New York Auto Show - Part 3

A couple of final car comments -

1) The new Cadillac CTS is a great-looking car! They really improved it, and the new Coupe concept is really sharp - they should make it! The lines of the Coupe are so much better in person than in photos....













2) The new Jaguar XF - it's smaller than it looks in person, smaller than the XJ sedans. The styling is pretty nice - I'm not totally sure about the front end, seems a little blocky, but the rear with the sweeping roofline is really sharp and reminiscent of the XK coupe. I'm not crazy about the 'shifter' which is actually a round dial that rises out of the console when you start the car. You turn it to select Drive, Reverse, Park, etc. There are paddles behind the steering wheel to shift manually.


























3) Subaru WRX STI - very cool, pumped-up version of the Impreza WRX 5-door. I like hatchbacks anyways, and the new STI is very butch-looking. The interior is dramatically improved over the previous version, and the whole car looks less 'ricey' than the previous version.







































4) Mitsubishi Evolution 10 - we were very disappointed that they didn't have a car that was open. They had 2 there - the 5-speed manual and the MR with the manumatic. Hard to get a feel for the car without being able to sit in it or open the hood or trunk. A shame. But the cars looked nice. They had a Lancer GTS that was open and had a very nice interior. I still liked the STI better, I think.













So that's my overview of the show! As I noted, it was kind of an overload day but fun overall. Looking forward to next year's show already!

To view all of my pics from the show, go to -

http://s24.photobucket.com/albums/c30/ddibiase/New%20York%20Auto%20Show%202008/?start=0

New York Auto Show - Part 2

Ok, now on to some specific cars that I wanted to see.

1) BMW 1-Series - they had a red couple and a gold convertible, both 135i's. I like this car a lot! They also had a 2002 tii, and I can see the similarity - the 1-Series is an updated 2002 for sure, the same upright greenhouse, wide-open front end and flat tail. Too bad they couldn't do round taillights! I sat in the coupe - which had a 6-speed - for a few minutes and really liked it. It's a great size and great-looking, albeit a little heavy and probably a little too expensive.





















































2) Audi R8 - I have to admit to be a little disappointed - they had an R8 in white, which wasn't the most attractive look for the car. Hard to believe that they could not get a silver or black one. It's a beautiful car for sure, but the white doesn't really set the lines off that well. The also had an S5 in white, with a dark red interior, also a gorgeous car that really should have been in another color.






















































3) Dodge Challenger - a beautiful car - they had 3 production-appearing examples there - a couple of R/T Hemi's and a V6 base model. All were very nice, even the base version. I'd like to see a new one next to a classic Challener, just to compare the lines. But the new one is definitely retro but in a very nice way....














4) Chevy Camaro - by comparison, this was a concept car, not a production-ready version. It's also great-looking, but I am assuming that they will have to change some of the details (like raising the roof a bit) for production, so I'll withhold a judgement until then.














5) Nissan GT-R - an amazingly technologically advanced car, but pretty ugly, to be perfectly honest! It has a lot of strange curves and squared-off shapes on it, and that weird kink in the C-pillar is quite off-putting. The interior is very blocky, full of rectangular shapes. But it has a lot of 'presence' for sure, with huge wheels and tires and lots of scoops, ducts and strakes. Can't wait to hear one on the street!














6) smart fortwo - I love this car! We actually saw one on Canal Street on Thursday, the day before we went to the show. Yes, it is small, but has loads of room for 2 people inside. If I lived in an urban area and needed a car, this is what I would get. It makes a MINI look quite large. Too bad it only comes with the automanual trans.







































Part 3 to come.....


















-

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!

Origins of my MGB Passion

A recent conversation with my 12-year-old son (who in the last year, has discovered that cars, mainly Corvettes, Mustangs and various exotics, exist) got me thinking about the origins of my love for MGB's in particular, and British cars in general. I can faintly recall being driven around in the back (sitting sideways - would we do this nowadays?!) of an MGB Tourer - medium blue in color - owned by a friend's father. This was around the late 1960's or early 1970's, so I would have been anywhere from 8 to 11 years old. I have long ago lost touch with the friend but the memory remains....

In the late 1970's, as I was attending college in Boston, I decided that I would hitchhike from Boston to my parents home in southern New York State. I obviously did not tell my parents how I was getting home from school...! Going home, I was lucky enough to get a ride in a truck almost the entire way. Heading back to school, I was not so lucky. I got a ride from Route 684 to the middle of Hartford (and I DO mean the middle - I was literally dropped at the side of Route 84 just past where Route 91 intersects, a horrible spot with no room for a car to pull over!) and had to wait quite a while until an ancient, creaking Chevy wagon pulled over in the middle of the right-hand lane to pick me up. He was going to the Massachusetts border and had plenty of cold beer - both in his system and in the cooler beside me. He dropped me off at the last exit in Connecticut... where I proceeded to wait several hours for a ride... I started thinking that a sleeping bag would probably be a good thing to have, when a Butterscotch MGB pulled over and offered me a ride to Boston.... Top down, of course! This ride I remember like it was yesterday, 25 years or so later... My father had owned a string of large American convertibles, and owned one at the time, so the 'wind-in-the-hair' feeling was not new - but the lowness, the communication with the road, the agility - these were all new to me. And of course, the sound of the exhaust was incredible!

It wasn't until almost 10 years later, when my wife and I were living in Albany, New York, that I got seriously interesting in buying an MG. We had attended shows over the years, both in the Boston area and Albany, and started looking through the want ads. This was 1988, before the Internet, and I had no idea what to look for. I still have all of my notes on the various cars we looked for. I saw an ad in the paper for a 1976 MGB that 'needed a little work to complete' (we've ALL seen those before, eh?!). It was an overcast day when we went to look at the car. It had recently had bodywork done to it so the Brooklands Green paint was interspersed with many spots of gray primer. All of the exterior body trim was off the car. The Monza-type exhaust had a hole (or several) in the muffler. The car had radial tires mounted on the front and bias-ply snow tires mounted on the rear. (There goes the 'never driven in snow claim!) And the top was up - amplifying every little creak and groan. The good news was the engine had recently been rebuilt. We took the car for a test drive - and after we switched so my wife could drive, I was trying to think of how to get out of this when she turned to me and said 'I think we should buy it!'... So we did!

Making a long story longer, we had the bodywork finished, had it painted and drove it for a year and a half, whereby I proceeded to get hit from behind and pushed into a pick-up truck. Four years (and three homes later) we again had the bodywork repaired and have driven it ever since. It's been incredibly reliable and requires little maintenance. I drive it less than 1,000 miles a year but always try to do at least one 100+ mile trip a year. The rust worm is starting to do some damage, so it looks like more bodywork may be in the future... But that will have to wait, as in August of 2000, I purchased a 1965 MGB Tourer project car that is slowly being taken apart prior to restoration! I plan to return it to original factory condition. That will probably be a whole other story......