2016 Washington Auto Show

"J. David Buerk" (acousticaperture) 02/02/2016 at 04:06 • Filed to: carporn, auto show, photography, car show, Washington DC, DC, DMV, DC Auto Show, Washington Auto Show, Buick, Alfa Romeo, Lincoln, Continental, Cascada

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Last year was the first year since 2009 that I didn’t attend the Washington Auto Show; ironic because !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (the most valid reason you could give, if you ask me). Needless to say, even though I was content to fall absent last year given my reason, I was excited to explore the show this year, since it’s now been two years since my last visit.

Before going further, I should note that my focus this year was exploring the state of the 2016 car market’s product offerings rather than collecting photographic documentation.

Over the years I’ve seen the cars evolve, the focus of the show change, and manufacturers rise and fall. This year many manufacturers are going to shake up US roads; many things are coming to our automotive market that European countries have enjoyed or been influenced by for a very long time. In the last two years, Fiat’s acquisition of Chrysler has brought about a lot of changes within Chrysler’s marquees, some good and some bad. 2015 was the first year since 1995 that the US market was blessed by Alfa Romeo’s presence as a retailer. 2016 is the year Alfa will begin to expand on our roads.

Last December I saw my first 4C on public roads - a red example waiting at a stoplight in Reston; I grinned from ear to ear the rest of the day - I’ve always had a soft spot for the beautiful Italian designed cars of all vintages. At the Washington Auto Show, a yellow Spider 4C was breaking necks (as much as the lovely woman presenting Alfa’s two-seater offering to North American roads).

Another great move on Fiat’s part is the revival of the Chrysler Pacifica. I know this van has gotten a lot of heat since its announcement, but I’m a fan; it’s a very exciting entry for the minivan market, and as a friend put it upon seeing the interior, “you could baby so hard in that thing.” This van is meant for some serious modern family-ing (including the annoying TV show if you want - look at that awesome rear-seat TV screen setup!).

Unfortunately 2016 will also mark the last year for the Dodge Dart; a mistake if you ask me. The Dart is a car !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ; I know not everyone has had as many nice things to say, some of which I agree and mirrored in my evaluation. I never said it was perfect; though it isn’t the most valuable car in its class, it is the most exciting (which always comes at some price), and it isn’t perfect, but the major problems I found were ones which currently plague most other vehicles in the Chrysler / Dodge / “SRT” (lol) lineup. In other words, the designers are still finding their groove. I WILL touch your Dart, thank you very much.

Also on hand was an example police-spec Charger. To Punish and Enslave...

Something I found disconcerting was Ford’s trucks’ frame examples - the “new and improved” frame was bent out of shape and easily bendable in my fingers; if it can’t stand up to an auto-show, how would it stand up to daily driving, let alone abuse and accidents? I must be missing something, because I know and like Ford trucks - I’ve driven them more than any other brand. If you know what’s up with this, tell me in the comments, because I honestly didn’t read the placard on the display - it just stuck out to me while taking a quick break.

A segment of the Washington Auto Show that is painfully missing is vehicles and technology aimed at helping those with disabilities. I’m glad there is a renewable energy section, but Washington Auto Show organizers, I challenge you to create a Disabled Access section; incentivize auto makers, retrofitters, and accessory vendors specializing in motoring access for those with disabilities to display vehicles and booths in their own section at the 2017 Auto Show.

The only example I saw this year was !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ’s Sienna with !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Amazing how it works, however the people I saw around it seemed to think it was a sports tailgating feature - that’s not really the image this kind of innovative product deserves.

