier effect,” which takes into consideration spending by workers who benefit from the event, such as limousine drivers, waiters and hotel workers.
The NBA All-Star game was last in Los Angeles in 2011, when the event sparked $85 million in spending, Micronomics said.
The 36% increase in spending between 2011 and 2018 is attributed to several factors including more events added to the celebration, new restaurant and hotel options in Los Angeles and a more positive economic outlook by visitors who are more comfortable spending money now, local tourism experts say.
Among new events, the NBA All-Star celebration will sell tickets to a practice workout by the star players and a match between players on the NBA’s minor league teams, plus several community outreach events throughout Southern California.
“The increase is expected with higher prices and other things, such as the economy doing better and more hotels,” said Joe Hale, a senior research associate at Micronomics who co-authored the study. “It’s just a positive event for the local economy.”
Schloessman said the basketball celebration underscores how popular Los Angeles has become as a host for sporting spectacles.
The new Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood will host the NFL Super Bowl in 2022. The Los Angeles Country Club near the UCLA campus is hosting the U.S. Open golf championship in 2023. Sporting venues across Southern California will host events for the Olympic and the Paralympic Games in 2028.
Rapper and singer Drake is dropping a ton of money while in Miami, but he’s not spending it on material things. The 31-year-old Toronto native made a surprise visit to a Miami supermarket Tuesday.
The group of shoppers inside knew the star was there, but did not know what was coming next. Customers at Sabor Tropical say Drake got on a megaphone and announced that he was paying for everyone’s groceries.
He reportedly spent $50,000 and also stopped to take photos with shoppers and the owner of the store.
“A real king when [sic] out and paid for everyone’s groceries in the store, all the while encouraging people to buy more,” shopper Guille Deza captioned a photo he took with Drake which was posted on Instagram.
Deza said people in the store were under the impression that Drake was filming the good deed for an upcoming music video for his song “God’s Plan,” E! News reports.
Another excited customer took to social media to document the encounter:
This was not the only kind act the rapper did while in Miami this week. On Monday, he surprised a student at the University of Miami with a $50,000 scholarship to the school.
He delivered the good news by arriving on campus with a giant check paid to the order of University of Miami Scholarship. He also took photos with the excited scholarship recipient, Destiny James.
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Drake visits the University of Miami to grant student Destiney James a $50,000 scholarship.
University of Miami
The university marked the occasion by posting a tweet Wednesday thanking Drake’s generosity and wishing James a bright future:
Drake’s philanthropy did not stop there. He also visited Miami Senior High School and brought with him a $25,000 donation. Drake’s apparel company, OVO (October’s Very Own), designed new uniforms for the school.
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Drake donates $25,000 to Miami Senior High School. He also gifted the school with brand new uniforms created by his apparel company OVO.
Alberto M. Carvalho, Miami Superintendent
Photos of Drake’s visit to the high school show fans swarming him, trying to touch him and take photos. Photos of the event also show a camera crew was present.
The auto show season is now well underway: The Chicago Auto Show runs now through Feb. 19 and bills itself as the nation’s largest event, as measured by square footage. The New York International Auto Show is open from March 30 to April 8. And dozens of smaller regional shows are scheduled across the country, from Atlanta to Honolulu, between now and the end of the year.
It’s fun to wander an auto show, ogling the concept vehicles and the million-dollar supercars. But you also can put the event to a more pragmatic use: planning your next car purchase.
A big auto show lets you efficiently compare a vast number of cars from a variety of carmakers. It’s a much better use of your time than crisscrossing town to visit dealerships. And since you can’t actually buy a car at an auto show, there’s no sales pressure.
If you know you want a new car but have no idea which is right for you, use the show to see what’s new and what grabs your attention. If you already have an idea of the car you want, use the show to get a closer look at it and to check the competition. Here are some other tips for car shopping at an auto show:
PLAN YOUR ROUTE: Most major auto shows have a smartphone app that provides a map of the show floor, exhibit hours, and a list of the vehicles on display. Download it and plan your visit in advance. Pay attention to the car brands you want to see and note the location of a few other carmakers that you hadn’t considered. This tactic will help you plan the most efficient route along the huge show floors. Give yourself at least two hours. Plan on more time if you have the opportunity to test drive.
