The floor of the DFW auto show was full of expensive and fast metal sculptures from some of Europe’s top manufacturers.
Pickup trucks are a common sight down in here in Texas, but they’re not the only vehicles we see while we’re out on the road. We recently attended the DFW auto show to photograph some of the high-performance and luxury cars we’d like to – and will eventually – see more of on the streets and highways of the Lone Star State.
Many of them turned out to be British, from the stately Bentley Bentayga to the stunningly styled Aston Martin DB11 to the aesthetic perfection of the Jaguar F-TYPE convertible. As beautiful as those were, they all faded to gray when we laid eyes upon the retina-punchingly yellow McLaren 570S. We were free to take pics of the British bumblebee. If only we were allowed to paw over and sit in the 562-horsepower Sports Series super coupe…
We also made sure to take shots of the German models around us, including the magnetic Audi R8 Spyder and several polished-to-perfection Porsches. The 718 twins were there, along with the 911 and a juicy red Macan GTS, quad pipes and all. Above and behind all of those, the new Panamera sat perched on its own special platform. You can see those cars and a few of the other high-end highlights of the 2017 DFW Auto Show in the gallery below.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
