– The 2004 Chicago Auto Show kicks off with the First Look for Charity Feb. 5. The charity preview will be held from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. in McCormick Place South. Proceeds benefit 16 local charities. The 2003 preview raised $2.2 million. A Lexus SC430 and Acura TL will be auctioned off. Tickets cost $175 and can be purchased at www.chicagoautoshow.com or 630-424-1636 through Feb. 2. Call the Chicago Automobile Trade Association at 630-495-2282.
– Scion is coming to town next month with the “Installation: Scion Art Tour” at the Defiance Gallery in Chicago. The works of street and contemporary artists including Cartoon, Daim, Seak, Persue, Plain Gravy, Saber, Miner, Andi Howell and George Thompson will be on display. The exhibit kicked off at the Los Angeles Auto Show earlier this month, where each artist had the opportunity to paint the exterior of the Scion xB. All works will be auctioned off in June and will benefit the HeArt Project. The exhibit runs from Feb. 4-25. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 4 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free. The gallery is at 1918 S. Canalport Ave., Chicago. Call Jessica Hubbard at 949-764-9488. (This paragraph as published has been corrected in this text.)
– The Harwood Heights Historical Committee is presenting “Speed: A Century of Automotive Racing in Metro Chicago.” The exhibit, which runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 7 in the Harwood Heights Village Hall, honors race-car drivers of northern Illinois, including Bay Durnell, Skippy Michaels, Ronny Kaplan, Richard Dittman and Dale Mueller. It will feature the 1953 Kuzma Champ Car and 1958 Novi Champ car, as well as diecast models of NASCAR and Indy cars, artifacts from 100 years of racing, a pit area and remote-control model car races. The exhibit is free, and the village hall is at 7300 W. Wilson Ave. in the suburb. Call exhibit curator David Wendell at 708-867-0038.
