Dallas Auto Show highs & lows

[trickyrix]

Went to the big show today and saw some cool cars along with some duds (OTM only, of course, because we all know how great our Mazdas are - duh)...

Thumbs Up:

Corvette ZR1 - Wow... I mean... that's a whole lot of car for your $100K. I especially liked the vertical stripped/cutaway display!

Pontiac Solstice Coupe - Surprisingly slick-looking. Usable storage behind the seats, and it's a targa (with an optional soft/folding top that you can take with you, allegedly).

Nissan GTR - Brutal looking, mostly in a good way. And after reading the writeup in Road & Track this month, I have to say that I'm impressed.

Porsche Cayman - Yeah, I know they've been out a while, but that's a really sporting car that also seems really practical. I'm not shitting you when I say you could fit a nice-sized Igloo cooler in the front trunk.

Nissan Maxima - Damn nice looking 4-door sedan. I think they're bringing back the whole 4DSC (4 Door Sports Car) theme. Too bad it's FWD, but then I guess it would just be a G35 clone.

BMW 135i - It's a little pricey, but it's a tight little package and it looks darn nice in person - chunky and aggressive. But they might as well just go ahead and put a shelf where the "back seat" is. Maybe there's a back seat delete option?

Thumbs Down:

Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky Convertible - It really is the New Fiero. Where, exactly, would one put luggage, or even a backpack, in this thing? No access to the rear trunk well except when you pop it up to stow the top. And when said top is stowed, it takes up the enter effing well! This, friends, is a remarkable feat of engineering.

smart car - I hate to bag on it because I know someone here has one, but here's my experience: We walk up to it and some guy is trying to open the "hood" on the front. Obviously, it won't open, but he somehow managed to pull it clean off the car without trying terribly hard. Amazing. It was funny to watch the smart team spring into action to try and fix this little problem while everyone was looking on. Then I sat in it and all I could think was "my feet are resting on the backside of the front bumper. Ouch. I'm out (but I'm still curious to see how it drives). Besides, I'll bet money that it doesn't get any better gas mileage than a Mini.

Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep - First off, I didn't see a sign of the Challenger. Second, the whole display for all three marques was set up back by the Classic Corvette Corral - pitiful. Finally, they brought back the Chrysler Imperial Concept - if Kia made a Bentley knockoff, this is what it would look like.

Anyhow, it was a good time - here are a few pics...

[MadMonkey]

First off, I didn't see a sign of the Challenger.

I saw it in Ft. Worth

[XM_Rocks]

You didnt see the Challenger?

It was there... try going sober next time.

My pics of it...

[trickyrix]

You didnt see the Challenger?

It was there... try going sober next time.

Lemme see here... hmmm... Chrysler Corp's Big Buzz Car stashed at the back between a Caliber and a friggin Sprinter??? Maybe if I had been drunk and wandering aimlessly through the Chrysler display, looking for a place to pee, I might've seen it.

Good times anyhow... nice pix too!

[TheChadVIII]

I got sick on Scion mint things.

[MadMerv]

Wow, them's some HUGE brakes on the ZR1! I think the Solstice coupe is VERY nice. As for the Challenger, you could have gotten some better shots of the model..........

[XM_Rocks]

Lemme see here... hmmm... Chrysler Corp's Big Buzz Car stashed at the back between a Caliber and a friggin Sprinter??? Maybe if I had been drunk and wandering aimlessly through the Chrysler display, looking for a place to pee, I might've seen it.

Yeah... in the background a Jeep Liberty got a bigger platform.

I'll post some more pics tonight and my highs and lows.

[Miatamaniac92]

you could have gotten some better shots of the model..........

+1

I'd love to see that Skyline though.

Chris

[XM_Rocks]

+1

I'd love to see that Skyline though.

Chris

I got a few good shots at home I will post up tonight.

[black roadster]

Please tell me the Challenger looks better in person. The photos are good but the car just looks "meh" to me.

Maybe it just needs an orange paint job, a Dixie flag on the roof and 01 on the doors.

My reaction was kind of like the dude in the green jacket in the first photo.

[cam76034]

Please tell me the Challenger looks better in person. The photos are good but the car just looks "meh" to me.

Maybe it just needs an orange paint job, a Dixie flag on the roof and 01 on the doors.

My reaction was kind of like the dude in the green jacket in the first photo.

Heh, I went back and looked...he's like "whatever".

[altiain]

My wife and I managed to make it to the auto show Saturday night for a couple of hours. Here are some of my takes:

Corvette ZR-1 - Sure, it's an impressive car, but it looks like it was designed for a starring role in The Fast and the Furious. Between the see-through panel on the hood, the exposed carbon fiber of the B pillar and the chrome wheels, this takes the cake as the world's tackiest supercar. It really looked like the designers sat down and said, "Okay, the kids like carbon fiber. What part can we make carbon fiber? How 'bout the B pillar? Check. Oh, and we've got some polycarbonate lying around... maybe for the the back window? The hood? Even better! Now, where is that chrome plating machine?" Meh.

Nissan GTR - This is more my style. Much more compact in real life than it looks in photos, and all business. A somewhat menacing looking car. No chrome or carbon fiber or see-through plastic needed to make this car stand out. I'd buy one tomorrow if I won the lottery.

Audi R8 - And I'd park it right next to one of these. The R8 is one sexy looking car in the flesh. Beautiful inside and out. Note to GM: this is how to do exposed carbon fiber tastefully.

