Having just left the Sneak Preview Night at the Auto Show, I can report that the LA Auto Show is back in a big way. If you will remember, last year the show was marked by a terrible lack of enthusiasm and participation, from manufacturers, dealers, and the general public. The show suffered from a sense of depression that was palpable and really very troubling. This year the LA show bounced back in a big way. The food was fantastic, the ambience was great, the jazz band was excellent, everyone's mood was better, people were dressed upscale and feeling good, and the car displays were back to previous years' standards. I am going to run down the highs and lows of the show, and remember--this is the only report that counts because this report will tell you what you really need to know.
The best car company at the show was clearly Hyundai. From the Sonata Turbo 2.0T to the new Elantra and Equus, Hyundai looks like a fully functioning carmaker on a huge roll. More than that, their corporate consultants were bright, knowledgeable, understood the product, and were able to answer the questions. You know, I want to digress for a minute and talk about how stupid and how absolutely illiterate many of the corporate suits who work for these car companies are. It is unbelievable the information they don't have and what they are not able to tell you. What's the name of this interior color, sir? I don't know. When will this model be available? We're not sure. Why can't we open the door? Well, it's preproduction. These are the kinds of things that drive real car enthusiasts batty, and they were certainly in evidence at the LA show. I think the most satirical display of this was the Land Rover Evoque that was finally displayed, and the staff there knew nothing about it. They claimed they really didn't notify them and that the models that were there were preproduction, and they couldn't tell you anything about what the final production models would be like, even though most of us have been reading about the Evoque and generally are dialed in about what the car is going to have. And, by the way, the Evoque looked a lot less classy and a lot less stunning in real metal than it does in photographs. The three-door looks small and tinny and overwrought, and the five-door looks just plain unappealing. The interiors of both cars look cheap, and I was surprised they wore the Range Rover label. Land Rover is going to have to do a lot of work with that car before it is ready to come to market, if it is going to come to market in the United States at a price beginning at $45,000.
Other winners at the show included Saab. Saab's 9-5 was an absolutely great-looking car, boring interior design, but still enough to get it by. But the star of the show for Saab was the 9-4X. The car was locked, and once they opened it it was tremendous. The interior room was great, the interior quality was great, a bit above the 9-5, the seats were superb, and it really looked like it had taken a step forward overall, and there will be a naturally aspirated V6 for that car.
Mercedes Benz and the AMG Gold Room was pretty bonkers because this is the world premiere display of the CLS 63 AMG 2012 model. Now, pardon me; I guess I'm a little biased having owned a CLS 55 AMG Presidential Model and a CLS 63 AMG current model, but I am just not bowled over by the new CLS. Here's the story on that car. The original CLS was a groundbreaking car for Mercedes and it was a totally integrated design. The design was so harmonious and so complete. It worked so well. The interior stretched the boundaries of what Mercedes had been doing, creating a whole new class of car. The new CLS is unfortunate in that it does not live up to that moniker. This CLS has the new Mercedes design language over the rear wheel arch, and that, combined with the scallops in the center of the body and the new grille, gives it an overwrought look which many commentators have talked about, and they are absolutely right. This car is brutal, it is effective, but it lacks elegance, and, most of all, it critically lacks coherence in its design, and I was really disappointed to see that. On the other hand, it is not unusual because all of Mercedes' designs under Herr Wagonner are developing this fatal attraction with the ponton rear wheel arches and the squared-off look that just is not appealing in any way whatsoever.
The next big winner of the show was Lotus. Lotus brought their fab five to the show, and I was really surprised. I never thought their concept cars would be that well executed and would be that stunning, and I can tell you as sure as we are standing here today that of those five, the Elan and the Elite are superstars. The Elan is everything a modern 911 should be: spectacular shape, beautiful but simple, beautifully crafted, an absolutely gorgeous shape. It's just an overall fun look that every 911 owner should be drooling over. The Elite is the most beautiful front engine 2+2 GT I have seen since the Maserati GranTurismo debuted in 2008, and it makes the Maserati look like a bread van. It is a spectacular car. Its exterior shape and its interior execution are beyond reproach. Having had a chance to sit in the car, as well, it is absolutely spectacular, and if Lotus is able to produce it, to bring it in at the expected price (Elan $90,000, Elite $150,000), they will have an absolute smash on their hands. The Elite especially deserves another couple of lines of mention because of its absolutely classical beauty and proportions inside and out. By the way, the Elite is my Star of the Show.
Another very surprising car for me was the Audi A7. I did not like the Audi A7 from concept pictures. I thought it looked pretty stupid, and I didn't like the whole idea. Being a CLS owner, I felt that the A7 was kind of a ripoff of the CLS concept but one that really didn't do it justice, and I was totally wrong. The A7 is the most beautiful production-ready car I have sat in this year, and here's why. It features the most gorgeous tan leather, a “true” tan matched off against deep brown carpets and dash, and a deep brown burl wood which had minimal graining and was completely matt. This effect was absolutely spectacular. Along with Audi's normal attention to detail in the rest of the car, it made for a sporty but comfortable driving position which I had not imagined would be possible from this model. So Audi bounced back and hit me in a real good way.
I was disappointed in the Americans. The Cadillacs looked great on the outside, but looked so bad on the inside. Really disappointing.
The biggest surprise of the show by far was the absence of Ferrari and Maserati. What do they think they are doing? We all know that Ferrari is a club. We all know that you have got to have several hundred thousand dollars to join. We all know that Ferrari owners own multiple cars and don't really drive their Ferraris that much, certainly not as daily drivers, but for Ferrari and Maserati to abdicate the Los Angeles Car Show is a critical, sinful omission that they will pay for. With Maserati moving down in price point to between $75-90,000, they will really struggle against others by not showing up at this year's LA Auto Show.
So, to summarize then, it was a great party and a great show, and I'm excited to see the glitz and pizzazz return to LA. Believe me, the women looked like Kim Kardashian knockoffs and the guys looked like Georgio Armani models, and that can't be all bad.
11/18/10
