My Auto Show Review
02-07-2003, 09:20 PM
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My Auto Show Review
Just got back from the auto show at the convention center in Baltimore, MD. It was nice because I had the whole day to spend there because we got a lot of snow in MD, so I didnt have to work. As soon as I walked in the door GM had a huge display, most likely the largest of the show. The main floor was basically american and japenese manufactureres, while the more exclusive brands were upstairs in a seperate building. Anyway, here are my highlights of the show:
Mazda: Very dissapointing. NO RX-8's! With the exeption of the hummer and Mini cooper stands, Mazda had the smallest section. There were a few nice cars though. There were 3 6's, although none of them had the styling add ons. A miata and a few pickups and tributes were there, nothing special. I did like the mazdaspeed protege, especially the color, the bright orange one. Highlight of the mazda display was a large plasma screen with a looped video of 4 rx-8's driving at leguna seca. I think the movie was recently posted in the multimedia section.
Nissan: Hate to say it but the display was much nicer than mazda's. 2 350Z's were there. I dont like the styling as much as I did when they first came out. The front is ugly, but the side profile looks nice. Interior is very nice but was extremly plasticy. New maxima looks nice except for the giant grill bar. The interior looks very nice it compares in style to a 6. Looked small though. The Titan is much nicer looking in person than in photos. It looks more muscular and the doors are cool how the open a full 180 degrees.
GM: The autonomy concept was there. I believe that is the nicest styled car I have ever seen, even though it doesnt work. The skateboard type engine thing was too. GM had atleast 50 plasma TV's set up around the whole exhibit it was pretty impressive.
Cadillac: LOVE the new XLR. By far the nicest looking convertible at the show. The interior is very nice it didnt feel cheap like most other gm cars do. The SRX was nice looking as well althought the back could use a little work. ESV is ugly, it looks too long.
Chevrolet: The new Malibu is hidious. I thought it would look better in person but naaah. The chrome bars in the front and back look tacky. SSR didnt even work. The spokeperson was unable to close the roof after several attemps. Who would spend 45 grand on that thing anyway?? The Bel Air was nice looking from the back, then I saw the front and asked myself wtf. Didnt appeal to me or for that many anybody else.
Pontiac: No GTO, pretty disapointed. The new grand prix looks ten times better, but its still a pontiac. The GXP line is nice looking. Personally, I like the titanium color because it was very flat and wasnt very glossy. It gave the car a bigger presence.
Chrysler: Finally got to see the crossfire. WOW. That is one awesome car. Its is a little smaller than I imagined but its stance looks awesome. Everything about the car I like, the interior, the leather color, the wheels, everything. Definitly driving one of them when it comes out. Nothing else here moving on.
Dodge: No new viper, dissapoiting. They had the Power box concept from a few years ago. Nothing special just a big uh. . .box.
Subaru: I like the styling of the new WRX and I really like the sti's. The front looks a whole lot nicer without the bug eye lights. It looks a little more refined and upscale. The sti had a nice set of rims.
Mitsubishi: The Endeavor is much nicer in person than in photos. The car looks droopy and unproportional in pictures but it was very nice looking at the show. Much bigger than I expected too. The interior was basically the same as the 6 just with a small screen at the top of the dash. The back look akward because it didnt match the rest of the cars sharp straight lines. It was round and the lines were curvy.
Volkswagen: Very impressed with the Touareg. Possibly the nicest SUV out there with the exception of the FX45. The interior was the best part. Chrome and red lights were everywhere. Chrome touches were around the windows, doors, handles, buttons, gauges, switches, wood trim. . . Blue and red lights added a nice feel to the atmospheere inside the car. There are three screens, one in the dash, one in the gauges, and one on the roof. Pretty nice. No Phaeton but the did have a beetle convertible. Made me feel queer.
Infiniti: I like the infiniti's a lot more than Lexus's. The FX45 was nice but I expected it to look a little nicer. It was too wagon like and low. The interior is plain and simple. I was a little dissapointed to tell the truth. Q45 and M45 are nice. I dont see what all the hype is about the G35. The interior is ugly plastic all over the place. Felt very cheap.
BMW: The Z4 is awesome. A little small for me but I love the styling. The back lid looks nice and the interior is ok, not up to BMW standards though. The 7 series in montrous. The interior is huge and bulky I didnt like it. The I-drive is a nice idea and all but it needs to looks nicer to be a BMW. While I was there I bought 2 models, a Z4 and a 745i. Skipped right over the 5 series because. . .I have one.
