Auto Shows (90 Posts)
Starting tomorrow, assuming you're an automotive enthusiast, you'll be swimming in coverage from the Los Angeles Auto Show. We'll have all the latest news on Inside Line, but you can get a preview by following that link and taking a gander at what we already know will be on display at the convention center.
Let's take a quick peak, shall we?
Another Monterey Weekend in the bag, and while it took me over a week to gather and size these images I'm finally able to present them here. I didn't have all the highfalutin camera equipment -- okay, or photography skill -- of Mr. Takahashi when shooting my Weekend activities, but I did capture some cool items, particularly if you're a fan of muscle cars.
Yeah, you won't see as many wire-spoked wheels as in Mark's coverage, but on the plus side you won't see as many wire-spoked wheels as in Mark's coverage (ha!). Enjoy.
I'm fortunate enough to be attending the Monterey Weekend in a few days on the picturesque Monterey Pennisula. This is the weekend when a collection of the country's -- and in many cases, the world's -- best automobiles gather to celebrate their history and heritage.
Every year the schedule of don't-miss automotive activities gets more tightly packed, meaning unless you've got that cloning thing down you're going to miss something. I'm used to the barrage of parties, car shows and racing action scattered across the pennisula, but now even the auction activity is beyond what a single person can manage (assuming they ignore everything else going on up there).
This is not a complaint, just an observation. The list of dream cars on sale this weekend is pretty astonishing. I've grabbed a random sampling below:
Right now the Mecum classic/collector/musclecar auction in Indiana is taking place. This is the big Kahuna of Mecum's auctions and is claimed to be the world's largest auction. The Mecum auctions are fun to watch for a few reasons. First, they have tons of interesting cars, including some very rare "birds" such as this one-of-only-eight-ever-made, fully-documented 1969 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am convertible.
A Concours d'Elegance is, literally, a "Gathering of Elegance". Or, more specifically a fancy car show held in a scenic locale, chock full of automotive sculpture you might otherwise never see outside of a museum. This particular Concours, held last Sunday in Beverly Hills, CA, was the first-ever Greysone Mansion Concours d'Elegance. It was a helluva debut with a plenty of jaw-dropping classics on display...
Streak broken, had to take a Crown Vic back from the Javits Convention Center. It took videographer Seth Compton dragging me along kicking and screaming, but I finally relented. Bugger.
Now, as I sit here on the 30th floor of my hotel looking out over the Hudson Tidal Estuary, the U.S.S. Intrepid and New Jersey (New York gets better the higher you go), here are some of my highlights from Day 1 of the 2010 New York Auto Show.
You've likely exhausted Dan Pund and Ed Hellwig's coverage of the 2010 Chicago Auto Show over on Straightline, and although the show itself is essentially one giant odd and/or end, here are a few that may have slipped through the cracks.
Kia threw a kegger at the 2010 Chicago Auto Show. I mention this because there really wasn't anything noteworthy at the 2010 Chicago Auto Show besides the revised Ford Edge. And really, wouldn't you rather go to a kegger than a press conference? There's a reason Tau Alpha Beta doesn't go, "Dude's throwing a huge press conference this Saturday. Bring your toga, but not Kelli. She can't handle her 3rd Quarter sales figures."
There was much to lampoon about Chrysler about last week at the Detroit Auto Show. Its sweeping show stand devoted to Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Fiat, Ferrari and Maserati was an extravaganza of random sights and a scarcity of information.
There was no press conference. None of the cars had the typical stands next to them that provided basic information. There was a car shown (the Chrysler-badged Lancia Delta above) without a name, specs or any related signage. There was an electric Fiat 500, but there was no information about its technology -- just a silver box and some wires under the hood and an "Electtrica" license plate they put on during the show.
Oh, but there were babes. And Tiki gods. And a Plum Crazy Challenger. And an upside down Ram. And babes -- next to just about everything. And I say Chrysler might be onto something.
There were a lot of weird and unexplainable things at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show, especially at the Chrysler stand. Allow me to take you on a video tour of them.
