I had the opportunity to stop by the LA Auto Show yesterday and all I can is "Wow!" There were so many "green" cars/concept vehicles that I think the US manufacturers are finally catching the hint that we can't rely on foreign oil to have a productive future. Oddly enough, when I got back from the show, I watched "Who Killed the Electric Car" and highly recommend it. The US could have been where the imports are today...with a firm lock on energy efficient vehicles, but instead, opted to ally themselves with the oil companies. Very interesting documentary.

Anyway...on to the show.

Now, in case you didn't know, I'm a recent Chevy owner, as I've always been a Ford person, with the exception of the '68 Chevy Camaro my folks had. To some degree, still am, but whaddya do? :P I was extremely pleased to see Chevy introducing what I believe will be the direct competitor to Toyota's Scion line. The vehicles are the Beat, Trax, and Groove. Extremely compact (and presumably more fuel efficient?), and what I believe will be priced competitively, this should give the younger set an alternative to import vehicles. What I REALLY liked was that the rear view mirror is...well, a camera! How's that for innovation?! Aerodynamic and weight saving [a few ounces never hurt ], it definitely is more eye-catching than the boxy looking vehicles out there.







Of course, the show wouldn't be complete without a stop over by the Avalanche corner After drooling over the Camaro *drool*....







I sauntered over to the Avalanche. The newest exterior addition I noted was the chrome step bar, that looked electronic (the right side step was out, the left side was in, but maybe the light was playing tricks on my eyes)...





Then there was the Volt, which has the same lines as the Camaro, but slightly more aggressive. Charges up in 6 hours on a standard home outlet. Quick charges in less than an hour to take you over 50 miles. Wow.








All in all, I was very impressed with Chevy's lineup.
There were many other vehicles, ranging from the unique, such as this aluminum Volvo...



and this 50's flashback hot rod (also a Volvo)....


...or the "Batman" (not official, it's just what I called it due to its flat-black paint) version of the Lexus ISF....



and you'll note it also sports cameras instead of rear view mirrors. Must be the new thing....



to the absurd, like this "Million Dollar" car which I thought was "pimp-a-liscious" (you'd have to pay me a million bucks to drive it around town)...

[img]htt

 

awesome stephy! thanks for the pics! the lexus is sexy as hell...and the camaro...makes me happy in my pants

 

Thanx for sharing.

 

I'm still wondering how much that new Camaro will change as it nears production to cut costs. (though, I still have a bias towards the new Challenger looking better)

Sick pictures though, I have yet to attend a large auto show like that. Can't wait until I get my change to go to one.

 

Nice pics...that Mercedes is about the stupidest thing [&:], the Lambo's are nice, that Avalanche would look alot better w/o those ghetto *** wheels and that chrome (I'd like to see it with the "add-on's" painted black, with more of an"off-road/4X4"set of wheels on itw/some M/T tires), the Volt's pretty nifty (How far can a full charge take you? Is it 50 miles each hour charged or is that just for the quick charge?). I too noticed the whole "ditching the mirrors and adding cameras" thing...IDK what to think.

I'd like to go to a big auto show like that just to see the concepts and stuff. It kind of reminds me of the Cycle World International Motorcycle Shows, except for when you go to one of those, 75% of the floor's covered with Harley's and Harley stuff in general.