NAIAS '11: NOS' Review

[NOS2006]

It's now been six consecutive years that I've attended the North American International Auto Show. Two years ago, not long after the start of the country-wide recession, I posted a review of the show which revealed the automotive depression running deep into the veins of all those in this industry. Last year, this disheartening feeling was so bad that I didn't even post a review. Although Ford was doing better, GM and Chrysler had just been bailed out by the government and their future existence still seemed to be somewhat up in the air. Porsche, Nissan, and others skipped out on the show completely, and the most expensive car at the show was tucked inconspicuously in a low-light corner of the floor. At this point, GM hardly had enough money to purchase one of these Bugatti Veyrons let alone the spectators walking around the show.

That being said, I encourage you to take a deep breath and relax. The neosporin and gauze have done their jobs. The scar tissue is there, but we have survived.

This year's show was an improvement over the last two. The Big Three is back. That's right, I said it, and so did many others at the show. It seemed brighter, both figuratively and literally, and it wasn't impossible to find a smile on a face here and there. If that doesn't show improvement, I don't know what does.

I walked through the doors at the Audi exhibit. I still cannot get past the fact that all of their models look so similar to each other. I feel like they really need more differentiation through their lineup, but that's obviously just my opinion since it seemed as though they had a solid crowd. Their interiors still aren't fully up to class standards in my opinion, although a few of them do have nice quite nice door panels.

BMW is BMW, they haven't changed and probably won't for awhile, though Cadillac is now giving them a good run for their money. There's something that I already subliminally, but it didn't really hit me until I actually saw one on the showroom floor: the X3 has much lower quality material on its interior than the SRX. The X5/X6 have a terrific interior, so it's surprising that this didn't at least partially make it into their little brother, the X3. Aside from that, not much has changed at the Bavarian performance company.

I skipped over MINI and noticed that VW, like Audi, had a good crowd around it. I didn't pay much attention to VW though. I was more interested in jumping over to the Porsche showcase. It felt good not only to see Porsche at the show, but to sit in a Panamera. This is what kind of upsets me though; I always go to the show to snap as many pictures as possible and show it off to everyone else, but I really don't enjoy it because of this. I wish that I would've sat in the Porsches and fallen in love with them since I finally had that opportunity, but I took a quick seat to snap some pictures, then moved on without even enjoying the car whatsoever. I should go back on one of the not-so-busy public days...

I intentionally avoided the Chrysler display and stuck to the perimeter of the floor. I wanted to see everything else first so I could really analyze Chrysler's models once I got there, so I found myself at Toyota. Oops, I yawned, and now I'm in Scion.. and Lexus.. Oh hey, an LFA. Oops, I yawned again. Suddenly I'm at Kia. It's not that Toyota had a small section. It's just that none of their models are particularly interesting in any way, which seemed to be the general consensus; there was hardly anybody in this section, and only slightly more people at the Lexus display. The LFA was nice though although I still think it's overpriced with a terrible rear end design.

Kia's display wasn't impressive and it didn't attract many people. I did expect more people to be looking at their models, but I was wrong. Just as I was discussing with Drew, Z-06, and BV the other night, the Forte is a nice little car, but its interior materials are eerily similar to the Civic Si while I still feel like the exterior looks like a better-looking Civic. Coincidence?

Cadillac's offerings were nice as usual. People were still gawking over the CTS selection which is always a welcome sight. I didn't pay much attention to the SRX, so I'm unsure of what the reaction was there. I will say this though: the XTS and ATS cannot come soon enough. I've got reason to have a ton of faith in Cadillac right now, so I know these will be huge hits and draw a very nice crowd from BMW and Audi.

GM's display wasn't too bad, but I don't think the scenery was as flashy as in the past. Then again, it didn't need to be; their models are better now than they have been in a significant amount of time. Buick got a bigger crowd around it than normal, and rightfully so. People really like the Regal, and the Verano had some onlookers as well. Sharp car, and I like it just as much in person as I did in pictures. For some reason or another, there was a Lucerne in the background. Such a dowdy looking vehicle in comparison to the others. I'm bewildered as to why GM brought it. Also, I must note that the Regal GS only had 2 holes in each of the ventiports...

The new GMC concept is sharp. I probably took more pictures of this than anything else at the show. GMTruckGuy is going to have a truckgasm. You're welcome.

