"bhtooefr" (bhtooefr)
01/22/2018 at 06:35 • Filed to: detroit auto show, 2018 detroit auto show, bmw, bmw x2, bmw i8, honda, honda insight, volkswagen, volkswagen jetta, hyundai, hyundai veloster, gac motor, ram, ram 1500, chevrolet, chevrolet silverado, ford, ford ranger, ford mustang, toyota, toyota avalon, chrysler, chrysler pacifica, hybrid, mitsubishi, mercedes-benz, g-class, g-wagen |  1
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So I went with !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to NAIAS, and I have Thoughts™.
Namely, I wasn’t really impressed with any of the new cars I saw. So, in order of seeing them...
Honda Insight: Eh, it’s a Civic Hybrid. It’s something that needed to happen, but meh, boring.
Mercedes-Benz G-Class: It looks just like the old one, and they’ll never be used properly.
BMW i8: I actually saw this, but didn’t realize it was updated.
BMW X2: Meeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Volkswagen Jetta: Interesting that they actually had some colors in the VW booth, and one of the Jettas was orange. Otherwise, eh, it’s basically a Škoda Octavia where the rear glass doesn’t open, and they added a quarter window in the C pillar (that’s a Passat design trope, not a Jetta one). The Mk1 Jetta they had was more interesting.
Hyundai Veloster: I didn’t pay much attention to it, but huh, that’s a second generation?
GAC GA4: I didn’t actually look at the GA4, but some of their other stuff. Nowhere near as terrible as the Chinese cars in years past. Still not good. And they didn’t even bother to localize their infotainment to English for the cars at the show.
Ram 1500: Interesting that the V6 gets a mild hybrid standard and the V8 gets one optional, but meh, it’s a bloated full-size truck that won’t be used as a truck.
Chevy Silverado 1500: Interesting that there’s a straight-6 diesel, but see above. And, it wasn’t like they had an engine that you could look at, so meh.
Ford Ranger: Interesting that they’re bringing it, although I’m not a fan of their powertrain option. I get why they did it though - people will buy this and haul a bed full of air, and the 2.3T’s probably perfect for that. It’ll haul something heavy, effortlessly, the three times it’s asked to do it, and then it’ll be a 2.3 liter the rest of the time.
Ford Mustang Bullitt: Meh, yet another Mustang.
Toyota Avalon: I approached this one from the back. Not bad, not bad, peek inside, that looks nice, get around to the front, DEAR CEILING CAT, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING, TOYOTA? It’s not as bad in person as it is in photos, largely because you’re looking down on it, but eurgh.
I think that’s all the debuts I actually noticed.
Favorite car of the show:
The fuckin’ Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. Which isn’t new, they debuted it two years ago, and they had ones open last year. But it still seems like an amazing road trip machine - hold six people in comfort, four of them in pretty much total comfort (seriously I could’ve easily fallen asleep reclined in that second row), and get 32 MPG while doing it? And, 33 miles on the battery? Yeah, not bad. Also, I think that sums up the show - the car I found most interesting is the one I could most easily sleep in.
Saddest booth of the show: No contest, it’s Mitsubishi... but then it was a dealer that ran that booth, outside of the show floor . And, the Mirage G4 had a bunch of stuff left in it, like, wtf? They could’ve at least had an Outlander PHEV, the closest thing to something interesting that Mitsubishi has, too (and the only thing that people have actually looked forward to), but nope.
Herr Quattro - Has a 4-motion
> bhtooefr
01/22/2018 at 06:41 |
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The new jetta in general left me horribly underwhelmed. Like the mk6 was bland, but I love the turn pretty much everything in the VW lineup is taking, especially the golf, and Arteon.
But ugh. That Jetta just left me with nothing. I hope the GLI will get my blood pumping, as that was the only highlight of the mk6 Jettas.
pip bip - choose Corrour
> bhtooefr
01/22/2018 at 06:43 |
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out of what you listed, the Ford Ranger would be my pick followed by the GAC GA4
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bhtooefr
> pip bip - choose Corrour
01/22/2018 at 06:50 |
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Note that I missed some stuff - the Passat GT (just an appearance package on the Passat 3.6) I don’t remember seeing (the new Jetta’s having a C-pillar quarter window doesn’t help), the Forte I don’t remember seeing (but then, I only looked at the Niro Plug-In hiding in the back, and glanced at a Stinger), and I think there were a couple other debuts I missed. (The problem with just being a normal attendee is that by 11:00-11:30 on Saturday, the show is packed , and you can’t see shit.)
random001
> bhtooefr
01/22/2018 at 06:55 |
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Having had a rental Pacifica (not the hybrid) I gotta say, it’s awful. Maybe it was the rental spec level, but it was noisy, uncomfortable, and didn’t track all that well. Ugh.
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bhtooefr
> random001
01/22/2018 at 06:59 |
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I wonder what tires it had. (I’ve heard of so many new cars that are just absolutely ruined by OE tires being bad, I’m wondering if it had the Kumho option or something.)
I’m considering actually test driving a Pacifica Hybrid just to see how it is, even though I have zero interest in buying one - I’ve heard that those trims actually drive pretty nicely (and the transmission isn’t the ZF randoshift 9-speed, it’s a copy of the Ford power split hybrid transmission (which uses the same principle as Toyota’s hybrid transmissions, and Toyota copied the Ford layout for the Gen 4 Prius and now the new Camry and Avalon hybrids)).
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random001
> bhtooefr
01/22/2018 at 07:11 |
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It was definitely a lack of noise reduction, either in coatings, or materials. Lots of road and wind noise. But yes, I had the base spec. The hybrid should be nicer, if only that the undercarriage should be nicely lined with batteries or something to isolate noise. But yes, tires are a big factor in most cars. Just not the Abarth.
450X_FTW
> bhtooefr
01/22/2018 at 08:19 |
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Honorable mention from when I was there last week, the Kia Stinger. When did Kia start making cars that look this good???
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bhtooefr
> 450X_FTW
01/22/2018 at 08:35 |
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To be fair, that isn’t new (IIRC it debuted there last year?)
Still, yeah, it’s interesting.
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450X_FTW
> bhtooefr
01/22/2018 at 09:28 |
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It may have, but this was my first time to the auto show in about 10 years. Went during the industry preview days. First time seeing the Kia Stinger and it’s annoying how good it looks. You want to be disappointed because its a Kia, but damn it looks really nice.