2007 Washington Auto Show - Part I
Here are some pictures and comments on the automobiles at the 2007 Washington Auto Show. I was excited about seeing what GM had to offer this year, in particular the Corvette, and the Solstice/Saturn Sky pair. I particularly like the new turbocharged Eco-Tech engine included with the Solstice GXP and Saturn Redline version. What a neat engine, packed with technology, and lots of power. The Z06 Vette was front and center next to the supercharged Cadallac.
The Z06 Vette is very cool looking - inside and out.
Love the Vette.
GM had a very neat display showing an engine dyno inside a glass room. They actually ran the engine and performed various tests on it during the show. According to the speaker, they will run an engine for 9 months straight to test 150 to 300 thousand miles of use.
GM's concept replacement for the Camaro:
Saab:
Saturn Sky. Really like the outside look of the car. The inside wasn't as nice. The driving position wasn't as good as the Miata or S2000, and just like all the car magazines say, the plastics seemed cheapy. The shifter was good, the gages nice, and the controls felt like quality. The carpet seemed to get in the way of my go foot.
The Solstice was very similar - defintely an eye catcher.
Couple more Pontiacs:
Buick. Yup, it still exists. Even at an auto show they attract and more elderly crowd...
At least they don't have that long horizontal speedometer anymore!
Sporty engine vents. Come on - it's a Buick, not a Vette.
I really liked the driving position on the Miata. It just felt like you could really push the thing hard around turns. The six speed shifter was excellent - short throws, and easy. The Miata just seems a little down on power in my opinion.
Not much room for a turbo on the exhaust manifold! I wonder if Mazda could fit their 2.3 liter turbo engine, from this car:
The RX8 is very cool. Good driving position, cool looking interior - just feels like it would be fun to drive.
Kudos to Mazda for sticking with a rotary engine.
