Well its that time for the yearly car show review here in Atlanta. This show continues to get smaller and we never get any new debuts so its pretty mundane for an autoshow. We might get a concept car or two as the highlights.

So I wasn't really looking forward to it until a CL member posted these on Thursday

Lexus was bringing the LFA and some modified cars to the show As a matter of fact it is the same one I rode in at the Miami event. I was going to go with some CL members on Thursday but brought my pops, sister and fiance with me as they are car fans as well (my fiance is actually getting good!).

It was a dreary day, about 55 or so and rainy. If you haven't been to the World Congress Center is it really nice and simply massive in size.

The show this year was so small that there was only one section for the vehicles not two. We are talking about maybe a 50% reduction in floor space. Nissan, Infiniti, BMW and exotics (and some others) were not present. I think its a horrid decision not only b/c you are missing a good way to present your product (more directed toward mainstream brands)but it sadly forgets about the youth and the kids (more directed towards exotics). As an auto enthusiast since I could walk I remember going to the NY Auto Show and seeing the exotics and drooling. Its a shame kids here miss that.

You walk in and the first brands you see are Ford to the left and Chevy to the right. The Ford area was very busy and they had a driving simulator there. They showed the new Fiesta on a platform and had Lincoln next door. The Fiesta looks great in person, it does not look "cheap" or entry level at all. The Taurus SHO was getting a lot of attention. Forget EVERYTHING you knew about the Taurus. Again, it is just superb to where my fiance said "wait this is a Taurus". Quite frankly the Ford 500 should have been called a Taurus and this the 500. Great looking inside and out and great materials for the interior with a good amount of room inside. The thing is the Lincoln's do look different inside but the Taurus was just as well built to me. It really muddies the Lincoln message and they didn't have much traffic in their area.

 

We then walked directly to Lexus and you couldn't even see the LFA b/c of the crowd. The first vehicle was the IS C F-sport in that nice orange color. The car was locked with the top up but it looked better with the drop and the new 19" F-sport wheels. There is a GS to the left and then you then see modified HS they had in matador red along a stock HS. Both were open but not getting much attention. I did notice the younger guys checking it out and talking about it but they just didn't look convinced by it. To the left is a grey LS 460 sport which had a lot of people going in and out. I told my pops about it and he really likes it in person. I agree the bodykit is slightly tacky but that interior was getting rave reviews by anyone I heard around it. No one commented on the kit from what I heard.

I heard someone say "this color just stands out b/c nothing else in here has this color". The flat black was getting universal acclaim from talking and hearing people. People simply loved the car!!! I had on my LFA shirt from Miami so I was doing some talking to some of the employees there wondering how I got to ride in the car MPLexus was there as well and we chatted for awhile. He loved it in person and you really don't get the full effect as pictures do not do it justice (he even got to sit in it).

To the right was a blue IS-F and a modified IS-F which looks SUPERB in person. It really brought the aggressiveness out from the car. The IS-F had a line to get in and out and the modified car was also getting a lot of attention.

To the rear were the SUVs, sadly no 450h but a pedestrian white/beige RX 350 which seemingly 80% of the RXs are sold in. What was utterly AMAZING was the RX was simply SURROUNDED by people. You would think it was a Ferrari! People were climbing in and out and all over this vehicle. Lexus truly set the bar high with it, people just love it no matter what the internet drones say. They had 2 GXs there and the LX and they really leave me underwhelmed. They look similar in size and looks and while very high in quality just don't do much for me.

Overall Lexus has to be happy with the traffic and attention they were getting, probably the busiest area with Ford and Audi.

Right next to Lexus was the Toyota/Scion area and it was BARE. I mean EMPTY. They had a lot of space, not many vehicles and no traffic. It was a complete contrast to the Lexus area. The new 4 runner looks very retro to me and I was not impressed with headroom. There is a CLEAR difference between the build of the 4-runner and the Lexus SUVs, no confusion there.

 

Walking around the Dodge/Chrysler Jeep area was as empty as Toyota. There was nothing of interest there with the yellow SRT8 Challenger on the pedestal the only thing of remote interest. They had a base Challenger on the floor, a HORRENDOUS decision. What a bland, ugly, ungainly car in base form. We basically walked through the area after looking at the Challenger. Your gov't dollars hard at work

The Mazda area was pretty busy and my fiance and I liked the 6. The rear area has a lot of space, very impressive. Very good design inside and out and seems well built. I also sat in the 3 and while more compact it was also well built.

Next was Volvo which also had some decent traffic. A lot of people were checking out the C30 with sport accessories there. Looked great! My fiance liked the XC60 and it seemed very nice inside and out with very good cargo room in the rear (no power liftgate on this model).

Next was Jaguar which brought the new XJ. It really is a big car but I really am unsure about the styling. It just has too many lines everywhere and the front end is unconvincing. The first one I saw was silver and it looked RIDICULOUS with the silly black C-pillar and then half the roof if black b/c of the large sunroof and then the rear with the slim lights seems like its for another car. From the rear side though, it worked well, seemed big yet sporty and definitely with presence. It was locked but the interior looked FANTASTIC. Wow, very impressive and very different in a good way. It really was a winner from what I can tell from the inside.

