Chicago Autoshow Ramblings
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Lexus Champion
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Chicago Autoshow Ramblings
We had terrible weather here in Chicago yesterday and therefore perfect timing to go to the Chicago Autoshow and have the place to yourself. Couple of random comments.....(went with neighbor who is looking to replace his Jeep Grand Cherokee with something that has three rows)
The dashboards on most of the American cars are really going down in quality - they are all hard plastic. I wanted to like the new Acadia - but when you open the door and see the cheap plastic trim on the bottom of the seat and the cheap dash and the terrible feeling steering wheel, you realize that GM has a long way to go.
GM - Tahoe - has done an INCREDIBLE job with their interiors (still bad looking plastic on the top of the dash). The car is just so much more appealing than the Expedition - EXECEPT the third row does not fold flat. Why does GM do such silly things???
GM - Silverado - very very nice.
Ford Expedition - oh my, the dashboards on these babies just get uglier and uglier all the time (sorry Paul). The interior of the Expedition does not compare to the Tahoe - however, the 3rd row does fold flat.....
Porsche - most of their cars were locked (except for Cayenne). That's bull. BTW a 911 C4 Cab is $110 with options and a 911 S is $92 with options. Ouch.
Pontiac G8 - wow, if they do this car just like they showed it, it will be a huge hit and SHOULD take a bit out of BMW sales.
Caddy - ugh, these cars need new interiors. The STS-V looks MUCH better than the CTS-V but still is not near where it needs to be for the cash. The new CTS looks nice except the window switches are on the bottom of the door? I still think the CTS-V and STS-V are sweet looking cars.
Toyota - ok, I'm sorry, but that new Highlander is just ugly and the Camry interior re-defines bland. Still it is quality. The new truck is very nice - the interior looks a lot better than the pictures and OMG is this thing huge. I'm glad I'm not a truck guy cause deciding between the Silverado and the new Tundra would be brutal.
Lexus - the new LS460 is so sweet. So comfortable to sit in and the rear seat is larger than pics make it out to be (in the stretched version). Probably my favorite car at the show - did not want to get out of it (didn't have to either cause nobody was there due to the snow!). The self parking thingy is worthless unless you really can't park. It takes so long that on any busy street, someone else would have snuck into the spot. It is a version 1 sort of thingy - it will only get better. However in its current form, (pull beyond the car you are going to park behind, adjust the box on the screen, do this, do that, now don't go over 3mph, and remember it can't tell if you can fit in the space or not...), it is just a showoff thing. The new ES however is starting to suffer from the plastic syndrome of the American cars - open the door and you can see it right away. Not impressed. The Lexus trucks (GX and LX) were hidden away with their backs to the wall so that people would not open the rear tail gate and say things like "Why are the seats velcroed to the side of the car?, why does this tailgate swing open like my Grandma's old station wagon?".
Audi - wow. The S8 was sweet and the S6 is incredible as well (too bad they were locked). I now understand why the A3 does not sell - that car was not only small, but cheap feeling for mid $30s. The RS4 is also an incredible looking car but alas was locked too (and hey at $74K for a car that size, um, well, its overpriced.).
BMW - three 7-series there including an Alpina. The interior of the car is quality to the Nth degree. Very very nice - including the soft close doors. However, other than the ugly green M6 there, there really wasn't much else to see - almost like they threw some cars out there that they didn't want sitting around. A base 530 with nobody going near it (new ones are due in March), a 328 sedan and coupe and one 335 coupe. I think there was an M coupe there as well - did not see an M5 (was not looking too hard either as it was one of our last stops).
Saturn - Aura - nice car. They had a hybrid there with a steering wheel made from the plastic of my kids toys. Are hybrid cars supposed to feel crappy? Cause this one did. The regular one was much better and truth be told, I'd probably buy it over a Camry as it has some interior style.
Acura MDX - wow, I have to tell you, there are few cars that can compete with it for its level of content at its price point. This car is incredible. Fake wood? Who cares - you can't tell the diff from the Lexus. I think it got smaller than the previous gen however. Still the best quality for the best price compared to the other 3 row car based SUVs.