Toyota is wonderful for letting its designers explore the outer-reaches of conceptual design; the Tron-inspired FV2 was on display last year as well, and is a good example of a modern proving-test-bed for future ideas and technology. For this, I give Toyota a great deal of praise. Toyota makes great cars - the 2016 Corolla, Camry, Highlander, and their trucks are good, solid vehicles. The Toyobaru is great. It’s when it comes to production time for vehicles like the Prius and Mirai that Toyota falls flat. The Prius is the car that car guys love to hate, partially because of its looks and specs, and partially because of its typical owners. Oh, and then !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! too. I’m all for what the car stands for - energy savings, renewable energy, saving the environment... but it’s such a damn committee car! Just about every car maker out there has now proven that you can make a hybrid / electric car that’s *exciting*. The Prius has a massive following, which is great - the car is here to stay, and there’s nothing wrong with that; it’s good that a hybrid is so popular. The problem is that it’s such a boring, ugly car. It seems that Toyota has tried to make the Prius (alongside the Mirai concept) more exciting by making it more distinctive... the problem is that “distinctive” isn’t always good. In this case, the committee made it derpy. Actually, the only auto maker with more committee / group-think ruined cars is Toyota’s direct competitor, Honda, whose cost-saving but not cost-reducing shortcuts are evident the second you sit down; I want to like their cars, but they’re overpriced for what you’re getting. So, I don’t know what the Prius team was thinking, but this is the ugliest iterations of the car I’ve seen yet.

So, instead of blowing a lot of hot air, I’ll make my suggestion of what I would see as an exciting, attractive Prius. First of all, lose the bubble shape - yes, I know it’s like that for aero; just hear me out. Lose the bubble shape and random body scoops and waves, and go toward a 5-door hatch / wagon design - those have hoods! Imagine if you made a Corolla into a slightly smaller Panamera or Mazda 3, with the styling of the FR-S, but the economical drivetrain, solar panels, and weight / energy saving goodies at the Prius’ core. You’ve pretty much got that with the CT200h; take that concept, and apply it to the Prius namesake, giving it the full suite of Toyota Prius tech and soul. THAT is what I think these cars should be.

That said, I’m just one person (Jalop) with an opinion, and the CT200h vs Prius sale numbers say that Toyota’s right and I am wrong. I’m also quite far from the Prius’ target demographic. I’ve always admired the CT200h though - I’m giddy every time I see one, or the even more rare Acura TL wagon... in metallic brown! :-D

Well, just two more negatives I noticed, and we’ll get through those quick. Firstly, the exhaust pipes on these GMCs (and presumably Chevys? I didn’t check). I love everything GMC makes, but the give-a-damns stopped on the exhaust tip - this looks like you guys used a fence post.

And finally, the one I’ve been waiting to mention. BMW. You guys. Ugh. You guys. You’ve officially lost it. You’ve been acting a little crazy for a few years now, but you guys have officially gone looney with your latest batch of naming convention. Infiniti went through a bit of a naming crisis in 2012 when it began giving all its models a Q designation, but that quickly worked itself out. BMW, however, you guys are going through a full-on identity crisis. Let me give you a hint - you don’t have to be good at EVERYTHING. You currently make multiple cars for everyone - it’s unnecessary and confusing, and surely can’t be financially sound!

Look at this!

You currently have 25 - 27 models for sale (depending on how you count them), and that doesn’t even count trim levels. And don’t get me stared on you calling a 4-door a coupé. I like the 6 Series Gran Coupe (I like fastbacks), but how about you tidy up your naming convention and bump that over to the 7 Series, along with the awesome Alpina B6? I also would like to see you and Mercedes go back to your roots of using engine displacement as model designators. It’s ok, if you want to differentiate trim levels, using x and s and i and ci are still great!

I can’t wait to see your next iteration of the Z4 (will it be a big enough change to christen it the Z5?). I love every bit of that car (except it deserves a 6 speed manual option, of course).

Speaking of little roadsters I love, by far the best new car on display at the show was the ND Miata. The Miata has always been a fun little car, but sitting in the ND is a whole new level. A whole new experience. Mazda has hit a home run with this car (with the exception of the derpy headlights and taillights - are derpy lights the new craze for Japanese cars for some reason? Is there something culturally spurring this in Toyota, Honda, and Mazda now?). The interior is perfection. It’s comfortable, and everything is easy. The clutch is light (my Infiniti’s is very heavy and long in comparison), and the shifts are extremely short - this is clearly a car meant to get into some (good / fun) trouble with.

