Weekly auto agenda: Washington Auto Show

The Washington Auto Show opens to the public at noon on January 28, kicking off a ten-day event packed with politicians, celebrities and, of course, cars. Look out for the Advanced Technology SuperHighway, showcasing the future of vehicles. Next week, North American dealers come together in San Francisco to take stock, after a very turbulent two years in the industry.

69th Washington Auto Show
January 28 - February 6
Washington, DC, USA

Billed as a show attended by policy-makers, the Washington Auto Show will place a strong emphasis on green vehicles this year. Highlights include the "Advanced Technology SuperHighway," a 65,000-square-foot (6038 sq m) display housing the latest innovations in safety and sustainability from clean diesel to electric vehicles, and a keynote from GM CEO Dan Akerson.
http://www.washingtonautoshow.com

94th NADA Convention
February 5-7
San Francisco, CA, USA

The North American Dealers' Association Convention brings together automotive dealers from across the US to discuss issues in the industry and receive training - but it's also likely to contain some insightful speeches and data from notable figures such as Toyota's US boss Jim Lentz and websites such as Google and AutoTrader.com.
http://www.nadaconventionandexpo.org/

Rally Sweden
February 10-13
Karlstad, Sweden

Expect a high-octane opening to the World Rally Championships season from Sweden, which boasts a heavily-revised route to counter previous problems with the surface. Snow, slush and skidding are par for the course here and Scandanavian drivers tend to come out on top. Several automakers, including Ford and Mini, will be giving new cars their first rally run at the event.
http://www.rallysweden.com/

103rd Chicago Auto Show
February 11-20
Chicago, IL, USA

The Chicago Auto Show is the longest-running in the US and also one of the largest - exhibition space spans some 121,000 square meters and over 1000 vehicles are traditionally on display. Therefore, there's plenty of room for demonstrations and the show is popular with people looking to purchase, rather than see new debuts.
http://www.chicagoautoshow.com

5th Boca Raton Concours d' Elegance
February 25-27
Boca Raton, Florida, USA

Jay Leno will be the star guest of the fifth Boca Raton Concours d' Elegance, one of the most prestigious automotive events in the US. DuPont sponsors the annual Hanger Party, a veritable who's who of car enthusiasts, while the new "Legends of Indy" exhibition celebrates 100 years of the Indianapolis 500.
http://www.bocaratonconcours.com

81st Geneva International Motor Show
March 3-13
Geneva, Switzerland

The first major show of the year in Europe, Geneva traditionally hosts unveilings from a raft of high-profile European automakers, and manufacturers from other countries. This year's show emphasizes the environment, with a 3,000 sq. meter Green Pavilion and Green Test Drives using environmentally-friendly cars. Over 690,000 visitors attended in 2010.
http://www.salon-auto.ch