2012’s Looper follows a mob assassin (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) on the run after he fails to “close the loop” and kill his future self (Bruce Willis), who is forcibly brought back to the past once the criminal enterprise has no more use for him. Part 2 essentially has me closing my own loop by finishing what I started.
The 2000’s saw Mazda enter its own renaissance period with a slew of visually exciting vehicles that pushed the boundaries for vehicle handling dynamics. That doesn’t mean the company had a perfect record though, and the CX-7 represents one of Mazda’s duds. The crossover was oddly positioned between the compact and midsize segments with a large exterior footprint and limited interior space.
At least it looked good.
The first generation CX-9 shared its platform with the Ford Edge and Fusion. Looking at its dimensions makes me wonder why Ford didn’t just use that architecture for the 2011 Explorer since their measurements are quite similar. My guess is that Ford decided to go with the D4 platform because they were already producing vehicles (The Five Hundred/Taurus and Freestyle/Taurus X) that were using it, which meant no plant needed to be retooled for the new products.
Ford’s dysfunction meant the United States never got the true second generation Focus. Technically that’s not entirely true since instead we got Mazda’s interpretation of it via the Mazda 3.
Mazda builds some pretty sweet interiors. Contemporary models suffer from the glued-on iPad look I mentioned before, but materials quality is outstanding.
The Mazda 6 slumped a little bit in its second generation, but the first gen, pictured here, is visually appealing. Regardless, all iteration of the midsize are quite the lookers. This was one of the first cars that made me notice the “antenna above the rear windshield” trend that is common on a substantial portion of vehicles today.
Nicely done, Mazda.
If someone told me in 2007 that Subaru would be handily outselling Volkswagen in 2016 I would have scoffed and possibly placed myself on the losing end of a bet. But it’s true: Subaru sold almost 400,000 more vehicles in 2015 compared to 2007. You have models like the Impreza to blame, or rather, Impreza-based vehicles with larger tires and increased ride height.
I’ve found nearly all generations of Impreza to be pretty ugly, and our pictured model is no different. The 2017 model is the exception though. It looks reasonably attractive.
It’s a shame Subaru is one of the only automakers still making a midsize wagon. That being said, at least they’re making a decent one. I really like the color scheme on this particular Outback.
Honda had a bit of a malaise period with this generation Accord due to the sedan’s awkward looks. The coupe, at least from this angle, doesn’t look that much better, but it was the more attractive variant.
This is definitely one of the worst interior designs ever put out by Honda. Aside from the aesthetically offensive center stack, Honda decided to sink the screen deep into the dash, which is something they still do in the Accord. It’s a deal breaker for me because the design raises the height of the entire dash, which makes the car feel more imposing when you’re sitting up front.
In the early 2000’s Ford wisely decided to utilize the platforms of its corporate partners in order to divert its limited cash reserves elsewhere. Alan Mulally’s tenure at the blue oval tends to overshadow this extremely smart move, which was in part made possible by Mark Fields, the current CEO. Until the debut of the Explorer, the Fusion and Edge were the most visible products made possible by using a platform from a corporate subsidiary, in this case the architecture that debuted with the Mazda 6 in 2004.
In 2007 Ford’s SVT team strongly hinted at a “GT” performance trim Fusion. Motor Trend interviewed several engineers, who claimed that the sporty Fusion was about two years off and would feature a 3.5 liter V6 with an output of 340 horsepower. Less than a year later the 355 horsepower, 3.5 liter EcoBoost debuted in the Lincoln MKT concept at the 2008 auto show in New York. Coincidence? Hardly. I’d say its more than likely Ford nixed the performance Fusion once the economy tanked. Instead, the Lincoln MKS got the honor of being the first Ford product to feature the new twin turbo engine. A sporty Fusion featuring an EcoBoost V6 would have to wait until this year, with the 2017 Sport having an output of 325 horsepower and 380 Ibs. torque and combined with Ford’s all-wheel drive system.
The Fusion saw quite a bit of upgrades between its debut in 2005 and 2007, gaining such niceties as the all important aux jack and a navigation system. This particular Fusion is an SE equipped with the appearance package, which added a nice lip spoiler and fancier wheels.
While the Fusion received credit for its balanced driving dynamics critics rightfully pointed out the spartan interior as an area in need of improvement. This was a feature of pretty much all Ford and Lincoln products of this era, and while the materials weren’t terribly cheap, the aesthetics seemed a generation behind the competition.