Acura TL - The TL Type S is pretty nice for $38K loaded. A 335 equipped equivalently would be closer to $50K. The dual exhausts on this car are just mean.
Subaru Tribeca - wow. Ok, ugly as hell front end, but otherwise an incredible car for $37K sticker (and I know they end up going for a lot less). Not as big as the MDX, not as fast, not as much technology - but hey, if you can pick one up for $32K or so, you have yourself a screaming deal.
MB - Their interiors seem to have gone downhill - at least on the trucks. I always wondered why the RX sold better than the ML and now I know. Very dark interiors (MB had lights in them to make them look better) - silly grab handles in the middle console of all of the trucks and the interiors looked cheap compared to say Lexus. But the cars are certainly not cheap. Almost like the Chrysler interior guys have gotten inside MB and started to do their cheapening magic. The E-Class has a very small back seat btw.
Volvo - they had an XC90 sport there in red - huge tires and damn it is a nice car. Goes for $58K of course... but still.
Infiniti - the new G35 is such an improvement over the old one I just can't believe it. The rear seat room got smaller however.
That's about it - there probably was more, but the memory does not work as well as it used to.
The dashboards on most of the American cars are really going down in quality - they are all hard plastic. I wanted to like the new Acadia - but when you open the door and see the cheap plastic trim on the bottom of the seat and the cheap dash and the terrible feeling steering wheel, you realize that GM has a long way to go.
GM - Tahoe - has done an INCREDIBLE job with their interiors (still bad looking plastic on the top of the dash). The car is just so much more appealing than the Expedition - EXECEPT the third row does not fold flat. Why does GM do such silly things???
GM - Silverado - very very nice.
Ford Expedition - oh my, the dashboards on these babies just get uglier and uglier all the time (sorry Paul). The interior of the Expedition does not compare to the Tahoe - however, the 3rd row does fold flat.....
Porsche - most of their cars were locked (except for Cayenne). That's bull. BTW a 911 C4 Cab is $110 with options and a 911 S is $92 with options. Ouch.
Pontiac G8 - wow, if they do this car just like they showed it, it will be a huge hit and SHOULD take a bit out of BMW sales.
Caddy - ugh, these cars need new interiors. The STS-V looks MUCH better than the CTS-V but still is not near where it needs to be for the cash. The new CTS looks nice except the window switches are on the bottom of the door? I still think the CTS-V and STS-V are sweet looking cars.
Toyota - ok, I'm sorry, but that new Highlander is just ugly and the Camry interior re-defines bland. Still it is quality. The new truck is very nice - the interior looks a lot better than the pictures and OMG is this thing huge. I'm glad I'm not a truck guy cause deciding between the Silverado and the new Tundra would be brutal.
Lexus - the new LS460 is so sweet. So comfortable to sit in and the rear seat is larger than pics make it out to be (in the stretched version). Probably my favorite car at the show - did not want to get out of it (didn't have to either cause nobody was there due to the snow!). The self parking thingy is worthless unless you really can't park. It takes so long that on any busy street, someone else would have snuck into the spot. It is a version 1 sort of thingy - it will only get better. However in its current form, (pull beyond the car you are going to park behind, adjust the box on the screen, do this, do that, now don't go over 3mph, and remember it can't tell if you can fit in the space or not...), it is just a showoff thing. The new ES however is starting to suffer from the plastic syndrome of the American cars - open the door and you can see it right away. Not impressed. The Lexus trucks (GX and LX) were hidden away with their backs to the wall so that people would not open the rear tail gate and say things like "Why are the seats velcroed to the side of the car?, why does this tailgate swing open like my Grandma's old station wagon?".
Audi - wow. The S8 was sweet and the S6 is incredible as well (too bad they were locked). I now understand why the A3 does not sell - that car was not only small, but cheap feeling for mid $30s. The RS4 is also an incredible looking car but alas was locked too (and hey at $74K for a car that size, um, well, its overpriced.).
