Auto show revs up at Qwest Field Event Center

Check out vehicles from economy sedans to pricey sports cars at the Seattle Auto Show at the Qwest Field Event Center through Sunday.

Displays include all the 2010 models from major manufacturers and rare cars you're unlikely to see elsewhere, a combination of the practical and the exotic that show publicist Mark Cutshall calls "consumers' heaven and a car lover's dream."

The largest collection of hybrids in the history of the show include the third-generation Toyota Prius and dual-fuel-source luxury, family and SUV vehicles. See the smallest (the 8.8-foot-long smart fortwo); the quickest (the 0-60 mph Chevy Corvette Z06); the rarest (the emission-free electric Fisker Karma, one of only four in the world); and the world's best selling car (the Toyota Corolla). New models include the return of the Chevrolet Camaro after a seven-year hiatus, the newly designed Ford Mustang and "boxy" designs including the Nissan cube, Chevy HHR crossover and MINI Clubman.

The world's newest electric vehicle, the three-wheeled Arcimoto Pulse, makes its U.S. auto show debut, one of a selection of electric vehicles from electric-motor bicycles to the Tesla Roadster sports car.

Admire the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, Ferrari California, Lotus Exige S260, Maserati GranTurismo and Rolls-Royce Phantomand other exotic beauties, along with the latest Honda, Dodge, Kia, Subaru, Ford, Chrysler and other vehicles most of us will actually be driving. Taking pictures is OK, and brochures and other take-home information are available at most displays.

The details

Time: 1-8:30 p.m. today-Friday, 10 a.m.- 9 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.

Cost: $11/adults, $9/ages 62 and older (available at the door only), ages 12 and younger free with paid adult.

Location: Qwest Field Event Center, 800 Occidental Ave. S., Seattle.

Getting there: From I-5 (south or north), take the 4th Avenue South exit, turn right at 4th Avenue South, right on Edgar Martinez Drive and right onto First Avenue South. (Road construction limits access west on Royal Brougham Way.) Qwest Field Event Center parking garage, $10; fees vary at other area lots. Metro Transit information, 206-553-3000 or tripplanner.metrokc.gov/.

Sound Transit Link light-rail information, 206-398-5000 or soundtransit.org.

More information: 206-542-3551 or www.seattleautoshow.com.

Madeline McKenzie: 206-464-8245 or mmckenzie@seattletimes.com