2009 West Michigan Auto Show: Changed Opinions, and Other Things

[YSSMAN]

Okay, so here in Grand Rapids we get to have the "middle" show between Detroit and Chicago every year. For the most part, the show is operated by the dealers, but on most occasions, the manufacturers will bring in their new products for everyone to see. I'll cover some of the important stuff, and feel free to leave some feedback as well.

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2010 Chevrolet Camaro LS V6









As everyone knows, its my most-anticipated car, and to be honest, this really didn't mis-direct it all that much. It was a basic "base" LS V6 model, the only option box that was checked was for the automatic gearbox. It wasn't exactly blowing people away with the steel rallye wheels, and the color wasn't exactly the best either, but of all the cars that I was around, it was one of the most-popular (only the Challenger was topping it).

The interior is actually a pretty nice place to be. Its not going to steal away awards from the Buick and Cadillac divisions for overall luxury, but its beyond solid and I'd say on an equal footing with most of the Toyota stuff. The seats are extra-comfy, and I'm eager to try out the more sport-oriented ones from the SS. I'd wager that overall, the interior sits nicely between the Mustang and Challenger in much the same way that the overall size of the car does.

2010 Mustang GT



Its a pretty car, and I really like that blue color. Because it was on the stand, you couldn't see much, but from the ground the interior definitely looks like its a step ahead of the Camaro, and leagues ahead of the Challenger.

2010 Mazda 3s







Its official: They ruined the Mazda 3. I'm willing to let the awkward looks go, its actually better in person than what pictures make it look like. But the interior? They took a nice, simple design and screwed it up.

Fail of the day? They parked a 2009 3i right next to it, and its better looking. The Mazda reps actually tried to fight me over it, and I kept reminding them that I nearly bought one, I know how they drive, and I know how they look. Then they tried to talk to me about the Mazda 6, which is a good-looking car, but the Fusion is better. They wouldn't have that either.

2010 Buick LaCrosse:







I'd vote this as one of the surprises of the day, as I was not expecting the car to be there, much less on the floor without any ropes around it. It was a CXL AWD with the 2.8L Turbocharged V6, and it was beyond awesome. The interior looks magnificent, I'd rate it higher than the CTS on looks alone... Although the MKS may give it a run for its money.

2010 Lincoln MKS



ECOBOOST!!!

Nissan





Meh. The 370Z isn't all that impressive, and the $35K pricetag made me walk away quickly. I wasn't blown away by the Cube either, as they had the [Kia] Soul there as well. No GT-R, I'm afraid. Kinda disappointing as well.

Bugatti Veyron







Well, its an impressive car. It was the headline car for the "Million Dollar Motorway," and I have to admit, it was very cool seeing it in person. The first thing I noticed was how small it actually was, it really didn't seem like it was much larger than a Corvette, albeit much, much lower to the ground.

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There was an 8C and DBS there as well, not to mention the ZR1 and LP-560-4. I can add those later if you like.

Overall, a good show. Makes me look forward to Chicago even more!

 

[mustangGT90210]

Awesome post! Do you have any more pictures of the Mustang? I wanna see some pictures of it NOT taken by Ford

 

[McLaren]

Oh hell, I was wrong on that Veyron. It's not white, it's a silver body. Even better. 👍

The Camaro, impressive as it is, I just don't care for the base model. It's the V8 models I wanna see.

 

[Kylehnat]

V6 Camaros and Mustangs = FAIL.

I agree on the Mazda 3...that grille is just TOO BIG. The shape isn't all that bad, just the size. I'll wait to pass judgment on the interior. They probably shouldn't have messed with that too much, either, as the design and quality of the current car's interior is phenomenal.

Was that black 370Z a manual? If so, tell them to send it my way .

 

[Tornado]

Brad, do you go to things like this (car shows, dealer lots, etc.) just to pick fights with poor PR guys?

 

[Leonidae]

V6 Camaros and Mustangs = FAIL.

this V6 Camaro is win, because it actually makes decent power, has direct injection and proper valvetrain. Mustang on the other hand can rot in hell.