Mercedes: The new S-class looks much better. It reminds me too much of the maybach, which wasnt there unfortunatly, but the s looks very classy. The new E and CLK class looks nice as well. The SL AMG was there, with a tag of 130G. The G wagon is smaller than I imagined, and the interior is so cramped I dont know why anyone would buy it.
Porsche: Turbo always has and always will be awesome. Cayenne, Im not sure about this one. I liked the side and the back but the front was a little weird. It looks exactly how it does in pictures. The chrome accents inside and out were nice, and the dash was nice, but didnt leave me thinking wow.
Ferrari: The 575 IMO is the nicest looking ferrari produced. The 360 was there and looked nice. It was a deep red color and had the hatch open to see the engine. But i kept going back to the 575. .
Ford: No nice fords were there but they did have a SEGWAY Human Transporter in the ford exhibit. It was so sweet. It made no noise and moved so swiftly and easily. You twist the handles to turn and it does a full 360 without moving in any direction it just spins around. The lady driving it when up a ramp and all it was so cool. I want one, but not for 5 grand.
Prestige Imports: A huge dealer in Maryland of exotic cars had a display. They brought a few Diablos, a panoz, an aston martin DB7, bentley and a T-rex. The Diablos were nice, Ive seen them before. Looks like a bitch to drive though there no back windown and the windsheild isnt even a foot tall. The panoz was blah. The aston was nice, but blah. The bently, blah. The T-rex, bl-no wait the T-rex was awesome. For those of you who don't know, the T-rex is a small motorcyle type car with two front prowler type wheels and 1 back wheel. It has no windows, doors, or anything else for that matter. And for 50 grand it cost as much as my BMW, but theres no truck, 2 barely there seats, no AC, no radio, no anything. But i bet the BMW is as fun.
Thats about it Im sure I forgot to talk about a lot of cars but o well. If anybody else has been to and autoshow lately share your opinions. Overal the show was pretty interesting. Had more cars than I expected, but not the one's I hoped for. Biggest dissapointment was the lack of an enzo, a murcielago, a vanquish, a GTO, and of course an RX-8. Show ends sunday if your in the area check it out.
Mazda: Very dissapointing. NO RX-8's! With the exeption of the hummer and Mini cooper stands, Mazda had the smallest section. There were a few nice cars though. There were 3 6's, although none of them had the styling add ons. A miata and a few pickups and tributes were there, nothing special. I did like the mazdaspeed protege, especially the color, the bright orange one. Highlight of the mazda display was a large plasma screen with a looped video of 4 rx-8's driving at leguna seca. I think the movie was recently posted in the multimedia section.
Nissan: Hate to say it but the display was much nicer than mazda's. 2 350Z's were there. I dont like the styling as much as I did when they first came out. The front is ugly, but the side profile looks nice. Interior is very nice but was extremly plasticy. New maxima looks nice except for the giant grill bar. The interior looks very nice it compares in style to a 6. Looked small though. The Titan is much nicer looking in person than in photos. It looks more muscular and the doors are cool how the open a full 180 degrees.
GM: The autonomy concept was there. I believe that is the nicest styled car I have ever seen, even though it doesnt work. The skateboard type engine thing was too. GM had atleast 50 plasma TV's set up around the whole exhibit it was pretty impressive.
Cadillac: LOVE the new XLR. By far the nicest looking convertible at the show. The interior is very nice it didnt feel cheap like most other gm cars do. The SRX was nice looking as well althought the back could use a little work. ESV is ugly, it looks too long.
Chevrolet: The new Malibu is hidious. I thought it would look better in person but naaah. The chrome bars in the front and back look tacky. SSR didnt even work. The spokeperson was unable to close the roof after several attemps. Who would spend 45 grand on that thing anyway?? The Bel Air was nice looking from the back, then I saw the front and asked myself wtf. Didnt appeal to me or for that many anybody else.
Pontiac: No GTO, pretty disapointed. The new grand prix looks ten times better, but its still a pontiac. The GXP line is nice looking. Personally, I like the titanium color because it was very flat and wasnt very glossy. It gave the car a bigger presence.
Chrysler: Finally got to see the crossfire. WOW. That is one awesome car. Its is a little smaller than I imagined but its stance looks awesome. Everything about the car I like, the interior, the leather color, the wheels, everything. Definitly driving one of them when it comes out. Nothing else here moving on.
