Place: Taco Time
Lunch (no...dinner): Crispy taco (no tomato), crispy chicken burrito, cheddar fries, Coke
It's Auto Show weekend again. As longtime readers know, the normal routine is to get up at 4, drive to the Twin Cities, have White Castle for breakfast, and head to the convention center. But this year I headed up the night before with the intention of sleeping in. That didn't work out so well. I was up at 4 anyway. How my internal clock knew it was Auto Show day I'll never know.
So I had my White Castle breakfast early and went back to the hotel and dozed. Which probably still was better than wandering around the show floor after an early four-hour drive.
Side note to those who have previously recommended Potbelly Sandwich Works to me...I had dinner there last night. You're all wrong. Very very wrong. More wrong than you were with your first marriage wrong. Lousy sandwich, particularly the bread. Lousy staff. The interior decor and the two-story facade was pretty impressive, though. All style, no substance.
I got to the show about ten minutes before opening. There were two (really long) lines...one to buy tickets, and one to get in after you bought tickets. The line to get in took me into areas of the convention center I've never been in before. I'd never seen lines like this, but several of us discussing the issue figured out it was because they limited the show to one entrance this year. Anyway, things moved quickly and we were all in ten minutes after opening.
So what's new and noteworthy this year?
Ford Escape - Ford's all-new second generation 2013 Escape (the current body design was just a restyle of the original platform) was here, but not accessible. Still, people were keenly interested. The original really set the tone for the future CUV market and has been one of Ford's biggest sellers, and the new one is a radical redesign. Unless you're comparing it to the Nissan Rogue or Hyundai Tucson, because it looks just like those. Ironic, I know. Now it's Toyota's turn to play catch-up. The RAV4 is seriously long in the tooth.
Mazda CX-5 - This replaces the Mazda Tribute, which was basically a re-badged Ford Escape. Mazda claims the CX-5 uses their "SkyActiv" engine technology, an efficient design that leads to "better hwy MPG than any SUV, including hybrid". Sits nice, but looks and feels pretty ordinary.
Mini Cooper Coupe - So why didn't they just call this a "Mini Couper"? HA HA HA HA HA! Really liked the two-tone black-and-white interior styling.
Volkswagen Beetle - My first car was a black '74 Super Beetle with red vinyl seats. When VW displayed the all-new 2012 Beetle last year, one of the first they showed was a black turbo with black and red leather seats. And a cool three-pod instrument cluster on the dash. I wanted one immediately. One with the turbo engine, all the features, and a six-speed manual transmission. So did a lot of VW fans. Flash forward to today. The new Bug has been on dealer lots for a few months, and almost none of them have have manual transmissions or anything close to the configuration of that launch show car. Those who have bought what's available are complaining about the usual VW quality issues that are completely inexcusable in today's market. VW continues to do everything they can to alienate their core fan base.
But this was my first chance to sit in one, and I liked it. A lot.
Volkswagen Touraeg - A car this expensive should have keyless push-button start, not some goofy fancy plastic key you have to insert. Idiots.
Volkswagen Tiguan - The Tig got a style refresh that improved the exterior and a re-programmed transmission that improves gas mileage. The leather seats are very nice in this. And, unlike the Touraeg, you CAN get this with keyless push-button start.
Volkswagen GTI - Oh wow. Classic GTI logo. Classic cloth seats with retro plaid inserts. And four doors. Wait...what?
Audi Q5 - No ignition, and no dedicated start switch that I could find. Wonder how that works. Also couldn't figure out how to adjust the steering wheel. Might be a programmable command in the digital controls.
Porsche Panamera - Porsche now has a four-door sedan. It's huge and grand and you can sit relatively comfortable in the back., but it's not the easiest to get in and out of. It rides low in a way that reminds me of the Ford Pinto.
Porsche Cayenne - The Touraeg's sister has the same stupid ignition switch and more buttons in the center console than a Chevy Traverse. More on that later.