 

[Jordan]

I'm sure this comparison has been drawn many times, but the designer's inspiration is really apparent from that angle:

 

[Duke]

The poor 3. It was so... perfect. And now it's just made of fugly. It's like some ghastly joker smile that it can't stop grinning, even though it's dying on the inside.

 

[Rotary Junkie]

this V6 Camaro is win, because it actually makes decent power, has direct injection and proper valvetrain. Mustang on the other hand can rot in hell.

Mustang's got an SOHC V6. It's just a really crap SOHC V6 that was originally designed as a 2.8L pushrod V6. (And now displaces 4 liters)

 

[Leonidae]

..so, how old is that base design of Mustangs V6? 20 years? 30?

 

[Rotary Junkie]

20ish if I'm not mistaken. It doesn't make a good truck engine and it makes a horrible performance engine.

 

[YSSMAN]

Brad, do you go to things like this (car shows, dealer lots, etc.) just to pick fights with poor PR guys?

Sometimes, yes. Sometimes, no. This guy clearly didn't know what he was talking about, and he was pushing both my Mom and I very hard to go to the dealership to buy a car from him. Simply put, he wouldn't take no for an answer, even when it was clear to his buddy that I knew more than he did.

Otherwise, I just like going and talking with the salesmen. Particularly the VW, Audi and Porsche guys.

 

[Moglet]

Where's the gearknob gone in the Mazda 3?!

That Buick looks awesome though, the interior is very nice and looks comfortable and the exterior is stunning IMO. It's a shame we'll never see it over here!

 

[buickgnx88]

At car shows, they usually remove the knobs that are easy to remove so nobody steals them.

 

[Moglet]

At car shows, they usually remove the knobs that are easy to remove so nobody steals them.

I've never seen that at any of the shows over here, even at the main show in London!

 

[buickgnx88]

"Is that a knob in your pocket or are you happy to see me?"

 

[YSSMAN]

Almost all the cars with removable knobs had them taken out, "just in case." Sometimes when you go to car dealerships here, they'll do it in their showroom models as well. I'm not sure who would steal a gear knob, but, you never know...

Something that does deserve a thread but I haven't had the time to write it:

I finally understand what the Toyota Venza is all about, and to be honest, there is a semi-decent chance that my Mom may go after one. Maybe. And to be even more honest, I wouldn't feel like a dweeb driving it.

 

[Prosthetic]

The Camaro just looks so dull...

 

[Nicksfix]

The Camaro just looks so dull...

A set of black rally stripes is what it needs.

 

[Bones Brigade]

The 370z certainly is a bit awkward head on, but I think the profile is stunning. I took a look at one yesterday (no test drive) and I was nearly overcome with desire. The silver graphite or whatever they're calling it* is the color to have. It seems to bring out the good features and masks things like the door handles and to an extent the headlights. Hopefully the overheating issue will be ironed out (not that I would ever race it) and they change the fuel/temp gauge cluster for 2010 and I'll find myself a used one sometime at the onset of 2011.

*Platinum Graphite, ooooooohhh.

 

[Jay]

Sometimes, yes. Sometimes, no. This guy clearly didn't know what he was talking about,

Almost all Motorshow PR guys I talk to know next to nothing about the cars except the few things they were briefed on but they always try to act like they know everything.


35k for the 370 doesn't sound all that bad to me? It has great performance and all reviews I have seen so far are exceptionally good. Maybe I am just used to price figures double that for the same car (the Australian way)


As for the Camaro, I am liking it less and less every day.

 

[Bones Brigade]

35k for the 370 doesn't sound all that bad to me? It has great performance and all reviews I have seen so far are exceptionally good. Maybe I am just used to price figures double that for the same car (the Australian way)

Yeah, 35k doesn't seem all that lofty to me either. The only thing that makes it look high is the V6 Camaro that's under 25k. But then you account for an LSD, the forged aluminum wheels, better quality interior materials, 30 extra horsepower, hundreds of fewer pounds and the resulting performance benefits the 10k premium doesn't sound like too much.