BMW - three 7-series there including an Alpina. The interior of the car is quality to the Nth degree. Very very nice - including the soft close doors. However, other than the ugly green M6 there, there really wasn't much else to see - almost like they threw some cars out there that they didn't want sitting around. A base 530 with nobody going near it (new ones are due in March), a 328 sedan and coupe and one 335 coupe. I think there was an M coupe there as well - did not see an M5 (was not looking too hard either as it was one of our last stops).
Saturn - Aura - nice car. They had a hybrid there with a steering wheel made from the plastic of my kids toys. Are hybrid cars supposed to feel crappy? Cause this one did. The regular one was much better and truth be told, I'd probably buy it over a Camry as it has some interior style.
Acura MDX - wow, I have to tell you, there are few cars that can compete with it for its level of content at its price point. This car is incredible. Fake wood? Who cares - you can't tell the diff from the Lexus. I think it got smaller than the previous gen however. Still the best quality for the best price compared to the other 3 row car based SUVs.
Acura TL - The TL Type S is pretty nice for $38K loaded. A 335 equipped equivalently would be closer to $50K. The dual exhausts on this car are just mean.
Subaru Tribeca - wow. Ok, ugly as hell front end, but otherwise an incredible car for $37K sticker (and I know they end up going for a lot less). Not as big as the MDX, not as fast, not as much technology - but hey, if you can pick one up for $32K or so, you have yourself a screaming deal.
MB - Their interiors seem to have gone downhill - at least on the trucks. I always wondered why the RX sold better than the ML and now I know. Very dark interiors (MB had lights in them to make them look better) - silly grab handles in the middle console of all of the trucks and the interiors looked cheap compared to say Lexus. But the cars are certainly not cheap. Almost like the Chrysler interior guys have gotten inside MB and started to do their cheapening magic. The E-Class has a very small back seat btw.
Volvo - they had an XC90 sport there in red - huge tires and damn it is a nice car. Goes for $58K of course... but still.
Infiniti - the new G35 is such an improvement over the old one I just can't believe it. The rear seat room got smaller however.
That's about it - there probably was more, but the memory does not work as well as it used to.
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 677
Likes: 1
From: US
We had terrible weather here in Chicago yesterday and therefore perfect timing to go to the Chicago Autoshow and have the place to yourself. Couple of random comments.....(went with neighbor who is looking to replace his Jeep Grand Cherokee with something that has three rows)
The dashboards on most of the American cars are really going down in quality - they are all hard plastic. I wanted to like the new Acadia - but when you open the door and see the cheap plastic trim on the bottom of the seat and the cheap dash and the terrible feeling steering wheel, you realize that GM has a long way to go.
GM - Tahoe - has done an INCREDIBLE job with their interiors (still bad looking plastic on the top of the dash). The car is just so much more appealing than the Expedition - EXECEPT the third row does not fold flat. Why does GM do such silly things???
GM - Silverado - very very nice.
Ford Expedition - oh my, the dashboards on these babies just get uglier and uglier all the time (sorry Paul). The interior of the Expedition does not compare to the Tahoe - however, the 3rd row does fold flat.....
Porsche - most of their cars were locked (except for Cayenne). That's bull. BTW a 911 C4 Cab is $110 with options and a 911 S is $92 with options. Ouch.
Pontiac G8 - wow, if they do this car just like they showed it, it will be a huge hit and SHOULD take a bit out of BMW sales.
Caddy - ugh, these cars need new interiors. The STS-V looks MUCH better than the CTS-V but still is not near where it needs to be for the cash. The new CTS looks nice except the window switches are on the bottom of the door? I still think the CTS-V and STS-V are sweet looking cars.
Toyota - ok, I'm sorry, but that new Highlander is just ugly and the Camry interior re-defines bland. Still it is quality. The new truck is very nice - the interior looks a lot better than the pictures and OMG is this thing huge. I'm glad I'm not a truck guy cause deciding between the Silverado and the new Tundra would be brutal.
