1) American car makers are hurting. 65% of the show were cars from GM, Ford, and Chrysler.

2) I don't have a good feeling about the Chevy Volt. GM says it will turn the company around, but something about the design plus the concept doesn't seem right.

3) GM displayed more trucks/SUV/Crossovers than cars.

4) I counted 5 versions of the same SUV with different badging (idk what the names were but they were all similar to the GMC Acadia; makers were Saturn, GMC, Chevy, Buick, Cadillac). Why not just make one version?

5) ZR1's brakes are frigging huge

6) CTS-V was very, VERY nice. They had a black/black model with the Alcantara and a 6MT. Seats were real nice, fit and finish seemed good, motor is powerful (from the stats), the car looks nice, and I could see myself in one.

7) New Camaro is meh

8) Dodge Challenger is ohmigawd huge. I didn't realize the car was that big.

9) I have a slight crush on the Chevy Avalanche. I kind of want one.

10) The new R8 5.2 is very subtle. I like.

11) The B8 S4 (or at least the pre-production unit there) had the LED tail lights. Looked neat. The representitive I spoke to from Audi HQ said no Avant, but that Audi is very open to comments, and if there appears to be enough customer demand, then they would reconsider the decision. Car should be on sale in September.

12) As of now, no 6-speed B8 2.0t Avant either. Bummer

13) We are getting a diesel B8, but they wouldn't tell me whether its the 3.0TDI or not.

14) The BMW X6 is fugly. I fail to see its purpose.

15) The C63 AMG is a really nice car. Seats are very supportive, the steering wheel feels good, and the car looks really good imo. I could also see myself in one of these (although lack of a manual is a drawback).

16) The VW sportwagon is a cool little car, but it seems to have a lot of storage. This and the new Caddilac CTS Sportswagon were my favorite two station wagons at the show.

17) I find myself liking the Bentley Continental Flying Spur and the Merc S63/65 AMG sedans more and more.

18) The new Ford Mustang is meh

19) Ford's F-series pickups (F-150, F-250, F-350) are getting larger and larger. The tailpipes on the F-350 Powerstroke diesel could easily fit a big grapefruit.

20) I saw three stickers on a new GT-R that made me lol (it was a modded GT-R from a local tuning company). "How's my driving? Race me to find out." "If you value your life as much as I value this car, don't touch it." "Hybrid. You save, I use."

Bonus: There was a Sham-Wow display booth set up (not a big one), with a guy doing his own thing. The thing that made me laugh the most: he had a headset on, just like Vince. Because you really need to amplify your voice when your customer base is standing two feet away.

That is all. Thanks for reading, enjoy your weekend.

 

I liked the vw jetta wagon too. pretty cool. Too bad only fwd.

 

nice!

 

"American car makers are hurting"??

While it is a known fact, to the best of MY knowledge....ALL car makers are hurting (except Hyundai, whose sales are on a 14% rise).

What is it that you saw at the show that stood out to make you say that?

Oh, and yes, the X6 is extremely fugly..Bangle's last "contribution" of f'ed up asses.

 

was the Q5 there??

 

That, plus the fact that there were GM and Ford sales people walking around trying to sell cars, which I found odd (no Chrysler people that I saw). All GM vehicles also had a window sticker displayed on the car, as well as a marked down price. IDK, maybe you had to be there, but I got the overwhelming impression that the American automakers were trying to hard to make an exhibition event into a sales venue (like immediate sales, not future).

Although despite that, if I were financially able to, I would probably go out and buy a CTS-V tomorrow; I liked it that much. If GM made more vehicles like that (fit and finish wise), I would give more of their vehicles credit. Caddy has stepped up to the plate (obviously you know that), but inside the new G8, Cobalts, the trucks and SUV's, and the crossovers, the fit and finish is like whoa. Big panel gaps, uber amount of plastic, etc.

The other thing that was apparent to me was that GM in particular has horrible brand structuring going on. If you actually broke down Chevy, GMC, Hummer, Pontiac, Buick, Cadillac, and Saab, I think one would find there aren't so many models offered as much as there is a Chevy Traverse that's badged five different ways. In addition, and I know the DC show isn't a big show, hence there aren't a lot of future products shown, but, to me, it seems like GM's financial outlook isn't going to improve if they're seriously relying on the Volt and the new Crueze (sp?) to save the company.

Sorry, I know the above doesn't totally pertain to what you asked, but I got on a tangent lol.

 

Although not near the size of the Q7

 

..what you have described for American vehicles, given that it was in DC.

The issue about it being a "sales" venue, I actually experienced that at the Auto Show in Long Island at the Colliseum, where the vehicles present were actually supplied by local dealers and not the manufacturers themselves.

The only way I can see that working there for 'immediate' sales as you say, is if it was something similar. GM or Ford does not "direct sell" to the public.

 

The CTS-V I looked at didn't have a VIN number, nor did several other cars (which makes me think they're pre-production units instead of dealership cars), whereas a lot of the current/popular cars had VIN #s, so I guess they could be supplied by the dealerships. I just kind of assumed it would have been all or nothing, not half manufacturer vehicles and the other half dealership vehicles.