Minneapolis Street Sighting: Cadillac Coupe deVille

In my years of spotting and photographing older and classic vehicles on the Minneapolis streets, Cadillacs have been some of my more fun spottings. Cadillacs are timeless, elegant, and represent a time when real gangsters, and business-men shared ideal transportation. Sadly, that time has passed, but Cadillacs still have a "class" of their own. Be it a 1990s Fleetwood, a mid 1960s Sedan deVille, or even a 1980s Eldorado, these cars evoke a sense of class that Lincoln can never seem to match.






This example is clean and almost perfect, especially for a Minnesota car without collector plates. The paint and trim are in MINT shape, and the badges are near perfect too. candy cherry red is flawless and looks great from almost any angle, and the gold trim (if a bit tacky) does the same. Unfortunately, even though the hubcaps are not correct, they are at least in great shape, and free from scratching or pitting. As with the exterior, the interior is in great shape, too, with the leather seeming almost new. The wood wheels is perfect, and just screams "1979". Too bad the rest of the car screams "I was 'restored' in 2005 to satisfy a younger owner wanting to be cool". I'd happily drive it, though, but I'd replace the Wal-Mart wires with some correct Cadillac caps. I'd also take the effort to replace the tacky gold trim with correct chrome. As it is, though, it represents a nice, solid Minnesota car that's fit to bring out in good weather.

2010 Minneapolis Auto Show: Germany vs. Korea

Normally, I'd divide the rest of the cars into their respective categories, but this year's auto show was rather lame. 2010 is sort of a let-down as far as new cars are concerned. Yes, there still were significant vehicles from other major manufacturers besides Ford and GM, but unlike Ford or GM, most manufacturers had one or two sinficant vehicles instead of four to six.
First up are the Germans. Really, instead of Germans as a whole, it was more Volkswagen and Audi. Sadly, their subsidiary Porsche wasn't represented. The Mercedes display sucked, and I don't even think BMW was even represented. No big loss, really, as BMWs don't really evoke much emotion from me anymore.





Nothing too special on the Audi front save for the unveiling of their newest color, Ipanema Brown. This metallic orange color is a pricey, but unique option available across the Audi range. The option is $10,000 and customers who order this unique color will be asked to wait four to six weeks for delivery. So, be sure you do indeed want your Audi in this color.



On the VW side of things, two new offerings were unveiled. First up, is the VW Jetta TDI Cup Edition. While its supposed to be a street version of the track beast, this vehicle seems more at home in an Autozone parking lot. Hey, at least it has a stickshift, right?

Next up is the 2010 GTI. Introduced earlier this winter, these new GTIs are becoming a more and more common sighting each day. While not as distinguishable as its predecessor, I do quite like this version. Hopefully, it'll be a good driver's car like the V was. and not be watered down like theMKIV was.
The Koreans, just like in 2008, took the show by storm this year as well. Kia introduced its Forte Koupe, which, as it sounds, is the two-door version of its four-door sedan. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to snap the rest of the lineup. I regret not shooting the new Sorento, though, because it really is a good looking vehicle, both in pictures and in person.

While looking almost like a current-gen Civic, Kia's first coupe is a good effort. Also, this car, in addition to the Soul, marks Kia's first real attempt to break into the sport-compact segment. I like the Koupe, and with a few aftermarket goodies, it could be a prefect track terror. Oh, and Kia already taking it racing in its own series.


Stablemate Hyundai had a nice display, too. In addition to the lowly (but somewhat loved) Accent, they presented their newest range of cars, including the Genesis coupe. Starting at $22k, the Genesis coupe does battle with the Mustang and Camaro, but for a lower price. You can get the new Hyundai coupe with either a 2.0 Turbo four, which is a little down on horsepower, but has amazing tuning potential, or you can opt for the screaming 306 horse 3.8L V6. Either way, this Korean coupe will be driver's delight. Too bad the same cannot be said of this ugly Genesis sedan pictured above.