The Edge debuted about a year after the Fusion featuring the same platform pulled from Mazda and modified by Ford. Like the Rogue, the Edge has the Murano to thank for opening the market to this type of styling.
Aside from borrowing platforms from Volvo and Mazda, Ford also saved money by simply continuing to use its already existing platforms on a number of vehicles. With the American second generation Focus, its unclear if Ford succeeded in being fiscally responsible. Regardless, the 2008 redesign did reasonably well for itself and held its own in the compact segment.
Two things helped the Focus maintain its competitiveness in its second generation: its ride and handling balance, and the SYNC system.
Now that almost every car has Bluetooth and USB connectivity its easy to dismiss SYNC as revolutionary, but Ford was the first to democratize this technology across its lineup, and years later competing automakers still didn’t offer a system that enabled a driver to choose a specific artist, album, or song from their MP3 player via voice control. I imagine this technology was quite appealing to the entry level buyer in 2008.
The second gen Focus wasn’t the most attractive car on the market. My thoughts on the exterior design of the 2008 Focus weren’t favorable upon its debut, but these days I don’t find it offensive, just acceptable. We’ve got the biggest weak spot right here in front of us: the rear end. Limiting the tail lights to the outer edges really hampered the look; the flat trunk didn’t help either.
Like its small sedan stablemate, the Escape soldiered on into its second generation with an older platform. Unlike the Focus, the styling of the Escape was well received. It’s easy to see why: Ford decided to continue the “baby Explorer” motif it began with the 2001 Escape.
The biggest issue with the second generation Escape is probably the copious amount of chrome that adorned upper trim levels. It feels largely unnecessary. Another issue is the black dots that comprise the reverse sensing system which stick out like a sore thumb. Body colored reverse sensors have been a thing for a while now, which makes me wonder if the technology in 2007 didn’t allow for that. Could have also been a cost cutting move by Ford too.
The second generation Escape and Focus sold well, and this is partially due to the platforms that underpinned them. Despite being developed in the 90’s they were still competitive and worthy of continued use. Unfortunately the cost effectiveness of this strategy was probably cancelled out by the lingering effects Ford’s fiefdoms had on the company, which in this case resulted in Ford having to foot the bill for redeveloping the Focus and Escape for North America and Europe, the latter receiving a completely new architecture for their compact crossover (the Kuga) and sedan.
Ford’s financial instability possibility resulted in the delay of new powertrains arriving simultaneously with the new generation of the Escape, which saw the 2.3 liter four cylinder and the older variant of the Duratec 3.0 liter replaced after only one model year. The replacement 2.5 liter four and revised V6 were vast upgrades over the previous engines due to their superior power figures and the addition of a new six-speed automatic transmission into the lineup. This wasn’t the last time Ford did something like this either, as the 2011 model year brought massive upgrades in power to the Mustang. Owners of the 2010 Mustang were understandably pissed, and I wouldn’t be surprised if 2008 Escape customers felt the same way.
And now for our last Ford product. Confused? The Land Rover Freelander was based on Ford’s EUCD platform, which itself was an extension of the C1 chassis, which was most notably used for the European second gen Focus. EUCD also saw use in the Volvo S80 and the Ford Mondeo. The Freelander came equipped with either Volvo’s 3.2 liter straight-six or a 2.2 liter diesel. Before I did the research on the Freelander I always thought the crossover was based on the first generation Escape, given the similarity in exterior design.
I’m now wondering if it was a mistake to feature all the notably departed brands at the beginning of my coverage. Regardless of my thoughts, here is the tC, a dead coupe from a dead division. I took a ride in one of these once and came away very impressed by its solidly Germanic-like handling characteristics, which I didn’t think a Japanese automaker could properly emulate until that experience.
The final stop on this nostalgia tour involves a brand that probably should be dead, at least in the United States. Eventually, Mitsubishi will likely introduce new products as a result of its recent acquisition at the hands of Nissan, but until then it soldiers on with a subcompact, a compact, and two mediocre crossovers. The final generation of the Eclipse, pictured here, didn’t really win the hearts and minds of the modern tuner crowd, but I find the design to be pretty attractive.
Optional on the Eclipse was the Sun and Sound Package, which unsurprisingly came with a power sunroof, but more impressively it featured an ear-busting 650 watt Rockford Fosgate sound system with ten inch subwoofer and 6 CD in-dash changer. You certainly can’t accuse Mitsubishi of ignoring their target demographic.