Chevy's display wasn't terribly great, but that's alright. I felt very welcome. I had been around quite a few displays before this, but it wasn't until I got into the GM section that I got my first, "Hi, how are you?" from one of the models. The others seemed more snooty and didn't want anything to do with the people; they were just there for a job. Anyway, the Sonic isn't bad. I like its interior much more than others in the class; the two-tone decor most definitely does the job. The sedan looks much better in person than in pictures, but I was hoping that some of my pictures will do it justice. The Camaro and other vehicles were old news. Some guy sat in a Grand Sport and got out emphasizing, as if he were reading it straight out of a magazine, "The seats are so bad." I checked out the Cruze again and I like it, but everytime I see one, I find myself wishing it had more variety with an SS, coupe, and hatch/wagon.

I don't think I even looked at or noticed Subaru or Mazda. Perhaps if I go back again, I'll check them out. Meanwhile, Volvo had the same display as always. I really wish they would revamp their line-up like Buick has, but I guess we'll have to wait that out. Also, I don't think Lincoln had much of a crowd. Their models already look aged to me.

Ford was the story last year, but not so much this year. They had nice vehicles and I do like the Escape concept (is it safe to say that yet?) quite a bit; it's much nicer looking than the old model. I really wish they'd give the Ranger the same treatment, but I'm sure they're keeping to the old theory of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." There's no other competition, so why would they? Of all the cars at the show, I only did sit down to enjoy two vehicles. The first was the Mustang GT. The new 5.0 has got a soft spot in my heart ever since I drove a V6 Premium earlier this year. I'd love to lease a GT Premium for a few years, and I would if I weren't going to grad school next year. Maybe it'll work itself out in the end... That car is such a joy to be in.

I looked at Honda and Mercedes, but wasn't impressed too much by either. I've never been truly impressed by a Honda, with the exception of the S2000, so I wasn't shocked to basically walk right through their display once again. Mercedes had a nicely done older sportscar, I'm guessing a 300SL based on my memory and a little research. You'll be able to see it in the pictures once they're posted. I'm still not impressed by the new SLS, and they had it shown in a highlighter yellow/green color, so it was even less attractive. I do enjoy looking at the Mercedes vehicles though because something about them just gives me a classier feeling than the BMWs do.

I then sweeped into the inner circle of the floor to see Acura and Hyundai. Ahh, who am I kidding? Aside from taking a couple pictures of the Genesis coupe and probabaly another Hyundai, I walked right past these displays. There wasn't much to see, and there wasn't too significant of a crowd to convince me otherwise. I then passed on to Tesla. Again, not much to see. Then it was the exotics, and I was upset to only see the 458 Italia from Ferrari, but it's better than nothing I suppose.

And there it was. I held out on Chrysler hoping it would a be "best for last" scenario, and my accusations were correct. Model after refreshed model, I was thoroughly impressed. Chrysler stole the show, and I'm actually getting a warm feeling from deep down just writing this about them. Marchionne is the man.

I'm not sure where to start. First, let me reiterate something I would've said last year: I love the new Chrysler symbol. That being said, I guess I can start with Fiat. The 500 is just different, but I've already seen quite a few of them on the road, and it seemed that people were kind of interested in the little thing. They had a Mopar edition of the 500 there, and that was sharp. Then I moved on to the 200 and was absolutely delighted. I had seen a 200 on the lot, but I keep passing by it until I could see it at the autoshow with the other new Chrysler offerings, and I'm glad I did. It's far superior to anything the Sebring ever could've attempted to be. Very nice interior and exterior, but it's still a bump below the Regal, though the price tag agrees (and the 200 is a bit smaller, right?). The Challenger looks a lot better inside and out. The Avenger looks much nicer, and I really like its new LED taillights. On that note, the Journey's taillights and interior are far better this year. I was actually quite impressed by the "new" Journey. I even sat in a Town & Country to take a picture or two and said, "Why isn't this what my mom got when she bought a Caravan many moons ago?" All of the Jeep interiors were much better (I actually like the Wrangler now), and the face of the Compass looks much better in person, although the body still doesn't flow with the same design. The Durango is way better this year, and actually quite handsome. The Ram Longhorn's interior is too good for a truck. Overall, all I have to say is, "Damn!" Chrysler has done it, and the crowd most certainly agrees.

