Auto Show 2003

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
This started as a reply in the Honda Element thread and quickly turned into a review of the Atlanta Auto Show 2003. I'm crazy like that....





Last night I went to the Auto Show here in town and checked out all the latest stuff. Before I hit that stuff I'll say that I showed a friend of mine the Element. I showed another guy how the seat dropped back with one pull and then swung up and hooked to the oh-shit handle with the caribiner. Then I walked around to ask my friend what he thought about the Honda....and before I could say 'Element', he said "Ambulance?". That cracked me up bigtime.



Anyway, I also sat in the Mini Cooper and boy is that thing TIGHT. Not a lot of driver legroom for those of us 6' or taller. BUT, there were a lot of people there and I didn't get to just get in and out of it myself. I liked the toggle switches, hadn't noticed those before. Wish I'd had time to play with it more. Some neat handouts there, and a LOT of people crawling all over the cars.



Anyway, I may add the VW GTI to my shopping list after sitting in it, the car felt very, very nice. And the Acuras felt familiar, due to the shared components with Honda...but they were also (understandably) nicer inside. Not sure if they're really worth the extra $$$$$ though. I'd have to do some price checking to see if the Acuras could be in my price range.



The NEW MUSTANG for '05 is THE SHIITT!!!! Holy Moly go look for it on the internet, you will PISS YOUR PANTS it is so cool...and I'm a fairly big "Mustang? So What?" kind of person. The production car will supposedly be 90% like the concept....DAMN that car was KILLER! Watch for it to be in the next James Bond movie, or SOMETHING. Too hot not to be a BIG co-star prop in a future movie.



Saw the RX-8, it was spiffy. They were letting people climb up onto the dais and sit in it, but I didn't want to wait in line.



The blonde girl standing out with the Jags had the most AMAZING bubble ass....I had to make myself intentionally do something else so I didn't leer at her. Wubba.



The Chevy/Pontiac stuff didn't do it for me. There was one Lexus that I sat in that FELT INCREDIBLE.....good thing I probably can't afford it...hmmm, may have to check on that one, it REALLY felt nice.



My friend's Dad gets a discount from Ford, so he'll probably get one of the Ford brands (Ford, Volvo, Mazda, etc). But, he was really interested in the Kia Sorrento, which is a VERY reasonably priced SUV with some very competitive features. Some guys that were looking at the same one we were inspecting said that GM owns 60% of Kia. Who knew? Still, 15city and 20hwy don't impress THIS shopper.



Still disappointed the Mini felt so SMALL.



Didn't sit in a Jetta, should have. They didn't have the VW minibus on display, wish that they had've.





Anyway, that's what I saw!

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 7
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    I dunno, I went to a local mini dealer and took a mini for a ride. Plenty of room for this big lug (well over six feet), but you have to ratchet the seat all the way down to the floor, love that feature in the golf too.



    I fully expect Ford to make a disaster of the '05 Mustang's interior, and quite possibly to change just enough of the show car to make the Mustang a dissapointment.



    The best car that deserves builing right now is the Chevy SS Concept. Drop that thang exactly as is, on a strectched LT5 Corvette platform, with an all alloy small block, and let's have at it. What the Camaro deserves to be with two extra doors to boot. With BMW making increasingly ugly sedans, that's a legit American M5.
  • Reply 2 of 7
    [quote]Originally posted by drewprops:

    <strong>

    Still disappointed the Mini felt so SMALL.

    </strong><hr></blockquote>



    hmmm... maybe they should give it another name, like "Mini -- No, We're Not Kidding."



    Or maybe: "Itsy-bitsy, teensy-weensy, yellow polka-dotted Mini."



    "Mini-me?" Nahh.. that's pretty lame.



    Because, you know, "Mini" doesn't conjure up images of "Small."



    One of the best car commercials ever:



    The scene is a stage where this women is playing on a game show. She just has to answer a few more questions correctly to be the Big Winner.



    On the stage are 3 men, naked, with a little "mini" stage in front of their fig leaves.



    They go to the first man and as they pull the curtain back from his "stage," she peers in momentarily, and announces to the camera, "Ferrari Testarossa."



    "Correct!" Applause all around.



    Next guy. She peers in, and says, "Porsche 911 Carrera"



    "Correct again!" Even the guy behind the "curtain" is smiling.



    Last guy. She peers in. She gasps. The audience gasp as well. Everybody goes, "oohhh."



    'Mini Cooper"
  • Reply 3 of 7
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    I got precisely the opposite feeling in the Mini. I was surprised it was so big on the inside compared to its compact exterior dimensions. I have a tall mutant torso, so I look tall when I sit down. When I sit in an airplane seat, my head sticks out all the way above the seatback.



    By manufacturer, I'd have to say Volvo struck me as the worst in the headroom department, though I haven't been in any of the Ford era models. I literally have to slouch in an Volvo 960 so my head doesn't scrape the ceiling.



    [ 03-16-2003: Message edited by: Eugene ]</p>
  • Reply 4 of 7
    satchmosatchmo Posts: 2,699member
    I test drove a Mini and thought the ride was a tad rough but the handling was great (expected from a BMW manufactured car).

    But what turned me off was the lack of power and the cheap and tacky interior. I know it's supposed to be retro, but look at the Audi TT or VW Beetle. The plastic knobs and switches on the Mini's dash look as if they're about to fall off!
  • Reply 5 of 7
    g4dudeg4dude Posts: 1,016member
    I'm 6' and when I drove the MINI, I was amazed at the interior volume. I even sat in the back to see how the legroom was and it was tolerable. Throw a wood kit in the interior and you have an awesome british car.



    [ 03-16-2003: Message edited by: G4Dude ]</p>
  • Reply 6 of 7
    drewpropsdrewprops Posts: 2,321member
    Okay I guess I should be more specific about the legroom problem I perceived. I likes ta S-P-R-E-A-D out when I'm on the road for awhile, so what I'm really talking about is the width of the seat....not the firewall-to-assbone legroom measurement.



    I also slid the seat back and noted the depth of the seat, not bad! But the "relaxation" room wasn't as nice. Rest assured that I'll go back and sit in one and test drive one before I go to buy my next car...I still think it's a GEM of a car!



    how was that?



    ALSO!!!!





    The Volvo's are nice. Really nice.
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