Detroit show 2012

I am definitely biased, but I’m going to say that if this were a contest, Toyota wins. :laughing:

Interesting to see that the Italians decided to use a “Viper face”
for a compact sedan. I really dig the flow of the surfaces at the
front.

But what is up with the side view of the Dart? This is lame.

mo-i

P.S.: They throw a lot of kit for small money, but if you are a tax
payer you already have paid for it…

Craziest thing on the fair this year?:

Falcon “supercar”

ooooooooo… check it out, the 700C. what were they thinking? This is just painful

Just found this review:

The concept is clearly a mix of themes from Chrysler’s current lineup, as well as some ideas of where its vehicles could go in the future.

its a very kind way of saying its a schizophrenic abomination with no indication of any coherent thought.

I like it as a concept.

I “LOVE” the huge 20" low profile wheel tire combo, with the itsy bitsy little brake rotors peaking out. In one picture it makes a perfect statement about USA auto buyers…gimme de bling, who cares about performance.

Ugh… vans in general…
Scary to think they let the design get that far…
@beanworks, love your dissection of the review :smiley:

I suppose if you can’t afford the real thing, you can at least emulate it … I suppose.

In the context of the environment in which it operates, at least some sense can be made out of the Benetti.

Better than your average van in my opinion.

I hate cabs but the mercedes b class (or r) I think us the only one that is worth even looking at if I were looking at a van. Everything else looks like a van. This gm one looks like a bad sketch.

R

I wonder why they would be influenced by the Hyundai form language? It is called the 700, seems like it should with with the 300 form language.

You must be referring to the Elantra Touring? The Hyundai H1 is still a van; a true “work” vehicle.

Both the B and R class Benz’ look more like tall sta-wags than vans … to me anyway. The M-B Vito and Sprinter (really tall) are truer to the van genre. Maybe I’m picking nits…

The c700 and the Benetti yacht; to my eyes, are a random collections of amorphous lines, with no strength-of-purpose to their form. At l;east the Benetti alludes to rolling ocean… sort of…

Some observations from my local show. No big releases, obviously.

The good: Ford and GM. Wow. I know it will be another 5-10 years until people realize it, but these guys are now in the lead of design and quality control.

The new Chevy Malibu was stunning. It reminded me of the 2nd gen CTS in that the first gen was nice, but the second gen doesn’t leave anything to chance.

Hyundai’s almost there. There is just something cheap feeling about the Elantra and Accent. Genesis, Equos and Sonata are stunning pieces. I hadn’t sat in a Genesis sedan before. The luxury makes should be very worried.

The bad and the ugly: Honda. Wow, is that a horrible line up. I can’t believe how cheap the Civic interior feels now. Hard to believe that they just updated that car. It feels like something from the '90s.

Lexus. Geez are those some ugly grilles. I understand the desire to be noticed, but those are hit with the ugly stick guys. On the other hand, no other car cut out the sound of the show like the Lexus ES. Amazingly quiet.

Mercedes is going to get a call out, but just for one detail. The computer knob in the B class made the sound of a twig snapping when it was turned. I wouldn’t mention it in a Kia, but this is Mercedes! They have a reputation and they need to defned it everywhere. Don’t stick some '80’s GM switch gear in a car and think no one will notice!

The average: BMW. Yeah, all the cars now feature classy surfacing but at the cost of excitement. I tried the new 3 series. I thought it was supposed to be bigger? Feels very cramped inside.

Range Rover Evoque. I know this thing is a hit and will probably save the company, but it’s horrible to sit in. The sides and front are so high! I felt like I fell down a well! Beautiful car though. Concept car looks.

Toyota. New Camry refresh and Corolla are forgetable. I don’t think anyone knows they updated them. Prius minivan is pretty cool though. No one looking at it, but it is nicely finished with some neat textures. I think Toyota should just stick to making Prius and drop everything else. Also notable was the iCK. Long line for that one.





^ I do agree with you on that. I saw it on pictures and that is the only thing that I like compared to others. Well their design was quite new but it didn’t get me interested at all.