Orange County?

 

Glad you guys like the smoothie picture. :smile: I just got home from the third and final day; I'll get to work on sorting through all of the pictures tomorrow.

Mark

 

Thanks for the great pics and information. Great job covering the show.

 

oops - yea my bad

Final Thoughts
This year seemed to mark a polarization in the industry. On one hand there are long-hooded short-trunk swoopy sexy sports cars that have great appeal. On the other hand are funky utility crossover vehicles that further blur the lines between car and truck. fun-sexy-desirable versus ultra-practical utility. Sometimes there are exceptions where something practical is also fun (like the Dodge Magnum, or even the MINI). There isn't really any excuse anymore why a manufacturer can't make a vehicle that's practical and fun.

...which brings me to my next point; vehicular duds this show. The Ford Fusion is boring. It may not be offensive, but it's cautious and unexciting, and is not going to make anyone salivate to own one. With stiff competition like the Altima SE-R and Mazda6 (the latter which is based on the same platform!), the Fusion meekly sneaks into the market with nary a spalsh of enthusiasm. Also, the Mitsu Eclipse is just awful looking, no matter how you slice it. How manufacturers think they can survive on poor and/or boring styling is embarrasing for them, and frustrating for us enthusiasts. In what is becoming such a crowded, hyper-segmented marketplace, there's no room for anything less than a knockout to survive.

GM revitalized the Saturn brand with the Aura and Sky, Chevrolet with the Z-06, and Cadillac with the STS-V. Dodge captures the essence of NASCAR and its' fans with the Charger, and cranked up the already-awesome Magnum with the SRT-8. Mazda adds another healthy dose of "zoom-zoom" with the subtle styled but awesomely executed Mazdaspeed6. With awesome cars like that, some other brands not only need to play catch up, but throw down a trump to stay competitive.

May the best styled, most fun vehicle win!

 

I wish the industry would get off this stupid kick of calling station wagons "crossover-utility vehicle" cause garbagemen are not 'sanitation engineers'
I am stunned by the rebirth of the American 'box', the big sedans like the mercedes 300, yeah yeah I know its marketted by 'chrysler'; and the ford 500.
the smart 4/4 and 4/2 are certainly interesting, but would never last here in the land of potholes and monster trucks.
I still laugh when I overhear people wonder how safe the MINI is in a crash, and laugh even harder, when they stare in disbelief ; as I explain how you're safer in the MINI than in an F150.

 

Here's a non-smoothie-related shot from the MINI booth.

Mark

 

Mark - that picture RULES!

 

sweet pic mark!

 

Thanks, guys!

Mark

 

sweet pic of the MINI up front. MINI has a sweet booth. DJ plays music, JCW, 3 ragtops, and most of the colors.
I am bummed that MINI still doesn't have a neutral position for the mirror switch. Reverse 'felt' much easier to engage. will try to post some pics, later.
On another note: anyone know the manufacturer for the JCW brake package? I noticed TRW stamped on the back of a pad, but they might only make the pads.
And one final note: I take back what I said about those c-smart cars, the doors felt flimsy, the seats were not that comfy, and interior gage positions were, well...just blah.

 

Pretty sure MotoringFile said its a Brembo kit.....

 

Okay, I've got more NAIAS pictures up; they're here.

Mark

 

Thanks Mark, great pics. I'd go but I'd have to share the floor with the unwashed masses and I wouldn't get to schmooze with Ron!

 

WOW! Thanks Mark...

Those are the first "real-life" pictures that anyone's seen of MINIs with the new 17" Web-Spoke wheels installed on them.

Awesome!

 

Mark, really great pictures. Thank you. Are they showing the Smart vehicles as production (USA) ready? Is the Soltice being shown as a production version or still a concept? Could you get in it?

 

Great pics Mark Thanks for sharing

 

smart is "testing the waters" for U.S.A. import. The Roadster really piques my interest, being an inexpensive non-racetrack version of the Elise.

Yes, the Pontiac Solstice and the mini-Corvette-looking Saturn Sky are both there in pre-production trim. As a general rule, prototypes and preproduction models do not allow unauthorized booty to be placed in their seats.