Lexus - the new LS460 is so sweet. So comfortable to sit in and the rear seat is larger than pics make it out to be (in the stretched version). Probably my favorite car at the show - did not want to get out of it (didn't have to either cause nobody was there due to the snow!). The self parking thingy is worthless unless you really can't park. It takes so long that on any busy street, someone else would have snuck into the spot. It is a version 1 sort of thingy - it will only get better. However in its current form, (pull beyond the car you are going to park behind, adjust the box on the screen, do this, do that, now don't go over 3mph, and remember it can't tell if you can fit in the space or not...), it is just a showoff thing. The new ES however is starting to suffer from the plastic syndrome of the American cars - open the door and you can see it right away. Not impressed. The Lexus trucks (GX and LX) were hidden away with their backs to the wall so that people would not open the rear tail gate and say things like "Why are the seats velcroed to the side of the car?, why does this tailgate swing open like my Grandma's old station wagon?".
Audi - wow. The S8 was sweet and the S6 is incredible as well (too bad they were locked). I now understand why the A3 does not sell - that car was not only small, but cheap feeling for mid $30s. The RS4 is also an incredible looking car but alas was locked too (and hey at $74K for a car that size, um, well, its overpriced.).
BMW - three 7-series there including an Alpina. The interior of the car is quality to the Nth degree. Very very nice - including the soft close doors. However, other than the ugly green M6 there, there really wasn't much else to see - almost like they threw some cars out there that they didn't want sitting around. A base 530 with nobody going near it (new ones are due in March), a 328 sedan and coupe and one 335 coupe. I think there was an M coupe there as well - did not see an M5 (was not looking too hard either as it was one of our last stops).
Saturn - Aura - nice car. They had a hybrid there with a steering wheel made from the plastic of my kids toys. Are hybrid cars supposed to feel crappy? Cause this one did. The regular one was much better and truth be told, I'd probably buy it over a Camry as it has some interior style.
Acura MDX - wow, I have to tell you, there are few cars that can compete with it for its level of content at its price point. This car is incredible. Fake wood? Who cares - you can't tell the diff from the Lexus. I think it got smaller than the previous gen however. Still the best quality for the best price compared to the other 3 row car based SUVs.
Acura TL - The TL Type S is pretty nice for $38K loaded. A 335 equipped equivalently would be closer to $50K. The dual exhausts on this car are just mean.
Subaru Tribeca - wow. Ok, ugly as hell front end, but otherwise an incredible car for $37K sticker (and I know they end up going for a lot less). Not as big as the MDX, not as fast, not as much technology - but hey, if you can pick one up for $32K or so, you have yourself a screaming deal.
MB - Their interiors seem to have gone downhill - at least on the trucks. I always wondered why the RX sold better than the ML and now I know. Very dark interiors (MB had lights in them to make them look better) - silly grab handles in the middle console of all of the trucks and the interiors looked cheap compared to say Lexus. But the cars are certainly not cheap. Almost like the Chrysler interior guys have gotten inside MB and started to do their cheapening magic. The E-Class has a very small back seat btw.
Volvo - they had an XC90 sport there in red - huge tires and damn it is a nice car. Goes for $58K of course... but still.
Infiniti - the new G35 is such an improvement over the old one I just can't believe it. The rear seat room got smaller however.
That's about it - there probably was more, but the memory does not work as well as it used to.
The dashboards on most of the American cars are really going down in quality - they are all hard plastic. I wanted to like the new Acadia - but when you open the door and see the cheap plastic trim on the bottom of the seat and the cheap dash and the terrible feeling steering wheel, you realize that GM has a long way to go.
GM - Tahoe - has done an INCREDIBLE job with their interiors (still bad looking plastic on the top of the dash). The car is just so much more appealing than the Expedition - EXECEPT the third row does not fold flat. Why does GM do such silly things???
GM - Silverado - very very nice.
Ford Expedition - oh my, the dashboards on these babies just get uglier and uglier all the time (sorry Paul). The interior of the Expedition does not compare to the Tahoe - however, the 3rd row does fold flat.....
Porsche - most of their cars were locked (except for Cayenne). That's bull. BTW a 911 C4 Cab is $110 with options and a 911 S is $92 with options. Ouch.
