HOTTEST CARS AT 2013 L.A. Auto Show
Porsche 918 Spyder – Jaguar F-Type Coupe and SUV – Mercedes Benz AMG Vision Gran Turismo
PORSCHE 918 SPYDER ~
PORSCHE 918 SYDER
Porsche continues to strut their stuff with the car setting the benchmark for lean, green, performance. Everyone wanted near this thing and the factory reps politely answered 2 days worth of the same questions and never stopped smiling. It goes like that when you own the big dog on the block.
MAGNUS WALKER URBAN OUTLAW
And speaking of Porsche, I spent a few minutes with Magnus Walker (Urban Outlaw), and a nicer guy you couldn’t hope to meet. I interviewed him this past spring and I have made plans to see him again this January in L.A. to ride shotgun on one of his famous drives.
JAGUAR’S COMEBACK…
Awful reliability once made Jaguar the laughing stock of the industry. Competitors aren’t laughing any more. At the L.A. Auto Show, Jaguar unveiled vehicles that the press was all over.
JAGUAR COUPE
JAGUAR COUPE
At a base price of $65,000 the all aluminum 340 Horsepower V6 seems like a real steal, almost as much as the 550 horsepower V8 at a cheap, cheap $100,000.
An 8 speed transmission hooks up the rear wheels nicely, all the way to 190 miles per hour.
Jaguar sales are through the roof this year, thanks mostly to the F-Type convertible. This couple is going to ring the register even faster for Jaguar, now apparently hot on the heels of cousin Aston Martin.
JAGUAR C-X17 SUV
A concept all the way, aluminum means gas sipping economy, even when mated to the V-6 F-Type base motor. Not ready for prime time, expect some version of this cat to fill a segment that everyone seems to want to fill.
MERCEDES CONCEPT CAR…
Mercedes-Benz-AMG-Vision-Gran-Turismo
Mercedes-Benz-AMG-Vision-Gran-Turismo
Rolled out as an eyeball grabber on Wednesday the 20th, expect to see bits and pieces of this car in the next generation of Mercedes, Maserati…and…the next generation of everything.
Dave
Dave I wish you’d had a chance to drive the F-Type Jag. The NYTimes praised its styling, and insisted that “when a sports car nails the sex, sound and speed equation, it’s easy to forgive the little things.” Except that handling isn’t one of the little things. 500 hp is great, but not in a car with what the NYTimes describes as “mildly uncommunicative steering.” That’s just terrifying. Maybe you’ll get a chance to share your insights at a later date.