I don’t have pictures because I was too busy drooling in the driver’s seat.

One I was excited to see was the Buick Cascada. It’s so pretty :-) And I’m very happy to see Buick going in this direction, because I so desperately want them to survive as a brand. I like what they’re putting out; they just need to step up their interior game one little notch. Hopefully they do so with the Cascada.

Here is the Cascada’s top going up in ~15 seconds.

The other car I was excited for at this year’s show was Lincoln’s new Continental. If this is the new Lincoln, it needs to trickle down to the rest of the product line - it’s *beautiful.* This is the flagship Lincoln so desperately needs. If they can up their interior quality in the lesser models from Ford level to Jaguar level, Lincoln stands a chance to be a luxury contender again. From the distance of its pedestal, the new Continental is doing all the right things inside and out. Please trickle down and make Lincoln great again! (Yeah, it’s an election year :-/)

The only car I desperately wanted to see was Infiniti’s new Q60 - it wasn’t on display.

Those are my big takeaway’s from this year’s show. I found out how much I like Mercedes-Benz’s E-Class while Jake found he just barely still fits in the rear-facing seat. We also got to sit in a Polaris Slingshot, which I can only describe as a Power Wheels for grown-ups - this was the second I’ve seen in person.

After this spending all day at the show and STILL not seeing everything, it was time to bail; we all went to this amazing sushi place called Momiji right off of H Street. I need more sushi in my life!

J. David Buerk is a Washington, DC area photographer with a passion for cars. This blog post has been !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! by J. David Buerk. For the full set of photos, view the album at his !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . All photography is by !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and is copyrighted All Rights Reserved.

TheOnelectronic > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 04:20

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Regarding the frame: it looks like a cut-away, meaning the frame wouldn’t have it’s normal shape to make it more rigid.

J. David Buerk > TheOnelectronic 02/02/2016 at 04:26

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The only reason this came up was because the “old” frame next to it *was* rigid. It didn’t make sense to any of the four of us.

Svend > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 05:07

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I see the U.S. has put those awful corner markers on it.

Vauxhall/Opel

Buick

They look like they were just thrown on without a thought in design (granted the vast majority look awful with no thought on appearance).

'Stangy Leg > Svend 02/02/2016 at 09:34

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I actually saw several of these the last time I was in Colorado WITH Vauxhall badges :D

Fancied myself some tea after that for some reason

Jdrentarol > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 09:40

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I see you have sat in a Polaris Slingshot. Isn’t it surprisingly comfortable?

Jdrentarol > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 09:41

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DOWNFORCE MODE

ACTIVATED

GTI Sprinks > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 09:42

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Sounds like poor execution of display. Better execution might have shown a frame member after an being flexed to set load or something.

Have to remember, on shaped materials, rigidity has a lot to do with which direction the shaped material is being loaded case in point, i.e. I-beams, shaped frames, etc.

Loki240SX > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 09:46

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The old frame was stiff by sheer thickness of material... the new frame is stiff by more intelligent geometry. In the display they ruined that geometry.

Breadfan209 > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 09:46

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That wasnt the frame so much as body structure. The box steel frame nearby is the actual frame. The thin metal was the outer body skin. But I ageee the display was odd. Most sheet steel body skins are also very thin and flexible when not braced. A steel panel in the config they had would also bend easily. I think they mis-thought that display, putting a piece out like that and not realizing people would bend it out of shape was dumb. The place they did the cutaway meant a non-braced edge. Not found on the normal truck and the same would happen with steel but the display was confusing and many wouldn’t know it unless they repaced sheet metal on an old car. Dumb display.

RacingShark > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 09:49

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No Lover for the Guilia?! You’re right about BMW, too many options. They’ve lost their way. Why a manual option in the 3, but not the 4 grand coupe? I was really thinking about picking up an M3 or maybe even the M2, but that Guilia is looking mighty nice. Question is, will it last to 70k miles?

