2004 Chicago Auto Show Review

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p>The Chicago Auto Show has again come and gone and after managing to get there several times (both on press days and on a public day) I thought I’d give you my take on what was displayed. Keep in mind that this is one person’s opinions and isn’t meant to be the final word on anything. If you have your own thoughts about some of the cars mentioned below I’d invite you to respond in the comments section. You can check out a sampling of the cars featured in our Auto Show Gallery.

The show has seen a bit of a resurgence since moving across the street to the newly constructed McCormick Center several years ago. The new McCormick Center is able to house the entire show in one enormous hall – one of the largest of it’s kind in the world.

Situated after the big industry show in Detroit a month earlier Chicago has a history of being very consumer focused. It’s because of this we often see more bread and butter types of introductions and it’s for this very reason that Chicago was honored with the introduction of the MINI MC40. But beyond the MC40 we also saw quite a few interesting concepts and new production cars that make it to the show. Here’s a sampling of some of the more interesting cars and my take on seeing each in the flesh, sitting in them, feeling the materials, twisting the dials and just in general experiencing each of them.

Audi was represented at the show with all their current offerings including the much hyped Audi LeMans concept car. I know this will surprise some of you out there but in flesh the LeMans is fairly disappointing. It seems as if Audi is searching for some design language to take it to into the 10 years and is ending up with a concept that simply isn’t cohesive and certainly isn’t as profound as what we saw 4-6 years ago with things like the Rosemyer Concept. Granted Audi has a lot going for it. The A4 Avant is an incredibly good looking car and the A8 is simply sublime but even that will be changing with the introduction of the tall vertical grille currently seen on the 12 cylinder model. Actually the star of the Audi display, in my eyes, was the A8 and it’s almost perfect interior. While I’m no 7 series hater, it’s hard to argue that the A8 isn’t just a bit prettier inside and out.

Speaking of the 7 series, BMW introduced the 760i Sport at the show this year. It’s the standard wheelbase version of the 12 cylinder 7 series with some added sporting character. It’s also, to my knowledge, the first BMW car to come with 20″ wheels. I believe a bling bling is in order.

Further on the BMW stand we saw the regional introduction of the 6 series. It’s been said countless times but I must say it again – don’t judge this car until you see it in person. The car has a presence that cannot be captured in photos. However, it is interesting how close to the 911 it’s lines are with the trunk popped up.

The X3 is a bit of a mixed bag. Having driven it, I can say that it’s simply one of the best handling SUVs on the market. But a couple small yet glaring cheap interior bits really bring the X3 down a notch. It’s too bad too – the interior is really designed well and as a package I think it’s a great vehicle. The sunroof almost puts the MINIs to shame.

And when is that new Golf getting to the states? The R32 has some nice interior treatments (why don’t we have seats like this in the MINI?) but for the price it’s a bit out of it’s league. For that matter the entire Golf range is looking quite outdated.

Okay I’ll go ahead and say it – the Toureg is a sweet looking vehicle. As someone typically doesn’t like SUVs of any kind I am really impressed by it. Granted I haven’t driven one yet but from everything I’ve read it’s the real deal. It was a bit awkward having it so close to the Porsche display and the Cayenne – an SUV that simply isn’t near as good looking despite being almost the same vehicle. The fact that VW has brought their Diesel V10 to the stats is impressive.

The VW Phaeton seems to get bigger every-time I see it. I never thought I’d sit down in the rear seats of a VW and be able to cross my legs. While I certainly had some early doubts I have to say that this car is for real.

The Aston Martin display, while only three cars strong was exceptional. The DB9 is one of the most beautiful cars I’ve ever seen. Every design detail down to the door handles is a thing to behold. Speaking of the doors they have no pre-set positions when opened – they simply stop where you leave them – quite a nice trick. The interior is even more impressive. Large pieces of wood (that actually look and feel like wood) coupled with thick supple leather that covers every inch of the cockpit, give you the feeling of being in a post modern english manor. And yes – the headliner is suede. It all makes for one of the most amazing cars I’ve ever seen. The DB9 may have the best interior bar none of any car out there.

The Bentley Continental GT does not in any way look or feel like a Volkswagen. I just wanted to dispel that myth right up front. Granted The GT is one of the more impressive things VW has done lately. Again the interior is pure old English touched up for the 21st century. Sure there are some Phaeton cross over bits here and there but not to the detriment of the car. Oh and did I mention the headliner is suede?

The Lamborghini Gallardo is incredible in person – easily one of the more impressive supercar designs of the past five years.

The Lotus Elise looks like it’s going 90 mph standing still.

The new Rolls Royce is huge beyond belief. At first sight the Rolls is almost shocking in it’s overall look. But upon seeing it further it lost the shock and almost became endearing to me in a strange way. But no matter how many times you see it one can’t get over the sheer size of the thing.

