Simanaitis Says
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LOS ANGELES AUTO SHOW 2012
I ATTENDED the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show, as opposed to my remote analyses of 2012 Paris (see www.wp.me/p2ETap-ho and www.wp.me/p2ETap-i2). Generally, it was good fun to be there.
Proof positive that I was actually there.
Any auto show, even a tire-kicker variety without jazzy displays, is an excellent way to visit all automakers in a single trip. It’s great as well to encounter old friends and make new ones.
And to encounter hype. I’d be pleased, for example, if purveyors of battery-enhanced vehicles didn’t mask prices behind federal tax credits. When I sign on the dotted line, note, I must pay full pop. Any potential tax credit comes later.
GM exhibited its battery electric version of the Korean-built Spark. Whatever its price (GM was canny enough not to say precisely), the BEV is going to require at least $32,500, not the hinted “less than $25,000 after the $7500 federal tax credit” cited at the show.
This is the Spark BEV; there’s also a gasoline version.
Similarly, the Ford C-Max Energi PHEV’s Monroney will start at $33,745, not the “$29,995 (after federal tax credit)” hyping this car in press information. Note, this PHEV has a smaller battery than the Spark BEV’s, and thus earns less tax credit.
Ford C-Max Energi is the PHEV version of the C-Max. I like its overall shape but would prefer it a tad larger.
By the way, the C-Max Energi does pass the Simanaitis-hair-saving test upon getting in or out, albeit in the front seats only. The rear is quite cramped (less roomy than a Prius V’s, for instance). And this is the kind of thing easily analyzed at an auto show.
The show also had Ford’s new Fiesta. Its cool factor is a turbo 3-cylinder powerplant about the size of a carryon bag. Also, Ford is working hard to dispel the notion that small cars have to look cheap.
This press photo was my first hint that I’m not among the Ford Fiesta’s intended psychographic.
On the first press day only, Lincoln devoted display area to several neat classics. The next day, they got preempted by the new MKS, more’s the pity.
Lincoln’s display (alas, for first press day only) included this 1937 V-12 Derham Sport Sedan (above) and 1956 Continental Mark II (below). Mark II owners included Elvis Presley, Dwight Eisenhower and (note the front plate) Elizabeth Taylor.
Porsche arranged its own separate hall at the Conventional Center. I thought its displays were particularly artful.
This Porsche 904 had a neat photo backdrop of its racing activities.
The reengineered Cayman was exhibited as well. I use the term “reengineered” rather than “restyled” because its newness is primarily beneath the skin.
The new Cayman has slightly different proportions from those of the original, but it’s still handsome.
The wheelbase is longer, the overhangs less, the weight reduced. Yet it remains my favorite Zuffenhausen product, at least in part because it reminds me of cars like the 550 and 904.
I seem to like auto shows best when they’re about yesterday and tomorrow, not just today. ds
© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2012
Simanaitis Says 
I remain perplexed by the Lincoln exhibit, which was the most impressive of the stands at the show, what with its huge roof-style fascade. And the historic cars were terrific, but underscored a feeling that the division was saying “look what we used to do, pity we don’t have anything new that even comes close enough for us to want to show it to you for comparison.”