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Odds and Ends from N.Y. Auto Show

Here are some thoughts from the N.Y. Auto Show which I visited on Saturday.

Scale:
Living in the provinces, one forgets just how many people live in the New York area. The show was not only enormous, taking up two floors of the imposing Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on the west side of Manhattan's midtown, but absolutely crowded. And the variety of people - every culture and race, with a different language at every turn.
Trying to get close to see some of the hot exhibits (themselves works of art, with special flooring, loud music, videos on massive screens, turntables) such as the Ferraris, the various concept cars, the high-end German marques - Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz - was all-but-impossible.
As for the Lamborghinis, forget about it - but more about that later.
Just remember, if you ever go, start on the top floor - where all the cars and especially the exotics are located - and then go downstairs for mostly trucks and minivans (although some key marques such as VW, Subaru and Mitsubishi were downstairs too). It takes a good 3 hours to see it all and it's better to be fresh for the truly exciting stuff upstairs.
I started on the lower level, partly because Ithe media center is downstairs and I naturally drifted into the lower show area and partly because I am an idiot, and I was truly tired by the end of my visit 3-1/2 hours later.

Hybrids
Maybe it was because I hit the VW display first, but I found myself getting very interested in which companies are really going for alternative energy - whether hybrid. clean diesel, hydrogen fuel cell electric ethanol. Most of the German manufacturers - Audi, Merecedes-Benz and VW - are all pushing clean diesel and will be bringing in a range of models next year. VW, for example, will introduce diesel Beetles, Jettas and Rabbits and I for one find the Jetta Sportswagen , which was introduced at the show, very tasty indeed.
Anyway, while Honda and Toyota are off to races with the alternative fuel thing - they both have well-known hybrids and are also experimenting with various other technologies, other companies are clearly playing wait and see. Subaru, for example, has nothing in the pipeline; nor does Mitsubishi or Suzuki. Mazda has a hybrid version of its Tribute SUV coming out in the fall and Lexus was making much of its new hybrid, the Lexus RX 400h, which gets 31/27 mpg. Saab seems to be chasing the ethanol line and had a bioethanol vehicle at the show.
With global warming and the environment becoming an ever more serious issue - highlighted by the Supreme Court's recent ruling that the Environmental Protection Agency can regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases - the move to alternative fuels is going to explode.

Overheard
"I can see you tooling around in that thing. It has to be an obnoxious color, though."
- One woman to another as they looked at the Toyota FJ Cruiser.

"It's the Batmobile."
- Heavyset African-American in Hawaiin shirt, fur coat and straw hat, about the Mosler MT 900S Corvette-powered super car.

"The flared fenders put people on notice that this is a rear-wheel driving machine."
- Model on turntable describing the Dodge Demon roadster.

"It's the new concept car coming out next year."
"Yeah, it's called the Frame."
- Teenagers looking at Volvo's display of the frame of a sedan color coded to indicated the various grades of steel used.

"Inside, the Nitro is both people and cargo friendly."
- Model on turntable describing the Dodge Nitro

Concepts and Debuts
Auto shows are famous for the concept cars and New York did not disappoint. Among the more exotic was the Infiniti EX 3.5, a small crossover, the Lexus LX 570, $60,000 monster luxury SUV, Chevrolet's tiny trio - the Beat, the Groove and the Trax - which were all designed in Korea and are very small indeed, the Kia Soul which is a small SUV and the Toyota FT-HS Hybrid Sports Concept. Apart from the far out designs, many come in brilliant white with white interiors, blue and orange lighting and open or glassed roofs giving them an even more exotic air.
Less exotic were a number of vehicles from Ford, including the Airstream, which was introduced in Detroit and is truly far out with its nods to Airstream trailers and futuristic visions from the 1960s. The vehicle which opens fully on one side to reveal a seating area straight out of StarTrek, is powered by a hydrogen fuel-cell electric engine. Other Ford notables included two trucks designed by current favorites, the Ford Expedition Funkmaster Flex Edition by DJ Funkmaster Flex, and an F-150 designed by Chip Foose. And then there was the 540 horsepower, V8 Ford Shelby GT500KR Mustang modifed by Carroll Shelby.
And talking about StarTrek, the concept with the most far out lines was Mazda's Hazake which had been introduced at the Geneva Auto Show and looked like a bar of soap that had been left in a sandstorm - all raked lines and angles.

