Show will showcase autos of your dreams

Built for speed: Exotic cars for exotic tastes — and deep pockets — are part of the First Hawaiian International Auto Show, opening Thursday.

Zoom, zoom, zoom. You'll be able to inspect hundreds of 2003 cars, a few 2004 models, and some exotics not commonly scooting over Hawai'i's highways.

Among them:

• Mitsubishi's Outlander.
• Volvo's XC90, its first SUV.
• Honda's Element.
• Volkwagen's new Beetle convertible.
• Nissan's 350Z.
• Hummer's H2.
• Mazda's RX-8.
• Chevrolet's Colorado.
• Ford's F-150.
• The Mini Cooper.

The droolers are the supercars (with superprices), including the Ferrari, the Lamborghini and the Lotus, courtesy of JN Automotive Group. If you have a few coins to spare, you may want to order up a Lamborghini Murciélalgo ($270,000).

"This auto show is designed to create a friendly, no-pressure arena for consumers to inspect and compare all the latest models, all under one roof, in a non-selling environment," said Joe Nicolai, show chairman. Representatives will be on hand to answer questions — without the hard-sell tactics. You can gather brochures to make your choices later at dealerships.

First Hawaiian Bank is the title sponsor of the car show, which is a presentation of Motor Trend; the Hawai'i Automobile Dealers Association and The Honolulu Advertiser also are sponsors.

First Hawaiian auto show

• Noon-10:30 p.m. Thursday and March 21, 10 a.m.-10:30 p.m. March 22, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. March 23

• Hawai'i Convention Center

• $6 general, $4 seniors 62 and older, $5 military with ID, $3 children 7-12, free for keiki 6 and younger

• hawaiiautoshow.com or autoshowusa.com/hawaii; $1 discount for adult e-ticket sales

• Special events:

• Thursday — Dave & Buster's Powercard giveaways (good for free game play) to the first 500 attending
• March 21 — AIG Hawai'i Day, free safety light for first 100 paid adults
• March 23 — Kids Day, "Tribute to the Space Shuttle Columbia," with free mini space shuttle to the first 250 children attending.
• March 23 — NASA astronaut Richard Searfoss, commander of the 25th Columbia mission in 1998, will appear and sign autographs 1-4 p.m.