James Riswick, Automotive Editor
#NAIAS I started to write this at 9:30 p.m. Monday evening in my lovely hotel room in downtown Detroit (which nevertheless overlooks a parking lot and a strip club) following 11 non-stop hours of roaming Cobo Center and the 2010 Detroit Auto Show. By my final video, I was barely making any sense. "Hyundai Blue Will Concept" became something like "Honda Blue Whale Convent."
So let's keep this simple. Here's some pictures and related thoughts based on Day 1 of the show and my very first trip to the Detroit Auto Show.
#NAIAS: Edmunds.com Editor-in-Chief Karl Brauer is in Detroit, on the floor of Cobo Hall for the North American International Auto Show. His day has been filled with the latest new car introductions, many of which he's captured on video. For your viewing pleasure, we've compiled a series of the big unveilings. Check them out after the jump and look for more to be added as the day progresses.
Three years ago Ford set a new standard for in-car connectivity when it unveiled Sync here at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Co-developed with Microsoft, Sync has since proven successful on several levels. Not only does it make it easier and safer to use MP3 players and phones in the car thanks to accurate voice activation, but it's software-based architecture can be easily upgraded to expand capabilities and keep it up-to-date as new portable devices come on the market.
Ford has continued to add new -- and free -- features to Sync since its launch, including 911 Assist, Vehicle Health Reports, Traffic Directions and Information services. And in the weeks leading up to CES 2010, Ford debuted a flurry of new Sync features: smartphone apps, in-car Wi-Fi and iTunes Tagging for HD Radio. But three years is an eon in the fast-paced world of consumer electronics -- there were no iPhones or apps then, for example -- and at least one other automaker (Kia) is set to launch its own Sync-like UVO system with help from Microsoft.
Ahead of its unveiling to the public tomorrow, Edmunds.com got to preview the next stage in Ford's efforts to offer the most innovative, affordable and easy-to-use in-cabin technology in the auto industry. Called MyFord Touch, it's a new approach to how drivers and passengers interact with their vehicles.
Because it also includes the latest generation of Sync, it provides more ways to integrate portable electronics into a car and a ton of new features. Best of all, most of the services are free. Check out our take after the jump, including an exclusive hands-on video.
After a global tour of Asia, Africa and the Subcontinent, Thoughts from the Curb is back. It's a momentous occasion and one I'll be promoting this week on Regis & Kelly, The View and Wendy Williams. Most importantly, Thoughts has found a new home here on CarPool, the new fangled Edmunds blog currently in its nascient stages that'll continue to evolve into something. I'm excited because we'll be trying new things out, expanding on past enterprises (cough, Face-Off, cough) and seeking feedback from our beloved readers. Be patient, it's a work in progress.
But as such, I'm curious to know what you'd like to see in this blog, which in its most basic sense, is a creative and opinion outlet for our editorial team and a conduit to car fans like yourself. We have our own ideas, but what can this blog provide that the other Edmunds blogs do not? What features have you liked in the past on the other blogs that we can tweak or expand upon? Are there features from other sites we can improve upon or at least oh-so-subtlely copy? Please, help us out here.
And now, onto your regularly scheduled Thoughts from the Curb ...
Don't think of the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics Concept as just another fanciful design exercise. There is real potential here regarding the technologies utilized to produce performance and save fuel. It provides the promise of M3 performance with Prius fuel economy. Now that's a future we can all get behind.
It also looks fantastic -- just look at those taillights -- despite being designed with ultra-efficient aerodynamics in mind. Apparently, your fuel sipper doesn't have to look like a bloody Prius. That too is a future we can all get behind.
Click ahead for the low-down, additional pictures and a video walkaround:
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Karl on Cars: Getting Called up to the (LA) Auto Show
November 16, 2010 3:00 AM
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Karl on Cars: When Auctions Attack! Managing the Monterey Weekend
August 10, 2010 3:00 AM
Dream Car Corner: Mecum's Candy Store Auction
May 20, 2010 11:40 AM
Dream Car Corner: Greystone Concours d'Elegance
April 15, 2010 11:07 AM
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