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MotorCities Story of the Week is now featured on
If the North American Auto Show season has an official kickoff party the LA Show is it. It’s a first chance to see and touch the cars unveiled around the world in the 8 months since the NY Auto Show. We’ve been waiting for some optimism, new designs and a reason for a resurgence in the exciting industry which is the car business. The past year needs put behind us.
So we begin the journey to Detroit as the Los Angeles Auto Show swings into action this week. As your Detroit “on the scene” reporter I can say the LA Convention Center Center is a fine venue for the show with multiple halls, convenient parking and across the street LA Live a block with a plethora of great eateries. This year there were two days of press conferences kicked off with a breakfast and welcome by Auto Alliance president, Dave McCurdy. The keynote address was given by Bob Lutz of General Motors replacing former CEO, Fritz Henderson who resigned the day before. Automotive insiders were given an opportunity to road test the new generation of “green” cars in the “Green Cars/LA Auto Show Ride and Drive”, a special driving experience to compare and experience “green” first hand. The road rally site was set up in the parking lot and side roads of the convention center. The show opens to the public this week and the cars are the Hollywood stars.
One of the coolest experiences at the show is the unique Porsche exhibit located in the ”Pretree Room” showcasing vintage and current vehicles. This is a just for the LA showing. The exhibit has a hands on museum area featuring interaction with the vehicles along with a ride down history lane. The culture was also captured perfectly with a popular Porsche accessories store. Porsche fans from the LA area attended an invitation only pre-show evening swapping stories from the road and a desire for the new redesigned Boxster Spyder available in the USA next month. This vehicle promises to go from 0 to 60 mph in less than 5 seconds for a total man/machine experience. It is the lightest member of the mid-engine Boxster family. In order to lighten the vehicle for a driving purist acceleration all essentials have been eliminated including air conditioning and the radio.
The 2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder due for its public intro next month was the showcase vehicle at Porsche’s special event evening at the LA Auto Show Preview
Toyota boldly showed a redesigned mini -van the 3rd generation Sienna. Bob Carter, president, stated “ manufacturer’s are leaving the minivan concept for cross-over vehicles but Toyota is taking a stand to redesign it for the 27 million owners who want it”. Some new features include a duo screen allowing two passengers to watch separate movies or use separate computer games. Some models also include 4 wheel drive.
At the Ford press conference it was all about the revival of the “ Fiesta” and the power of social networking. Ford lent 100 of these vehicles to select drivers asking they put their driving experiences on “Twitter” and Facebook”. Rolling over 1.2 million miles the “test” drivers reported all their driving experiences. Talk about color – these cars glow with fresh happy vibe colors.
Ford’s new “Fiesta” was introduced by 100 special drivers putting their driving experiences on Facebook and Twitter rolling over 1.2 million miles of driving
Honda went totally creative with the introduction of the P-nut (Personal -Neo Urban Transport)a concept car focusing on “man driving the car experience. A forward looking exercise showing small cars do not need to compromise on style or amenities. The vehicle conceived around a city lifestyle holds three passengers. Three of Honda’s top designers presented their thoughts about the creation process and the resulting vehicle. This was a refreshing press conference as the stage was clearly focused on future auto designs.
As a Detroiter I was excited about the potential this show exuded as there will be a similar feeling and focus in Detroit. The automotive rock stars are getting ready preening for their Detroit debut and it could not be more welcome!
The Honda P-Nut creativity in a futuristic vehicle conceived around a city lifestyle
Margery Krevsky is the author of Sirens of Chrome: The enduring allure of auto show models
www.sirensofchrome.com
Published by Momentum Publishing
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