I attended the Denver Auto Show yesterday. Apart from the "ooh, shiny new cars" reaction I generally have to the auto show, I have some observations.
I noticed that several auto makers were featuring hybrid options. I generally found that these hybrids differed little from their gas-only counterparts. There seems to be an overall trend of making hybrid technology just another drivetrain option rather than a unique model. So more like Ford's hybrid strategy (it is difficult to distinguish a Hybrid Escape from it's gas-only counterpart) rather than Toyota's Prius strategy (which I personally favor, but probably doesn't accomplish the goal of driving mass market adoption of electric tech). Notable exceptions were the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt.
It was interesting to note that Nissan had the Leaf out on the floor, available for everyone to sit in and explore. Nissan reps were friendly and knowledgeable. They invited questions. By contrast, the Chevy Volt was closed and on a rotating pedestal. Nobody was taking questions. It felt like they were saying "See, we actually made it. It's here. Now shut up." Alas, GM, you need to do more than make an electric car. You need to fundamentally transform your culture and how you approach the car business. You need to reinvent yourself, not just roll out a new model with a new power train under the same old business model. Go visit Nissan and Scion for some ideas.
I was surprised to find that Ferrari of Denver had a couple of their cars open. It was a bit thrilling to nestle into a Ferrari California and a Lotus Evora.
Jeep had a fun event going. They setup a trail course at the back of the show with obstacles that showed off articulation, ground clearance, suspension, and hill climb/descent. Particularly fun was the 18 foot hill with a 36 degree incline & decline. We took it with the Grand Cherokee Overland, which features variable ride height (a feature I have drooled over on the Range Rover) and hill descent mode. It was amazingly civilized, yet clearly had some great trail capabilities. Based on my Wrangler experience last year, I'm still not buying one. Our rep did note that they have a new Pentastar 3.8L V6 engine. Gee, why would they change that out? I believe Chrysler is another auto maker that needs a business and culture reset.
Most beautiful car at the show had to be the Aston Martin Rapide. The Lamborghinis in the booth next door were green with envy.
I sat in the Fiat 500. It gave felt like an Italian espresso machine (or perhaps a cheap knockoff of one, since the surfaces I expected to be metal were all plastic). I emerged from this tiny plastic-laden runabout exclaiming "Can I get a cappuccino here?!?" It felt really cheap and flimsy. I don't think this has a chance in the American market. Super compact buyers will more likely turn to the Mini Cooper or Scion's new offering. Smart was noticeably absent from the show. Or perhaps they'll go just a tad bigger and pick up the Honda Fit (my personal favorite), the newly-designed Ford Fiesta (which looked quite funky) or the Lexus CT hybrid (which I totally loved ... it felt like a luxury fit and had hybrid synergy drive to appeal to my green side. Unfortunately, it's $31k price tag struck me as unreasonable for this category when compared to a $17-19k Honda Fit sport).
Luxury car makers Infiniti, Audi, BMW and Mercedes appeared to have their standard offerings for the most part. I was really hoping to see the Range Rover Evoq, but it was missing from the show. The Range Rover Sport tickled my fancy, though.
Cadillac has some aggressive-looking designs and is very focused on performance. However, their interiors continue to disappoint. I think they've become too focused on performance in their desire to be the first choice for midlife crisis purchases and have forgotten their luxury car heritage.
Overall, I found the show to be enjoyable. There was certainly less flash and less schwag than I've seen in prior years, suggesting a much leaner industry. There was plenty of evolution, not much revolution (Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt notwithstanding).
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