AVOID THE CROWDS: An auto show’s opening weekend is, frankly, a mob scene. If you show up then, you’ll have to squeeze through masses of people just to get a glimpse of a car, to say nothing of trying to sit in one. If possible, go on a weekday, preferably as soon as the doors open. If you can only go on a weekend, make sure to show up as early as possible.
TALK TO THE PRODUCT SPECIALISTS: The men and women who staff the carmakers’ booths aren’t window dressing or salespeople. Automakers hire and train them to be experts on the cars. They can be particularly useful for new vehicles that haven’t yet hit the dealer showrooms. Don’t hesitate to ask them any questions. If you’re not sure which cars compete with the one you’re interested in, ask the product specialists — they’ll know.
You might also meet booth reps. These are local dealership salespeople who have been asked to staff the brand’s booth for the day. Since their day job is sales, they know the cars well. But since no cars are for sale at the show, there’s little chance of getting a hard sell. They may offer you their business cards, however.
READ UP AT THE KIOSKS: Don’t feel like talking? Most booths also have computer kiosks with touchscreens. These provide more in-depth information on the vehicles displayed and allow you to configure a vehicle with options or show you what the car looks like in another color. And kiosks usually have pricing information.
TAKE A TEST DRIVE: Auto shows often have ride-and-drive events. In Chicago, for example, you’ll find both indoor and outdoor test-drive opportunities. Not every auto show offers these drives or includes every vehicle on display. But if a test drive is available, check it out. There is no better research than taking a car for a spin yourself.
GET HANDS-ON: Even if you can’t drive a car at the show, you can put it through its stationary paces. Sit in the front and back seats. Which vehicle is the most comfortable? Which is a good fit for the size of your family?
Take a look at the buttons and dials on the instrument panel. Are they well-designed and intuitive? Pop the hatch or trunk and picture whether it could haul your average amount of cargo. These questions and their answers will help you determine if the car you’re considering fits your needs. Take photos and notes of features you liked on each car.
Explore new technology. The product specialists can give you tutorials on a range of topics, from integrating your smartphone to inputting an address in the navigation system to understanding the latest active safety features.
DEBRIEF: Soon after the show, review your notes and photos. List your top car picks, the pros and cons for the vehicles, and questions for further research online or at a dealership.
EDMUNDS SAYS: With a little planning, you can turn a car show into a one-stop fact-finding mission for your next car purchase.
Source Ronald Montoya, Edmunds, via AP https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2018/02/10/planning-purchase-how-car-shop-auto-show/314856002/
The Cleveland Cavaliers are going to look a lot different when they take the court against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night. The Cavs, who had the oldest roster in the league this season, get younger, but more importantly — after shipping out embattled point guard Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye, Jae Crowder, Derek Rose, Iman Shumpert and Dwyane Wade, while welcoming Larry Nance Jr., Jordan Clarkson, George Hill and Rodney Hood — they addressed their single biggest statistical deficiency, one that could keep them from a title if it does not improve.
Cleveland is allowing 109.9 points per 100 possessions entering Friday’s games, the second-worst defensive rating in the NBA after the Phoenix Suns (110.3). Of the 76 NBA Finals participants since the 1979-80 season, none had defensive ratings this bad when compared to the league average, according to research compiled by numberFire.
The trades should address that issue. Crowder, Shumpert and Rose all ranked in the bottom third of the league in terms of overall points allowed per possession this season. Thomas was in the bottom-third for his defense against the ballhandler on the pick-and-roll, an essential job for an NBA point guard. Frye struggled mightily with spot-up shooters, allowing a robust 64 percent effective field goal percentage against, essentially turning an opposing shooter into a better version of the Golden State Warriors (58 eFG%). And Wade, at 36 years old, just couldn’t stop many players in isolation, allowing them to score on him more than half the time when in one-on-one situations. Getting rid of those players would be a net positive even if only draft assets were received in return, let alone the bona fide NBA players that now are in Cleveland uniforms.
