November 20, 2008
Are you seeing those sidewalks? They look pretty desolate don't they? No big deal maybe, but that wasn't the case at last year's L.A. Auto Show. Just twelve months ago, those sidewalks were awash in protestors. They were holding up signs, throwing paint on Hummers and converting Priuses to full electric power right there in the parking lot across the street.
And this year? Nothing. No one. Zippo. Ok, there were a few taxi drivers mulling around smoking cigarettes, but saving the environment wasn't the topic of discussion. What a difference a year makes huh?
-- Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor
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- Posted by: Ed Hellwig November 20, 2008, 9:50 PM
- Categories: Green Tech, LA Auto Show
Not to be outdone by the Porsche Experience, there was something similar in the Ford booth dubbed the "Mustang Garage". It showcased all the ways you could setup the new 2010 Ford Mustang. Sure, it wasn't nearly as dreamy as the Porsche hall, but at least we could imagine ourselves actually buying some of these parts someday.
Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor
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- Posted by: Ed Hellwig November 20, 2008, 7:51 PM
- Categories: Ford, LA Auto Show
One of the unique elements of the LA Auto Show is the Porsche display. Instead of occupying some corner of a big hall, Porsche always sets up shop in its own small venue just off the main corridor. You walk in one door, through the display, and out the other side kind of like an amusement park ride. They call it the Porsche Experience, and it usually lives up to the name. Here's a quick tour of this year's setup.
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- Posted by: Ed Hellwig November 20, 2008, 6:55 PM
- Categories: LA Auto Show, Porsche
We've already driven the 2009 BMW 750i and the redesigned 7 Series made its official debut in Paris. But we haven't yet driven the extended-wheelbase 2009 BMW 750Li, and BMW had one here at its booth in LA.
The 750Li is pretty much what you'd expect: It rides on a 126.4-inch wheelbase (5.5 inches longer than the 750i's) and has 44.3 inches of rear legroom (an increase of 5.9 inches). With the extra room, chances a 750Li will have more humans (and likely heavier ones at that) riding in back, so BMW equips a self-leveling rear air suspension as standard on the LWB 7 Series.
We walked by the BMW outpost at least a half dozen times and at no point were all four outboard seats in the 750Li vacant for longer than 10 seconds. (The same was true of the 750i in the booth until it was confined behind a plexiglass wall.) People weren't taking photos, either. They were stretched out to the point of dozing off. We checked, and the car's rump didn't droop a bit under their weight.
Erin Riches, Senior Editor
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- Posted by: Erin Riches November 20, 2008, 6:02 PM
- Categories: BMW, LA Auto Show, Luxury Cars
I put in a good 20 minutes ogling the 2009 Nissan Cube this afternoon. I wasn't alone. The Super Silver GT-R on the other side of the stage wasn't getting nearly as much attention.
Finally, some employees of Scion walked up and when I saw their badges, I couldn't resist asking them what they thought.
"I don't like it," said one. "We build cars that are more uniform looking, more, um..."
"Symmetrical?" I offered. (We were looking at the Cube's rump.)
"Yeah."
So what do you think? Can we allow the 2009 Nissan Cube to defy symmetry?
-- Erin Riches, Senior Editor
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- Posted by: Erin Riches November 20, 2008, 5:30 PM
- Categories: LA Auto Show, Nissan
The lights are out at Chrysler. No seriously, while every other manufacturer utilizes special additional lighting, the entire Chrysler stand just gets by with the high-up L.A. Convention Center lighting. I guess it can't afford the power bill. Compare this to Chrysler's next-door neighbors, Audi, whose stand you could probably perform surgery on. Next door to it is Volkswagen, who has an equal amount of lighting power and a white floor to boot -- it's like standing in Aspen on a sunny day.
The below video should give you an idea about the difference. My camera isn't sophisticated enough to change light levels mid-shot, so I could either have Chrysler all dark or Audi looking like the surface of the sun. I chose the former. -- James Riswick, Automotive Editor
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- Posted by: JRiz November 20, 2008, 4:05 PM
- Categories: Audi, Chrysler, LA Auto Show
The 2010 Chevrolet Camaro was packed in a corner away from all the prominently placed fuel-efficient Chevy models (I missed it when I did my earlier GM blog). I hopped the little glass fence guarding the two Camaros on display to check out what the interiors look like. After another journalist was scolded by the on-hand Chevy girl when he tried to sit in the Camaro, I thought it best to just peer in and tap on stuff. To my surprise, the materials were rather disappointing. Although it scores high on style points (especially compared to the Challenger), everything I touched was hard and a little coarse in texture. Contrast that to the Challenger and the 2010 Mustang, both of which have squishy dashes and more pleasant materials. The Hyundai Genesis Coupe was also very disappointing. On the upside, the Camaro's bespoke switchgear (i.e., not parts bin) looked pretty special, as did the two-tone plastic dash trim. -- James Riswick, Automotive Editor
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- Posted by: JRiz November 20, 2008, 3:50 PM
- Categories: Chevrolet, LA Auto Show
Everything substantive you'd like to know about the 2010 Kia Soul is in our first drive.
At today's official unveiling at the LA Auto Show, Kia indulged in a little self-effacing wackiness. At least a dozen Souls were in attendance, easily surpassing Ford's collection of Mustangs, lending a packed-in feel to the press conference.
