NAIAS: The Spy's take

[Chris_Doane]

So I’m back from 2 days of walking around the press preview days at NAIAS and....well Im very happy to be sitting down. Press days are a complete mad house. The best thing I can think to compare it to is high school. Did you ever have one class all the way on one side of the building...then the bell rings to go to the next class and your next class is allllll the way on the other side of the building. You only have a few minutes to get there and the hallways are packed with other students. Now imagine there are almost 7000 other students and you are all trying to get to the SAME classroom! You really start to feel like a cattle herd by the end of the day.

Anyhow, I guess I ‘ll just write about the things that stand out in my mind. Haha I imagine no one really cares what I have to say, but I’ve been talking about it with so many people now that I feel like writing it down.

Press Conferences

Most of the companies still aren’t doing these well. I hate to say it, but with the exception of the Camaro P.C., GM is still doing very poorly here. The Enclave P.C. was just really unfortunate. You had 4 execs talking about all this crap that wasn’t directly related to the Enclave. The woman in the red dress did not look human. I had to look at her through a zoom lens to make sure she wasn’t a Disney animatronic robot. Even then I wasn’t totally sure she was human. The whole thing just seemed VERY unrehearsed. The end was worst, the exec seemed unsure what to say or if it was even over. Just sort of an “oh uh...come and look at the car now I guess...is there more on the tele-prompter for me?”

Ford’s also were not too great. Lots of ideological talk and not enough about the cars specifically. The music during Aston Martin’s P.C. was about to put the arena to sleep. Not the way to get people excited about your cars.

DCX is about the only company that knows how to do a P.C. They seem to be the only ones really trying to have a sense of humor and showmanship. They drove a damn Jeep through thick, plate glass! It wasn't fake hollywood glass! That said, the Eva Longoria thing was a total disaster! She flubbed almost all her lines and looked like she had no idea what she was doing there...but....it was somehow funny I guess we were all just laughing AT her. Then you have Deiter. He’s the perfect guy to be your CEO out pitching your product to the masses. His personality just makes him far and away a much more likable guy than Bill Ford or Wagoner. LaSorda also appears like he’s got the right personality to be a good frontman for Chrysler. Time will tell. OK, onto the cars...

Camaro Concept

OK let’s just get to Camaro right away. You don’t need me to tell you the car is hot. The front 3/4 view of this car is the definition of menacing. Before I left the show floor I went back over to Camaro one more time and the whole area was mostly empty and quiet. I looked at the front 3/4 again and I almost heard a growling sound in my head. Im not sure the car isn’t a little too wide? The interior is maybe the one downfall. This is a very “concepty” interior. Most of this would never see production. The seats worked well though, with the accent color stitching looking really nice. Its amazing how a small detail like stitching can really make something work. The door panels were also working pretty well. I think the only negatives on exterior styling may be the vents in front of the rear wheels. Do we even need those there? The head/tail lights probably need a little more work too. I can’t quite pinpoint what it is Im not liking there, but I’d like to see some other ideas from the design studio. Keep those monster tail pipes! I can hear those things roaring easily. Biggest question on exterior is, of course, how much carries over to production. I heard several industry people saying there were design elements on the show car that, for production capability or financial reasons, probably would not make it to production. Only time will tell of course.

So the worst part. The chance to buy a production version of this concept is at least 2 years away. Probably more along the lines of 2.5-3 years. Did GM make a mistake by showing this concept too early? I think the answer to that is a strong “maybe.” How is this design going to be looking in 3 years? Probably more importantly, how are all your fans going to feel about waiting 2.5-3 years for a car they've already wanted for years now?

The most disturbing thing, however, was the comment by Lutz that they would need to sell somewhere along the lines of 165k units annually to make the business case for a production model. If we are talking 165k Camaro’s alone, then I think Camaro’s future is in jeopardy. If we are talking about 165k Camaro’s AND a Chevy/Pontiac sedan, then I think the future is bright. Could Camaro get 165k in the first year? Absolutely. In fact I would not at all be surprised to see it exceed that. If people were able to sign up to buy a Camaro today, based on the concept, they would have 150k-200k people easy. The problem is the GM bean counters know better than to look at the first year or two.

The waiting game begins. Again.

Chrysler Imperial Concept

Well, Im forced to use a common auto show line here. “The car looks significantly better in person.” The Imperial is a monster, no question, but the size of the car wasn’t the first thing that came to mind when I saw it. Luxury was the word that popped into my head. The car just exudes luxury. Is there a resemblance to a Rolls? Yep, no question. Would this car cost over $300,000? Nope. Probably not even a 1/4 of that number. Obviously they could’ve used a few more design cues or elements from Imperial’s past, but what they have here in nothing to sneeze at. The interior, especially is just drop dead gorgeous. More importantly, the interior is not way overboard or “concepty.” I don't see any reason why most or all of the interior could not make production. As for the exterior, Im not really sure you change much. I guess the biggest thing the designers could look at would be reworking the front end to try and find a way for people not to think Rolls Royce immediately.

Overall, if they price this right, the luxury car market is going to eat it up. I think the only major mistake DCX makes here is making the show car brown. I know that was an attempt to link it to Imperials past, but I think a black or bluish-gray color would’ve looked better.

Dodge Challenger Concept

I don't know that there is much I can say about the Challenger. It’s a hot car. Period. Looks mean, sounds mean. The length of the car didn’t really end up bothering me...I thought it would. I think the length just makes its aggressive stance that much better. The rear end did bother me some. I don't think that one long brake light area is the way to go. I think it will be interesting to see how they handle that area if and when a production model shows up. Speaking of that, I don't really see much limiting this car from going into production. Even more significant is that I can see the Challenger beating Camaro to market by 12 months easily. Maybe more. Unlike the Imperial, they have the perfect paint job on this one.

Buick Enclave Concept

OK yes, this is light years better. Give us more of the same. Again, you guys don’t need me to tell you this car is beautiful. It’s such a huge and welcome departure from what were used to seeing from GM lately. The small thing that I really didn’t like was the portholes. They seem out of place on the side of the hood. I think those need to be moved to the fender. Or do we even need them at all? The interior is something to be drooled over. It’s that simple. I think when we see the production version, the rear of the interior especially, will be toned down significantly. Like those big buckle lookin’ things on the back of the seats? Looks like luggage or something. Even so, I’m sure this interior will keep its overall good looks. Oh I almost forgot the one other bad thing. The name! Honestly the only big negative comment I heard all day was about the name. Ah well, we have a while until this hits production. It could still change.

Ford Superchief Concept

Holy geez this truck is huge! And when they brought it out on stage I thought the driver was going to get it airborne! If we leave out Camaro, I think this is the concept vehicle of the show. The pickup has a perfect blend of futuristic looks and “in your face” looks. The interior is incredible. It’s more like a NYC condo than a car. It has hardwood floors and ottomans! The technology under the hood is certainly impressive too. If one thing makes it into production from this concept vehicle, I would hope it would be parts of this tri-flex powertrain they’ve developed.

Volvo C30 Concept

Wow, I was not expecting to be as impressed by this as I was. This is one hot hatch. When I think of Volvo, images of large unappealing station wagons come to mind. This certainly blows that out of the water. It’s very sleek and not overdone while holding on to some of the current Volvo design cues. If they price this right I can really see them raiding a new market segment with this vehicle. I never would’ve considered the phrase “Volvo Tuner” before. Hopefully the production model does not stray from this much if at all. The only negative is the paint job. White and copper?! Yack. Gotta use your imagination on the paint.

Lexus LS 460

Incredible. The technology in this thing is just beyond belief. During the P.C. the Lexus exec was going down the list of features and he just kept going and going and going. When he said “8 speed transmission,” the crowd reacted with a noise that I would equate to “are you f*#king kidding me?!” When he mentioned the *19 speaker* sound system, there was a similar noise from the crowd. Now, the exterior styling of this car is fairly modern and nice, but it’s certainly not ground breaking. They didn’t take any risks there and certainly could've tried harder. The interior, however, is nothing short of a private, luxury jet. I think the German manufacturers are going to be afraid of this one. Once the P.C. was over, someone overheard an employee of one competing manufacturer say simply “those son-of-a-bitches....”

Jeep Compass

Hmm. Not so good. The biggest thing are these two “humps” on either side of the bumper that look totally out of place and pretty much ruin the whole front of the car for me. It may seem illogical, but the front bumper almost taints the WHOLE car for me, I find it hard to look past that. If I put my hand over the front part of the car, the rest looks....very...OK. Lately you wouldn’t say this about DCX cars, but I think they should’ve stayed closer to the concept! The Geneva car had kind of a cool rallye car feel to it. The production model totally loses that.

Jeep Wrangler

Yup it’s a Wrangler alright. Obviously DCX can’t do much to this vehicle, but the updates they did do, especially to the interior, seem well done. Obviously the new roof configuration will be of interest to many. Overall not too much excitement with this vehicle but they DROVE IT THROUGH A WINDOW! Heh, damn that was cool. DCX knows how to unveil cars. The bigger story here awaits in NYC with the unveiling of the 4 door.

Acura RD-X

Uh-oh. This is one car at the show I dont think EVER should've been green-lighted. I can honestly say I have no idea what Acura was thinking when they made this car. The front end is totally confused. Too many different surfaces and creases and levels. It just doesn’t work at all. I didn’t like the overall shape of the car either. It’s just not attractive from any angle. The interior doesn’t really help the car’s cause either. It just isn’t much to look at, it doesn’t seem like an Acura-quality interior at all. I just don’t know what to make of it and I dont know what Acura is going for here. A bunch of us were on the stand looking at this car trying to figure out what this vehicle could possibly be going up against. All we could come up with is maybe the X3. This vehicle certainly ISN'T going woo away someone from an X3.

Nissan Sentra

Shouldn’t this be called the Nissan Cobalt-Ion? Seems to be a dead-ringer. The interior is certainly nicer than the 2 GM cars it seems to be cloned after, but past that, the car is fairly underwhelming. The “toothy” grill is still kinda odd looking for me.

Anywho, that's all for now. I'll probably have a few more things to add as I decompress.

-Chris

(Edit: OK I finished part #2 and its a few posts down)

Edited January 11, 2006 by CD/BP

[CSpec]

Awesome summary, Chris. I agree that the Enclave intro was horrible; Chrysler has always been great at press conferences. I also agree that the LS460 will spoil Mercedes' S-class party.

[Drew Dowdell]

I had to look at her through a zoom lens to make sure she wasn’t a Disney animatronic robot.

[knightfan26917]

Nice, very nice . Thank you for sharing!

*pauses*

Hmmm...wonder if any of those companies need some new PC people ... I'd love to work on Press Conferences .

Cort, "Mr MC" / "Mr Road Trip", 32swm/pig valve/pacemaker

MC:family.IL.guide.future = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/

Models.HO = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/trainroom.html

"It's coming down to nothing more than apathy" ... The Fray ... 'Over My Head'

[Chris_Doane]

I just finished up going through all my photos and notes. So I give you part 2:

(AH-HA wasn't kidding when he told me sometimes you just feel like you gotta write this stuff down)

Audi Roadjet Concept

Espresso anyone? This has a pop up espresso maker in the rear, center console. Haha, talk about a feature that won’t make it to production. Overall this is a pretty sleek looking...umm...what do we call it? Semi-cross-over-ish, wagon-esque type vehicle? If you like it, the forthcoming Audi Q5 is probably going to be a whoooole lot like the Roadjet. The light clusters really stand out for me as something done really well on this car. They do a good job of making the car appear fast while sitting on a turn table. Speaking of standing out, the only thing Im questionable on is that *massive* grill. Wow, they should put a hinge on top of that. Then you drive to the football game, park, flip up the grill and bada-bing. You’re cooking burgers. (Don’t forget to choose the teflon option from the factory.) Honestly though, let’s shrink that grill by maybe 20-30% for the production model.

Ferrari FXX

Pure sex. I don’t need to say anything more.

