NY Auto show(long, a few rants)

[Dan Simoes]

Sorry I couldn't make it - family duties kept me from attending.

> -Mini.  People just couldn't get enough.  They had a Cooper S up on a
> platform about 10-20 feet up, and it was obvious why; you couldn't
> see any more than about 2 feet of the Cooper+Cooper S on the floor
> because there were just so many people.

The Cooper S is the one to get.  Still, safety should be a concern given
its small size.

> -Land Rover.  Okay, so you're the last company on the planet to make
> a mini-ute(pathetic for a company like LR), and you made the other
> two SUVs you sell more boxy with stupid looking headlights.  Big
> whoop de doo.

I think the Freelander predates a lot of the cute-utes out there.  You
forget that this came out in Europe years ago, as usual the US gets the
tail end of anything decent.

> -Mitsubishi.  There was an Evo there, but it was locked.

You forget that a lot of kids will swipe things from show cars, so they
tend to lock expensive or rare cars.  I sat in the Evo at the press
preview, and the seats are so narrow that I barely fit in them, and I'm
not all that wide.  Still, if this car comes in at under 30k, you're
looking at a reasonable clone of a sport quattro.

> -VW(GTI was on a rotating platform so high you couldn't even see into
> the interior.  It's not even remotely pricey, guys...you could have
> afforded to write one off, and at the very least, you could have made
> it less than 4 feet off the ground.

Actually, what you saw was the 337, a limited edition release of 1500
cars, so it was in fact rare.

> -BMW.

You missed mention of the concept convertible, which is actually a
glimpse at the upcoming 1-series.

Nissan had the new Z, which is a stunning car.  The new Terrano SUV
looks interesting.  Infiniti's cars are pleasantly aggressive, compared
to the bland Lexus.  Mazda had some "zoom zoom" too with the new "6"
(626 replacement) in sedan and wagon form, and the RX8 looks like a
great little car too.

Subaru had the WRX in sedan and wagon as expected, as well as an actual
pro rally (production class I think) up on a platform.  No mention of
the upcoming STI yet, at least not at the show.

Lots of cool looking quasi-wagons are coming out, which is refreshing if
you have kids.

Audi is thrilling me less and less over the years. The TT is the only
thing that really is a must-have, although the new A4 is quite nice, but
overpriced and underequipped for my tastes.

Oh, Saturn had a nice ripoff of the TT cabrio, imitation, flattery,
bygones.

| Dan |