While the Genesis coupe was all fine and dandy, the real news was the arrival of the new superlux sedan, the Equus. Hailing from Korea, this new entry in the superlux segment has a 4.6L Tau V8 and seven speed automatic as its powerhouse. Tuned for luxury versus off-the-line performance, this big Hyundai, while producing 400+ horses, is not supposed to fast from the get-go. Instead, this car makes up for its performance with features an amenities abound. Back seat tray tables, 30+ way power and reclining rear seats, massaging footrests, and more, this car leaves you coddled like no Mercedes ever could. What's even more impressive is the price. $150K? $100K? Nope. Just $75k. Eat that Mercedes and BMW. I think your luxury trump card just got trumped.

2010 Minneapolis Auto Show: Part 2: To China, From Ford

Aside from GM, the other big news at this year's Auto Show was Ford. Sadly, they, too, suffered a shortage of new cars. In fact, most of the cars on display I had either seen, or were not interested in, to be polite. The first new offering on Ford's plate is the refreshed Shelby GT500. While new, and improved, producing 40 more horsepower, and bigger wheels than last year, I still took it with a grain of salt. Not that I don't care about the Mustang, but this seemed kind of meh. In fact, the whole Mustang thing in general doesn't excite me like it once did. Maybe I'm getting older, or maybe my interest in cars has shifted more to the European side, but seeing a hot Mustang doesn't excite me like it used it. At least not in this cliche red with white stripes combo. If it was blue and orange, or the classic blue and white, however, things would be different. A lot different.






The next big announcement from the Ford side of things were their new EcoBoost engine. Contrary its its green-seeming name, there is nothing green about EcoBoost. Averaging 18 MPG mixed driving cerntainly isn't green, but that's not the fault of the engine itself. While 365 horses and 350 ft/lb of torque, made possible by twin Garrett 15mm turbos, certainly get these new Fords up and running pretty quickly, it can't makeup for the weight of the cars this engine is thrown into. The Taurus SHO and Lincoln MKS weigh in at just over 4300 lbs dry, with the Flex and its MKT twin tacking on another 200 lbs. Quite scary, really. I'd love to see the EcoBoost thrown into a much lighter vehicle, say the Fusion/MKZ. Even an Edge or MKX would be cool with an EcoBoost.


Making up for the absence of the Super Duty, Ford presented the SVT Raptor. It looks awesomely menacing in the orange hue seen here, but it looks equally intimidating in the blue its offered in too, as well as the obligitory black. With its monstrous exhaust, and 6.2 "Hurricane" V8, this thing sounds like the beast it is. Unfortunately, in a haste to go, I didn't snap the logo.

The new Fiesta is finally here! Too bad Ford chose to display the ungainly, ill-porportioned sedan version. I almost didn't even look for it, but unfortunately, I had to take notice. Blargh. I'll wait for the hatchback version, thanks.



Ford's ex-subsidaries both had, in my opinion, rather lame displays at this years auto show. Jaguar, unlike last year, had nothing new that was noteworthy this year. They did present the XJ, though. Sadly, the XF's design theme penned by Ian Callum does not work on the XJ as it does on its smaller sibling. Whereas the XF flows rather nicely, the XJ look great until you see the rear end. Then it's a whole slap of "what the hell were they thinking?" Honestly. Blacked out C-Pillars, tapered, round, taillights, and a big "cat" logo? Really? The back of the XJ looks like a Hyundai attempt at luxury circa 1999. Ew.


Like Jaguar, Volvo, too, had a rather mundane display. Quite contrary to arch-nemisis Saab, Volvo had nothing of extreme significance. The all-new S60 that made its world debut at Geneva was not present this year, for good reason. It isn't on sale yet. However, they did show off the new facelifted C30/C70 twins. Forgive me for saying this, but I honestly think the new front end sucks. The first generation was so much nicer looking. Whereas the old front was slim and tied in with the overall design theme of the car, this looks like the grafted an XC60 front end on the damn thing. Oh wait.
Like I said in regards to the GM display, I hope next year will be better. Ford better have some nice cars on display to make up for this year's disaster. I honestly can't wait to see the new Edge or Super Duty in person. Same story for the real Fiesta! Gimme a Lime Squeeze Fiesta hatch with the proper wheels, and I'm good. Make it a stick, too, please.

