New York 2011: Let the good times roll!
The circumstances surrounding the 2009 edition of the New York Auto Show were very unique. The economic crisis was cutting across the planet, American financial institutions were filing for bankruptcy left, right and centre, and North American automakers were up the creek without a paddle. A few months later, Chrysler and General Motors were headed for bankruptcy.
Party time, it was not. I remember GM and Chrysler’s bare-bones kiosks. GMC had sent just one little lady to take on the photographers and journalists and announce the unveiling of the GMC Terrain, if I recall correctly. The decor was very simple – stark even – and although her blue business suit didn’t make her any more intimidating, this small woman faced the music with dignity. Ford also had a rough go of it, but managed to weather the storm.
Times have changed. Ford is making money once again, thanks to a very competitive model line. For the 2011 edition of the New York Auto Show, they brought along a slightly modified Taurus.
As for the other two manufacturers, they’ve been restructured and are selling several new vehicles, including some that are among the best in their categories. Call it a sign of the times, but the GM kiosk, by far the biggest at the Jarvits Center, was all alone at the north end. This year, a completely redesigned Chevrolet Malibu and a Sonic that is replacing the sad Aveo indicate that the world’s No. 2 car manufacturer has no intention of resting on its laurels.
At Chrysler, besides the lovely Fiat 500C cabriolet, a bunch of performance or sport models have been unveiled. The Grand Cherokee SRT-8 and Charger SRT-8 with their Hemi engines don’t quite jive in this era of record-braking gas prices. The cars are attractive, finely crafted, but their engines’ fuel consumption might discourage many potential buyers.
Economical and exotic
Kia and Hyundai arrived in New York with a rather thrifty mindset. Hyundai unveiled its new Accent, and its timing couldn’t be better considering market trends, even in the United States. Note that Montreal had precedence on the Big Apple for unveiling the Accent. With its Rio and Rio 5 in addition to a peppier Soul equipped with more powerful engines, Kia also played the fuel economy card.
The Japanese manufacturers, each of whom had something to offer, aren’t exactly sleeping on the job either. Mazda used the Show to unveil the Mazda3 equipped with Sky technology and announced that the Miyagi concept vehicle unveiled in Geneva was going to be called CX-5, which is a very logical solution. Nissan continued to promote its electric cars with a racing version of the Leaf. Incidentally, the regular version of the Leaf took home the title of World Car of the Year. On a more practical note, a more powerful and restyled Versa sedan was launched.
Subaru has always used the New York Auto Show for world premiere unveilings of its cars. They respected tradition with an Impreza hatchback and sedan equipped with new engines, a more refined interior and a revamped silhouette. Toyota had a nice surprise in store with the Scion FR-S, a concept sport coupe equipped with a Subaru boxer engine whose job it is to power the rear wheels. I bet some engineers at Subaru didn’t believe their eyes.
Finally, Honda unveiled its new Civic sedan and coupe in a world premiere. It’s a progressive model featuring mechanics that emphasize fuel economy.
Goal for the Third Beetle
No need to go into detail on the first Beetle, a legendary car if there ever was one. As for the New Beetle, it was derived from a caricature of the first Bug designed by none other than J. Mays, who went on to become the director of design at Ford. Only available in North America, the New Beetle had a great deal of success with the ladies.
But the third generation is not just a cute little novelty. Now it’s a real car that will be sold all over the world, and it’s make or break time for the Beetle. The shape is still recognizable, but it has evolved quite a bit. Note the quality of the dashboard, the disappearance of the flower pot, and the possibility of equipping it with a 2.0-litre 200-hp engine. VW had also brought its Bulli pick-up concept to New York, and it looks increasingly likely that it will be sold to the public one day.
The Beetle was unveiled simultaneously in New York, Berlin and Shanghai on Monday morning. To mark this event, Volkswagen invited guests to a Black Eyed Peas concert in New York that was broadcasted all over the world by MTV.
Audi had some interesting vehicles, namely the new A7 and A6. But this came as no surprise since these two sedans are already sold in Europe. BMW preferred to unveil its first electric car the night before the Show, and Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, VW and others did the same. The Active E is derived from the 1 Series and BMW wants to import 700 units that will be leased at $499 a month in order to move on to a larger scale distribution and to the arrival of other models.
Finally, not to be outdone, Mercedes-Benz unveiled the superb and singularly elegant A-Class Concept. The new C-Class launched in a world premiere in Geneva in March was also presented.
Overall, this edition ended up being more dynamic than last year’s, which was already more positive than the 2009 edition. The automobile market is following the economic upturn, and fingers are crossed in manufacturers’ offices that the good times will keep on rolling.
Speaking of stamina, the legendary rock group Kiss has announced its collaboration with Mini. There were even Minis decorated like Kiss. We’ll see which of the two is more desperate: a has-been rock group or the British brand that seems to be out of ideas for garnering attention. Is this a lose-lose situation?
