bobo

Instead of wasting resources bringing back a low volume, high-priced supercar, Acura should bring out a desirable, reachable car, because the current lineup isn't cutting it.

fast

Here's another pic of the XTS trunk. You don't drop stuff in the trunk, you shove stuff into it. Here are a few more pics from the LA Auto Show, starting with an Aston Martin: Volvo Concept You: Malibu: Audi e-tron spyder: ELR: Ciel:

seek

Too bad there are unnecessarily fussy details inside and out. What is the need for all the small quarter windows that are showing up? Interesting roof detail--will that preclude a sunroof? Subaru will probably have the better looking version.

bomb shelter

One of the hundred or so fuel cell Equinoxes, in Torrance.

The Titan gets terrible gas mileage. They need to work on that.

With that front-sloping roof, a windshield gutter and downspout seems to be a necessity, otherwise you'll be watching a waterfall during the rain.

Dodge is currently advertising the Grand Caravan as the best-selling minivan of all time. Great idea to kill it. When Plymouth was killed, along with the Voyager, the Chrysler T&C had to move downmarket. It should go back to its roots to be the executive express, and let Dodge cover the mass market.

Subaru BRZ. It looks great in person, without some of the weirdness of the Scion FR-S. I'll share some of my other observations at the LA Auto Show, which ends this weekend. I normally like going opening day, but I didn't make it out there until Tuesday. Porsche is always the most happening area, but this year Hyundai seemed to be the place to be, with people crawling all over the vehicles. Ford's area was huge, as in past years. Good to see Ford keep the Mustang fresh and keep upgrading the hardware. The Ford Escape looks good.The Lincoln MKS refresh looks just as bad in person as in pictures. I seemed to have missed the MKT. The Honda CR-V looks fine. Acura was quiet. $57k for a ZDX. The Scion iQ would be ok for $12k but not for $17k. The Lexus GS is a mess visually. The new BMW 3-Series was not there. The i3 and i8 were. I liked the Mitisubishi i Woody. The Buick Veranos were ignored. They have a very solid feel. Too bad the mileage isn't great. The 2013 Malibu has a sportier look than the outgoing car, but the rear seat looks small. The car was not open to go inside. A trio of Sparks were there, with nobody looking at them. The base Sonic has an extremely cheap interior. The upmarket trim is decent. (Side note - I drove a Sonic a week ago, and it was a surprisingly pleasant ride.) The GMC area was dead. Nothing new to see there. The Cadillac XTS looks like a Malibu XL in person. There wasn't much interest in the car, with people preferring to congregate around the CTS-V, ELR, or Ciel, which looks good in person despite a few clumsy details. The rear deck of the XTS is short, almost CTS Coupe short. Alas, Suzuki was a no-show. Several automakers had ride and drive events outside. Usually only Toyota and Ford do it, but this year more automakers, including Hyundai/Kia, GM, Chrysler, and Mitsubishi, did it. However, many of them, including GM, were doing it on only the weekends. Toyota had a plug-in Prius. I drove a Toyota Camry Hybrid and was impressed. The interior is a big improvement, and the transition from electricity to gas is smooth. I normally don't pay much attention to the tuner stuff downstairs in Kentia Hall, but I found some interesting stuff down there. A few pics:

Surfliner

eyeliner

patty

A neighbor bought a white 500. The car is small and cheap, but Fiat has a lot of work to do to overcome a terrible reputation. I'm still surprised they tried to come back here.

lampoon

You can't have tinted front windows or windshield in California. The rear windows can be as dark as you want provided you have outside rear-view mirrors on both sides.

live

ballroom

2005 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Crew Cab (New)

Good choice. Congrats. Classy color, but black on black will be hot in the summer.

rotary

The HS was too dorky-looking, and not in a cool way. I didn't have a problem with the interior. Part of the sales problem of the HS is also the success of the CT200h, which is selling at around 1,500 a month, and I think the projection was 1,000. A hybrid ES is also a no-brainer.

I don't have much to add to what's been said (Hyundaiesque side sculpting, poor proportions, unfortunate six-window greenhouse), but I suspect the car will look better in the flesh than the photo suggests. A positive note: no tired front fender vent. But cover up the overly ornate grille and the vertical taillights, and you'd be hard-pressed to figure out that this was even a Cadillac. On the bright side, it's great to see 98 post again here!

A few recent sightings: A Enterprise-special Chevrolet Captiva, a Jag with license plates "BRG XK8" (I assume the color of the car was British Racing Green, but I couldn't tell because it was dark), a red Hyundai Veloster (very nice-looking in person), and a white Sonic sedan.