I go to the XF b/c I am about to begin my rant on rear room for people. The XF does look like a GS and is quite a bit longer in length. The seats are superb up front but the rear is just as bad if not worse than the GS. I truly was confused by this. This continued in a lot of cars, rear seat room is horrid no matter the size of the car. That said the interior was well done and different in a good way. Great job Jaguar.

 

The CL ATL crew (and Mike) will be going on Thursday, I go every year so looking forward too it. Thx for the preview Mike great write up as always, BTW I will post some pics up this week from the show.

 

Thanks. More to come and pics later tonight including the ridiculous fact I cannot get inside the backseat of the ridiculously ugly and useless ZDX.

I am not exaggerating I could not get inside. I dare anyone over 5"10 to try.

 

The Range Rover area was busy, lots of interest. Still great interiors and GREAT seats to sit in, very hard compared to most soft seats. Rear seat room in the RR and sport were disappointing. The wood and leather is top notch, I mean it says LUXURY. They have also aged very very well.

The Benz area was pretty empty which was odd to me as they had the SLS there. I don't think they had any AMG cars and many were in base trim. The Gullwing really was interesting only b/c of the doors. Outside of that retro touch its a rather bland design with an interior that doesn't match the specialness of the doors. The hood like the SLR is just way to long to my tastes. I actually liked the car a lot in pics so it really disappointed me. The S-class has aged well and the new E-class still looks way to busy. The base E coupe there looked horrid with small wheels and no sport kit.

Walked to GMC to try the new Terrain and the interior was pretty well done. GM really (again) has come a long way. The GMC area was BARE, I mean more employees than people there.

Buick also was pretty bare even with the Regal GSX on the stand. It looks just as good in person as photos, I loved it. The even had a Regal to sit inside and my fiance liked it a lot. Very Euro inside and good space. The interior though felt just like the Terrain in quality, good but not great. The Lacrosse was the same, it really is a big car, rear seat room was tremendous. In front I can see Buick try to make the effort but it didn't feel luxurious to me, it just felt like a top of the line Malibu with some fake wood trim. Don't get me wrong it was nice but it is not Lexus in quality at all. Looks great with the larger wheels. Overall though, my goodness what a change from a couple of years ago. They have a great lineup outside the Lucerne and I see why they are popular. Great job!

Chevy had traffic as they had the Volt, some exhibit going on and the Cruze. The Volt was in black and looked good in person. I hope it comes to the market close to the concept. The Camaro's look FANTASTIC in person still, I am a huge fan of them.

Walking past Ford, Honda was fairly busy with mostly people that you would think buy Buicks. Most older people in their 60s. They had a CR-Zzzzzzzzzzz there and its not that ugly in person but not good looking either. It simply is underwhelming. The Crosstour is horrid, just horrid to look at. Inside it is just like the Accord sedan and rear seat room is good. The cargo room is just disappointing. I just don't understand how people have spurned wagons for looking ugly or being uncool and they choose these things which are uglier and even more unhip.

VW was pretty busy and the new GTi looks great in person. They did not give away the plastic Tiguans like in years past. The interiors are very good which continues to the Audi booth.

Audi was very very busy. They did a great job with a white theme, all vehicles were white. The 2 not white were copper, the S5 convert and the R8 concept convert. Both look SUPERB!! The R8 continues to just turn heads. I had to wait to sit in multiple cars and they look GREAT with the optional tri spoke 19s. Now here is the big disapointment,. I nearly MISSED the new A* and it was on a stand! The only reason I noticed it was the ridiculous headlights. The car is beyond bland and boring to look at but the interior was very nice to see. What a huge miss. Overall its odd b/c they seem to get the style so right sometimes and other times so bland. Many people commented all the cars/interiors looked the same, just different in size. Kudos to the employee who asked me if she wanted to tell the guy that was taking forever in the S4 to get out. We chatted and she was very friendly and to me helped my views on their stand.

Mini was cool to look at.

Acura was not next to Honda and it was just bare. Most of the cars were silver to hide the beaks. It just shows they are ashamed of their own vehicles. There were more employees than people like GMC. In the rear (not the front for people to see) were 2 ZDXs. They looked beyond disgusting. I go to the cargo area, well there is no space (there is a good size hide away bin). Here is something that has NEVER happened to me before;
I COULD NOT get inside the car. I am 6"5, 230 and at this very show fit in the Mini-Coopers and even the Smart car. I literally could not get inside the rear, the opening is for small poodles, trolls and midgets. It is so bad in execution it makes me realize Acura has truly completely lost it. The guy in front was laughing saying "You need to dive in". The employee comes over saying "its a new 4 door coupe" and I wanted to hit him in the mouth with a goat. I can fit inside the rear of coupes but I can't get inside a 4 door one? The interior is nice up front and well this is just one dumb vehicle.

Hyundai was busy b/c it was next to Lexus Smart move. They put the Sonata right next to the Lexus area. The interior is nice but I was expecting to be blown away and I was not. Great design, nice step up in quality but it is not some 100k interior for 25k as they have you think. Rear seat room is also okay not great.