Ryan's Show Favorites:
Best Preproduction/Concept: Mercedes-Benz Compact Sports Tourer Vision B. This small crossover hatchback is fun, aggressively styled, and has one of the most innovative uses of materials for the interior. If Merc doesn't screw the car up for production, It'll be one of the first M-B's in a long time that can truely be desireable for an enthusiast.
Best Production vehicle: (TIE) Chrysler 300C SRT-8 and Porsche Boxster S. While the Boxster wasn't debuted here at the NAIAS, it's still new enough to qualify. It's new styling has hints of 550 Spyder, without being trendy retro. The 300C SRT-8 looks powerful, with subtle enhancements to an already very appealing vehicle. The Boxster wins more for it's fabulous interior, whereas the 300C SRT-8 wins more for it's bold exterior.
Best V.I.P. treatment: Rolls-Royce. Their small exterior display is modest and functional while being luxurious and becoming of prestige. The VIP section extends this excellent aura, however adding minimalist yet upscale touches - a personal espresso bar, a full lineup of color and material swatches to configure your own Phantom, and customer service unparalled by anyone else at the show. Two big thumbs up for the Royal Treatment!
Best Exotic: Ferrari F430. In a word: WOW. Beautiful from every angle, craftsmanship beyond my expectations, and the performance numbers to back it all up. A bit extravagant for my tastes, but much more comfortable to sit in, as well as ingress and egress than the rival Lambo Gallardo. Get on the waiting list and add another piggy bank. Oh, order that enclosed trailer to bring it to the tra....car shows with

 

http://outmotoring.com/photos/2005_d...ini/index1.htm

 

It's uglier than SYN.

A friend showed me a side view of this concept in the paper before the show, and my first question was, "Is there a big ol' ships-wheel combination lock, too?" and he said, "Uh...yeah...How did you know?". So I asked, "Probably bullet-proof glass, too?" "Did you already read the paper?" "Nope, but it's pretty easy to guess since it looks like a little Brinks truck"

Silly!

DREW

 

Well look at edmunds and look what they say "Looking like a Mothra-sized Mini from the outside"_edmunds. heres the article http://autoshow.aolsvc.edmunds.com/n...ow..leftnav.23.*

 

If I had not been warned about the Mothra-sized MINI by some of the folks that got to go to the vendor portion of the show, I might have actually fallen down when I saw it b/c while it was in the Infiniti area, it was right across from the MINI area and I was afraid that MINI had made it as a concept car and it would have been against everything that MINI stands for. That said, the interior of the Infiniti was very beautiful albeit a bit stuffy.

We all just kind of chuckled at the new Eclipse b/c we couldn't believe how ugly they had made it. And what was worse at the Mitsu booth was that they tried to play it up so much that I think they played down most of their other cars like the EVO. My hubby has an Evo, so he was interested in looking at the new MR. They picked the most boring color (gray) of Evo they could. I actually was actually standing right next to it when I was trying to find the Evo's and it took me a minute to realize that I was in fact standing right next to it. I guess in Mitsu's defense, I am used to looking at a bright yellow one so most other colors just kind of blend into the background, but this is the NAIAS. No rally car should be blending into the background!

I was a bit disappointed at the MINI booth b/c I really wanted a bag with MINI on it but they said that their info was so small they didn't have any so we wound up carrying a Scion bag around

 

I had to attend the show on the "public's" opening day. In spite of the crowds, it's always fun to attend. It was at last year's show, in fact, that I decided to finally order a MINI!

I was a little dissapointed this year, though. There didn't seem to be any new "it" cars or ideas. Some random thoughts: 1) Don't be too hard on Ford - the new Mustang is a pretty neat package; 2) Little and inexpensive cars - I was impressed by the Scion, and to lesser degrees Suzuki and Hyundai - I expect $30K to $40K cars (let alone $50K plus cars!) to be nice, but to think that a brand new and decent enough car can be had for $10K to $15K is amazing to me; 3) Smart cars - the little ones won't do well in the US, but the larger "Four" might well find a niche, depending on final price; 4) Cross-Over vehicles - my prediction - they're the El Camino/Rancheros of the future - you know, not really useful for anything!

 

Can someone post a pic or two of this one? Thanks.

 

The one on the left - nose is similar to R-class in foreground:



and the fabulous interior: