Washington, D.C. Auto Show starts tomorrow.
01-28-11, 06:17 AM
#16
Not sure if I'll be attending the show, this year, but good tip on the passes. A little bit of extra incentive to convince a few others to attend, is always good. 
Yes, definitely was interesting. I knew quite a few people who suffered 6-9 hour commutes, while others had to check in to hotels.
Again, I was impressed with the snow tires on the F. I was out during the early parts when it was still sleet/slush, but I had 0 issues, including the next mornings commute.
Again, I was impressed with the snow tires on the F. I was out during the early parts when it was still sleet/slush, but I had 0 issues, including the next mornings commute.
01-28-11, 06:36 AM
#17
Thanks. You have a nice time at your show, too.
I'll let you know if I see one at the DC show. (I think they had an LF-A displayed last year, but for just one day only). It's not listed on the official tally....but manufacturers sometimes make unannounced day-to-day changes. In the meantime, you can also check the website for the RI show, and see what they list.
You have a nice time at your show, too. I'll let you know if I see one at the DC show.
(I think they had an LF-A displayed last year, but for just one day only). It's not listed on the official tally....but manufacturers sometimes make unannounced day-to-day changes. In the meantime, you can also check the website for the RI show, and see what they list.I'm looking forward to reading your thoughts and observations after the show. Enjoy!
01-28-11, 07:22 AM
#18
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Like NYC, SFO has a large and well-developed public-transit system (and, of course, the famous cable-cars). That, like in NYC, takes a bite out of car sales, especially for people who live and commute locally.One reason why this area sells so many new cars (and why, keeping on the thread topic, the D.C. show has become more important lately) is that the enormous suburban sprawl here (it is getting more or less like L.A.) has rapidly outgrown the available public-transit systems (which are trying to catch up), and, because of the low unemployment and high number of jobs here, people are commuting into the area from 50 and even, in some cases, 100 miles away, putting a lot of miles on their cars every year. People who live further out and need to commute to their jobs often have no choice, even in carpools, but to drive.
01-28-11, 07:28 AM
#19
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Did you have your F out when the roads really got bad, though.....say, after 6 PM that evening?
01-28-11, 07:35 AM
#20
Lexus Fanatic
But are they buying a lot of new cars? Like NYC, SFO has a large and well-developed public-transit system (and, of course, the famous cable-cars). That, like in NYC, takes a bite out of car sales, especially for people who live and commute locally.
One reason why this area sells so many new cars (and why, keeping on the thread topic, the D.C. show has become more important lately) is that the enormous suburban sprawl here (it is getting more or less like L.A.) has rapidly outgrown the available public-transit systems (which are trying to catch up), and, because of the low unemployment and high number of jobs here, people are commuting into the area from 50 and even, in some cases, 100 miles away, putting a lot of miles on their cars every year. People who live further out and need to commute to their jobs often have no choice, even in carpools, but to drive.
Like NYC, SFO has a large and well-developed public-transit system (and, of course, the famous cable-cars). That, like in NYC, takes a bite out of car sales, especially for people who live and commute locally.One reason why this area sells so many new cars (and why, keeping on the thread topic, the D.C. show has become more important lately) is that the enormous suburban sprawl here (it is getting more or less like L.A.) has rapidly outgrown the available public-transit systems (which are trying to catch up), and, because of the low unemployment and high number of jobs here, people are commuting into the area from 50 and even, in some cases, 100 miles away, putting a lot of miles on their cars every year. People who live further out and need to commute to their jobs often have no choice, even in carpools, but to drive.
SF is the only city in area with a fairly well-developed transit system, it's a small and compact city of only 500K people in the city itself out of the 7.2 million people in the greater SF metro/suburban area mentioned. Any bite from auto sales in SF due to having a somewhat developed transit system is insignificant in the greater Bay Area because SF is such a small city in population. So the city of SF despite it's media-hyped profile, really is a non-factor in discussions like this. Btw, puny SF is nothing like the huge NYC.
Similar reasons this #1 metro area in nation sells so many cars (plus a few others) including; enormous suburban sprawl, more higher paying private tech sector jobs than government jobs (therefore highest median household income in the US), area contains the tech capital of the world, many workers with lucrative stock option gains to spend on top of 6 digit salaries, largest amount of venture capital investment in the entire nation by far goes into Bay Area (about 1/3 of entire nation's VC spend is done in Bay Area), inadequate and incomplete public transit systems, people putting a lot of miles on cars, people commuting long distances from lower housing cost locations to where the higher paying jobs are in Bay Area (I know some crazy people doing 120 miles one-way), people have no choice but to drive, even the few that have access to transit still choose to drive, carpooling is only done by a very small portion of commuters.
Last edited by IS-SV; 01-28-11 at 04:43 PM. Reason: sp
01-28-11, 03:49 PM
#21
Interesting. An IS-F (that's what I assume you were driving), with RWD and the stock summer/high-performance tires, would normally be either a handful on slippery roads or next to impossible, even with electronic traction aids. I guess that shows what a difference a tire like the Bridgestone Blizzak can make.
Did you have your F out when the roads really got bad, though.....say, after 6 PM that evening?
Did you have your F out when the roads really got bad, though.....say, after 6 PM that evening?
Dedicated snow tires made a world of difference, and are a substantial upgrade from all-seasons, as well, in my personal experiences. Thankfully, I stayed in after ~5pm, though the greater of my fears were other drivers. I've done a number of slide attempts and threshold braking tests, to see how it behaved, and I'd say ground clearance would be a bigger hurdle, given proper driver attention (sense) and aids.
the enormous suburban sprawl here (it is getting more or less like L.A.) has rapidly outgrown the available public-transit systems (which are trying to catch up), and, because of the low unemployment and high number of jobs here, people are commuting into the area from 50 and even, in some cases, 100 miles away, putting a lot of miles on their cars every year.
Anyway, not to stray too much in the thread, I look forward to your feedback from the show, if I don't get around to going. Stay safe out there.
01-28-11, 04:05 PM
#22
Lexus Fanatic
Did those two shows have a heavy accent on electrics and extended-range plug-ins? That's going to be the case here.....a lot of floor space given to electrics and non-gasoline vehicles in general. Obama, in the State of the Union Speech a couple of nights ago, said he wanted to see a 10% electric-car market here in America in just a few more years, and Congress is going to vote on a new $7500 tax credit for electrics.
01-29-11, 09:29 AM
#24
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Doesn't matter much if we stray or not.
I'm going to do a separate thread, for the Editor's column, on the show after it is over.
01-29-11, 05:11 PM
#25
I think this was the last year I will attend a car show for awhile. They have been going more and more "green" and it's just not interesting to me. The Honda CR-Z for example is just a FAIL. The old CRX had better mileage and was a more capable performer and on top of all that the idea of how much pollution is generated making hybrid cars totally contradicts the "green". There was little to no emphasis on performance so the likes of the GT-R and LF-A were not there.
It was however interesting to see how Hyundai and Ford appear to be doing so well. They have some really good looking cars now that made the Toyota section look extremely bland. I also saw for the first time in person and really like the new Buick Regal.
It was however interesting to see how Hyundai and Ford appear to be doing so well. They have some really good looking cars now that made the Toyota section look extremely bland. I also saw for the first time in person and really like the new Buick Regal.
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