Quick note on the whole Audi lineup - Audi probably had one of the most enthusiast-centric areas, with displays of the R8, an S5 (nice looking, but kinda bland), S8, S4, and an RS-4... ragtop! I didn't even know they made these! Pretty cool.

Subaru Impreza WRX STI - The new one really doesn't do anything for me. It might have been better in some other color (the one at the auto show was red, which idn't work for me on the hatchback body), but I just couldn't warm up to the looks of this one. I couldn't find a comfortable seating position in it, either.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X - By contrast, I liked this car much better in the flesh than I have in magazine photos. Like the GTR, this is a car that looks smaller in real life than in print. Front seats were awesome, driving position was good, plenty of space for four real adults, and the interior is light years ahead of the Evo IX. This felt like it would be a really good car, but I'm curious how the driving dynamics will be with 300 pounds of weight gain over the previous car.

Mitsu also had a cool display, with several old competition cars, including an old Dakar 2-door Montero and a hopped up Starion race car. Cool.

Lexus IS-F - In a stealthy color like silver, black, or white, this could be the ultimate Q ship. 414 hp, Lexus reliability, and good looks to boot. Still not a fan of the stacked exhaust pipes, but they're better in person. What's not to like? Center console is a little chintzy, and no third pedal. Still, I was genuinely surprised to hear my wife say that she really liked both the IS-F and it's more realistic cousin, the IS350.

Pontiac Solstice Coupe - A very sexy looking coupe for less than thirty grand, even with the hot rod engine. Interior still looks like it was cobbled together form a parts bin and the ergonomics still suck, but a much more convincing car than the roadster, imho.

Porsche Cayman - This one disappointed me, to be honest. I sat in the yellow Cayman, and the seat slider ratchet was all jacked up! Okay, I understand that 60 bazillion people had sat in it before me, but it was the only car in the auto show that I sat in that had something broken. Door also sounded pretty tinny when I closed it.

BMW 1 Series - This looks like a fun car for the money. Not necessarily the best equipped nor the most practical (the back seat is kinda small, and the option spec is kind plain for the price), but the controls and driving position are spot on, with a nice, hefty steering wheel and good seats. I could really see flinging this car down some back roads. Maybe not the Ultimate Driving Machine, but a great driver's car for the price. The press has been hailing this car as the modern interpretation of the 2002, but I'd say it's more an updated take on the E36 M3. That's a good thing.

Dodge Challenger - Didn't care, didn't look for it. Sorry.

[CosmosMpower]

I thought it was better than the last few years. I was impressed by the R8, S5, 135, new M3, AM DBS, ZR1 and the Skyline looks much better in person even though it's HUGE and those 4" quad exhaust tips looked ridiculous.

The Porsche display was dissapointing with no GT3(RS)/GT2 and the Turbo was a cab and roped off.

I thought the new Evo and STi were both horrible. Ugly, cheap plastic interior (even worse than previous generation), and 16 MPG city to boot for 36 grand each!

[Titus]

The Porsche display was dissapointing with no GT3(RS)

If you want to see a GT3 RS, just head over to Park Place Porsche.

[CosmosMpower]

If you want to see a GT3 RS, just head over to Park Place Porsche.

Only 50K over sticker, what a steal!

[driftdevil]

Maybe it just needs an orange paint job, a Dixie flag on the roof and 01 on the doors.

First it needs to be a charger to do the orange and dixie flag. And yes it is bad ass. The only thing is that I'd wait till the 09 model so you can get it with a 6-speed.

[Rogue]

I opted to go to a much better auto show, but failed to take many pics.
Here are a few:
Jesse James Merc looked 1000 times better in person.
And for Sharpie, another Shortie although the '32 Prison bus was there too.

[miataspeedracer]

I thought it was better than the last few years. I was impressed by the R8, S5, 135, new M3, AM DBS, ZR1 and the Skyline looks much better in person even though it's HUGE and those 4" quad exhaust tips looked ridiculous.

The Porsche display was dissapointing with no GT3(RS)/GT2 and the Turbo was a cab and roped off.

I thought the new Evo and STi were both horrible. Ugly, cheap plastic interior (even worse than previous generation), and 16 MPG city to boot for 36 grand each!

Apparently, WE went to the same car show! I agree with most of these comments. My thoughts:

Overall, the Audi contingent was the most impressive, topped by the stunning R8 and the S6. The RS4 has the world's most perfect steering wheel, btw.

The 135i is sooo sweet. Too bad it's about $5K and 300 lbs. over perfection. But I think it is close to my ideal daily driver.

The Evo and Sti leave me cold.

The Skyline looks...."purposeful" is the best way to describe it. From what I've been reading, an absolute performance bargain at $70K.

The Aston Martins are hands-down the best looking cars around. Honorable mention goes to the new Maserati Coupe.

$47K for a Crown Vic?? WTF?

I don't get the new Mini Clubman. Doesn't seem much more practical than the regular Mini.

All Mercedes Benz SUVs are ridiculous.

Not a single domestic car interests me save the ZO6.

Suzuki is cool, Kia is not.

[CosmosMpower]

Suzuki is cool, Kia is not.

Except Suzuki has what I saw to be the most ridiculous sounding "aftermarket" arm (Mazdaspeed, AMG, SVT etc). I think they call it Suzuki works Techno. The display consisted of some really cheap looking 14"

[Kestrel]

Porsche Cayman - Yeah, I know they've been out a while, but that's a really sporting car that also seems really practical.

Yes, I liked the Cayman too!

I'm not shitting you when I say you could fit a nice-sized Igloo cooler in the front trunk.

Yep, you can get a large cooler in that front trunk, with room left over for a picnic basket to go with it.