Hill will likely start at point guard and should be an upgrade defensively. He allowed 0.9 points per possession for the Kings this season, putting him in the top 25 percent of the NBA, almost completely locking down the ballhandler on the pick-and-roll (0.7 PPP, sixth-best among guards defending at least 100 possessions in 2017-18). He also held spot-up shooters to less than a point per attempt and would immediately become the best defender on the Cavs against this play type
Nance was a boost to the Lakers’ defense, improving his team’s defensive rating by almost two points when playing his 22 minutes per game. He also averages 6.8 rebounds per game, with three of those contested rebounds. Only one current member of the Cavaliers, Kevin Love, grabs as many contested rebounds (3.5) as Nance. In addition, Nance’s defensive Real Plus minus (plus-2.1), an estimated defensive impact measured in points allowed per 100 defensive possessions, is the ninth-highest among power forwards this season. That instantly becomes the highest on the Cavaliers, 1.3 points per 100 possessions better than Love, who ranks second on the overhauled roster.
Clarkson allowed 0.9 points per possession when tabbed as the primary defender this season, putting him in the top 30 percent of the league, suffocating opposing ball handlers on the pick-and-roll. Among all NBA players defending at least 100 pick-and-roll plays this season, only two guards — Lou Williams and Frank Ntilikina — allowed fewer points per possession.
Hood is an average defender overall, but he has shown an ability to defend opposing jump shots (effective field goal against of 46.3 percent) and neutralize players coming off screens (among top 6 percent of defenders in the NBA this season) which is critical when facing the Golden State Warriors, whose offense revolves around Steph Curry, Kevin Durant and Klay Thomson turning ball screens into points
Using ESPN’s Real Plus Minus of the players added to Cleveland’s roster projects the team to have a defense that is 2.2 points per 100 possessions below average, which would improve their current defensive rating from 109.9 to 108.1. The offense also improves slightly, going from an offensive rating of 109.3 to 109.7, giving them a projected net rating of plus-1.6, which would rank 10th in the NBA this season and tied for fifth in the East. Last year’s Cavaliers squad went to the NBA Finals after having a net rating of plus-2.9 during the regular season.
It certainly appears the Cavaliers addressed their biggest concern. Now we’ll have to see if the changes pay dividends at the defensive end.
For the first time, boat enthusiasts can buy one ticket and attend both the Miami International Boat Show in Virginia Key and the Miami Yacht Show in Miami Beach.
In its first year under new producer Informa, the Miami Yacht Show announced a partnership with the National Marine Manufacturers Association’s Miami International Boat Show, which both take place during Presidents Day weekend.
Attendees can pay $50 a day to go to both shows and use a bus route between Collins Avenue and Virginia Key that will run daily Feb. 15-19 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. as part of the partnership.
This is one of the most well-known boat show weekends in the world, with many things to see and do for yachting and boating enthusiasts,” said Mary Bender, vice president of marketing for Informa, the Miami Yacht Show’s producer and co-owner. “The joint ticket is one of this year’s many enhancements designed to deliver the ultimate in enjoyment and convenience for our guests.”
Informa last year acquired Show Management, the longtime producer of the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, Palm Beach International Boat Show and Miami Yacht Show, for $133 million. Informa has been investing millions of dollars to upgrade the shows, which bring an influx of dollars and tourists to South Florida.
Volkswagen on Thursday debuted a new mid-size car for the U.S. market to replace the outgoing CC sedan in a bid to increase overall brand sales.
The German automaker faces an uphill climb with the new model. The 2019 VW Arteon enters the market at an inauspicious time for passenger cars, which are struggling mightily as Americans snap up crossovers, sport-utility vehicles and pickup trucks.
But Volkswagen believes the vehicle’s coupe-like design, safety features and peppy powertrain will appeal to consumers who aren’t ready to give up on cars.
Already on sale in Europe, the vehicle was set to make its North American debut at the Chicago auto show Thursday.
