Walk around the 2025 Canadian International AutoShow and you’ll see all kinds of cars, but there is one that stands out immediately upon entering the main entrance to the 650,000 square foot Metropolitan Convention Centre and it’s purely for show.
The Barbie car stands out among all the eye candy.
For the second year in a row, a replica of the car that became part of the movie that took the world by storm in 2023 is among the features. The car is far removed from the cluster located throughout the Convention Centre.
The AutoShow is not only about showing consumers to new car, concepts, vintage cars, muscle cars and just about every type of vehicle you can imagine, it is also about attractions to appeal to people of all ages – grownups and kids.
And more often that not, it is these attractions that become the showstoppers. I worked at the show a few years ago when the Batmobile was on display. It was not publicized until it was actually there for security reasons, but it became something you had to see. The latest Batman movie had created a buzz, and this was one that was actually used in it. Seeing this enormous car with all of its features was spellbinding. A few years later I did a story on a guy from Brampton who had a Batman car and he advertised himself as Brampton Batman. He even talked like Batman with a robotic voice. In many ways, he was like an actor or a wrestler in character.
But I digress.
The Barbie car on display last year at the AutoShow became one of the highlights, capitalizing on the craze that gave new life to an iconic doll. The car used in the movie was a modified 2-door 1956 Chevrolet C1 convertible. The one on display last year was not the exact same replica as the one in the movie. Probably it was next to impossible to get the one in the movie, but for the multitude of people who saw the car at the show it was more about what it represented.
This year the car is a Maserati Grecale SUV, but again it speaks to the need of trying something new.
I think it’s eye-catching and has been positioned perfectly to immediately draw attention.
The movie became so big because of what it represented, both for women and men. I liked it, though honestly it was more about the song Barbie sang, What I Was Made For by Billie Eilish. It won many awards, and to me it is as pivotal a song in cinematic history as Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On.
But once again I digress.
To get a perspective of the car and the display I talked to Kay Layne, a prominent Toronto automotive journalist, who told me that growing up she had a Barbie car and camper. She brought her nine-year-old niece, Ada, to the AutoShow and said the car was the first thing she gravitated towards.
“We just walked in and there it is and I said let’s go look,” said Layne.
She said she was not surprised the movie became so big.
“How many people grew up with Barbies? I think 50 percent of the population,” said Layne. “While Marvel has had He-Man and all kinds of other toys that had movies, Barbie never really did. It was her chance to come back. She is an icon.”
The Canadian International AutoShow continues through to Sunday.
Perry Lefko is the Content Manager of The Car Magazine. He can be reached at perry.lefko@thecarmagazine.com. Feel free to forward any story suggestions or comments.