2010 Minneapolis Auto Show Part 1: From GM to Spyker (Saab)

As I said in my intro post, this year's Auto Show left me a little cold. No extremely new, exciting cars I haven't seen before, at least pictures of anyway. While I did go to the show with a "who cares?" state of mind, there were quite a few standouts.






First up, this show marked the first time I've seen Saab's new offerings in person. Fresh out of the GM-to-Spyker transition/fiasco, the automaker brought its two newest additions, along with the rest of its lukewarm lineup. The new 9-5 is a great looking car. Whereas the old car is sort of a mundane mishmash of various design cues, the new car speaks Saab very well. Although, it is based on the Opel Insignia, it shares nothing of its sheetmetal. In fact, looking at the two cars side by side, one would never know they are related at all.


The other noteworthy new car from Saab is the 9-3X crossover-utility wagon. Much in the same spirit as the Audi Allroad line, and Subaru Outback series, Saab has taken its smaller wagon and outfitted it for "offroad" use. While I like the concept, and applaud Saab for jumping on the bandwagon, I must express my disdain for the car. Saab has jumped onto a failing market with a car more expensive and more exclusive than its main "competitor". Like the Audi Allroad, I predict Saab's crossover-utility wagon will fall flat on its face; it seems like this was GM's last idea to "save Saab". And it won't work.


Gm also brought out some goodies. There was the Cadillac Converj Concept Car, which, despite being given a greenlight for production, has been canned as of this writing. Bummer. While I don't necessarily approve of a hybrid sports car, the design itself is rather attractive. Looking at this, I wonder if this would've made a better XLR. The lines are dramatic without being to abrupt, the shape is fluid, and the little design cues that make the car are present. I especially like Cadillac's application of crisp, CTS-like styling to this car.




Also new on the Cadillac front is the CTS Wagon. The second generation CTS made its debut in 2007, with rumors that a wagon and coupe were not far off. Fast forward three years, and the wagon is finally here, with the coupe coming this summer. Like most sedan-to-wagon transformations, I happen to think the CTS works well with a fifth door. The interior is spacious, however the cargo hold seems to be an afterthought, since the roof tapers downward, hindering cargo capacity and rear headroom. The D-Pillar presents a huge blindspot, too, but at least the car itself looks good, right?
Not to be outdone by brandleader Chevy, Cadillac brought out its too hot to trot CT-V with all 556 of its horses waiting to be unleashed on unsuspecting drivers.


Buick also made a big splash this year. The Lucerne is getting way-too-long in the tooth, the Enclave is still nice, but it was introduced in 2007 as an all-new 2008 vehicle. The 2010 Buick LaCrosse is a good car, too but I've seen it before. My main want-to-see from Buick this year was the 2011 Regal. I wasn't sure if it was gonna be there, but sure enough, it was. Fresh from China, this new Regal is another one of GM's Epsilon vehicles. The platform was first introduced on the Opel Insignia in 2008, and now it's making its rounds as a global underpinning. Unlike the Saab 9-5, this car is instantly recognizable as its Opel brother. It really hasn't strayed much from that car's design, save for trim and badges. However, the new Regal marks an important step for Buick. With the demise of Pontiac, GM has repositioned Buick as their new "upscale" performance and luxury brand. With a turbo four cylinder making 250 horses, and an optional 3.6L V6 making the same amount of horses, I think Buick is on the right track to getting back their performance edge.


Chevy also had a few notable vehicles, the first one only being a new color introduced. Since its introduction last summer, the Camaro has sold well; infact Chevy built their 100,000th this past week. For 2010, Chevy is introducing the SEMA-unveiled Synergy Green to the public. I kinda like it.





Also, some Corvettes were to be had, too. Interestingly enough, there was no Z06. Instead, Chevy brought out a ZR-1 in a fantastic cranberry red color, and some Grand Sports. Fittingly enough, the GS hardtop (targa top) on display was blue with red stripes, just like the C4 GS.
Since 2010 was a big year for GM, I can only hope they'll have noteworthy cars next year. It seems like this year, GM's quantity of cars was down, as was everyone's but it seems that GM was hit hardest. Without Pontiac and Saturn, they needed to fill floor space by bringing mundane versions of the nice cars. Oh well. At least they brought stuff.