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I am a gearhead, so you can be sure that I made my way this week to the annual New York Auto Show at the Javitz Center. My favorite thing about going to the show is that it's like going to a dozen different car dealerships at the same time and there are no pushy salespeople. The nice folks over at the Javitz Center have also made it much easier to get in and out unscathed and unexasperated this year with the introduction of credit card ticket kiosks which makes entry a breeze [tickets are $14 per adult, so about the same as a night at the movies].
The first thing that struck me as funny upon arrival is the marketing gimmick that Jeep has employed just outside the main entrance to the show. It's basically an adult version of one of those jalopy-car-on-rails rides that they have at your local amusement park, but with a new 4 door Jeep Wrangler as the car. 'Thrillseekers' go around a tiny oblong track with a hill built into the middle. The most astounding part of it for me was the length of the cue to go on this 'ride'. Really?
Beyond that little bit of sillines [and I might add a clever marketing presence for the flagging Chrysler Corporation], the main floor holds most of what I come to the show for. Upon entry to the main show floor, I can feel my pulse pick up with that spark of adrenaline that c
omes from seeing your highschool crush, or in this case the new Porsche Panamera. The Panamera is the latest entry into a new grouping of luxo-touring cars [joining the Maserati Quattroporte] that can boast that they can move 4 adult occupants [seated in pretty plush surroundings] from 0-60 in under 5 seconds... now even for a non-enthusiast tha has to be at least a tad bit exciting. Now, if the Panamera had me at 'hello', it said goodbye to me with the pricetag. At around $150k, it feels far too precious for me to be jockeying for position with yellow cabs on the streets of Manhattan.
omes from seeing your highschool crush, or in this case the new Porsche Panamera. The Panamera is the latest entry into a new grouping of luxo-touring cars [joining the Maserati Quattroporte] that can boast that they can move 4 adult occupants [seated in pretty plush surroundings] from 0-60 in under 5 seconds... now even for a non-enthusiast tha has to be at least a tad bit exciting. Now, if the Panamera had me at 'hello', it said goodbye to me with the pricetag. At around $150k, it feels far too precious for me to be jockeying for position with yellow cabs on the streets of Manhattan. That leads me to an observation on the show this year that I found maybe a bit unexpected... with all of the bellyaching the auto industry has been doing over the last few years, I noticed an inordinant amount of cars being introduced at the highest end of the market... almost starting to blur the already fine lines between a luxury car and a Maybach [or Bentley or Rolls if
you prefer]. Take the new Jaguar XJ for instance. What was a simply a lovely luxury touring sedan has now transformed into a super saloon of near epic proportion... and it feels a bit like that at every one of the European marks. The Audi A8, the BMW 7 seriest, the S class and even Range Rover have all upped the ante with their offerings this year [the Range Rover Autobiography is a study in overindulgence...nobody really needs that much truck. I can't think of the last 
time I ate caviar while traversing the Himalayas]. I guess the reason I find this unusual is that i am surprised by the perceived appetite that exists in the marketplace for this type of luxury product considering the economic tailspin that we are all trying to pull ourselves out of. I guess Wall Street is back.
you prefer]. Take the new Jaguar XJ for instance. What was a simply a lovely luxury touring sedan has now transformed into a super saloon of near epic proportion... and it feels a bit like that at every one of the European marks. The Audi A8, the BMW 7 seriest, the S class and even Range Rover have all upped the ante with their offerings this year [the Range Rover Autobiography is a study in overindulgence...nobody really needs that much truck. I can't think of the last 
time I ate caviar while traversing the Himalayas]. I guess the reason I find this unusual is that i am surprised by the perceived appetite that exists in the marketplace for this type of luxury product considering the economic tailspin that we are all trying to pull ourselves out of. I guess Wall Street is back.The other developments this year seem to be in the area of, you guessed it, a greener tomorrow. Even the luxo-cruisers are stepping into the foray [the Merc S 400 hybrid, the Bimmer 7 series ActiveHybrid]. The horse race between bio diesel, hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell technology seems to be getting more and more heated, but one thing is for sure. If you currently have a car parked in your garage that get's less than 30 mpg, get ready to be ostracized. Maybe not this year or next, but soon and forever after. I wonder what the car equivalent to a PETA member throwing blood on a fur coat will be for high petrol-consumption vehicles will be?
As I left the Auto Show and went to grab a cab back to civilization [Javitz is all the way over to the western edge of the island], I noticed that my cab was a hybrid and I felt pretty good about that... until i realized that I am in one of the few places in the world where almost everywhere I need to be is within walking distance, so I decided to use the legs god gave me to walk home. You can thank me for lower carbon emissions later.
The New York International Auto Show runs through Sunday, April 11th at the Jacob Javitz Center in Manhattan.
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