Bengal55 > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 09:52

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I was really impressed with the Pacifica and am really annoyed there is no Caravan variant. Of all the cars I saw at the show, the one I want the most is the MX-5, and the one I wanted to see the most.. the Continental , was just as awesome in person as I thought, and hoped it would be.

You hit the nail on the head with the Crossbow, everything about that thing, right down to the feel of the plastics and the fit and finish of the “interior” was *exactly* like a Power Wheels.

Also.. stop touching Darts, you perv.

move-over-peasant-I-have-an-M5-in-the-shop > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 09:54

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I usually make it every year. This year I couldn't because of snow and sick baby. I feel bad, because my wife just asked me yesterday if I still wanted to go, and that reminded me that we had missed it.

ThatbastardKurtis > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 09:56

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I believe that there was an M2 at the Washington Auto Show. Yet, you have no pics of an M2. WHY???!!!!

Max Power > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 09:58

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Seeing that DC Chinatown gateway reminds me of Tony Cheng’s, the best Mongolian BBQ and dim sum joint I’ve ever been to. Now I’m hungry.

spooljunkiev2 > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 09:59

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Anyone else see the rear end of a Durango and Dart in thet Lincoln?? WHY???

MallardDuck > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 10:00

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It’s interesting how Lincoln stole their grill design element from Chrysler/Dodge after being accused of stealing the rest of the cars design from Bentley.

Jokermanpaco > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 10:02

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Mr. Buerk, if you want to see many a high end and desirable new (and not new as well) hit up Katie’s cars and coffee on Saturday mornings. I’very spotted several cars out there pretty much the same week they arrive in the U.S.

Noneshallpass > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 10:03

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There is much honor in a simple tailpipe. Today, exhaust tips have become ridiculous and fanciful things. The vast majority are dressed up for show, belying a much simpler truth. I am looking at you BMW.

gin-san - shitpost specialist > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 10:09

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That Kia is strange - it looks like a Rio or Forte hatchback with a lift and big tires. With a bit more attention to detail, like a push bar that isn’t just tacked on and painted wheel arches, it could look decent.

Still, what a strange, mostly pointless concept, although it seems to be a better dune Beetle than the actual one VW is making.

willmederski > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 10:28

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BMW, however, you guys are going through a full-on identity crisis. Let me give you a hint - you don’t have to be good at EVERYTHING. You currently make multiple cars for everyone - it’s unnecessary and confusing, and surely can’t be financially sound!

these are my exact thoughts every time i see a late model BMW. sad to them become such a bloated company.

JustDoALittleResearchFirst > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 10:28

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1) Why would you intentionally damage a manufacturer’s display?

2) “I can’t wait to see your next iteration of the Z4 (will it be a big enough change to christen it the Z5?).”

No, you don’t appear to understand their new naming scheme. 2 door = even number, 4 door = odd number.

William Clavey > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 10:33

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That Alfa 4C Spider is a blast to drive!

http://williamclavey.kinja.com/2016-alfa-rome…

rhobere > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 10:37

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Speaking of things not holding up to auto shows, I couldn’t help but notice that the paint on every single Cadillac and Chevy at a different auto show was completely destroyed from the people working the show trying to keep fingerprints off of things. There were circular scratches on every inch of every panel of every car. I didn't see it from any other manufacturer so I'm left to wonder if GM has poor taste in microfibers or just horrible paint.

RX > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 10:39

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X4///M40i - I dont have the energy to try and figure out why someone thought this name was a good idea.

NITEMOVES > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 10:39

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This years show was woefully smaller than years prior. Stupid jeep display took up 75% of the floor space. Usually the entire convention center is full rather than the one section they used this year.

DJSteveMcQueen > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 10:39

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I always hated the fake, AutoZone-looking vents on Buicks. Seeing the Cascada without them kinda makes me miss them, though.

SyrianLanister > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 10:42

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must have alfa

DrSandman > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 10:46

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I know the 4C you saw in Reston; his kid goes to my kid’s daycare. It’s nice to ogle/park along side it.

Oh4sh0 > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 10:47

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The 4C.. makes me angry. Every journalist seems to give it endless praise, yet you know how many I’ve seen on the roads? Exactly zero.

I would really like to know if more than 1000 have even been sold in the US.

Shmevans > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 10:49

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Everyone knows about ComfortPlus and ComfortPlus+, but here’s a glimpse at the rarely seen, third drive setting for the new Buick Cascada.

Race.

John > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 10:55

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The gmc/chevy exhaust you pictured is that of the diesel which is actually regulated in how/where the tip can be, how far it projects out and how hot the exhaust exiting the tip can be. If you took the time to look at eye level, you would see the pipe is basically just an exhaust cooling tip.

This is the basic concept of how these systems work by pulling outside air into the diesel exhaust stream.

StalePhish > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 11:14

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A segment of the Washington Auto Show that is painfully missing is vehicles and technology aimed at helping those with disabilities.

The New England International Auto Show had a section for disabled drivers/passengers, including the MV-1, but I didn’t pay much attention to it personally.

TurdFerguson83 > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 11:36

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I went on Saturday... insanely crowded. I was checking out the new Lincoln Continental concept and asking the Lincoln woman about it (release date, engine, etc). I asked if it was RWD, and she stated “RWD is dead, FWD is the future”. I told her to tell that to the Germans and she immediately glazed over and quit talking to me. Pretty unprofessional, especially when your only real competitor (Cadillac) was presenting the CTS6 a few booths over in RWD guise.

ivan256 > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 11:43

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I also would like to see you and Mercedes go back to your roots of using engine displacement as model designators.

Why? It doesn’t mean anything in modern engines. If they’re going to change from the current “virtual penis length designation” to something else, how about peak torque divided by 10. Or 0-60 time in 10ths of seconds. (People would freak out because the lower model number is better!) Or power to weight ratio?

offthebandwagon > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 11:47

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I was there on Friday and Jeep (for some reason) brought a Patriot and a Compass. But they parked them in a corner BEHIND one of their Wrangler displays, so you couldn’t even see them unless you walked around to the back of the display. It’s almost like they said, “please don’t notice that we’re still selling these”

Shmevans > Shmevans 02/02/2016 at 12:13

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Jdrentarol beat me to this by 68 minutes. Bah.

slapya > Jdrentarol 02/02/2016 at 12:43

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I sat in the back of the Mercedes E350 wagon, too. I’m a bit taller, so I had to duck a little to fit.

The Mercedes E350 wagon was my favorite car of the show. Because wagon, and I’ve got a Miata for anything the wagon lacks.

Svend > 'Stangy Leg 02/02/2016 at 12:44

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Cool.

And a scone with strawberry jam and clotted cream.

Yes I drive a 240... Sort of > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 14:05

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I have not driven a Dart but I had a rental 200c for one day. It is one of the worst handling cars I have ever driven. Its slow and looks small yet feels like it weighs more than a truck. I’m not surprised they are getting rid of them.

DinoTheDinosaur > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 15:38

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the exhaust pipes on these GMCs (and presumably Chevys? I didn’t check). I love everything GMC makes, but the give-a-damns stopped on the exhaust tip - this looks like you guys used a fence post.

Or, on the other hand, it simply looks honest, as opposed to all the chromed fake tips that you find on most vehicles nowadays. I much prefer exhaust pipes like the ones you *didn’t* see on older cars ... exiting with a downturn spout behind a rear wheel or under the rear bumper, sometimes with a rolled lip, and not a fake ‘tip’ in sight. The worst of the new era are those chromed tips with weird shapes/geometries that are simply glued on / slipped over the plain metal tubes of the actual exhaust (you can see the real effin exhaust pipe inside and separate from the fake exhaust tips on so many new cars today, it looks grossly cheap and classless in each and every case).

J. David Buerk > RacingShark 02/02/2016 at 15:50

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The main photo of the rim and caliper is from the Guilia. There is a lot to this show that I didn’t photograph or talk about, but did check out. Like I completely forgot to talk about Cadillac’s V showcase.

J. David Buerk > TurdFerguson83 02/02/2016 at 16:03

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I spent a good amount of time at Lincoln. One of the discussions we’d been having offhand was noticing which brands have which booth-babes. What I noticed with Lincoln is they had the right image for their brand, but they didn’t have enough representatives roaming around for the level of interest the crowd had, and those that I saw were overwhelmed / overworked. I even spoke with one, and my impression was the same. It isn’t their fault - I think Lincoln just needed to have a few more reps on the floor so nobody gets overworked, and can get some down time. The Lincoln girls were being bombarded from what I saw - anyone would get stressed out.

J. David Buerk > Jokermanpaco 02/02/2016 at 16:07

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You should read / explore my blog. I’m no stranger to Katie’s.

http://www.jdavidbuerk.com/search?q=katie…

Actually, we had a Jalopnik meet up there three years ago.

http://oppositelock.kinja.com/jalopnik-at-ka…

Jagvar > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 17:50

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Hey, that’s me fingering the Continental’s sexy grille! Also, tell them the part about how the Lincoln rep thought we were all poor.

Blown2K2S2K > RX 02/02/2016 at 18:04

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I mean, the very idea of their SUV with an M badge on it is still taking some getting used to (though I think it’s been like a long time now), but now they’re designating the engine, too.

I’m thinking next up comes the X1///M20i S-Drive for their absolute cheapest model. Maybe the ///M will have to be retired for the ///N or maybe even a big red R!

tobythesandwich > TurdFerguson83 02/02/2016 at 20:14

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You know that they aren’t really actual employees for the company, right? They are hired and basically just given a bunch of sales garbage to regurgitate all day to the thousands of people who come by and will likely never buy their product.

So she likely didn’t give a shit about that. And she’s partially right. While it’s not made to be sporty, FWD can be pretty optimal for luxury. Granted the Continental is an overpriced POS that’s getting probably the most overhyped I’ve ever seen. Their idea isn’t entirely off.

tobythesandwich > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 20:17

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The continental is just an absurd disappointment. The fact it’s getting overhyped in this fashion is just sad. Because just like the other FWD gussied up Fords they’ve been selling, it’ll be a poor seller just like everything else. And people don’t want it. Especially because it’s still a POS compared to just about the entire Lexus lineup. I haven’t driven one. And hopefully I’m wrong. But seeing the overall build quality, the hideous styling, and interior... I’m not holding out any high hopes.

Le_Gourmet > J. David Buerk 02/02/2016 at 23:25

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Nice write up. I was there on Friday. Wish Porsche had a booth. Did you all do the test drives? I found them to be uselessly short and not worth the wait.

Other assorted observations: Wasn’t it weird that Cadillac made the ELR the center of attention in its display ... only to announce later that it’s discontinuing the model? Conversely, I thought Honda would show off the new Pilot more prominently than it did. Ford’s Focus RS also just hung out on the floor — thought that deserved some special attention. The yellow Audi TT was getting a lot of looks while I was there. Color helped it stand out from the sea of grays and silvers. Funny to see the FR-S buried in the shadowy Scion area when just a couple years ago, it was roped off like a Hollywood star. Agree the Cascada looked better in person than in the auto media’s pictures, though I think the Continental didn’t impress as much. I hung around the stand for a while trying to gauge others’ reactions and no one came by. Poor Lincoln!

Corey > J. David Buerk 02/03/2016 at 01:39

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No Focus RS!?

H0Zr > Svend 02/03/2016 at 13:24

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There was an auto show in Washington? Oh....DC......the other Washington.

LeCookieMonsieur > J. David Buerk 02/04/2016 at 21:20

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I judge photos based on how big the swoops are in the digital signature of the artist.