So you've taken a break from the extensive coverage of the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show over on Inside Line and Straightline, and found yourself here at CarPool. Funny, so have I. Now, here are five things I'm looking forward to at this year's show.
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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?
![Bullitt Mustang Smoke[1].jpg](http://blogs.edmunds.com/karl/Bullitt%20Mustang%20Smoke%5B1%5D.jpg)
As I'm writing this, I'm looking at a movie ticket with today's (which is yesterday's by the time this goes live) date on it. The movie is Bullitt, starring Steve McQueen, maybe you've heard of it? It's being shown in honor of the 30th anniversary of the King of Cool's passing.
Admittedly, Bullitt isn't one of my favorite car movies, but I certainly think it's worth seeing on the big screen. And that got me thinking, what are my favorite gearhead-type movies?
While attending a car show featuring French and Italian marques, I came across a gaggle of Renault R5 Turbos. Street versions of these little buggers were built in the early '80s to homologate the car for rally racing. Rather than using the front engine/front drive of the production Renault 5 (called the Le Car here in the states), the R5 Turbo used a midengine/rear drive architecture. About 5,000 of these were produced overall, including the less expensive, not as light but virtually as fast Turbo 2 models.
Between the radically flared rear fenders and in lieu of a rear seat was a mighty 1.4-liter turbocharged four that made anywhere from 160-185 hp. Though that doesn't sound like much, the cars were exceptionally light and Car and Driver got a 6.5 second 0-to-60 and a 14.6 second quarter mile out of their R5 Turbo. But straight line acceleration wasn't this car's mission, putting the hurt on tight twisty roads (and many a sports car driver's ego) were. A 40/60 front to rear weight bias, a sport tuned independent suspension and unassisted rack and pinion steering and four-wheel disc brakes provided an unfiltered, visceral drive.
I'll admit it -- I tend to be kind of a traditionalist when it comes to premium sedans. Yes, I know the Japanese have come a long way in the past 20 years with regard to producing worthy European alternatives. But when it comes to thinking about my own $60,000 for a luxury four-door, it's hard for me not to think Audi, BMW or Mercedes-Benz before Acura, Infiniti or Lexus (or Equus, for that matter).
Driving this 2011 Inifniti M56 over the past weekend will probably change my default thinking.
It seems that all of my friends are getting married. Within the next year, I'm likely to be attending at least five weddings - including my own. Now, with all those weddings, I'm also likely to be going to at least five bachelor parties, which got me to thinking about cars (That may seem like a non sequitor, but most things make me think about cars). Specifically, I got to thinking about what car is best for taking four guys to a bachelor party? Let's make it Vegas because I live in Los Angeles, and where else are you supposed to go?
So, as Mike Magrath is on special assignment in Miami Beach this week, filling in for him is our former dictation secretary Mark Takahashi who shall sit quite comfortably with me on the couch as we watch The Hangover. We made a rule that it had to be a new car, because otherwise, we both agreed it would be this.
James Riswick, Automotive Editor
Every car nut has their favorite car songs. Cars and music have been as inseparable as Charlie Sheen and drunken idiocy since the '50s, when odes to Oldsmobile Rocket 88s and Hot Rod Lincolns came over the airwaves. My car tunes are a little more recent than that, though not by much. In no particular order, my royal triumvirate of tunes...
It won't fit in my garage. It guzzles gas. It's completely impractical. And I can't afford one. Yep, I think a 2006 Hummer H1 Alpha qualifies for Dream Car Corner.
You know the Ford Transit Connect? We like it and businesses seem to be appreciating the fact they don't need to buy a V8-powered Econoline to tote about plumbing supplies or wedding cakes. Now, in Europe, these little van things aren't that rare. In addition to the more business-intended models like the Transit Connect, there are civilian models of various sizes that are generally the same ultra-efficient vanish wagony shape as the Transit Connect ... and they almost all have really goofy names. I love them. Behold after the jump.
I spent last weekend in the all-new 2011 Porsche Cayenne Turbo. I'd driven the car a few months earlier at Barber Motorsports Park during the Cayenne press intro, where I also experienced the Cayenne S and Hybrid models. The Hybrid model, not surprisingly, got the bulk of the attention from the press for its advanced green technology, even though every version of the Cayenne is completely redesigned for the 2011 model year.
During my trip I was told Porsche's test drivers could pull lap times in the Cayenne Turbo that were within a couple seconds of the 911 Turbo, despite the Cayenne weighing an additional 2,700-pounds and standing 15 inches taller. That same trip had me maneuvering a Cayenne up steep dirt mounds and slogging through deep Alabama mud bogs. As you can probably guess, it was hard to find something the car couldn't do, and do well.
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