[Timgt5]

Yesterday I went to the International Auto Expo in Raleigh, NC and dragged my poor wife with me ( I know all you ladies who read this are rolling your collective eyes) When it comes to these things I go from 40 to 6 years old, a kid in a candy store! Here are some of my impressions:

2010 Ford Taurus: Well done! With a dash of Japanese upscale design cues, melded nicely with traditional American Family car lines, this full size sedan looks ready to take on the Toyota Avalon and Buick Lucerne. The Interior looks very upscale and well laid out. Nice fit and finish. The twin cockpit look of the Mustang caries over into this car. I recently read remarks by the head of the Taurus program that stated that traditional sedans are evolving into personal luxury/sporty vehicles and that the crossovers are becoming the new traditional “family car”

2010 Ford Mustang: Slick update of the current model, much prettier than the previous design and far better materials.

2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid: Very impressive, a full size family car that rates 41 MPG in town and 35 MPG on the highway. It can run up to 47 miles per hour on electric power alone before the gasoline engine kicks in. Great application of the technology and proof that getting high gas mileage does not mean having to give up size and comfort.

Ford Flex: A rather unique and cool take on the family wagon. Very roomy and highly functional with low step in height, The Flex is the first car to make boxy look interesting, the design is ripe for a lot of custom treatment.

2010 Chevy Camaro: Wow!!! A real stunner that combines the shape of the original car from the late 60’s with up to date proportions and advanced technology. The car on display was “Bumblebee Yellow” and the finish was beautiful. This is going to be a great return for GM’s pony car!!

2010 Buick Lacrosse: The side profile is a shameless rip-off of the Lexus ES 350, but the front is all Buick. The whole affair looks great with the 18 inch alloys. The car comes with a direct-injected 3.0L V-6 packing 260 HP and optional 280HP 3.6L V-6 is available.

Corvette ZR1: 600 plus HP, 200 Mph, 0-60-3.5 Seconds, 25 mpg to boot in a word Awwwwwwesoommme!

GM Lambda triplets: Saturn Outlook, Buick Enclave, Chevy Transverse. Nice Crossovers with huge interiors, lots of standard features and modern drive trains. GM made a smart move getting out of minivan business and going this direction. Say hello to all three as we say good bye to Trailblazer and GMC Envoy, the primitive truck based vehicles they will replace.

GM Hybrids: GM made a conspicuous effort to show off its many Hybrid cars, including the Malibu, Aura, Vue and Escalade Hybrid. Overall good showing for GM in the green car category, no Volt on display…L

Dodge Challenger: An updated take on the big personal coupe of seventies. Roomy with a nice shape and potent V-8 engine.

2010 Toyota Venza: Basically a raised Camry with a hatchback body style. The interior was lovely but I could do without the ugly grill. I believe vehicles like this however will become the standard family car of the future (see above the Taurus project head I think is right about this). I would not be surprised to see similar vehicles coming soon from Honda, Nissan, and GM. The closest competitor to this car right now is the Ford Edge.

2010: Mazda 6: A real stunner in the family sedan class, with eloquent lines, lots of room and beautifully sculpted interior.

2010 Honda Insight: The first full hybrid that can actually make up the upfront $$$ spent with the added gas mileage. It looks a bit like a cuter Prius at first but has its own thing going. The interior finish is quite nice but the layout is a bit strange. Starting at 18K and rated at 43MPG.

Mazda 5: This is a nice little compact microvan that can seat up to six while taking up the same parking spot as a regular compact car.

Mazda CX7: Proof that if you need cargo space you do not have to drive something that is shaped like a shoebox. The CX7 is first Crossover/SUV that could actually be called sexy.

Exotics: On display were a few dream cars, such as the Ferrari F430 roadster (Drool…) The Porsche 911 and The Aston Martin DB9( Cue James Bond Music here) The Aston is one of those cars that could make the geekiest person on earth look cool if it were parked next to him or her (it has THAT Much Charisma!)

Some Disappointments:

Mazda 3: The car itself is sleek and beautifully finished, but the interior felt a bit too closed in for my taste. It is too bad really because it has best engine and suspension in the compact class.

Acura TL: Slick profile and gorgeous interior with a stellar drive train (305 Hp with AWD) ruined by Acura’s hideous new front grill ( Someone really needs to fire the designer on that one along with the designer responsible for the nose on the Venza, see above)

No Volkswagens, I was looking forward to seeing the super fuel efficient Jetta Diesel and the beautiful Passat CC

In addition to all the new stuff there were some other cool displays, such has highway patrol cars from different eras and a collection of locally owned classic cars from the 50s-60s and 70's

[cantstopcrying]

If you really want to feel like a kid, you'll have to make the trip to Detroit some January for the North American International Auto Show. This one beats all others. I LOVED the Camaro. It is beyond beautiful. I saw it at the NAIAS a few years ago as a concept car and they had people go online to vote whether it should become production or stay concept. I doubt there were any votes to stay concept!!

[Timgt5]

I actually catch video of the Detroit show every year as well as the NY, LA , Toyko and Geneva shows. The Tokyo is the most fun because the Japanese companies get to show off some really wacky concept and production cars you will never see here in the US. I get a big laugh out of all of them.

The Camaro is a done deal, your Chevy dealer will start taking orders this May for 2010. The two Coupes will have V6 as the base engine with a healthy 300 Hp (same DI engine as in the Caddy CTS) and a 425Hp V8 as the uplevel model. The Convertable will follow next year. This is going to be a big hit.

[cantstopcrying]

Makes me wish I was 16 again!!