2020 Chicago Auto Show: Everything You Missed

The Chicago Auto Show has always made an argument for being the best major car convention for shoppers and auto enthusiasts to see the greatest number of models from the most manufacturers. But the Windy City show has struggled to be seen as a destination for debuts of all-new models and big redesigns. We speculated that the move of Detroit’s prestigious North American International Auto Show from January to June this year — leaving a gaping hole in the major auto show circuit between Los Angeles in the fall and New York in the spring — would benefit Chicago by attracting more automakers hoping to display their new product earlier in the new model year.

Related: More 2020 Chicago Auto Show Coverage

A subjective opinion as to whether that happened or not will depend on who you talk to, but the raw numbers speak for themselves. With nine debuts of either brand-spankin’ new models, redesigns or refreshes, it’s a far cry from, say, last year, when a barely perceptible 2020 refresh of the Toyota Tacoma was the big news, competing with a mild update to the Subaru Legacy, or that time the lone legitimate “new model” was the Volkswagen Arteon sedan.

Nossir, this year, Chicago hosted, if not the actual debut of the all-new 2021 Genesis GV80 (that occurred at the tail-end of January at an exclusive press event in Miami), the first major auto-show appearance where you’ll be able to see it to starting Saturday. And, folks, it is a sight to behold. The first SUV from Hyundai’s still-young luxury spinoff brand is a triumph by nearly every measure — and it was only narrowly edged out for our Best in Show honor due to not yet having had a chance to convince us its show-floor promise would hold up when the rubber literally meets the road.

Speaking of Best in Show, another Chicago debut — the redesign for 2021 of the GMC Yukon, the upmarket cousin of the also-overhauled Chevrolet Tahoe — wooed our expert reviewers away from the GV80’s formidable wiles. They lauded the Yukon for finally delivering on the promise of GMC’s wannabe-luxury Denali sub-brand, so successful, in fact, it got ’em all like, “Escalade, who?”

Yet another redesign unveiled in Cars.com’s hometown was the 2020 Kia Cadenza. It’s a tough time for sedans, especially for big, non-luxury ones, with everyone nowadays loving SUVs like the Mandalorian loves Baby Yoda. And although this nice, classy, quasi-luxurious four-door car is unlikely to sell even close to as many units as there are people reading this story right now, we salute the South Korean brand for taking a stand for the sedan.

Other new stuff at the Chicago show includes the meaningfully refreshed-for-2021 Chrysler Pacifica minivan, the 2021 refresh of Jaguar’s sexy F-Type coupe and convertible sports car, the hybrid version of the redesigned 2020 Hyundai Sonata, the highly anticipated Type R high-performance variant of the redesigned 2020 Honda Civic, the lightly refreshed 2021 Volkswagen Atlas, the Cadillac CT4 luxury-sports-sedan replacement for the defunct ATS and, hell, even the freshened 2021 Chevrolet Equinox that just kind of showed up on the Chicago show floor with neither pomp nor circumstance.

And all that’s really just the beginning. There are brand-new trim levels of existing favorite models, special editions, aspirational supercars, aftermarket-accessorized off-roaders, concept cars — and even a model-year 2020 vehicle with the model-year-2021 redesign’s engine. In other words, you’re gonna wanna peruse the entirety of our news haul below, because there’s, like, no way you’re caught up on it all.

Here’s everything you might’ve missed of our comprehensive coverage, from both Cars.com and sister site PickupTrucks.com, of the 2020 Chicago Auto Show:

Jeep Wrangler Puttin’ on Performance Parts for 2020 Chicago Auto Show 

Toyota Bringing ‘Outdoorsy’ Variants to 2020 Chicago Auto Show

Dodge Durango SRT of a Different Stripe Coming to Chicago Auto Show

2020 Kia Cadenza Redesign to Bow at Chicago Auto Show

2020 Jeep Wrangler, Gladiator High Altitude: From Off-Road to On-Fleek

2020 Jeep Gladiator Mojave Is Your Desert-Running Jeep Pickup

2020 Nissan Frontier Gives Us a Taste of the Upcoming Redesign

2020 Kia Cadenza: Remember Me? 

Ford GT Supercar Suped Up Even More for 2020 

2021 Chrysler Pacifica: Because You’d Really Rather Have an SUV

2021 Genesis GV80: About Damn Time 

2020 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid: Makin’ MPG Moves

2021 Chrysler Pacifica: Don’t Have Kids? For a Minivan This Good, You Might Want Some

2021 Volkswagen Atlas: Minimally Different, More Versatile

2020 Honda Civic Type R: Still the Wild Child of the Family

2021 Chrysler Pacifica Video: Sorry, Sienna, This Is the New Swagger Wagon 

2020 Cadillac CT4: New Entry-Level Luxury Sedan Bids ATS Adios 

2021 GMC Yukon: A Denali as Nice as it Should Be 

2021 Toyota Highlander XSE and Special 4Runner, Tacoma Tundra Distinguish Themselves

2021 Genesis GV80: Well Worth the Wait

Jeep Wrangler JPP 20: Accessories Included 

2021 Chevrolet Equinox Blazes Into New Year With Updates

2020 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Video: Get a Load of That Solar-Power Roof

2020 Kia Cadenza: A Nice Sedan Looking for a Reason to Exist

2020 Chicago Auto Show: Winners and Losers

2020 Chicago Auto Show: Best in Show

New 2020 Cadillac CT4 Still Has Some of the Old ATS’ Problems

2021 F-Type Refresh Transforms Jaguar’s Sports Car

Coolest Concept Cars at the 2020 Chicago Auto Show

2021 Genesis GV80 Video: Not Just Some Spiffed-Up Hyundai Palisade

2020 Kia Cadenza: A Big Sedan Facing Long Odds

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