Our last featured car couldn’t be anything other than the Lancer, as its the only car at the show that is still in production and on sale in the United States for 2016. Despite its age the exterior design holds up remarkably well. I certainly wouldn’t call the Lancer dated based solely on the styling.
The Lancer does have a couple of things going for it: available all-wheel drive, a generous 10 year, 100k mile powertrain warranty, and presumably high amounts of cash on the hood. Those are decent reasons to buy a car that can take you back to 2007.
In case you were wondering what exactly constitutes the Empire State Plaza, here is an overhead view of the whole thing. The southern end begins with that square shaped building on the right, with its northern end belonging to those two buildings to the left of the fourth, smaller skyscraper.
Governor Nelson Rockefeller presided over the most important gubernatorial administration in New York State history. While many of his policy initiatives continue to affect the lives of everyday New Yorkers, his two most visible achievements resulted in the creation of the largest public university system in the United States and the construction of the Empire State Plaza (officially named the Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza) in Albany, New York. Of course we’re here to talk about the latter, which is still a hotly debated subject among academics and residents of the capital city. It’s easy to understand why so many people still talk about the project: it single-handedly destroyed a number of historic neighborhoods and displaced about 7,000 people.
Another major criticism of the plaza relates to its mid-century modernist architecture, a style that has fallen out of favor from its heyday about fifty years ago. Critics fairly see the modernist buildings as devoid of any meaning while visually employing motifs more suitable for dictatorships and anti-democratic regimes. I don’t necessarily agree with those who dislike modernist architecture but can certainly understand why people abhor the style.
This particular building is the Cultural Education Center, a name that sounds like something out of Maoist China. It also looks like something a communist or fascist regime would construct to project power. That being said its home to a lot of great stuff: the New York State Museum, New York State Archives, New York State Library, and New York State Education Department.
Since these pictures were taken after my friend and I went car gawking you’re seeing the plaza in early November. This doesn’t paint the complex in the best light, as the days become increasingly grey this time of year, which my fellow northeastern Americans can attest to. The four identical skyscrapers are simply named Agency 1-4, depending on which one you’re referring to. Obviously those names don’t do much to dispel the feeling that this architecture is more fitting for a super villain’s lair or a futuristic dystopian government, but I’m not sure what the alternative is in this situation.
I’m sure you’re wondering what that strangely shaped structure is at the forefront of this picture. I’ll get to that in a bit, but for now I’d like you to gaze at the stone structure underneath it. The area above those tunnels is the space where the auto show is held, and its called the Concourse. Its total length is about a quarter of a mile and it runs underneath all the structures you see above it, while simultaneously existing as its own building.
The Erastus Corning Tower is named for the longest serving mayor in Albany history and is currently the tallest skyscraper in New York State outside of New York City. A lot of people think the plaza was designed by the same architect responsible for the Twin Towers, since all three buildings shared a common appearance, but this is not the case. Wallace Harrison designed the plaza and many other notable buildings, including but not limited to the Time-Life building and the Metropolitan Opera House (The Met), both in NYC. He was also part of the team of architects that developed the UN headquarters and Rockefeller Center.
New York State’s Capitol is considered part of the plaza and is connected to the newer structures via an underground tunnel. This is important when the legislature is in session, as its the most convenient way to get to the Assembly and Senate chambers from the Legislative Office Building, which can be partially seen in the foreground on the left side of the picture. The capitol is one of the eleven state capitol buildings to lack a dome and in my opinion is all the better for it.
I saved the strangest and best building at the plaza for last. This is The Egg. It is a giant egg, as you can see. Its a performing arts center, and I’ve seen a great number of stand up comedians and musicians there over the years.
As part of their 2004 album Venue Songs, They Might Be Giants understandably focused their attention on the plaza when writing a song about Albany as part of their project to document all the places that tour would take them via music. The gentlemen who calls the plaza “a concrete shrine to Nelson Rockefeller’s vision of dehumanizing democracy” is none other than John Hodgman, a stand-up comedian you probably recognize for being the PC in the famous Apple vs. PC ad campaign.
As much as I like the plaza for its uniqueness, They Might Be Giants aptly describes the reaction one may have when standing and looking around at the complex: “At the outside, I am thinking: What. Were. They. Thinking?”
Stay tuned to find out if any other unhelpfully named electronic folders yielded pictures from past auto shows.