 

Overall analysis and themes;

1. Car interiors have gotten very good. Even basic cars have good interiors and you can't say American cars have the worst interiors anymore. Most every car I sat in had an interior that was solid and didn't say cheap or bad. This is great for consumers.

2. Infiniti is debuting a new M37/56 and they didn't come to the show and multiple ones around the country. Idiots. I would have easily checked the new vehicle out. I am not moved by the brand to go visit a dealership.

3. BMW should have been there and felt like a big omission as they always have a lot of traffic. It was great for me to check out the 1/X6 etc in years past. Very disappointed they were not there.

4. I was with my fiance and I commented to her that in the last 3 years there is a CLEAR obvious effort to have beautiful women working the areas. I mean there was A LOT of eye candy around. We were STUNNED a presenter for the Dodge Ram had on a full leather outfit I swear I also saw at Cheetah years ago. Quite frankly go to the show for the women

5. Good/Friendly presenters do help your presentation and stand. To me the friendly Audi lady really made me "feel good" about their efforts. Contrarily those that looked uninterested or bored made me feel the brand was the same.

6. Most places to me seemed high in traffic and then no traffic. It seemed like people were all over the Audi, Ford, Lexus booths and then the Jag/Range Rovers, Chevy. Outside of that, most places were pretty bare and it was OBVIOUS.

7. The LFA was the show winner. People loved the car. Anytime I looked at it there was a crowd. The SLS was simply empty in comparison which was a big surprise to me.

8. This show needs some energy and a revamp. I would hate for it to continue to dwindle and/or die. Atlanta has a huge population, we have a huge enthusiast community and we HAVE to drive here. This show is literally in 50% of the space as before.

8. The Audi booth rocked with all cars in white and a white theme. Even if it stands for nothing, it just looked right and cohesive.

9. Acura has the ugliest lineup of vehicles around and the ZDX is the pinnacle of what is wrong with the brand and how they have lost their way.

10. I think GM should have kept Pontiac and not GMC. There is no excitement and nothing "must have" about GMC.

11. Seeing the BMW Isetta (Steve Urkel) car in person was awesome!!

12. The lack of even basic brochures and not one poster to leave with. In the past it felt worth the money but now its just something to do. I felt bad for kids there, they leave with nothing. This is the first time I left with one bag and the bag only had a handful of brochures.

13. Fit and Finish for most cars is pretty solid.

14. Rear seat space and room in most vehicles is either bad or barely average at best. You had to be in a vehicle around 200 inches in length to get some space in most vehicles. The Camry, Accord, 6 do a good job with it but are not huge in size as well.

 

Couldn't agree more. Toyota was pretty bare but GMC and Chrysler should have just turned off the lights and gone home. I seriously LOL'ed when I read your comment about the woman who was presenting the Ram. She literally looked like a hooker! I was shocked!

I too was surprised by the lack of traffic in the Mercedes exhibit...they're usually packed. I continue to be unimpressed with Mercedes interiors, though they're getting better. The GL and ML are probably some of the ugliest interiors in existence.

Lexus is always busy but this year they really dominated the show and everyone on their portion of the floor was smiling and full of energy. The LFA captivates people like few cars that I have ever seen. One woman behind me said, "They have just gone too far...it's like a jet fighter with no wings."

Good seeing you and Krissy too...and the pops!

 

Thanks, Mike. Great write-up.

Sounds like more or less a repeat of the D.C. show in January.....except that you got to see the LF-A, and we didn't. We also had a huge area devoted to non-gasoline vehicles (probably because Congress and the national government was just a few blocks away).

It also sounds like Ford down there at Atlanta, among mainstream manufacturers, had the largest display too, just like here in D.C. The Ford display here was huge (and impressive)...I take it that it was down there, too. Did you actually get to sit inside the Fiesta and the next-gen Focus? Here, they had a couple of Focuses up on turntables, off-limits to the crowd, and they had two Fiestas out on the floor where you could see them (one, a gorgeous bright lime-green ), but locked. The Ford people, even after I almost pulled out my 9 mm pistol, (just kidding ) refused to open them up, on the excuse they they haven't been formally released yet.

Can't believe Bimmer didn't show up at Atlanta......at the D.C. show, they are ALWAYS among the most-crowded displays (maybe because this is a very high-income area where many BMWs are sold).

 

Just par for the course at some auto-show displays. Yes, the usual stuff.....shiny leather boots up to knee-level, short, tight skirts, low necklines, stiff-starch hair-spray, and thick, multi-level makeup pastered on.

I usually just ignore that stuff and concentrate on the cars. If I have a question or comment for them, it's usually about the vehicles they are discussing (most of the time sounding like they are reading off of cue cards).

I also keep it strictly car buisness for a reason. Some of the girls complain that guys try and hit up on them at the show, trying to get their numbers/addresses, etc... and hit them up for dates.

 

OMG I LOLed when I read that.

 

Crap I missed it. I went last year but totally forgot about the show. SUCKS!!!!!

 

It is here until next Sunday.

 

Great writeup from a knowledgeable enthusiast's perspective.