Lamborghinis
Of all the displays, Lamborghini was the most exotic. The company exhibited all three of its current models, a white Murcielago LP640, a white Murcielago LP640 Roadster and an orange Gallardo SE. They were accompanied by four of the tallest models wearing fairly skimpy evening dresses who stood around occasionally opening or closing doors.
The crowd was divided into two section - those on an inside track who had been "invited," and the rest of use relegated to the outside where we could see nothing but the roofs of the cars and the models.

Posted by   at 3:30 PM to Shows | Permalink | Comments 0

Are we ready for Jeremy Clarkson?

The BBC is considering producing a version of its "Top Gear" program for the U.S., according to leftlanenews.com which cited the Sun newspaper of Britain for the news. Clarkson is a larger-than-life character who writes about cars for the London Times as was as hosting "Top Gear," a loud show with a live audience that indulges in everything from serious critiques to insane tests and commentary.

Posted by   at 11:33 AM to People in the News | Permalink | Comments 0

Boch Toyota sues Bob's Discount

Norwood, Mass.-based Boch Toyota is suing Bob's Discount Store for using its catch phrase "Come on down," according to Boston Business Journal.
But hang on a second - wasn't that Bob Barker's catch phrase on CBS hit "The Price is Right?" Indeed it was. The show with Barker as host hit the airwaves in 1972 and is still running although Barker retires this year. The 35-year run makes it one of the longest-running games shows in history.
President Ernie Boch Jr. told me he does not want to comment on the lawsuit other than to say that he is negotiating with Robert "Bob" Kaufman and hopes to work it out. But if he can't, he said he is prepared to go ahead with the case.
A spokeswoman with Bob's Discount was not immediately available to comment.

Posted by   at 10:59 AM to Companies | Permalink | Comments 0

Take that, Al Gore

Judging from the media in recent months, the debate over global warming is now over, writes Richard S. Lindzen, Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Meteorology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Newsweek.
There has been a net warming of the earth over the last century and a half, and our greenhouse gas emissions are contributing at some level. Both of these statements are almost certainly true. What of it? Recently many people have said that the earth is facing a crisis requiring urgent action. This statement has nothing to do with science. There is no compelling evidence that the warming trend we've seen will amount to anything close to catastrophe. What most commentators—and many scientists—seem to miss is that the only thing we can say with certainly about climate is that it changes.
Lindzen is a controversial figure who claims his research has always been funded exclusively by the U.S. government and that he receives no funding from any energy companies. Newsweek appears to have trotted him out as the contrarian, flat-earth viewpoint as his article appears in the context of the issue being devoted to political leadership and the environment titled: Save the Planet or Else. See the lead article and related news and analysis.

Posted by   at 10:35 AM to Environment | Permalink | Comments 0

Audi RS8 goes for broke

Check out a video of Audi's RS8 tearing round the test track in Germany looking and sounding very unroad legal on thecarconnection.com. The car later caught fire and was largely destroyed but the driver got out safely.

Posted by   at 10:15 AM to Marques | Permalink | Comments 0

Gas prices continue upward trend

The national average price for gasoline rose for the 10th straight week, according to USA Today. Based on figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the paper said drivers paid an average of $2.802 a gallon for regular gasoline in the week ended April 9, up from $2.707 the previous week.
AAA, which also tracks gasoline prices, said the national average was $2.792 a gallon Tuesday. Retail gasoline prices are up 11.9 cents from a year ago at this time. Prices have risen 54.2 cents over the past 10 weeks, following a previous five-week decline.

Posted by   at 10:13 AM to Gas prices | Permalink | Comments 2