Lincoln MKS Concept

This car is certainly nicer than the current Lincoln LS, Mercury Montego or Ford 500. But is it a Lincoln at all? If you mingle around the MKS stand for 5-10 mins, you’re going to hear someone say something along the lines of “boy that has some definite Acura in it.” Or some other brand will be mentioned that isn't Lincoln. There just isn’t a lot going on with this car, and the production model will most likely be very close to this concept. The car looks fairly nice from the nose up to about the side vents. After that this car really lacks. They did do quite a nice job on the interior, but you have to assume the suede on the dash and door aren’t going to make it to the production model. Overall a fairly halfhearted attempt and Lincoln can not afford to be halfhearted if they want to stick around.

Lincoln MKX

Not bad. Not bad at all. But the name....hmm. I dont know that Lincoln should be playing the alphabet soup game. They need to stand out in every way possible from all the other alpha-named cars. Seems risky for a brand that is teetering. The new egg crate style grill looks better than I thought it would. I do wish they would’ve been a little more creative with the tiny slit intake directly under the grill. It sort of looks like engineering came to design at the last moment and said “we think we need a little more airflow to the motor....now what?” Unlike the Challenger, the “one long brake light” design actually works quite well here. The texturing on the lenses and chrome accents around it really make the rear a nice thing to look at. The interior is really looking good as well. The one with shades of tans, brushed aluminum IP and rosewood accents (I think it was rosewood...) really has a nice luxury feel to it. For the people looking for a little bit of luxury, and not wanting to dish out Mercedes money, this should do very well.

Ford Edge

After seeing the first Edge prototype many months ago, I predicted that when the camouflage came off, we would all be pleasantly surprised much like when the Fusion debuted last year. I think we are pretty close to a repeat of that here. Cheers to Ford for picking the perfect paint color to debut this vehicle with. That rusty-orange color really went over well with a lot of people. I also have to single out the tail lights for an element that looks really nice on this car. Im sure some people will say “oh great more ricer lights.” Nonsense. The jeweled look they have here works very well. While I didn’t get hands on experience myself, I was told by people who did that the interior materials are lacking quite a bit. The prototype interiors I saw were two tone tan with some brushed aluminum/chrome accents. This has a much more appealing look than the gray on gray interiors that Ford chose for their show cars. Bad move there Ford. Overall a pretty nice effort with this car. I would never drive a Freestyle, but I would drive an Edge.

The Escalades

Talk about looking better in person. Wow. If you remember the first press photo, it was a gray SUV, and it didn’t look very flattering. In person, and in jet black, makes a world of difference. The EXT especially just looks smoking. I dont know that I can say anymore than that. I wasn’t expecting the Escalades to be a standout in my mind, but they were. The craziest thing is the detail in the front light cluster. Look at the little detail on the front of the bulb housing. There is a Caddy logo there. During a get-together at the RenCen, AH-HA asked me if I’d noticed that and I thought he was joking. I went back right before the show floor closed and holy crap! Talk about attention to detail!

A few other quick hits....

Jeep Press Kits

Wow these are impressive. Jeep spent a lot of money on these and it didn’t go unnoticed.

AH-HA

I felt his choice of suit could’ve been.....hah oh wait....just kidding. Great to meet him. Very nice and knowledgeable guy and the same goes for his coworkers. A cool group to hang out with. I think AH-HA and my dad could’ve talked about their Mini Coopers all night. I also found out AH-HA and I are both harcore drinkers....................................of Pepsi.

Volkswagen

Ouch they had nothing. It was sort of the sad corner of Cobo

Mercury

Also a very sad area of Cobo. There was more talk among the industry people if this brand can survive. The Freestyle replacement can't get here fast enough.

Camry

I dont really have much of a break down for this car. It is what it is. If you are looking for a car in this market I don’t think it’s a bad choice.

The Civic Coupe Si

Sorry guys, I have to say it. This is one sweet little car. I'd take one without a second thought.

The Honda Fit Press Conference

Holy crap they drove them out onto the platform so fast I almost pissed myself! Good thing the brakes didn’t fail or there would’ve been a lot of dead people.

