My annual trip the NYIAS. It's the best we got, so I had to go. I couldn't get off from work, so I had to merge with the weekend masses starting at 11:30 (rather than having an extra hour or two during a weekday). The photos are in alphabetical order rather than the order I shot them because I wandered from booth to booth rather than finishing any one area at a time. If you want to get decent shots, you need to get there early....
Acura LMP
So how
did Acura do? Does anyone care? Do they bother to advertise it like Audi does? Why no hybrids? Why no diesel? Is there a point to this?
Aston Martin DBS Carbon
Very nice, very black, and very outside the main floor. Aston Martin could hardly be said to have ever done better and yet they are still relegated to the lobby.
Aston Martin Rapide
Truly the best-looking of the new high-end luxury sedanettes (I refuse to call them coupes; those would have 2 doors, not 4).
Aston Martin V8 Vantage
My girlfriend pointed out the 1:43 scale car on the dash. Gulf livery for the win, though.
Audi A8
All LED front lights. Too bad they didn't bother to show it off.
Audi R8 Spyder
It's positively amazing how small the R8 really is. To think, they stuffed a V10 in there!
Audi R8 V10
Pure delight.
Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible
The next version will have an exhaust that is so wide and thin that it actually starts to play 'God Save the Queen'.
Bentley Mulsanne
It's positively amazing how giant the Mulsanne really is. To think, they stuffed a W12 in there!
BMW 335is
Probably the toughest competition for the M3 yet.
BMW 550i
Another gigantic vehicle. I reckon it's about as big as the pre-Bangle 7-series, only heavier and less fun to drive.
BMW 550i GT
Without a doubt the worst car BMW has ever released in the modern era. Styling, ergonomics, drive compromise...a failure all around. And the sales will prove that -- technically -- people should have liked the Aztek.
BMW Alpina B7 Allrad
This might be where I was confused about the dual vs. dual-twin (what some incorrectly refer to as 'quad') exhaust.
Cadillac CTS-V coupe
You can stuff whatever engine you like under there, but there's no way you can call that an attractive car. They took a CTS sedan clay model and ran it through a wind tunnel until the back end started stripping away and the exhaust wandered to the middle, then went with that.
Cadillac CTS-V wagon
Another visual failure. Strange that they got the front end so right....
Chevrolet Camaro Hennessey HPE600
Hennessey, a tuner, deserves to be in the lobby. Aston Martin does not.
Chevroley Camaro Hennessey LS9
Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport
Can someone explain why the stripes are on
both sides, when previous special editions only ever had them on
one side? This makes it look like
Adam Ant rather than war paint.
Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1
Ironically, red is not a great color for this car. The specific curves look wrong, the supercharger cover clashes, and the carbon fiber looks out of place. Blue or charcoal, that's it.
Chevrolet Cruze BTCC
No idea why this was here. The Cruze is not marketed as a sporty car
anywhere, nor is the BTCC even popular here. Judging by the lack of people around it, I'm not the only one confused.
Chevrolet Volt
Wait for it...wait for it.... Actually, that's all we've been doing.
Confederate Cycles
Truly some of the most inspired and original bikes out there. If I could afford it, I'd buy one and leave it in my living room as art
Dodge Challenger Hennessey HPE600
Meh. See above.
Dodge Challenger R/T
I forsee disaster with Fiat unless some real thinking goes into how Chrysler runs things. I have a feeling Marchionne is discovering very much the same thing Iaccoca did in 1978: a financially disorganized mess and no product direction. The proof is in the show stand: nothing new, and no salesmen with a clue. Just cute girls in white...like over at Fiat....
Dodge Viper ACR 1:33
I swear, if you saw this in person, those wheels would match the stripes on top, but it was neither magenta nor orange, but a rather decent red. It's amazing what bad lighting can do.
Fiat 500
That's all Fiat had. No other versions, no other vehicles, just these two spinning around uselessly. I think Fiat is heading for failure here as well.
Ford F-350 DeWalt
Keep in mind, DeWalt is another name for "Black & Decker". About as good, too (which isn't very much, for those who are power-tool-inept).
Ford Focus
Actually, I don't care. The US car market is actually the worst in the world. People these days don't even haggle over price, they just take what their given and drive their horrible way off. What's the incentive to bring anything good here? We'll never see the Focus ST/RS/RS500. They know we'll buy whatever they're selling.
Ford Mustang SVT Shelby Cobra GT500
Case in point. ^^ Is this a Shelby or SVT project? A GT500 Cobra or SVT Cobra? With that god-awful interior and a live rear axle, does it matter? The car sucks.
Honda CR-Z
An Insight by any other name.... Please, Honda, don't spit in my ear and tell me it's a gentle summer breeze. We all know you don't do sporty cars here anymore (see: Ford Focus).
Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
This, however, I wager will be far more interesting to own than any Honda hybrid could dream of. With the momentum Hyundai has right now, that may not be a secret for long.
Infiniti Essence
Part G37, part RX-8, all
shrinky-dink. It's not terrible, but it needs work. Too many poorly-intersected curves like the LF-A.
Jaguar XJ-L Supercharged
The black was difficult to get photographed right, but this will actually look far better on the road anyway. It looks poorly proportioned here, but it's really quite nice. The Supersport version should worry Maserati as well.
Kia Forte Coupe
Very cool design, a massive improvement from just a few years ago. They managed to take Honda (Acura) styling cues and make them look good.