Maserati and Ferrari have had increasingly larger displays at the Chicago Auto Show over the past couple of years. Okay lets start with the good stuff. First off the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti is huge. It’s wheel base seems to go on forever. Yet the car isn’t awkward looking and at some angles you could even call is voluptuous. Upon first entering the cabin it’s clear that the 612 is made for comfort than past Ferraris. All controls easily fall into the hands where you’d expect them and the display is simply and efficiently designed. There are however some interior pieces that disappoint quality wise. In fact the little door below the stereo simply would not shut, even at the hands of a rather embarrassed Ferrari exec who happened to see it slightly ajar when I got in.

The 575 Maranello is what it is – the quintessential front engined sports car. It’s obvious when you sit down in the 575 that Ferrari meant for this car to be about driving. Everything is very purposeful and clean. The paddle shifters feel like you expect them too, the leather smells like you expect it to, even the stitching on the doors say Ferrari. And what happened to all these stories of having to contort your torso or legs to fit into these cars? Ferraris seems to be fairly livable place these days.

Maserati was at the show in force as well. Of course the Quattroporto was the big news. I have to see the more I see this car the more I just can’t help but feel the overall design is a bit awkward. The design details and even the overall shape seem to be a bit out of place on a large sedan. While it was outfitted rather well inside most the materials simply weren’t in quite at the level of a A8. It had many Ferrari cues in the gauges and switches and the steering wheel was almost an exact copy of the one in the 612. Interestingly the F1 transmission was pretty much identical to that of the Ferraris but had a small line of felt on the back of the paddles where your fingertips came in contact with it. Quite nice.

Something to note, all Ferraris and Maseratis on display had the F1 semi-automatic transmission.

Mercedes continues to disappoint these days. The quality of almost every car they make is not doing the brand any favors. The sound of the door shutting on the E-Class was not at all what I’ve come to expect. And with the C-Class hatchback you just get the feeling that MB is desperately trying to figure out how to sell to a younger crowd. Having put the C-Class through it’s paces recently I can tell you that they fail both stylistically and dynamically. Even AMG is beginning to look a bit different these days. Their current advertising campaign can’t be aimed at the enthusiast. Instead it seems as if they’ve given up on that market and are now going for a more typical consumer. While this may generate sales in the short term, I can’t help but feel that it really will hurt the brand in the years ahead. Again the only bright spot for MB in my eyes continues to be the gorgeous SL.

The new Scion coupe was a big let down – nothing more to say really. Except if you don’t like the eyebrows on the 7 series you’ll hate the front end.

The new entry level V40/S50 Volvo is really quite nice to look at but I’ll withhold final judgement until I drive one. That seems to be where most recent Volvos lose a bit of luster.

The Mazda 323 was a bit of a mixed bag. Spec-wise it’s a killer car. The design and the functionality of the shape is fantastic. But the materials inside really let down the whole package somewhat. I was in a fairly basic car and compared to a basic MINI, well there is no comparison.

While one car won’t make us forget the years of Grand Ams and Sunfires the Pontiac Solstice goes a long way in rejuvenating the brand. There’s not much to write about that you haven’t seen in pictures since it was completely closed off (even to the press). However I can say that anyone familiar with GM products in general will be shocked when they see some of the design details on this car. Sure there are some glaring shortcuts taken, exposed screw in the foglights covers for example, but overall this car is a masterstroke. Also somewhat surprising is also G6 respectable looking. Granted it will probably have the standard car rental quality to it in terms of driving dynamics but it’s a huge step forward in design. Of course taking the place of the Grand Am this car can only be an enormous improvement.

The Saab 9-2. Wow, how did Suburu agree to this? I suppose they didn’t.

The new Mustang looks a bit better in person than it does in photos. The interior is probably the most dramatic improvement. My biggest complaint – why are the bumpers so huge?! The rear one creates an enormous amount of bulk at the rear of the car. The concept car was much more subtle in this area.

The Cobra also looks substantially better in person. In fact, my opinion did a 180 when I saw it. If Ford doesn’t build this car it’ll be a shame.

When the show finally opened to the public the Ford display was incredibly crowded except for one area – the new Ford 500. That can’t be good.

Also left completely alone and untouched by show goers… one lonely Ford Thunderbird.

The Chevy Nomad is a great concept that will probably never see the light of day. Unfortunately where the Nomad succeeds the Saturn Curve fails.

The new Nissan Amada is just ridiculously obese and the new Infiniti Q65 is both obese are grotesque. How can a company that created the FX45 bring us these monsters? Nissan also showed off it’s Nismo wares on a well equipped 350ZX – I can imagine this being a huge hit.

Meanwhile over at the Chrysler display the new Chrysler 300 and Dodge Magnum wagon were seemingly huge hits. Both cars have a presence in person that large American sedans have lacked for some time. If this is where most of Mercedes R&D money has gone it was a good investment.

Another year and another great show. Again you can check out a sampling of cars featured in this year’s show in our Auto Show Gallery. Feel free to express your own thoughts in our comments section.