 

[YSSMAN]

The problem I have with a $35K pricetag is that its well above the Camaro SS territory (starts at $30K with a 422 BHP V8), or even the rather well-performing 2010 Mustang GT that comes in right at $28K. Yes, that Z was loaded up a little bit, but the MSRP comes it pretty much-bang on at $30K after destination fees. Lets be honest, there are a lot of really good options for the price, and we can easily throw the GenCoupe V6 and Challenger R/T on that pile as well.

They're all going to offer up some pretty interesting performance styles, all with different aspects that are major strong points over the other. The problem was, I just didn't feel all that impressed by the Z. Having an S2000 parked across the isle just made me nostalgic as well.

 

[Bones Brigade]

With the exception of the Camaro, the Z will outperform all those even when stripped out and not a penny more than 30k. And as for the SS, it's a freaking bargain, so yeah, the Z is an overpriced POS, comparatively.

 

[eiriksmil]

Is the Buick LaCrosse a rebadged Opel Insignia? Hmm.. Sexy.

 

[Philly]

Camaro: I saw one going the other way on the freeway on my way out to Ann Arbor on Friday, and I must say that if that particular one wasn't bright yellow I would have probably missed it, even though I was making sure I took a note of every car going the other way then, which is something I tend to do on long trips. Granted, though, this car was going the other way on the other side of a huge median. It looks like the interior is pretty nice though.

Mustang Maybe it's the angle, but those headlights are awful looking. Hopefully I'll be able to see a little more in Chicago and be able to comment on more than just the headlights, which are really the only things worth taking note of from that picture...

Mazda 3 I absolutely refuse to believe that the 3 is as bad as you say it is. Everything just seemed so perfect about it, and it is hard to believe that that is a car that could possible be ruined, let alone actually be ruined. I won't pass judgment on the car until I sit in one in Chicago.

Buick Lacrosse Maybe they'll have an unlocked one in Chicago? It would be really cool to see how good this car is there.

Nissan Are they coming to Chicago? I believe Autoblog was saying they wouldn't be. I'd like to see the 370Z in person. And I didn't know the Cube was out already. It looks pretty lonely from that angle.

And now I feel like I'm the only one on here who has yet to see a Veyron in person. Ugh. Eyes are still peeled.

It's good to see auto show write-ups. Now I'm really looking forward to Chicago in two weeks! That should be a really fun time. Hopefully dad will have the patience to let me comb over the new Detroit products unlike last year...

 

[YSSMAN]

Is the Buick LaCrosse a rebadged Opel Insignia? Hmm.. Sexy.

Its based on the same platform (Epsilon-II), and will share a few parts, but I believe the LaCrosse is larger. We're supposed to be getting the Insignia as a Regal next year, but that hasn't been completely confirmed.

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Now I'm really looking forward to Chicago in two weeks! That should be a really fun time. Hopefully dad will have the patience to let me comb over the new Detroit products unlike last year...

Word up son, I think I might be convincing my Mom to go down with me. I don't know for sure if I'll want to spend all that money to drive down in the Celica, but you know what, it may be fun.

Chicago always comes with bonuses, and most of the car companies that weren't represented at Detroit should be in the Windy City show. The only question is:

Will Chrysler be doing the test drive thing?

...Because if not, dear God, there is going to be a ton of room in McCormick!

 

[buickgnx88]

I wish I were going to be back home when the Minneapolis Auto Show rolls around! (no pun intended)

 

[Tornado]

With the exception of the Camaro, the Z will outperform all those even when stripped out and not a penny more than 30k.

We know pretty much nothing about the Gen Coupe, and the Mustang was always pretty close performance wise to the 350Z.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

That wheel tire combo for the Camaro looks horrible. 👎
I love the new Mustang but hate that color on it.
Bugatti Veyron