Just got home from the LA Auto Show and had a few thoughts…
I’ve been going to this event for the last 8-9 years and this one in particular felt lackluster for some reason. I think it may be that there simply weren’t that many new cars I was really anticipating. There were a few debuts I liked (read: Rivian) but for the most part, it was just more of the same. Even the “Garage” tuner car pavilion felt somewhat stale….or at least as stale as 24k-gold-wrapped Lambos rolling on diamond-encrusted 22’s can.
Given that the show’s already been covered to death by the traditional car media outlets and the fact that my lazy ass waited until Thursday to get around to going to it, I’m just going to run down some notable things I observed while there…
Mazda – Make cars that look a full class above where they’re priced… The design is strong with them.
Toyota
BMW – The brand had its new woodchuck-inspired SUV, the X7, on display. The exterior styling of which has been controversial to say the least. One thing the X7 has received universal praise on however is its interior….Good thing BMW locked the doors so we couldn’t experience it.
The same goes for leaving the removable top on their new i8 roadster. Its a roadster dumb–dumbs…take the friggin top off! And unlock the damn doors on your cars!
BMW also gifted us with the new 6-Series…I mean 8 Series. It looks nice enough…But I literally thought it was a 6 Series when I first saw it…
Acura – Acura showed up presumably to let us know they’re still in business. In all honesty, the “Japanese Buick” is starting to wake up from their decade-long styling slumber and their cars are starting to look a little better because of it.
Their RLX is a nice enough luxury car but whomever at Acura thought it was a good idea to use the below overly complicated gear selector in it should be fired ASAP….Look at this thing:
Look at this thing…Every button has a different shape and size…Some you push, some you pull…And even the pull ones (Reverse and Park) look like they’re actuated in different ways. It’s aesthetically, ergonomically and functionally unpleasant…C’mon Acura.
Lincoln – Best…seats…ever.
Rivian – The Tesla for people who like going off-roading. Their R1T pickup and R1S SUV are thoughtful, exciting and innovative vehicles that I pray see the light of day. Lets all hope Rivian has the funds and management team to make it to production. Tesla’s laid a pretty good blueprint of what to do (and not do) as an electric vehicle manufacturer…lets hope Rivian follows it.
Karlmann King – Because every auto show needs a “WTF” manufacturer and I guess the Youabian Puma and Devel Sixteen couldn’t make it.
Mitsubishi – I guess they had a few thousand bucks they wanted to piss away. Seriously, no one gives a crap about Mitsubishi cars anymore, including Mitsubishi. How else could you explain naming a mediocre crossover after their once-loved sports car (Eclipse) and abolishing the only truly iconic car they’ve ever offered here (Evo). So they had the “new” Eclipse on display, some entirely econobox yawnmobile, and another SUV called the “Mitsubishi who gives a shit GL”
That’s kinda it I guess…
