LA 2006

[HarleyEarl]

Show Reflects Diversity of L.A. Auto Market Posted on 1/3/06 3:30 p.m. CST Advertisements hyping this year's Greater Los Angeles Auto Show feature two cars: the $1.2 million, 1,001-horsepower Bugatti Veyron supercar and the Honda Civic Hybrid — a seemingly disparate pair of rides that, collectively, sum up the quintessential and often fantastical L.A. driving experience. The show's general manager Andy Fuzesi noted that Southern California itself represents the market's extremes, as the largest market both for exotic cars and hybrids. The 2006 Veyron will make its North American debut at the show, which will be open for media and industry previews Jan. 4 and 5, and then daily to the general public Jan. 6 - 15 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. "California as a whole [accounts for] 10 percent of the total U.S. car sales," Fuzesi said. "And with the bulk of the population of California being in southern California, this represents the single-largest automobile market in the U.S. And beyond the number of cars, what's again significant about it is it tends to be the trendsetter. It tends to show where the market is going in the future." If that's the case, then at least the flashiest part of that market is going fast. In addition to the Bugatti, 2006 exotics taking continental bows in L.A. include the Ferrari F430 Challenge; the Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder; Porsche's Cayman S; the coach-built Fisker Latigo and Tramonto; and the Dutch Spyker C12 LaTurbie and C8 Laviolette. There are also more high-end limousine-style rides scheduled for display, such as the Maybach 57S, Ferrari's four-door 612 Scaglietti and the Maserati Quattroporte GT. At the other, greener end of the show's poster cars is the Civic Hybrid, which pairs an inline-four-cylinder, 1.3-liter i-VTEC engine with an electric motor and can drive some 600 miles on one tank of gas. Saab, the once iconoclastic Swedish company now owned by General Motors, will also deliver a green concept car — the 9-5 Aero BioPower, which is fueled by bio-ethanol. Audi will bring its first-ever sport utility vehicle entry, the Q7, both as a 2006 production model and in hybrid concept form. Inside those two extremes are several more vehicles scheduled to appear in Los Angeles. Mazda will debut its CX-7 crossover, powered by a 244-hp four-cylinder turbo with a six-speed-automatic transmission. Mercedes-Benz will exhibit the 2007 S-Class sedan, powered by a V-8 said to deliver about 400 hp. BMW is bringing its ultra-performance M6 coupe, while Volkswagen will show the 2007 Eos convertible, a new five-seat production model with cornering headlights and a retractable hardtop. Chevrolet's display will include the 2007 Aveo sedan and Suburban, plus a Corvette Z06 Daytona Pace Car. GMC will have a 2007 Yukon XL, while Pontiac goes performance with the 2007 Solstice GXP, powered by a turbocharged Ecotec four-cylinder. Toyota will bring the Yaris, a subcompact to replace the Echo. Known in Japan as the Vitz, the Yaris has been sold for seven years in Europe, where it has won awards. Elsewhere, the second-annual Design Los Angeles challenge will feature ideas that look good on paper but are unlikely to ever make their way to showrooms. Designers from 10 mostly local studios — many automakers maintain creative offices in southern California — conjured up utopian vehicles intended for "An L.A. Adventure," an intentionally nebulous phrase selected by show organizers to allow wide latitude for designer interpretation. Entries range from the GMC Pad, a postmodern mobile home clad in "Star Wars"-style white panels, and the Scion Exile, an exotic featuring a removable trunk locker, to the Maybach California Gourmet Tourer, a three-wheeled glass-booth limousine packed with a fridge, wine racks and an espresso maker. Andre Frey, a senior designer at Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design of North America who conceived the vehicle, said the moveable feast was inspired by California's vineyards, then expanded to include fine dining as well. "The cars are purely for entertainment value," Frey said. "But of course some of the ideas or concepts, if they are valid — we can always use them one way or another." Those concepts are too wild even for the relative frontier atmosphere of Kentia Hall, which hosts the show's aftermarket exhibition. The exhibit features performance, styling and electronics frills, plus assorted tricked-out vehicles modeling the gear. This is the 99th anniversary of auto shows in Los Angeles; the first happened at a downtown skating rink in 1907. Producers say that in recent years the show has drawn about a million visitors annually and has filled up all available exhibition space. International prestige, however, has lagged, as have the number of world and North American debuts made available to the West Coast masses. But that's all due to change. Beginning in 2006, the auto show will occur every November rather than January, separating the L.A. show from Detroit's North American International Auto Show, which is held the second week of January. The shows' close timetables now make for hectic schedules for executives, exhibition planners and publicity coordinators. Fuzesi said manufacturers have been seeking a schedule change for some time, and are already hinting at their expanded plans for November 2006. "It's going to really change the status of the show, and there's going to be significantly more debuts of vehicles, and media attendance and coverage," Fuzesi said. "It may be one of the most significant things in the show's history — the date change and all it's going to impact." — Reported by Jeremy Rosenberg, cars.com

[G. David Felt]

:P What a great start to an awesome Auto Year!!! :P