Two great observations at the Tampa Auto Show

[Flybrian]

One of the Mercedes CLS sedans up on a display turntable had a burned-out taillamp. I mentioned it very conspicuously to my father, who laughed out loud, which prompted one of the Mercedes reps to climb up and turn the lights off!

Also, walking through the VW section, I heard three seperate conversations about mediocre VW customer service and quality. Nice.

A few others...
*Quite an interest in the Lucerne from more than your typical Buick clientele.
*Nice comments regarding the Solstice, Torrent, Terraza, LaCrosse, HHr, Impala, and DTS.
*A $35k-ish Charger R/T and $30k Mercury Montego both have hood props?! C'mon...
*Civic coupe is just...no.
*I sold my dad's boss' wife on a Pontiac Vibe.

[Northstar]

That's funny about the CLS. Was the new Tahoe there?

[Flybrian]

No, nothing new besides the Azera (which totally falls apart on the details. No doubt is Korean.), Lucernce, Commander, Civic, etc. Pretty much what you can see on dealer lots now, except they're all in one place and without the pushiness. Tampa Intl Auto Show has always been this format more than anything. Throw in local celebs and concept cars that made the rounds a year or two ago, and its a decent way to waste $4 and a few hours. I don't think we've ever had a debut except for the Reno. Man, that was thrilling.

[I hope GMRULES again]

At least it only cost you $4 bucks.

[knightfan26917]

*A $35k-ish Charger R/T and $30k Mercury Montego both have hood props?! C'mon...

*chuckles*

I was _shocked_ when I discovered, upon opening the hood of the '06 Dodge Charger I looked at last Saturday, that the Chargers have hood props ... couldn't quite believe my eyes...heh.


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[Innotech]

whats so bad about a hood prop? Its simple and theres nothing wrong with it.

[Paolino]

No, nothing new besides the Azera (which totally falls apart on the details. No doubt is Korean.), Lucernce, Commander, Civic, etc. Pretty much what you can see on dealer lots now, except they're all in one place and without the pushiness. Tampa Intl Auto Show has always been this format more than anything. Throw in local celebs and concept cars that made the rounds a year or two ago, and its a decent way to waste $4 and a few hours.

I don't think we've ever had a debut except for the Reno. Man, that was thrilling.

[post="42373"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Whoah, what's wrong with the Azera? I haven't seen one, but it looked like it would turn out to be a nice car.

[sciguy_0504]

Have you seen the pictures, Paolino?

[Flybrian]

Whoah, what's wrong with the Azera?  I haven't seen one, but it looked like it would turn out to be a nice car.

[post="42502"][/post]

The one they had at this show was black with the neutral/tan interior, so it was a pretty awful combo. Looked like this:

As a pointed out before when Azera interior shots were posted, the little things like black plastic dead plates covering unbought options, the chime speaker glaringly mounted right on the center stack, and the hillarious 1"x.5" digital clock that was identical to the one in my Elantra rental sort of zapped the glitz out of Hyundai's flagship. The lauded-in-pictures fit-n'finish also was really there with the door panel not quite lining up with the dash when the door was shut. Little things like that.

An improvement to the XG350? Sure. But even the XG had some nice little touches like frameless glass and more unique taillamps.

[Robert Hall]

whats so bad about a hood prop?  Its simple and theres nothing wrong with it.

[post="42501"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

It looks cheap. A hood prop is ok on a 20k car, but on a 30k car...

[Paolino]

The one they had at this show was black with the neutral/tan interior, so it was a pretty awful combo. Looked like this:

As a pointed out before when Azera interior shots were posted, the little things like black plastic dead plates covering unbought options, the chime speaker glaringly mounted right on the center stack, and the hillarious 1"x.5" digital clock that was identical to the one in my Elantra rental sort of zapped the glitz out of Hyundai's flagship. The lauded-in-pictures fit-n'finish also was really there with the door panel not quite lining up with the dash when the door was shut. Little things like that.

An improvement to the XG350? Sure. But even the XG had some nice little touches like frameless glass and more unique taillamps.

[post="42513"][/post]

Interesting. I haven't seen many pics of the Azera interior, because the Hyundai website only offers like one or two. I agree regarding the chime speaker... that shouldn't exactly be a focal point in a car of this stature, or any car for that matter. Will have to wait and see--I have been wrong in the past. I thought the Azera would be a nice car, but we'll see. I thought the Sonata was ugly, but the new one is really nice in person.

[Bimmer325]

*Quite an interest in the Lucerne from more than your typical Buick clientele.

[post="42369"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Maybe the Lucerne has attracted some attention since it first debuted, but Buick's NYIAS display back in April was emptier than Isuzu's. The one person in it aside from myself commented that "the new LeSabre looks pretty bad."

[knightfan26917]

whats so bad about a hood prop?  Its simple and theres nothing wrong with it.

Didn't indicate anything IS wrong with it ... I just found it odd, is all. As big as the car is, I figured it wouldn't have a hood prop.

*shrugs*

I just associate hood props with small cars...not big cars....

[bobo]

Hood props are decidedly downmarket. You need to grab the thing and then stick it in the hole if you can find it in the dark. And then the prop can get in the way of the work you're doing in the engine bay. It's a small thing, not anything to get worked up about, but it can be annoying.

[Innotech]

hmm. I never had a problem working on cars with hood props. mayhbe Im just used to it. I never imagined people would be so dmaned picky about wha type of prop rod holds up the hood. but then again I love my hardp lastic Chevy S10 interior as much as any luxury interior. Its all the same to me minus the gadgets. I guess I just dont care about small details.

[Flybrian]

hmm. I never had a problem working on cars with hood props.  mayhbe Im just used to it.
I never imagined people would be so dmaned picky about wha type of prop rod holds up the hood.  but then again I love my hardp lastic Chevy S10 interior as much as any luxury interior.  Its all the same to me minus the gadgets.
I guess I just dont care about small details.

[post="45306"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Its not as much picky as it is a serious WTF kind of issue. There's also, IMO, a big difference between a decent-equipped truck and a $35k car. Trucks are meant for work and to be beat apart a little, so that's why I'd happily accept plastics that aren't a 'proper grain' or whatever as long as its durable.

With a car the caliber of a Charger and Montego - especially the Montego - a hood prop is unacceptable. Compacts can get away with it because they're cheap and the hoods aren't that large or heavy. But for upwards of $25,000-35,000, well, its almost a requisite. Keep in mind the $15k Cobalt and late-80s Buick Centuries even had gas struts.