As Tom Loveless, vice president of Kia Motors America, spoke, his apparently college-age twins appeared on web cam, LOL-ing and OMG-ing via IM as he told us the story of the Kia Soul. We don't need to tell you much about target demographics, then.
We were also touched by the metallic "SOUL" sculpture that inflated like Jiffy Pop (in the images below), as Loveless and Tom Kearns, chief of Kia's U.S. design team, closed out the conference. There's no functional need for this bit of installation art, but it reminded us of the giant Fiat 500 at this year's Geneva show. It's just fun and weird. That's all.
Now for the informative stuff: The U.S.-spec 2010 Kia Soul goes into production in January 2009 and will be at dealers by early spring.
Kia doesn't want to talk about pricing, yet -- other than to let you know that it will be "aggressively priced," Loveless said. We take that to mean that you'll be able to get into a decent one for about $15,000.
Annual sales numbers, too, are anybody's guess, but, says Loveless, "There are two ways to look at 2009. One way is doom and gloom, oh my gosh, it's a 13-million-unit market.
"But we don't think we're held by the industry. The Soul is going to change the way people think about us. And we're coming right behind that with the redesigned Spectra."
Erin Riches, Senior Editor
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- Posted by: Erin Riches November 20, 2008, 12:58 PM
- Categories: Hatchbacks, Kia, LA Auto Show
Do you really need to have a press conference to introduce a car that's already sold out for the next two years? Not really, but Ferrari had one anyway for its new California convertible. I mean, how could it not have a reveal for the California in...well, yeah.
-- Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor
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- Posted by: Ed Hellwig November 20, 2008, 12:46 PM
- Categories: Ferrari, LA Auto Show
GM didn't do a press conference this year, which is a shame because I heard they were going to feature Hawaiian fire dancers, three miniature blimps, foie gras hor d'oeuvres and Carmen Electra to introduce the Chevy Volt. Oh well. But there's still the usual massive GM showing at the show with a few cars of note. They've been showed elsewhere, but they're still worth checking out if you make it to the show this year. The Volt is here, too, I just didn't think to take a photo. The Cadillac CTS Wagon is stunning -- the best-looking wagon since the Alfa 156. -- James Riswick, Automotive Editor
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- Posted by: JRiz November 20, 2008, 12:08 PM
- Categories: General Motors, LA Auto Show
Celebrating the one-year anniversary of its U.S. launch today at the L.A. auto show, Smart USA proudly reported that it's already delivered over 20,000 of the itty-bitty microcars in the States during the past 10 months.
Smart USA Chairman Roger Penske says that the U.S. is now the third-best selling country for Smart, garnering 18 percent of Smart's worldwide sales volume.
Continuing its economical assult on America's urban areas, Smart announced its new Brabus Fortwo model, due to arrive here early next year.
Available in both coupe and cabriolet models, the Brabus Smart Fortwo will use the same three-cylinder engine as the standard Fortwo, but will distinguish itself with an exterior body kit that includes a front spoiler, side skirts, 15-inch front wheels and 17-inchers in the back. A sport-tuned exhaust also includes dual chrome-plated exhaust tips that peek through a Brabus rear skirt.
Priced at $17,990 for the coupe and $20,990 for the cabriolet, Smart will begin allowing current Smart Fortwo reservation-holders to convert their order from a standard Fortwo to a Brabus Fortwo.
Already have a Fortwo? Smart USA will soon offer an array of Brabus accessories through its dealer network. -- Kelly Toepke, News Editor
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- Posted by: Kelly Toepke November 20, 2008, 12:08 PM
- Categories: LA Auto Show, SMART
One of the trends at this year's L.A. show was active fuel economy coaching. Honda showed its FC Sport fuel-cell prototype with its videogamelike eco assist system. The display shows your eco score with blossoming flowers. A similar system will be on the new Insight hybrid. Ford has its own coaching system on the 2010 Fusion/Mercury Milan hybrids with EcoGuide (shown below). So if you have to drive a boring fuel sipper, at least you can entertain yourself by making a game out of your hypermiling.
Albert Austria, Senior Vehicle Evaluation Engineer
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- Posted by: Snake Doctor November 20, 2008, 11:50 AM
- Categories: Auto Industry, Car Tech, Ford, Green Tech, Honda, Hybrids, LA Auto Show
There are quite a few modified and aftermarket special editions strewn about on the floor here at the 2008 L.A. Auto Show, but this Ford Flex was particularly impressive. All those graffiti body graphics seem to have been painted on with incredible detail. It carries over into the interior with graphics on the doors as well as inside the wheels, which are highly sculpted DUB spinners. Inside the trunk there's a full DJ turntable setup and a humongous subwoofer thing that looks like it's removed from a nuclear reactor. Sadly, the third-row seat disappears, making it impossible to carry all your kids and spin some jams from the back of your Flex at the same time. Bummer, dude. -- James Riswick, Automotive Editor
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- Posted by: JRiz November 20, 2008, 11:28 AM
- Categories: Ford, LA Auto Show
Buried in the back of GM's display was this 2010 Pontiac G8 ST pickup, which is a made-over Holden Utility. If you want your modern-day El Camino, here you go. Considering the current economic climate, who knows if this will ever see the light of day. So if you like it, you might want to let GM know about your interest.
Albert Austria, Sr Vehicle Evaluation Engineer
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- Posted by: Snake Doctor November 20, 2008, 10:55 AM
- Categories: Future Vehicles, LA Auto Show, Pontiac, Trucks
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