Austin Vs. NY

Well I'm back from SXSW. I was out there on shooting assignment for the week, and had a great time. Of all of the auto manufacturers, Chevy by far dominated the social media space. They had a slowly building production Volt Display, a lounge and a showroom ready Cruz. But the best part is the rides that they were offering to show attendees in a Camaro SS or new Corvette. They also are totally rocking augmented reality into their advertising campaigns, which is going to be big in the future.

But what about driving in Austin? For this little excursion, we got ourselves a Chrysler Town and Country Mininvan. Not my first choice, but hey, it carried everyone and my gear, so I cannot complain. But my conclusion is this - Austin drivers are the most similar to NY drivers I have ever seen, but they have an extreme lack of awareness.

I think the oddest thing about Austin drivers is that a majority do not use turn signals. more than one time, i had a car next to me on the highway that was inching over, and when i didn't alter my speed to let them in, they got visibly angry. I didn't know they wanted to lane change. If I saw a turn signal, I would have let them over.

But getting there is half the fun right? As a hardcore commuter, I frequently find myself on planes. And I have a rule - I know I sound like s snob, but I always fly direct. It’s not that I’m impatient, or don’t like connections. It's just that every single time I take a connection; my bags never make it with me. Of course, this happened again, as the Delta flight From JFK to ATL to Austin was lacking my luggage for the week. But no worries, I carried my camera gear in my carry-on.

Anyways, see the gallery for my really terrible shots of some of the car stuff at SXSW 2010

[gallery]

Upcoming – I am actually working on a really good article, as a PR guy’s perspective of Toyota’s current crisis.

Broken down: 90’s Crown Vic, 94 Maxima, 97 Corrola, a couple of vans