Source: Mundo Motorizado

ExpoMovil is the most prominent consumer trade show in Costa Rica, and its 2014 iteration was a massive success in terms of attendance and exposure. There were plenty of interesting new cars and road technology to look at, but visitors also had a lot more to focus their gaze on: A high number of curvy and seductive young Ticas hired to wear revealing, skin-tight clothing and prance around the vehicles.

The ExpoMovil event basically introduces new vehicle models to the masses in Costa Rica and also allows banks and other lending institutions to tempt visitors into signing off on high-interest loans so that they can “arrive on foot and leave behind the wheel of a new car.”

Some will argue that it is too easy to attract visitors to a vehicle expo in a country that has clearly gone car-crazy, but it is important to keep in mind that thousands of attendees paid more than what they would at a movie theater just so they can look at parked cars, trucks, minivans, motorcycles, etc. It just so happens that the number of “pit babes” (as they are called in numerous online forums dedicated to car culture in Costa Rica) at ExpoMovil has increased exponentially along with the number of visitors over the last few years and could soon outnumber the cars.

ExpoMovil is often billed as a family-friendly event, and to this end the event organizers offer playful activities for children. However, the sheer abundance of pit babes has elicited concern in some online social circles about the growing chauvinism and sexism of the event.

Even the meticulous casting and attire of the pit babes have not gone unnoticed at ExpoMovil: Sports motorcycle brands such as Yamaha featured younger pit babes who showed more skin. At Land Rover, models wore elegant black cocktail dresses and their hair and makeup were immaculate. Pit babes with Asian features wore skimpy dance club apparel and sashayed next to high-performance Japanese and Korean vehicles, the kind preferred by street racers.

Naturally, male attendees enjoy the pit babes. Quite a few men in Costa Rica confess that they do not see their financial situation ever improving enough to afford even the cheapest Chinese-made subcompact BYD hatchback; still, they will pay to go to ExpoMovil and gawk at the “showroom models” therein. This was made clear a couple of years ago by a young Tico blogger who explained ExpoMovil from an interesting sociological perspective:

“So on Sunday I went to ExpoMovil to see if it was cool and affordable enough for me to purchase a car… Yeah, right: Of course not! Most people in Costa Rica don’t have that much money. Still, the event draws crowds… I don’t get it.

Actually, I do get it: They are all just as broke as I am, but we are all car-crazy and like to see new vehicles, get behind the wheel and take pictures so that we can show them around and fantasize about the cars we will never own.

Ok, but the sexy pit babes are something else. They see a guy and they are all over him pushing glossy brochures. Pretty soon you could tell who was the most libidinous dude at the expo: The guy walking around with dozens of brochures. Many of them get a picture taken with the pit babes, who are more than willing to jump in for the selfie. Man, this is so tacky… but I must confess that I wanted to do it too.

All jokes aside, these salesmen who profile you as being broke just by looking at you and then don’t want to help you… I hate them. I am not talking about the guys at Disexport (no pun intended), they do not profile and are super-nice. Had I not been so broke I would be driving a Chevrolet Aveo right now because those guys really deserve to get the sale.

And another thing, speaking of sexism: Why is it that these car salesmen (they are mostly guys) jump over each other to help women and offer them lower prices? With the exception of Disexport, we ran into this situation all over, even on the rare occasion when the salesperson was a woman. I mean, the girls who were with us were offered discounts worth thousands of dollars while the prices for the guys were jacked up before our own eyes? Please.”

ExpoMovil 2014 took place at the Pedregal Convention Center in San Antonio de Belen, province of Heredia, and it wrapped up on March 23^rd.