COUPE DE GRACE AUTO SHOW'S STYLES MERGE '60S MUSCLE, GEN Y INDIVIDUALITY.Byline: Barbara Correa Staff Writer It was like taking a ride back to the '70s - and beyond - at the L.A. Auto Show An auto show, or motor show, is a public exhibition of current automobile models, debuts, concept cars, or out-of-production classics. It is commonly attended by automobile manufacturers. Most auto shows occur once or twice a year. preview Friday: Super-sleek coupes and Steve McQueen-cool muscle cars are in, again. The show, which will open a nine-day public run today at the Los Angeles Convention Center The Los Angeles Convention Center (abbreviated LACC) is a convention center in downtown Los Angeles. The LACC hosts annual events such as the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show, and was best known to video games fans as host to E3 until its cessation in 2006. , carries the clear message that automakers believe that the era of utilitarian SUVs and soccer mom soccer mom n. An American mother living in the suburbs whose time is often spent transporting her children from one athletic activity or event to another. vans are out. The last time Ford Mustang For other Ford Mustang models and concepts, see . The Ford Mustang is an automobile produced by the Ford Motor Company, originally based on the Ford Falcon compact.[1] put its classic Mach 1 muscle car on the market, the Summer of Love was in full swing and people were marveling at the first moon landing. Now it's back, with the same stripe down the front middle and ``shaker'' hood design, though this fuel-injected version doesn't shake. Ford is making just 6,800 of them. ``There's a lot of appeal for the retro look ... and the power,'' said Octavio Navarro, Western regional manager for Ford Motor Co. ``Mustang cruised to fame because of all the add-ons you can do. If you introduced a limited model that wasn't a performance car, the enthusiasts would be disappointed.'' Even luxury coupes like the Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury performance cars, whose headquarters are at Gaydon, Warwickshire, England. The company name is derived from the Aston Clinton hill climb and one of the company's founders, Lionel Martin. DB AR1 American Roadster concept car are taking their cues from the racetrack. The $230,000 topless two-seater, even more sophisticated than the Vanquish (now appearing in the James Bond movie ``Die Another Day''), has a quilted cushion interior that harks back to the soundproofed Aston race cars of the 1950s and '60s, said Claire Cook, a company representative. The American Roadster design is based on the DB5 of ``Goldfinger'' fame, the most popular Aston Martin ever made. Even the car's color, Roadster Green, comes from a late-1950s project car. In another link to decades past, actress Stefanie Powers was there checking out the Roadster, perhaps pining for the glamour of the cars she got to drive in ``Hart to Hart Hart to Hart is an American television series starring Switch alumnus, Robert Wagner as Jonathan Hart and Stefanie Powers as his wife Jennifer, who lived in a wealthy suburb of Los Angeles. The show ran from 1979 to 1984 on the ABC Television Network. .'' Drivers hoping to reconnect with their hippie days, or maybe create some new ones, will want to check out Volkswagen's 2003 Beetle convertible, available in Mellow Yellow, Aquarius, Harvest Moon harvest moon, full moon occurring nearest to the autumnal equinox, about Sept. 23. During harvest moon the retardation (later rising each night) of the moon is at a minimum because of the relation of the moon's path to the horizon. and Blue Lagoon Blue Lagoon
The show wasn't all Herbie the Love Bug nostalgia. Chevrolet, Lincoln Mercury and Mitsubishi's selections of new models are again dominated by testosterone cars. Meanwhile, Volvo introduced its first-ever SUV, the front-wheel-drive XC90, which is being marketed as a safer SUV with a rollover A graphic element in an application or on a Web page that changes its color or shape when the pointer is moved (rolled) over it. See JavaScript rollover. See also n-key rollover. protection system. The fact that the staid, practical company is just now getting around to building an SUV could mean the bigger-is-better style has finally lost its hip status. Its replacement, a cross between a Jeep and an SUV, was the oddest new trend on display at the L.A. auto show. The Toyota Scion's boxy box·y adj. box·i·er, box·i·est Resembling a box, especially in simplicity or rectangularity. box  i·ness n. 2004 xB, created for the Japanese market, was made to be customized with after-market parts. ``It's focusing on the Generation Y market,'' said Ming-Jou Chen, a Toyota product administrator. ``They don't want big cars.'' They also don't want their cars to look like everybody else's. Drivers of Honda's new Element, described as a ``mega-functional adventure tool,'' would be in no danger of that. Element resembles a narrowed, jacked-up Hummer that's built for fun, with a removable skylight and flip-down back seats. It's about as far from a traditional SUV, coupe - or any other car ever made - as you can get. IF YOU GO What: The Greater Los Angeles Auto Show The Los Angeles Auto Show is an annual auto show that takes place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California. The show has been held annually since 1907. When: Today through Jan. 12 Hours: Saturdays 9 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Sundays 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Weekdays 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Where: Los Angeles Convention Center Cost: $8 weekdays; $10 weekends. Seniors are $5 on weekdays and children under 12 are free throughout the show. CAPTION(S): 4 photos, box Photo: (1 -- 3 -- color) The Cadillac Cien concept car, top, is featured at the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show, which begins today, along with the new VW Convertible Beetle, above, and the Honda Element, left. Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer (4 -- color) The L.A. Auto Show fills the west hall of the Convention Center Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer Box: IF YOU GO (see text) |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion