Notes and Pictures from the L.A. Auto Show

[bobo]

I went last Friday, and I didn't find it terribly interesting, but here are a few highlights:

Most drool-worthy: Four pearl white Maseratis. Exotic sports cars do not need to be red or yellow.

Close second: Bugatti

Vehicle with the Spokesdude...um...having most difficulty...um...reciting lines: Subaru B9 Tribeca. Also, it's a nice vehicle, but I don't know $40K nice.

Most hopping exhibit: Mercedes. The new Mercedes S-Class looks better in person than in pictures. I'm still not crazy about the Kia-worthy pronounced wheel arches:

Deadest exhibit: Suzuki and Kia tied

Best water feature: Buick. There were no cloth Lucerne CX's to inspect at the Buick display. And yes, the LaCrosse has nicer dashboard plastic than the Lucerne.

A few other observations:

I saw the Ridgeline up close for the first time. I like the truck, and the interior is fine for a truck. I wouldn't hesitate buying this for my needs, though it gets lousy gas mileage.

People were crawling all over the Toyota FJ. The interior is fine for a $23K back-to-basics off-road vehicle. The rear-seat doesn't quite fold flat.

The Toyota Matrix was called the "Corolla Matrix" on the display, but not on the vehicle or on the literature:

Every article on the Ford Explorer mentioned how terrible the door pull are, and I agree that they are poorly designed and allow little leverage. There needs to be a recess in the armrest right above where "Explorer" is embossed:

The new Civic is a decent car. I didn't have any problems with the interior design or quality of the materials. The Hybrid model:

The Solstice GXP:

Volkwagen EOS with the retractable hardtop is a pretty cool car. All the new VW's came across as well-designed, if somewhat pricey.

And if the regular Chrysler 300 isn't flashing enough:

The new Escalade interior is nice, but unfortunately it's not in the same category as Range Rover. And what were people talking about granite earlier?

[Variance]

Point of interest: The four white "Maseratis" in your first pic are actually Lamborghinis. :AH-HA_wink:

Thanks for the pics and commentary, though. B)

[bobo]

Yeah, I knew that. Gallardos and such. Brain-fart.

I took a close look at the vents on the Escalade, and they're plastic inserts. Completely non-functional. I think they're cheesy.

[pow]

Nice review... I went Friday, too, and will post my thoughts when I have time.

[bobo]

Here's the white Escalade on the floor. There was another black one that wasn't open.

The STS-V:

As for concepts, the showing was pretty weak. The L.A. show normally gets concept cars that have already been shown elsewhere. Here's the Ford Fairlane:

Chevy had the Tahoe and Suburban, but they weren't open. Same with GMC and the Yukons. At the Pontiac display, the Solstice and the GTO got all the action. Otherwise it was pretty quiet. At Saturn, they had the Sky and the Aura concept we've seen before. There was a lot more action at Saturn than at years past. I overheard one guy explaining to his friend (boyfriend?) how Saturn was changing and moving up.

[pow]

Actually, they had a parchment silver '07 Tahoe open.

[Newbiewar]

You should go again... there is a friendly v8 rwd coupe... accually its just a coupe u can see under and its all plastic...

but the camaro is in los angeles if you wanted to look again...

[GMTruckGuy74]

What color is the Saturn SKY???

[Sixty8panther]

Bobo: I can understand your love for the Lexus IS300 but to say the Ridgeline is worty of existance nevermind ownership is preplexing to me.

That Bugatti is the 3rd coolest concept in the world right now. Right behind the Sixteen and Camaro.

[Nick]

That Bugatti is the 3rd coolest concept in the world right now. Right behind the Sixteen and Camaro.

Except that Bugatti is no longer a concept anymore :AH-HA_wink:

[pow]

That Bugatti is the 3rd coolest concept in the world right now. Right behind the Sixteen and Camaro.

If concepts are generally cooler than production, does that make the Veyron the coolest production car in the world?

[pow]

Except that Bugatti is no longer a concept anymore :AH-HA_wink:

Bah, you beat me to it.

[bobo]

What color is the Saturn SKY???

Here's the Sky:

A few more show observations:

The new Eclipse reminds me of the 2nd generation Eclipse a lot, including the feel when sitting in it, but I liked that car more than how I like the new one, which is not at all.

The Hyundai Sonata and Azera were a lot better than I thought. I wouldn't pay $30K for the Azera, but I think others would pay almost that much.

I disliked the squareness of everything in the Zephyr, but I think the Mercury Milan is very attractive inside and out.

As for the Ridgeline, I like the functionality of the vehicle more than the execution, similar to how the Aztek was a functional vehicle yet so ugly. I wish GM would do a Lambda pickup.

[Croc]

I disliked the squareness of everything in the Zephyr, but I think the Mercury Milan is very attractive inside and out.

That's how I feel. I wish more power options (like power passenger seat) were available on Milan, and I also wish navigation were available like it is on the Mazda6 and Zephyr. Otherwise, Milan is the best of the three.

[GMTruckGuy74]

Here's the Sky:

A few more show observations:

The new Eclipse reminds me of the 2nd generation Eclipse a lot, including the feel when sitting in it, but I liked that car more than how I like the new one, which is not at all.

The Hyundai Sonata and Azera were a lot better than I thought.  I wouldn't pay $30K for the Azera, but I think others would pay almost that much.

I disliked the squareness of everything in the Zephyr, but I think the Mercury Milan is very attractive inside and out.

As for the Ridgeline, I like the functionality of the vehicle more than the execution, similar to how the Aztek was a functional vehicle yet so ugly.  I wish GM would do a Lambda pickup.

Thanks bobo. That one kid looks like he's up to something... and he's too close to my car!

Btw, it's nice to see that they're still showing last year's CONCEPT Sky Especially when it's just about to go into production.