2007 Washington Auto Show - Part II
I really like the looks of the newer Volvos, with the S60R being the coolest. The interior is nice, and feels quality built. The big problem is with the manual transmission - it's very difficult to find 5th and 6th gears; I'm constantly moving into the reverse detent for 5th and 6th. Cool blue gages. Naturally I'm fond of the turbocharged power plant.
The C30 is pretty cool looking too.
Unfortunately the Shelby mustang was locked, but it does look very cool, albeit a little jacked up. It would look much better lowered about 2 inches. The interior of the 'regular' mustang GT is nice, but it's just not for me. You sit low, and I'm not into the retro-gages. I do like the exterior however.
The Ford Expedition. What can I say - it was huge - everything about it was huge - even the controls are huge. The gages look like circa 1950 - are there vacuum tubes back there? The center console is - well - huge! The truck looks like it eats deer and other woodland creatures for little snacks.
Mercedes. The low end Mercedes did in fact have a low end feel about them, while the high end ones had a high end feel about them. The SLK350 looks nice on the outside, but feels like they skimped a little on interior materials in places. Overall, I liked it, but I don't see myself driving it hard like a Miata or S2000. The super expensive convertible (sorry - Mercedes has too many models to remember - it's probably a letter followed by 3 numbers though - just a guess) is very nice - feels like it would be super fast. OK it's the SL550.
Really liked the stitched dashboard - but it does cost $95,000...
The 63 is pretty bad-ass looking.
What's with the clock? I'm going 150MPH on the Autobahn, the revs are at 6000RPM, and - oh my - it's 1:30pm! (or rather 1330) How about oil pressure / temperature instead? With those cool paddle shifters, perhaps the tach should be front and center instead of the speedometer. I do like the fuel and temperature vertical displays; very space conscience.
In my opinion Dodge makes some very cool looking (big) cars.
Chrysler concept car:
The new Altima looks nice:
The Maxima is still one of the cool looking sedans, with a nice interior.
I really like the 350Z, and the new convertible is very well done. It would be nice if the dash was made of softer stuff.
