Auto Show Swag Is Still Sparse

Welcome to Must Read, where we single out the best stories from around the automotive universe and beyond. Today we have reports from Hemmings, The Truth About Cars and Petrolicious.

When we asked our readers what you wanted us to cover at the 2014 NAIAS media preview, one of the requests was about swag and perks. There was a time, maybe 10 or 12 years ago, when automotive press kits and related items distributed to members of the media at major auto shows were special enough and collectible enough that a decent number of literature and toy dealers would bring entire crews to those shows to get inventory to sell on eBay. The former communications director of the Chicago Auto Show would publicly bemoan the presence of what he called "press kit thieves" who'd manage to get past the credentials committee to get in the show and then out past security with boxes of press kits and cases of die cast models. There were so many things that would be collectible to car enthusiasts one could make a business out of it.

Hidden, perhaps, in the shadow of its bigger brother, the legendary Lamborghini Countach, the Jalpa was an important car for the Sant'Agata manufacturer, and its launch helped the Mimran family pull Lamborghini back from the brink of extinction. Yet the Lamborghini Jalpa has almost vanished from the supercar landscape in the 26 years since production ended.

Before the modern age of noisy sponsorship and over-crowded company logos, race tracks were host to a much more subdued and monochromatic breed of racing vehicle. Cars were painted a solid color and the only decoration was an entry number, if that. Much like today's F1 cars, when Grand Prix racing began most of the machines were quite similar looking and gave both spectators and officials a headache when attempting to distinguish them.