To be sure, the mid-size segment still has a few stalwarts, including the redesigned Toyota Camry, which is flourishing. So success can be had.
But after VW’s image was tarnished in a global emissions scandal that caused the company to abandon diesel engines in the U.S., the automaker has an even tougher road to travel as it seeks to win back customers who went elsewhere.
“The Arteon is Volkswagen’s brand shaper,” VW North America CEO Hinrich Woebcken said in a statement. “This car is the spiritual successor to the CC, but it is bolder and faster. Arteon has the style and performance of a luxury Gran Turismo for about the price of a fully loaded midsize sedan.”
Exact pricing and fuel economy were not revealed. The vehicle arrives at U.S. dealerships in the third quarter.
The good news: Volkswagen has had recent success with a brand-new large SUV called the Atlas and the redesigned Tiguan crossover. That indicates the company’s brand still has plenty of life.
VW global brand CEO Herbert Diess said in January at the Detroit auto show that the company is still aiming to become a major U.S. seller. For now, the VW brand remains a small player with market share of 2% in 2017, according to Autodata Corp.
The new Arteon’s appeal includes a 268-horsepower, turbocharged 2-liter engine with a standard eight-speed automatic transmission and optional four-wheel drive.
The standard model gets 18-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, LED headlights and heated leather front seats.
The vehicle is noticeably longer than its predecessor, the CC, with an extra 5 inches of length in the wheelbase. It’s also longer and wider.
The styling differences include a wider stance with a sloping roofline, frame-free windows, dual exhaust tips shaped like trapezoids and a wide chrome grille.
Standard safety features include a rearview camera, blind-spot monitoring, emergency braking and rear traffic alert. One standout feature is automatic post-crash braking.
The decision to launch a Tesla into an orbit around the sun marks yet another shift in American spaceflight business.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.—Decades ago, the business of launching stuff beyond Earth’s orbit fell solely under the purview of governments. When the stuff being sent wasn’t robotic hardware or scientific instruments, the people who chose what it would be approached the decision-making with a certain amount of seriousness about what it would say about the senders, what it would all mean. This stuff, after all, would be speaking not just for one spacefaring nation, but for the entire human species.
In the 1970s, a small group of people led by the late astrophysicist Carl Sagan spent weeks deliberating the contents of a message they would eventually send flying into the cosmos on board the Voyager spacecraft on their journey through the solar system. They picked a range of sounds, voices, and images from many corners of the planet in an attempt to create a capsule that could represent—however imperfectly—the entire world. And then they hurled it into the sky.
Away the postcard from Earth went, into space, past stormy Jupiter, past the delicate rings of Saturn, beyond the bluish marbles that are Uranus and Neptune, to the very edges of the solar system, and then beyond. Ad astra, as the saying goes: to the stars.
That was then. Today, the people deciding what to send hurtling into the solar system don’t always work for NASA. Now, it’s Elon Musk—and he’s shattering traditions.
Musk, the South African business mogul and progenitor of perhaps too many companies to name, picked as the payload for the first flight of his new rocket a cherry-red Tesla convertible.
The Falcon Heavy launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida at about 3:45 pm ET on Tuesday in a history-making event. (For more on the actual launch, go here.) Two of the rocket’s three boosters detached and returned to Earth, touching down on landing sites nearby. The last booster wasn’t as lucky. Musk told reporters at a post-launch press conference Tuesday night that the booster missed its mark on a SpaceX drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean and hit the water going at 300 miles per hour.
The upper stage of the rocket—the bit with the Tesla in tow—made it into space. There, after a six-hour coast, the stage will restart its engine and push the Tesla into an elliptical orbit between Earth and Mars. The car will join the planets and comets and everything else in their steady march around the sun. Over time, the car’s orbit is expected to bring it closer to Mars, which is what Musk means when he says he’s sending his car to the planet.
Musk told reporters in a teleconference Monday he expects the Tesla to coast comfortably in space for hundreds of millions of years. “At times it will come extremely close to Mars,” he said. “And there’s a tiny chance that it will hit Mars. Extremely tiny.”