Dodge: No new viper, dissapoiting. They had the Power box concept from a few years ago. Nothing special just a big uh. . .box.
Subaru: I like the styling of the new WRX and I really like the sti's. The front looks a whole lot nicer without the bug eye lights. It looks a little more refined and upscale. The sti had a nice set of rims.
Mitsubishi: The Endeavor is much nicer in person than in photos. The car looks droopy and unproportional in pictures but it was very nice looking at the show. Much bigger than I expected too. The interior was basically the same as the 6 just with a small screen at the top of the dash. The back look akward because it didnt match the rest of the cars sharp straight lines. It was round and the lines were curvy.
Volkswagen: Very impressed with the Touareg. Possibly the nicest SUV out there with the exception of the FX45. The interior was the best part. Chrome and red lights were everywhere. Chrome touches were around the windows, doors, handles, buttons, gauges, switches, wood trim. . . Blue and red lights added a nice feel to the atmospheere inside the car. There are three screens, one in the dash, one in the gauges, and one on the roof. Pretty nice. No Phaeton but the did have a beetle convertible. Made me feel queer.
Infiniti: I like the infiniti's a lot more than Lexus's. The FX45 was nice but I expected it to look a little nicer. It was too wagon like and low. The interior is plain and simple. I was a little dissapointed to tell the truth. Q45 and M45 are nice. I dont see what all the hype is about the G35. The interior is ugly plastic all over the place. Felt very cheap.
BMW: The Z4 is awesome. A little small for me but I love the styling. The back lid looks nice and the interior is ok, not up to BMW standards though. The 7 series in montrous. The interior is huge and bulky I didnt like it. The I-drive is a nice idea and all but it needs to looks nicer to be a BMW. While I was there I bought 2 models, a Z4 and a 745i. Skipped right over the 5 series because. . .I have one.
Mercedes: The new S-class looks much better. It reminds me too much of the maybach, which wasnt there unfortunatly, but the s looks very classy. The new E and CLK class looks nice as well. The SL AMG was there, with a tag of 130G. The G wagon is smaller than I imagined, and the interior is so cramped I dont know why anyone would buy it.
Porsche: Turbo always has and always will be awesome. Cayenne, Im not sure about this one. I liked the side and the back but the front was a little weird. It looks exactly how it does in pictures. The chrome accents inside and out were nice, and the dash was nice, but didnt leave me thinking wow.
Ferrari: The 575 IMO is the nicest looking ferrari produced. The 360 was there and looked nice. It was a deep red color and had the hatch open to see the engine. But i kept going back to the 575. .
Ford: No nice fords were there but they did have a SEGWAY Human Transporter in the ford exhibit. It was so sweet. It made no noise and moved so swiftly and easily. You twist the handles to turn and it does a full 360 without moving in any direction it just spins around. The lady driving it when up a ramp and all it was so cool. I want one, but not for 5 grand.
Prestige Imports: A huge dealer in Maryland of exotic cars had a display. They brought a few Diablos, a panoz, an aston martin DB7, bentley and a T-rex. The Diablos were nice, Ive seen them before. Looks like a bitch to drive though there no back windown and the windsheild isnt even a foot tall. The panoz was blah. The aston was nice, but blah. The bently, blah. The T-rex, bl-no wait the T-rex was awesome. For those of you who don't know, the T-rex is a small motorcyle type car with two front prowler type wheels and 1 back wheel. It has no windows, doors, or anything else for that matter. And for 50 grand it cost as much as my BMW, but theres no truck, 2 barely there seats, no AC, no radio, no anything. But i bet the BMW is as fun.
Thats about it Im sure I forgot to talk about a lot of cars but o well. If anybody else has been to and autoshow lately share your opinions. Overal the show was pretty interesting. Had more cars than I expected, but not the one's I hoped for. Biggest dissapointment was the lack of an enzo, a murcielago, a vanquish, a GTO, and of course an RX-8. Show ends sunday if your in the area check it out.
)
02-09-2003, 06:17 PM
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Great pictures man. I didnt have the patience to take my camera and get some shots. What did you think of the continental interoir? That was the highlight of the show for me, besides maybe the segway. Anyway thanks for posting. Great show maybe next year we will get a little more from detroit. Every year it seems like the show gets more new cars and concepts than the year before.
02-19-2003, 07:55 PM
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I can't believe you missed the segway!! that was the coolest new thing i've seen in years. But yea the continental got me into designing interiors now I've got a new hobby.
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