Now for my favorite two of the bunch: the 300 and Grand Cherokee. These two were downright impressive. If I could, and the CTS wasn't an option, I would take a 300C and Grand Cherokee Overland over anything on the market. Sitting in the Grand Cherokee, just the second model that I actually sat in for a second for the enjoyment of it, I fell in love. I almost felt as though I was behind the wheel of a Jeep Cayenne. The Overland edition ups the ante even more with stitching on the IP and door panels, leather seats, and just a cozy yet sporty feeling. I couldn't get a single good picture of any of the Grand Cherokees because it was just absolutely crowded with people always in and around it. The 300 was quite similar in those regards, but not as popular as the Jeep, though I'm not sure that anything at the entire show was. The 300 designers deserve props. This car is just classy, and there's no other way I would put it. I could've fallen asleep in the seats with how comfortable they were just while taking pictures. Its design makes the old 300 look childish. I don't like it much in pictures, but even the rear looks much better in person. It is such a nice vehicle this year, it's unbelievable.

Overall, I'd have to say that Chrysler won the show. I didn't hear one negative comment about any one of their new models and they were absolutely crowded the whole time that I was there. People were complimenting their vehicles left and right, and I felt real good about it. Congratulations to the new Chrysler!

Pictures located HERE

[Justin Bimmer]

I agree the Grand Cherokee is a very luxurious vehicle. I even suggested it to a Lexus RX owner to check out.

[GMTruckGuy74]

Thank you for that great write-up, it sounds as if you had a great time.

The new GMC concept is sharp. I probably took more pictures of this than anything else at the show. GMTruckGuy is going to have a truckgasm. You're welcome.

I'm patiently waiting for anyone to post some auto show pictures of this truck for me

[Camino LS6]

Thanks for this, NOS.

Can't wait to see the pics.

[Robert Hall]

Thanks for the write up..wish I had been there...looking forward to seeing the 300C and Charger in person. I saw the 200 at our local new car show a couple of months ago, really, really like the new GC..love the Challenger.

I'm glad some people take pics at shows, I quit taking pics at car shows years ago, it's just too tedious and I don't enjoy looking at cars as much when I'm taking pics.

[ocnblu]

Thanks for the eyewitness account, Nos.

[2b2]

Great writeup, NOS, THANKS

esp cuz we're having our little dealer-sponsored show this weekend & you gave me a good starting point,

tho of course we'll only get models already on sale

(had hoped for a Focus if the show was later as usual but oh well)

Very glad to read your Mopar comments - or should I say Pentastar? - what ARE they called now??

anyway, since my Brand (Mercury) has been absorbed into the Titanium Fords, I'm really hoping for Chrsyler&friends to become an international powerhouse.

& question: Did you brave the elements to see Saab & talk to their reps?

...my underdog rooting is in full force

[NOS2006]

Was Saab even at the show? lol

[Cory Wolfe]

Yes, it was outside, under the huge Mercedes SLS billboard. Due to the weather, I'd be surprised if anyone wondered over to it.

[2b2]

Was Saab even at the show? lol

AT, yes

IN, no

[Intrepidation]

Sounds like it was a great show. Poor Saab, but then the ice cubes on their signage went well with the snow they got.

[NOS2006]

Yeah, I think I'm going again tomorrow. Maybe I'll get the chance to take some more pictures and see Saab out there. This time I think I'm actually going to mostly relax and take a seat in some of the cars. It'll be even nicer this time since I'll be with two of my best friends and not wandering around like a lost puppy dog by myself. haha

Oh, and I tried uploading pictures last night. I'm not sure if it's just a slow upload for ~150MB or what, but it didn't seem to be loading. I'll try again tonight?

[daves87rs]

Cool....I think I might have some of those impressions...

[NOS2006]

Yay! The pictures decided to upload this time:

http://www.cheersandgears.com/gallery/page__module__user__user__177__do__view_album__album__88

Sorry for the delay, fellas!

[frogger]

Thanks! Great picture stash.

[balthazar]

Didn't open them all, but those that interested me enough to:

Still can't figure out how ChryCo nailed the Durango exterior so HARD! Killer.

Really like the Regal GS and the GMC Sierra- they'd make a GREAT driveway pair.

The BMW X is ghastly, so is the bloated Bentley sedan. The other Bentley model still look like cheap influences from the old Integra to me.

Good thorough job NOS!

[NOS2006]

Glad you guys enjoyed.