2011 Chicago Auto Show impressions

[Northstar]

Not sure how long of a write up I'm going to do, just going to throw out some thoughts from what I remember...

Volt is pretty nice inside, really looks good outside too. Think it has great potential to change the perception of GM amongst many people. It was also one of the busiest areas in the show.

ZL1 is pretty "meh" to me. At the end of the day, it's still a Camaro and doesn't look that much different than an SS. Camaro convertible is pretty nice as well. I'm a little underwhelmed by the interior, however; the Mustang is nicer.

Regal and LaCrosse are both quite nice (but I already knew that from before), Verano looks okay but nothing spectacular.

CTS seems quite cramped for its size, when compared to A6/5-Series/E-Class.

The Chrysler group interiors are very improved, but still not top of the class. The 200 was perhaps the biggest improvement, but it feels quite small, and one of its main competitors (Regal) is significantly better.

The Grand Cherokee was very nice. I liked it better than the Explorer, which seems overpriced. Totally forgot to sit in the Durango.

Wasn't that impressed with the 300 or Charger. The 300 had a sunroof and I hit my head on the roof, and I'm only 6' tall. Charger's seats were way too flat, you sit on them not in them. Also didn't like the front end on the Charger, though the rear end is pretty cool.

I was very impressed with VW. The Jetta is incredibly spacious for a compact, and the materials all feel of good quality for the class. The Passat is also very spacious for a midsize, and while the interior is a bit bland, so are most of the cars in the class. Again I felt the materials were all of good quality. Yes they both look like appliances, but so do most of the cars in their classes. The TDI's were quite popular as well, and VW was perhaps the busiest non-luxury brand.

BMW was probably my favorite brand. The 7-Series blows the S-Class out of the water. Same with the 5-Series vs. E-Class (E-Class is just terrible though). Didn't sit in a 3-Series because I have quite a few times. The Z4 fit me like a glove, and at $53k seems pretty well priced considering the price of some of the other convertibles (G37 was $52k, and while it does have a back seat, it's not very useable, and the interior on it is crap).

Audi disappointed me a bit in their display. Almost all of their vehicles were silver (boring) and you couldn't sit in the A8. I really like the A5 a lot, however.

Ford was pretty busy. The Focus is nice but I think the Jetta and Cruze are nicer. Explorer is nice, but I liked the Jeep GC better as I said earlier, and the Explorer seems quite expensive. I didn't really understand the Boss; some of the versions of it or whatever you want to call the different paint schemes seem tacky, and for the extra money it doesn't seem like you get much more.

[regfootball]

Any observations on the Hyundai and Kia stuff? Nissan, Mazda....?

[Northstar]

I totally forgot to even go to Kia, I wanted to sit in the Optima. I did sit in the Equos or however it's spelled, but I wasn't that impressed. Yes, it has a ton of gadgets and features, but it just feels a bit unfinished. It also doesn't seem like it's much of a step up from the Genesis aside from the added features.

Didn't sit in any Mazdas. Only sat in the Nismo 370Z, which had great seats but the rest of the interior is quite underwhelming, and at $41k it's the same price as a Boss Mustang, which while I said wasn't that impressive, is certainly better than the 370Z, and is basically the same sort of "track package" car.

[NOS2006]

Thanks for the review, Northie!

And the CTS is small for its class.. keep in mind that the NG CTS grows to be the same size as the 5-series, allowing the ATS (I believe) to come in and contend with the 3-Series. The current CTS fits right between the 3- and 5-Series.

[CSpec]

Totally agree that the CTS is weirdly cramped. The Cruze has more room.

[Northstar]

Thanks for the review, Northie!

And the CTS is small for its class.. keep in mind that the NG CTS grows to be the same size as the 5-series, allowing the ATS (I believe) to come in and contend with the 3-Series. The current CTS fits right between the 3- and 5-Series.

The CTS isn't that small. It's the same length as the E-Class and less than 2 inches shorter than the 5-Series. The 3-Series is significantly shorter (13 inches) than the CTS. Hopefully the next gen addresses this issue without having to make the vehicle any longer. It simply isn't space efficient compared to the E and 5.

Also forgot to mention that I sat in the Sonic. It seemed pretty cheap to me, but I guess that's what you get in the entry-level subcompact market. Forgot to sit in the Fiesta to compare.

[regfootball]

good thing you weren't sitting in the brand spanking new Fiesta that got t-boned on this snowy day at the intersection of 62 and France here...... at least it was on the passenger side. I would say aside from being devastated, the car took the hit ok. Roof still had its integrity.