Pontiac G8 - wow, if they do this car just like they showed it, it will be a huge hit and SHOULD take a bit out of BMW sales.
Caddy - ugh, these cars need new interiors. The STS-V looks MUCH better than the CTS-V but still is not near where it needs to be for the cash. The new CTS looks nice except the window switches are on the bottom of the door? I still think the CTS-V and STS-V are sweet looking cars.
Toyota - ok, I'm sorry, but that new Highlander is just ugly and the Camry interior re-defines bland. Still it is quality. The new truck is very nice - the interior looks a lot better than the pictures and OMG is this thing huge. I'm glad I'm not a truck guy cause deciding between the Silverado and the new Tundra would be brutal.
Lexus - the new LS460 is so sweet. So comfortable to sit in and the rear seat is larger than pics make it out to be (in the stretched version). Probably my favorite car at the show - did not want to get out of it (didn't have to either cause nobody was there due to the snow!). The self parking thingy is worthless unless you really can't park. It takes so long that on any busy street, someone else would have snuck into the spot. It is a version 1 sort of thingy - it will only get better. However in its current form, (pull beyond the car you are going to park behind, adjust the box on the screen, do this, do that, now don't go over 3mph, and remember it can't tell if you can fit in the space or not...), it is just a showoff thing. The new ES however is starting to suffer from the plastic syndrome of the American cars - open the door and you can see it right away. Not impressed. The Lexus trucks (GX and LX) were hidden away with their backs to the wall so that people would not open the rear tail gate and say things like "Why are the seats velcroed to the side of the car?, why does this tailgate swing open like my Grandma's old station wagon?".
Audi - wow. The S8 was sweet and the S6 is incredible as well (too bad they were locked). I now understand why the A3 does not sell - that car was not only small, but cheap feeling for mid $30s. The RS4 is also an incredible looking car but alas was locked too (and hey at $74K for a car that size, um, well, its overpriced.).
BMW - three 7-series there including an Alpina. The interior of the car is quality to the Nth degree. Very very nice - including the soft close doors. However, other than the ugly green M6 there, there really wasn't much else to see - almost like they threw some cars out there that they didn't want sitting around. A base 530 with nobody going near it (new ones are due in March), a 328 sedan and coupe and one 335 coupe. I think there was an M coupe there as well - did not see an M5 (was not looking too hard either as it was one of our last stops).
Saturn - Aura - nice car. They had a hybrid there with a steering wheel made from the plastic of my kids toys. Are hybrid cars supposed to feel crappy? Cause this one did. The regular one was much better and truth be told, I'd probably buy it over a Camry as it has some interior style.
Acura MDX - wow, I have to tell you, there are few cars that can compete with it for its level of content at its price point. This car is incredible. Fake wood? Who cares - you can't tell the diff from the Lexus. I think it got smaller than the previous gen however. Still the best quality for the best price compared to the other 3 row car based SUVs.
Acura TL - The TL Type S is pretty nice for $38K loaded. A 335 equipped equivalently would be closer to $50K. The dual exhausts on this car are just mean.
Subaru Tribeca - wow. Ok, ugly as hell front end, but otherwise an incredible car for $37K sticker (and I know they end up going for a lot less). Not as big as the MDX, not as fast, not as much technology - but hey, if you can pick one up for $32K or so, you have yourself a screaming deal.
MB - Their interiors seem to have gone downhill - at least on the trucks. I always wondered why the RX sold better than the ML and now I know. Very dark interiors (MB had lights in them to make them look better) - silly grab handles in the middle console of all of the trucks and the interiors looked cheap compared to say Lexus. But the cars are certainly not cheap. Almost like the Chrysler interior guys have gotten inside MB and started to do their cheapening magic. The E-Class has a very small back seat btw.
Volvo - they had an XC90 sport there in red - huge tires and damn it is a nice car. Goes for $58K of course... but still.
Infiniti - the new G35 is such an improvement over the old one I just can't believe it. The rear seat room got smaller however.
That's about it - there probably was more, but the memory does not work as well as it used to.
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