ESSAY:
Detroit in Great America: 'Main Street in Motion'
Cars, SUVs, hybrids and the Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle, you can drive or ride in all of them on a test-drive track at ‘Main Street in Motion,’ writes fifth-grader Vansh A. Gupta.
(Above): The Chevy Volt stand at the ‘Main Street in Motion’ event in Great America Park, Santa Clara, Calif. [Siliconeer photo]
It was a cold, stormy afternoon when we headed to the Great America amusement park in Santa Clara, Calif. The only difference was it was not for rides in the park but rides outside it.
We headed out braving the rain, my kid brother, my friend, my dad and his friend. It was an event that no car lover should have missed.
(Above): The Chevy Volt test car at the ‘Main Street in Motion’ event. The author’s younger brother Janam was all set to get a test ride. Calif. [Siliconeer photo]
‘Main Street in Motion’ was a road show of cars, trucks and SUVs from General Motors where they set up an exhibit of their automobiles.
We started off by looking at some very nice cars. Then we test drove some of the cars in very curvy tracks that these people had set up within the huge parking lot at Great America park. This event was a great chance to try out cool cars.
(Above): The Buick GMC stand at the ‘Main Street in Motion’ event in Great America Park, Santa Clara, Calif. [Siliconeer photo]
The models presented by GMC were the 2011 GMC Terrain, Acadia, and Sierra. The models presented by Buick were the 2011 Buick Regal, Enclave, and LaCrosse. All this stuff was beautiful but was not the fun part. This was just the beginning.
Now starts the fun part where my dad and I go test ride cars. There were many cars, about one-hundred of them. The list was impressive with the following line up of vehicles: Chevy: Volt, Cruze, Equinox, Traverse, Corvette, Camaro, Malibu, Impala, Silverado, Silverado HD, Suburban, Tahoe, Tahoe Hybrid, and Avalanche; Buick: Regal, LaCrosse and Enclave; GMC: Acadia, Sierra, Sierra HD, Sierra Hybrid, Terrain, Yukon, and Yukon Denali Hybrid.
(Above): Car enthusiasts like Vansh and his friends, braved the cold wet stormy weather to try out a variety of automobiles Detroit style at the ‘Main Street in Motion’ event. [Siliconeer photo]
There were cars from the competition as well, a bold way to say — ‘dare to compare’ — Acura TSX, MDX and TL; Dodge Ram 1500 and Ram 2500; Ford Taurus, Explorer, Expedition, F-150 and F-250; Honda Accord, Civic, CR-V, Pilot and Ridgeline; Hyundai Elantra and Santa Fe; Lexus ES350; Nissan Murano and Maxima; Toyota Corolla, Camry, Tundra, Sequoia and RAV4.
My dad drove and I rode some of the cars. We tested the following cars: Chevrolet Volt, Cruze, Corvette and Camaro; and Acura MDX. The tracks at ‘Main Street in Motion’ were all curvy and went from turn to turn. We wanted to try many other cars such as the Nissan Murano and Maxima; and the Lexus ES but we were running out of time.
(Above): Vansh takes a test ride in the Chevy Camaro at the ‘Main Street in Motion’ event in Great America Park, Santa Clara, Calif. He loved the exhilarating ride and the heads-up display in this Camaro. [Siliconeer photo]
There are other locations in California where this annual event will happen. You can check out www.mainstreetinmotion.com to find the information for your area and also pre-register
The event my dad and I went in was in Santa Clara on March 19 at the Great America park.
The ‘Main Street in Motion’ annual event was a great chance to try many new 2011 sedans, trucks, vans, minivans, sports cars, SUVs, and crossovers.
(Above, top): The author, Vansh Gupta seen next to the Chevy Camaro test car that he was about to test ride. [Siliconeer photo]
(Bottom): Vansh and his friend, Yash Mandhani (l) on golf carts designed as GM models at the ‘Main Street in Motion’ event in Great America Park, Santa Clara, Calif. [Siliconeer photo]
This annual event was also fun and interesting to me and my dad. At the event there were many automobiles to try, the test driving road was fun with all its turns, felt like a real test track that we see on TV that car makers use to test their cars and there were cool cars to see too.
Now that’s what I call great fun! Besides, if you are into cars, this event is a must-visit!
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Vansh A. Gupta, 10, is a fifth-grade student at Mission San Jose Elementary School in Fremont, Calif.
