New York Auto Show - Part 1

I attended the NYIAC on Friday, Match 29 - first time in a long time that I've been to an Auto Show, and the first time to NY in decades, literally! I had forgotten how much fun it was, and also how it's a sensory overload. You really need to have a plan of attack. Ours was kind of random, following a circuitous path through the displays, which meant by the time we got to some manufacturers, like Jaguar and Volvo, where there were cars that I really wanted to see, I felt I was kind of burned out..... So, for example, I sat in the new Jaguar XF sedan, but probably couldn't appreciate it as much as I wanted to. But I'm getting ahead of myself!

Overall impressions:

1) The domestic manufacturers have a long way to go to catch up to the imports. I have to say that the domestics tend to have flashier displays - more turntables, flashing lights, models - while the imports tend to have just the cars and fewer frills. The 'door thunk-factor' of the imports is still way higher than the domestics (I was particularly disappointed with the Pontiac G8 door sound) overall, and the interiors of even the lower-priced imports are still higher-quality than more expensive domestics.

2) Chrysler products are pretty crappy. The interiors of the brand-new models like the Dodge Journey and the new minivans are really lousy - hard, cheap plastics abound and the doors are very tinny-sounding. Seats aren't any good, either. The Journey especially was disappointing, as it has a nice overall design that is ruined by cheapness in execution. I liked the forward-canted shifter and center stack, but they felt cheap. The switchgear is also low-rent.

3) Honda styling has gotten really bizarre. The Ridgeline, Pilot front-end and entire Accord are very strange-looking, and even the Civic's interior - especially the bi-level dashboard - is terrible. And now it's spreading to Acura, which had some of the nicest-looking Japanese cars previously. The 'shield' grilles are really ugly, and they have a new car that is a thinly-disguised Accord (that is make (hard to believe it) even uglier by the addition of a really bad shield grille)... I thought it said 'RL' on the trunklid but I must have been wrong, as the 2009 RL is a slightly revamped version of the current RL, not an Accord.

4) The new Challenger and Camaro are REALLY sharp. The Camaro was the concept car, but the had 3 Challengers there - 2 Hemis and a V6 version as well. It's a great looking car, even in V6 trim.

5) There were quite a few concept cars there, and I get if you lined them all up with no labeling, no one - perhaps not even the designers - could tell which one was from what company. They are all so similar, with wide-opening doors with no B pillar, bizarre captains chairs that rotate, DVD screens all over the place and floating center consoles that go all the way to the rear of the car. Oh, and ultra-practical 26-inch wheels and tires. Very disappointing, although I did like the Lincoln one.

I'll post some pictures later. But here is me in the Vette....

Casting About

I was casting about, only half-seriously, for a smaller car for my wife. She was leaving her current job, with a 20-mile daily commute, potentially for a job with an 80-mile daily commute... My Audi gets 21 mpg around town and would probably get 25 mpg in her potential new commute (mostly highway but about 10 blocks of in-city travel). The van gets 17 around town and 20 on the highway, but with the lease mileage limitation, she wouldn't have been driving that every day. With gas at just under $3 per gallon (and $3.25 for the premium the Audi requires), neither alternative was particularly compelling. So, I did some looking on-line. What I found kind of surprised me.

There aren't a lot of 'normal' sized cars out there that get high mileage any more. By 'normal' sized, I am talking about Honda Civic-sized as the minimum. Most of them seem to be in the 20 - 22 in-town/29 - 31 highway mpg ranges, which doesn't seem like much to me. I guess I was thinking with all of the advances in engine and transmission technology, lighter-weight materials and computer controls, mpg would be better. But the weights have really gone up as well. All that safety equipment - impact beams in the doors, airbags all around and in the roof and seats, ABS, stability control, brakeforce distribution, etc.

Even though it is REALLY small, I like the smart fortwo a LOT, although it's mileage is not as phenomenal as you'd think, given it's size (VERY small). Looking forward to seeing one at the New York Car Show next week. Go check it our yourself here -
http://www.smartusa.com/
And yeah, they use small letters, no caps, for the names......

The other car I like a lot is the Honda Fit - again, smaller than a 'normal' car but very utilitarian inside and kind of neat looking. Supposedly has decent performance, too. But Kathleen would probably want the automatic version, which would be boring.

Anyway, looks like it's kind of a moot point, since Kathleen has taken a job where her mileage will be reimbursed, so looks like no changes in the immediate future. Too bad, I really like the BMW 1-Series!

Fun Car Websites

Here are some of my favorites, bookmarked over the years....

Animated Engines -

http://www.keveney.com/Engines.html

I could sit and watch the oscillating steam engine all day.

Automotive Forums -

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/index.php

Forums for almost every car built! Many are very active. Great resource if you're looking to buy a particular car, to get some insight on what owners think and have problems with.

Garage Journal -

http://www.garagejournal.com/

If you're into working on cars, you're probably also always looking for info on how to better organize your garage. Or just want to see dream garages!

IMDB -

http://www.imcdb.org/index.php

Every car in every movie ever made! I love this site.

The Truth About Cars -

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/

This site reminds me of what Car and Driver magazine used to be - great car reviews, written irreverently.

Qashqai Car Games -

http://www.qashqaicargames.com/

Spoof site to publicize a Nissan home-market car called the Qashqai. Pretty funny.

Car Show schedule -

http://www.carshownews.com/

Place to check on where and when car shows are scheduled.

In-Cylinder Video -

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5815350492893860613

Not really a site, but a video of what happens during the internal-cumbustion process. Thrilling stuff!

Autoextremist -

http://www.autoextremist.com/

More rants/raves about cars.

Dan

Auto Musings Part 1

I really like the new BMW 1-Series coupe. I went onto the BMW website and built one - drank blue, with a tan interior, Sport Package and a couple of options - gah, $35k?! That's almost the price point for a 3-Series! And the 1-Series is heavy, too... Too bad they could not make one with cloth seats and a little less content... maybe you could get one with cloth, a sunroof, Sport Package (which they really should call the ti Package) and maybe an upgraded sound system for like $28k. Oh, and weighing 500 pounds less.

I realized today that I can look at a new Accord and not throw up! I guess I am getting used to it. Still think they could have had a couple of people responsible for the styling, versus a committee for the front, a committee for the rear and a committee for the chunky middle, but they seem to be selling okay. So what do I know. Except that I'm not crazy about it.

I DO like the new Cadillac CTS - have seen a couple of them, and think it's great-looking. I'd like to see one in black, bet it would look very wicked with 19" chrome wheels. And the new Malibu looks sharp, as does the Pontiac G8 sedan. I think GM is making a bit of a styling comeback, which is good. Hard to believe this is the same company that spewed out the Aztek and previous-generation Malibu!