The Tesla is, well, not the Golden Record. Instead of a rosy time capsule of Earth and its history and inhabitants made for consumption by unknowable alien civilizations, it carries a dummy in a SpaceX space suit, and will blast David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” at top volume from its speakers. Any other payload, Musk said when he made this public in December, would have been “boring.”
The decision to make the payload a Tesla was a clever show of cross-promotional marketing that only someone like Musk is capable of. Some have groaned at the idea, describing it as nothing more than a cheesy publicity stunt for Tesla, a company facing fresh delays in production goals. And yes, the placement of a Tesla on top of a brand-new 230-foot-tall rocket with 27 engines, three times more than Musk’s flight-proven and reliable fleet of Falcon 9s, certainly helps with publicity.
But this cargo does carry some meaning. It’s just not the kind we’re used to, because, until only a few years ago, the thought that a commercial company (not the government, not NASA) would lay claim to the business of sending stuff into the solar system—well, it seemed nearly impossible. It’s not anymore. The Tesla, in addition to adding some pizzazz to an otherwise technically complicated test flight, signals another milestone in a shifting spaceflight industry. Commercial companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin have taken up the work historically done by nations, and they’re doing a good—and cheaper—job of it. The days of sending romantic mementos like the Golden Record are dwindling, and an era of private individuals launching what they want is nigh. A little less sentimentality, and a little more spice. It’s ad astra, with emphasis on the ad.
“Just bear in mind that there is a good chance this monster rocket blows up, so I wouldn’t put anything of irreplaceable sentimental value on it,” Musk said in an interview with SyFy in December. Unlike the Golden Record, there will be many more Teslas.
As it turned out, the Tesla bears a unifying message on its circuit board, which Musk revealed for the first time only after the successful launch, and after this story was published. The label is heartwarming—and yet another reminder of which group of humans, exactly, made that car and put it in space.
How’s that payload doing, you ask? Here’s a video Musk shared about an hour after launch, provided by cameras mounted around the Tesla as it coasts:
The metal second stage that brought the Tesla here is safe from any long-term corrosion thanks to the extreme conditions in space, says Luz Marina Calle, the lead corrosion scientist at NASA. But what will happen to the Tesla, particularly after floating around for hundreds of millions of years? After all, Musk left the top down. “That is something that is not known at this time,” Calle says.
The day before the Falcon Heavy test launch, a reporter asked Musk whether this launch feels personal because his Tesla is on board.
“It’s always personal,” he said.
That statement has never been more true: As commercial companies take bigger and bigger bites out of the industry, the business of spaceflight has become less universal, and more personal.
Ex-CEO is highlight of second day of trial in which Google’s parent alleges Uber stole trade secrets
SAN FRANCISCO—Former Uber Technologies Inc. chief Travis Kalanick testified Tuesday the ride-hailing company grew concerned in 2015 it was falling behind on developing self-driving vehicles seen as critical to its future, prompting it to go into business with a star Google engineer.
That decision opened up Uber to a blockbuster lawsuit from Alphabet Inc.’s GOOGL 2.07% Waymo now under way in federal court over allegedly stolen autonomous-car trade secrets. Waymo executives had grown increasingly concerned about Uber poaching more executives as both technology firms raced to build the first robot car, according to evidence in the case.
Mr. Kalanick’s appearance was the highlight on a day of mostly technical evidence and video testimony. The trial began Monday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
The Uber chief said he began discussing a deal with Anthony Levandowski while the engineer was still working at Waymo and before he created an autonomous-truck company at the center of the suit.
“He was adamant about starting a company and we were very adamant about hiring him,” Mr. Kalanick said.
The showdown pits Waymo, an offshoot of Google, against the most highly valued U.S. startup over the future of autonomous vehicles. Both companies are vying for a stake in the auto industry, which claims some $2 trillion in annual revenue, according to Deloitte Consulting.
The outcome could result in Uber being blocked from further developing aspects of its robot cars and having to pay billions of dollars in damages.
