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December 8, 2009
2009 LA Auto Show Pics Live!
By John Coyle
Deputy Editor
This was my first year at the LA Auto Show, and to be perfectly honest, the crappy economy cast a chilly shadow over the whole scene. Most years, the media peeps are scrambling from press conference to press conference trying to keep up with all the new concepts and debuts, but most of the stuff on the floor in La La Land had dropped in Frankfurt, or even before, so manufacturers simply didn’t have a lot of fresh meat to toss to out. That said, there was still some killer stuff on display. While Audi had dropped its electric e-tron concept back in Frankfurt, the example on the floor here was painted a gorgeous, visible-from-space orange, which had everyone scrambling to get pics, and I absolutely loved, loved, loved Honda’s P-Nut concept (below). And don’t even get me started on the AMG SLS. Mercedes’ new baby is an absolute stunner, and I can’t even imagine how those lines will look when it’s out in the wild, stalking driving appliances. I was also pumped to see the 2011 Fiesta—Ford has a mega hit on its hands here—the CTS Coupe’s production sheet metal, and Porsche’s new Boxster Spyder. Head over to the events section and check out Part One and Part Two of our pics from LA.
December 3, 2009
2009 LA Auto Show: 2011 305HP V6 Mustang
By John Coyle
Deputy Editor
There are plenty of enthusiasts that sneer at the V6 Mustangs, and consider them to be just a lamer version of the GT. But the 2011 V6 Mustang will come stock with a burly 305HP and 280ft-lbs of torque—which is within spitting distance of the current GT. Ford also believes the new Pony will get 30MPG on the freeway, which would make it the most fuel efficient car in its class. Any way you look at it, that’s pretty impressive. The Blue Oval had two 2011 Mustang Club of America Editions in its booth at the show, a red convertible and the slick silver version below. The sheet metal is the same as the current gen, but the special edition models feature a billet grill, tape stripes (absent on the silver coupe), special badging, and—um, finally—body-colored mirrors. Check out some pics and walk-around videos after the jump.
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Along Came Porsche’s Boxster Spyder
By John Naderi
StreetFire.net
Porsche premiered it’s 2011 Boxster Spyder at the LA Auto Show and while different manufacturers define Spyder differently (Ferrari, Mitsubishi) to Porsche it means an agile, lightweight, mid-engined roadster, the lineage of which began with the iconic 1953 550 Spyder. In fact the Boxster model line itself is attributed as a spiritual successor to the OG Spyder.
Upon first glance the Boxster Spyder separates itself visually from the rest of Boxster family by the space just aft of the seats occupied by the most voluptuous pair of domes this side of a Carrera GT (or perhaps, Joanna Krupa). Hit the jump to see what else differentiates this Spyder from its Boxster brethren.
LA Auto Show 2009: Fiesta Party in the Ford Booth
By John Coyle
Deputy Editor
Last year in LA, Ford was all about the Mustang—but 2009 is all about the Fiesta. And much like Hyundai did at SEMA, the company choose to show off some tuned versions along with the stock models. They were all pretty cool, but the red one in the pic below was the most performance-oriented. Designed by3dCarbon and FSWerks, this pocket rocket is sporting an FSWerks Stage 2 intercooled turbo kit and a free-breathing 2.25 exhaust, along with a body kit from 3dCarbon. My favorite exterior change was the addition of Work Meister S1 2-piece wheels. They might be hard to keep clean, but that brilliant while looks sick in person, and makes the racing stripe pop. I’ve posted pics and walk-around videos the versions from Ford Custom Accessories, H&R Special Springs, Ford Racing and Steeda Autosports after the jump, and even threw in a stock model for good measure. Check them out.
