Denver International Auto Show

[Robert Hall]

I went to the Denver show this evening... wandered around for a couple hours.

Random impressions:

Saw a Bugatti Veyron for the first time in person. Wild.

Loved the burgundy Quattroporte w/ creamy leather.

The Aston Vantage looks incredible in person.

The Challenger concept looked great, though the A-pillars are awfully thick.

The Imperial is huge and strange looking...

Sitting in the Impala SS, I realized the 'Like A Rock' slogan describes the lower dash plastics perfectly.. I wouldn't want to be a passenger in one in an accident--two ruined knees from hitting the concrete dash. (same thought applies to many cars).

No Camaro.. But I saw the Nomad concept for the first time....neat..would have been a nice niche car for Chevy, I think.

The G6 GTP coupe two-tone interior is really cool.

The G6 convertible looks good in person...

The Sky looks great in black....the Solstice GTP looked great in red.

The Aura looked different than the original concept pics--it has large hood vents now.. neat detailing on the lighting.

I didn't realize you could get an Aveo (LT) with leather and wood trim..the interior looks pretty nice.

The new Escalade looks great...sat in one. They also had the old style ESV and EXT beside it. Loved the Tahoe and Suburban.. lots of E85 signs.

Saabs are born from jets. The signs say so. Odd, the 9-7x looks like it's born from a TrailBlazer..

I didn't realize you could get a Prius with leather.

The new Camry nose is odd looking...the Yaris is even stranger. The FJ Cruiser is very, very strange.

The Lexus Paul McCartney edition RX400h has a very strange interior trim.

I really liked the interior of the Merc CLS, Acura RL, and Infiniti M45 (very unique shapes and wood trimming).

Some one is importing and selling Smart FourTwos (regular and cabrio)...for $26k!!! Yikes!

The Ford Expedition King Ranch is $53k. Ouch. Interesting leather, though.

The Explorer has some strange interior door releases.

The Expedition EL looks good. Huge grille.

The Chrysler Aspen looks good in person..much nicer than the homely Durango, IMHO.

The Commander 3rd row of seats look absurdly cramped, not to mention no rear visibility with the headrests up...dumb, dumb, dumb.

I went around all evening squeezing dash plastics, tapping on door panels and consoles, etc..

Random amusing comments overheard:

Kid: 'Mommy, what's a Saturn?' Mom: 'Some American car, I think.'

Guy standing next to GTO--'That's got a Hemi 454!'

Woman standing next to Dodge Mega Ram: 'What a huge beast. Republicans drive those'.

A saleslady claimed the Malibu Maxx will be "..available with a belt-driven hybrid next year like the Saturn Vue.." Really?

Edited March 31, 2006 by moltar