Infiniti FX35 - I rented one of these last year and, while there's lots of luxury, there's also lots of shared Nissan parts. The overhead console with the dome lights, sunglasses holder, and sunroof controls is the exact same unit in my Rogue. So are the window and lock controls. So when driving it, it felt a lot like driving my Nissan. Except it felt way bigger and way heavier and way less efficient, even though it's really not that much bigger. Plus I hate the analog clock, and the instrument lighting was a near exact replica of Hyundai's. Who would spend the money on this over, say, a Murano?
Infinity EX - The smaller luxury crossover. Felt cramped and had the same styling issues I noted for the FX35.
Lexus - Lexus brought its limited edition supercar, the LFA. It has a 552hp V10, goes from 0-60 in 3.6 seconds, has a top speed of 202mph, and only weighs around 3000 pounds thanks to extensive use of carbon fiber in the body. They're only making 500 of them. Grab your check book and write out "$375,000" before they're gone.
Scion iQ - Scion has a Smart car knockoff now. Center console has dials stacked like the Mitsubishi electric car. I started my own personal Auto Show game while sitting in it by keeping track of the number of deep Minnesota accents saying "Oh it's so TINY".
Some random guy on the floor..."Where's Saab? I was told Saab would be back this year." Dude, Saab is DONE. Out of business. Over. Fin.
Fiat - Fiat brought pretty much everything they had...the 500 Pop, 500 Sport, 500c, 500c Gucci Edition, and forthcoming 500 Abarth (pronounced "uh-bart" according to Cute Showgirl Model). It would have been awesome if they brought 500 500's, but not terribly practical. They made up for this by offering test drives. AT THE SHOW. You BET I did.
The tester was a 500 Sport. The test drive route, which went from the back of the convention center around the property, down to I-94, then winding back, was a pretty good mix of winding roads and freeway. The ride was great and did nothing to dissuade my desire to have one of these. Regular driving mode was fine, but pushing the sport button not only changed the transmission to perform more hot, it actually tightened steering. You could actually feel steering response tighten up. MOST impressive. The Fiat Sales Girl in the passenger seat kept trying to show me color options on her iPad. WHILE I'M DRIVING.
Kia - The big showcase for Kia on their turntable? The Sorento! Which looks unchanged from the Sorento we've had for the past couple of years already. They did have a really cool custom (not for sale) Blake Griffin model Optima there, complete with a cutout Blake Griffin. Some old guy..."Who's Blake Griffin?"
Hyundai - Hyundai's big showcase was the new Equus full-size luxury sedan. The name reminded me of the Dos Equis guy. "I don't always drive cars. But when I do, I sure as hell don't drive Hyundais." They were also showcasing the hybrid Elantra, which seemed like a nice enough car.
Subaru - Subaru was also offering test drives. Which is about as exciting as it got for them.
GM - I didn't pay all that much attention, but the focus vehicle seemed to be the new Sonic. I didn't even see a Volt, but I may have missed it. They had the refreshed 2013 GMC Acadia, which now has a front end that looks more like the Terrain's. I recently had its sister vehicle, the Chevrolet Traverse, as a rental. What a ridiculous vehicle. It doesn't handle any better than the Tahoe. It has some of the worst rear visibility I've ever experienced (thankfully compensated for with a rear view camera mounted in the rear view mirror AND a beeping warning sensor). The center stack has no less than 49 buttons or toggles, four just for the trip computer. The instrument cluster...almost unreadable when driving into a sunset...has two chrome-trimmed pods shaped like sad puppy eyes. Who wants to drive around in a vehicle with sad puppy eyes staring back at you all the time?
Nissan - The big showcase for Nissan was their new commercial truck division. Full size vans and panel trucks that can be converted into anything from standard delivery vehicles to ambulances. With Nissan's build quality and reliability record, companies should be taking a serious look at these.
Car-wise, not much to report. We should get a new Altima next year, and maybe a new Rogue. The Leaf was here again and was as popular as it was last year. Have you ever seen Nissan's minivan? It's so UGLY. It's as if the designers were thinking "You suck for driving a minivan, so we're going to punish you by making the ugliest minivan possible".
Three hours later, that's about it.
Guess I'll go enjoy the sunshine.
Did I mention it's 65 degrees and sunny out?
Not bad for a Minnesota winter.