Eva Longoria

Eva will not be asked back to NAIAS anytime soon. Poor girl, there were only 3-4 of those giant tele-prompters you could’ve looked at.

Free food

OK honestly.....all us media and industry types are really just going for all the great free food and drinks. Cars? What cars? Props to Porsche for once again having a really nice, small lounge that let you get away from everything and everyone.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Aaaaand with that...my fingers can type no more.

Edited January 11, 2006 by CD/BP

[sciguy_0504]

Eva was there. Damn...GM should have asked her to drive the Enclave in.

[Cory Wolfe]

Haha... very nice, Chris.

Hey Sciguy... from the sounds of it, she would've forgotten where to drive it and probably end up wrecking it.

[mphmag]

CD,

VW had the Eos out, while not a concept I think it will be very very successful. Amazing convertible/sunroof thing going on. And it will help them win that cabriolet crowd back. All the girls that don't want to be cute (Beetle, Mini) but still want a smaller convertible will eat this up. plus it's more practical with the hardtop. I was just really really impressed by it.

DT

[mphmag]

Did you sit in the Cayman? Oh man I'm ready to drive that baby. It was the only one I wanted to start up and literally drive outta there, especially since it was near the door.

[knightfan26917]

GM needs all the help they can get with P.C.'s

*raises eyebrow curiously*

Hmmm....if only they'd be hiring for PCs or advertising, I'd be interested in joining the team.....

[Hudson]

Chris:

I saw you at the show...I think it was going into the Arena for one of the Ford introductions (Monday, I think). I didn't know who you were but I did see the "Brenda Priddy" badge on you and your cohort.

Was this your first car show? Many of the points you made (food, press conferences, driving through the glass) made me think it was.

You said you were walking around for two days, you missed a day?

David Spade's help on the Caliber introduction was the highlight to that point...until the Aspen intro minutes later. For those of you who weren't there, I couldn't possibly describe it in adequate detail. But the skit from Slava's Snowshow was dramatic, comedic, and touching...all in just a few minutes on stage. But it built to the dramatic finale as the back of the stage opened up and a blast of "snow" came flying at the audience like a horizontal mushroom cloud, covering the attendees with more than an inch of shredded paper.

It was dramatic and something that Chrysler has been delivering in its press conferences for more than a decade. In the past, they dropped a Ram truck from the ceiling, they jumped a Caravan across the stage (driven by a muppet), they drove a V10-powered motorcycle on stage, and they drove a Grand Cherokee in through the front windows of Cobo Hall, among other Detroit intros. In New York one year, they re-enacted the introduction of the Chrysler brand but replaced the period reporters with charactures of present day reporters (including Scott Oldham and Jerry Flint)...it was among my all-time favorite press conferences.

David Spade's mocking of the Dodge Neon during the Caliber introduction was a missed highlight from this year's show.

[Petra]

Awesome review. It's really great to read things from the media perspective, seeing as how you guys get to see the actual introductions and all.

I can't wait 'till Sunday!

[Hudson]

You should've said hi.  B)

I didn't know who "Chris Doane" was until you posted here.

[Guest YellowJacket894]

Jeep Wrangler

Yup it’s a Wrangler alright... Overall not too much excitement with this vehicle but they DROVE IT THROUGH A WINDOW! Heh, damn that was cool. DCX knows how to unveil cars...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Um... Yeah... Jeep did the same thing 13, 14 years ago at the '92 or '93 NAIAS with a plate glass window and a Grand Cherokee. (I don't mean to sound rude, but it was done before and by Jeep, to add to the irony.)

Edited January 16, 2006 by anorexorcist

[titan]

Personally, I like the portholes on the Enclave. And though I'm not very big on the name, it's growing on me.

[Hudson]

Um... Yeah... Jeep did the same thing 13, 14 years ago at the '92 or '93 NAIAS with a plate glass window and a Grand Cherokee. (I don't mean to sound rude, but it was done before and by Jeep, to add to the irony.)

It wasn't "ironic," it was more like a "call-back." Chrysler knew they had done it before and even mentioned it. The last time, the Grand Cherokee ENTERED the Cobo Center through the window this time the Wrangler EXITED.