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2009 LA Auto Show: Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG
By John Coyle
Deputy Editor
Mercedes-Benz’s Gullwing is an iconic symbol of automotive beauty, and while some purists sweat when an automaker revives and updates one of its greatest hits, M-B has been so on point with its styling of late that I think any fears about the Gullwing’s rebirth were completely unfounded. There’s a far better chance that an asteroid is going to extinguish life on earth than there is of Mercedes releasing an ugly vehicle. And while the SLS AMG might have traffic-stopping good looks, its 6.2-liter 32-valve V-8 pumps out a burly 563HP and 479 lb-ft of torque, so this baby will go like a scalded cat—with a jet pack. Unfortunately, my plans to get a walk-around video were thwarted by the fact that the turntable it’s on takes a celestial amount of time to complete a revolution. But there are a ton of photos after the jump. Enjoy.
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Honda’s P-NUT Concept is Quirky and Fun, Like a Filbert!
By John Naderi
StreetFire.net
While the true debuts at this year’s LA Auto Show were far and few between (note to OEs: we know times are tough, but you can do better than dress up the sloppy seconds of your Frankfurt and Tokyo debuts), Honda always manages to roll out something cool and concepty (yes, that will be the new auto journo “it” word of 2010).
This year was no different as Honda’s designers created what they feel an urban car would look like twenty years in the future (we can only hope Doc Brown’s iridium shades will be in the mix too). The Personal-Neo Urban Transport (P-NUT) looks sort of like what would happen to an Element in the hands of Frank Geary and the three-person seating arrangement is configured a’la McLaren F1 with the driver up front and two passengers arrears. Since this is a concept there are a few different powertrain possibilities from an efficient gas engine to a gas-electric hybrid, or even a pure electric set up. We’re hoping this is a hint of things to come from Honda. Hit the jump to see more images of this nutty concept (sorry, couldn’t resist).
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December 2, 2009
Cadillac Drops Two Doors in LA
By John Naderi
StreetFire.net
Much like the impending drop top Camaro we knew it was coming, this, the Coupe version of Cadillac’s comely CTS. And there it sat with little fanfare at the LA Auto Show. Our only hint was an invite-only affair on the eve of the show’s press days that apparently we weren’t invited to (that’s okay, we just cuddled up on the couch with some warm tea and a yummy chick flick – French Kiss, if you must know). Hit the jump for more on the CTS Coupe and less on Meg Ryan.
LA Auto Show 2009: Audi's e-tron Stuns in Orange
By John Coyle
Deputy Editor
This electric concept actually dropped in Frankfurt, but the one on the floor there was a comparatively staid fire-engine red. The e-tron Audi brought to LA, on the other hand, is painted in an orange that’s probably visible from space, even through the roof of the Los Angeles Convention Center. The body is so smooth and clean it almost looks like this eco-beast was grown in a vat, and not constructed by something as mortal and clumsy as human hands. I don’t really care for the wheels—they look a little too much like food processor blades—but overall, this car is a complete knockout, and getting these few shots probably took close to an hour, because all the media peeps were swarming over it. The scene honestly made me think of killer bees attacking a bull. Oh, and it’s hard to argue with 3,319.03 Lb-Ft of torque. More photos and a walk-around video after the jump.
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LA Auto Show 2009: MINI Clubman With Spiked Color and Lease
By John Coyle
Deputy Editor
This was easily the craziest installation I’ve seen at the show. It’s completely impractical, way weird, and huge. Around the perimeter it actually says “Don’t Feed the MINI,” and for some reason, I think that’s super-funny. I don’t know about you, but this kind of feels like SEMA to me… More photos after the jump.
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Fireball does The LA Auto Show… Ouch.
By Fireball Tim
Movie Car Design Master
Ouch. Today was the first Press Day so expectations were high. And did they hit the mark? ……Welcome, to the MORGUE.
Okay, maybe a morgue is a bit extreme, but there were some serious things missing. Namely, NISSAN. And with the Leaf coming soon, you have to ask… “WUT UP, NISSAN DOODS?” Now, I did get my fair share of automotive fixations, but I was left a little… dead. Ok, another mortality reference. Wups.
Follow the jump to see the COMPLETE highlights of the show. Not many, but some cool stuff. I decided to make it easy for y’all to understand how I felt about each one. I call it the “SHOCKSWEETSNORESUCK.” That’s the long version. Let’s just call it the “SHNUCK.” The LA Shnuck Show. Yea, I like it….
