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Auto Show Coverage: 2005 Los Angeles Auto Show
As similar as they may sound, differences exist between the California International Auto Show and the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show. Anaheim kicks off the model year, L.A. kicks off the calendar year. The latter takes place in an area so densely packed that those track driving events for Volvos and Chevys – always a spectator magnet – didn't make the cut. Even among a mostly unchanged main cast, the spotlight shined on different performers. And there were many more guests from the aftermarket industry, who, fittingly enough, were placed underground.
90% of the cars were, of course, the same – not even the automotive scene moves fast enough to look much different after three months. But 2005 models that were new in October weren't often hailed as new here, even though the year just started. That's the trouble with making a flashy entrance: doing it a second time would just look awkward.
As usual, we media folk were subjected to dozens of press conferences consisting of blasting music and PR boasting about the company's stellar (and often inflated) sales figures. Not so usual was the uneven representation – did all the invitations to Asia get lost in the mail? Only one company from the non-Western world had something to say – Hyundai – who only had one product to show, and it won't even be for sale. One would think that any company that lives in or next door to L.A. (which describes every Asian make except Subaru) would show up to show off on their own territory.
But then, maybe it's something about that territory. Anyone familiar with L.A. knows the values that most of the natives would sell their first-borns for – looks, appearances, and image – and patterns emerge when looking at the auto show agenda. Bentley, Porsche, Ferrari, Venturi, Saleen, Spyker, Panoz? Not exactly the companies one turns to for practical, intelligent transport, are they? Most people probably know those as makers of cars whose gas guzzler taxes could buy entire cars, to those who know of them at all. There sure was no shortage of autos boasting too-high price tags and too much power. Hey, nothing wrong with a little indulgence.
Among those mentioned, the most significant was probably Saleen (either the man or the company), who brought a mildly updated version of his S7 supercar that Conan O'Brien would jokingly call The Ranch, because it's where 750 horses live. What better way to celebrate the new year than by shattering last year's world horsepower record by 100? Take that, Ferrari Enzo.
French automaker Venturi (who?) had a superfast sports car of its own, significant because it's electric. While not many people would blow $600,000 to save gas, it's encouraging to know that electricity can not only be used to make a 50-mile-range joke, but also a hyperfast 300-horsepower exotic. Call it encouraging assurance that today's already-capable gasoline alternatives are only in their infant stages.
BMW had an alternative to that alternative: a hydrogen-powered sports car. The biggest part of its H2R concept won't be a concept for long, as BMW publicly promised that the hydrogen motor (which can also run on gas) will see production this decade. With Honda, Toyota, and GM pushing hybrids, with Volkswagen and Mercedes on the diesel front, and with BMW taking the hydrogen challenge, who will win in the end? Answer: the consumer. And the Earth.
And heading back down to Earth, we common folk got to see the new Volkswagen Jetta, looking better than ever at age 25. In the past few years, this kid has learned a lot and now holds some convincing credentials: two much more powerful and efficient engines, a six-speed Tiptronic transmission, and electro-mechanical steering. The slacker rear suspension is gone. The new People's Car will be pleasing people aplenty.
Chevrolet, Pontiac, Dodge, and Audi had a few new production cars of their own, but that was pretty much all. Despite the natural connection between Los Angeles and cars, it would seem that putting on an auto show that's three months after the first one, and on the same week as the nation's most important (the Detroit Auto Show), might not be the smartest strategy.
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