Waymo alleges Uber, as part of paying around $680 million to acquire the Levandowski company later known as Otto, obtained and used trade secrets related to technology known as lidar, or light detection and ranging systems, used to guide self-driving vehicles.
Uber conspired with Mr. Levandowski to download and bring it sensitive Google files to get a leg up in developing lidar, Waymo alleges. Uber denies the allegations.
“A great many things have been said about Anthony over the last two days, but we are optimistic that he will eventually be vindicated,” a spokesman for Mr. Levandowski said.
Mr. Levandowski previously has indicated he will invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Mr. Kalanick has denied any theft in depositions.
Waymo attorney Charles Verhoeven showed December 2015 meeting notes from former Uber executive John Bares, then the head of the self-driving program, in which Mr. Kalanick appeared to be singularly focused on lidar, as well as intellectual property. Uber closed its deal for Otto in August 2017.
Mr. Kalanick said he didn’t recall saying anything about intellectual property.
“I wanted to hire Anthony and he wanted to start a company,” said Mr. Kalanick. “So I tried to come up with a situation where he could feel like he started a company and I could feel like I hired him.”
Mr. Bares said the company was burning through about $20 million a month trying to develop reliable autonomous vehicles. Relying on Mr. Levandowski’s assistance would help pare the costs by speeding up development, Mr. Bares said in his testimony.
The executive, who left Uber in summer 2017, said he felt pressured to keep up with Mr. Kalanick’s goal of getting 100,000 driverless cars on the road by 2020. Autonomous vehicles are essential to Uber’s business, Mr. Bares said, given human drivers account for 70% to 80% of the cost of operating a vehicle in ride-hailing.
“The people that can do that are going to win in the business,” Mr. Bares said.
It was Mr. Kalanick’s testimony, though, that perked up the trial’s second day, which was marked mostly by technical testimony from a Google forensics expert who described how he determined Mr. Levandowski had downloaded 14,107 sensitive files before quitting the company.
Mr. Kalanick, who will continue his testimony on Wednesday, appeared calm during rapid-fire questioning by Waymo’s lead attorney, offering mostly single-word responses while sipping on small bottles of water.
Still, he acknowledged Google was and remains the leader in self-driving vehicle technology. “That’s the general perception right now,” he said.
No one knows engines and oil better than Daytona Beach.
The Daytona Truck Meet is a unique event that provides pick-up truck owners and enthusiasts to come together once a year for a family-friendly and fun weekend.
Presented by Truck Fever, attendees are provided the opportunity to get up close and personal with the biggest truck builds around, experience the best of truck culture and connect with the personalities behind the monster machines.
Event History
The first Daytona Truck meet was held in 2014 with a simple aim… to provide a space for truck guys and gals to gather once a year to show off their pride and joy.
Originating on-line through connections made on social media, the first Daytona Truck Meet in 2014 drew over 500 trucks from all over the Southeastern United States. In 2016, over 8,000 trucks flooded the sands and streets of Downtown Daytona—a 1500% increase in just one year.
In 2017 the Daytona Truck Meet was moved into the Ocean Center right across from the beach. There was over 10,000 trucks in the Daytona area, with over 1,000 registered show trucks, 50 vendors and 10,000+ spectators on just Saturday alone! This event has gained much attention and has been covered by multiple large magazines over the years.
Daytona Meet 2018
Daytona Truck Meet 2018 aims to continue to be the largest pickup truck meet in the US and become as desirable to attend as locally respected events like Daytona Beach Bike Week and The DAYTONA 500.
We have partnered with the Daytona International Speedway to give us the space we need to
accommodate all of our show vehicles and spectators!
The 2018 show will continue the traditions of past meets and also lay the foundation for future events.
The Daytona Truck Meet is not just a gathering of trucks but a 3-day destination, with 100s of vendors, tons of activities, live entertainment and more for the whole family to enjoy.
This year events include:
American Force Wheels Bikini contest
Rolling Big Power Burn Out Contest
Audio Competition
Dyno Competition
DJs all day every day at the main stage
Live music Friday & Saturday
Kids Games
Fishing in Lake Lloyd