After these were built, concrete buildings became even harsher than this and they called that style, appropriately, Brutalism… My Community College in Oregon City was built in a Brutalist style. One of the things that typifies the style is leaving all functions visible. All pipes and conduits are plain to see. That type of architecture didn’t last long.
These ones in Albany really do bring some of Mussolini’s designs to mind.
That conforms to the early Modernist dogma of “Expressed Structure.” Machines for Living.
In a way it has returned, with a lot of office buildings deleting full suspended ceilings in favour of strategically-placed acoustic panels and leaving everything else on show. It may be more visually interesting than an ocean of flat plaster board or acoustic tile, but I’m not sure it is better. Apart from access for maintenance!
Looking at that plaza, brought 2112 by Rush to mind. WE HAVE ASSUMED CONTROL…WE HAVE ASSUMED CONTROL…
Hold the red star proudly high in hand!
I remember a number of cars I was interested in during 2007. No Honda Fit in the Honda exhibit? I believe it because they were very scarce in the States in late 2006. I ordered mine in July of 06 and didn’t get it until about this time in November.
I also really liked that generation of CX-9. My brother and SIL bought one and still have it. I wanted to like the CX-7, but it just seemed cheap where the CX-9 seemed nicely fitted out. I was really hot for the Mazda3 hatch, but there was not enough headroom in back for my very tall sons who were in or approaching high school then.
Wasn’t this when the Expedition EL finally came along? I liked that one a lot then and still do.
Also, I am not a fan of that architectural style. What ever happened to beautiful buildings?
Two things to keep in mind: The selection of vehicles was limited by whatever the local dealers decided to bring to the show. These pictures were also taken before I started to blog so it boils down to what I found interesting rather than what I could write about.
The 08 Focus took me a while to appreciate too, and I agree to date that the rear is the weak spot – *sidenote* big design flaw of that big bland trunklid? That little recess in the bumper is where you lift it, and in snow or rain you’re going to get wet lifting it. – Today I actually think they have aged better than the 2012 sedans that replaced them, the body profile of the 08-11 actually better resembles the current Fusion in scaled down form.
I hate the buildings. Even beyond the modernist architecture the whole “plaza” mindset was wasteful, ugly, impractical and unnecessary. I swear these came to be at the whim of the scale model builders who were so unfulfilled by the bleak drab architecture they had to throw some token trees and ugly art on the surrounding base to make it palatable to investors.
And I think you captured the plaza in the perfect light. Anything that only looks good in ideal conditions is poor design.
I agree with the comments on the ’08 Focus’ style and appearance, but one thing nobody else has mentioned, which applies to the featured car: This is the best recent example I can think of for a “two-door sedan.” Previous sporty Foci were hatchbacks, but this went to a very un-coupelike two door that had no stylistic or dimensional differences from the four-door. I think that a skilled body man could even make a Volvo 243-like mix out of two of them.
IIRC the two-door ’08-10 Focus was just about salesproof, too.
The lack of a hatchback was a dealbreaker for me; in retrospect they should’ve kept the five-door hatch as the “alternative” body style.
I agree they *should* have, but salesproof?
2008 195,823
2009 160,433
2010 172,421
2011 175,717
For a car relegated to sedan only, those are pretty respectable figures, exceeding the previous first-gen facelift years (05-07) despite the reduced bodystyle range. Now the 2 door was salesproof, I can count on one hand how many of those I’ve seen, but the 4 door is one of the most common late models I see on a day to day basis.
My memories of the 2008 Focus were the panning reviews, “Whaa! Whaa! Whaa! Europe gets version 2.0 and we get version 1.5, a makeover of version 1.0! Whaa!” And anything that was nice to say about the car was undermined by all the bleating.
Until version 3.0 (the current model) came out. All of a sudden all those USED 1.5’s out there were “nice driving cars”, “well built”, “good handling”, etc. Seems like they were good cars from Day One, but the reviewers were too busy showing their displeasure in not getting the same car as Europe.
That’s because the U.S. versions probably
drove and handled like pudding compared
to the European versions.
They didn’t. They drove just as well, and slightly better, than the 1.0 versions, and stayed in the same ballpark as the European 2.0 version. The magazine reviewers were pissed that America didn’t get the totally new car like Europe.
” I imagine this technology was quite appealing to the entry level buyer in 2008.”
The original Ford Sync system was quite blood pressure raising item (at least it was for me) It was a cumbersome system that seemed to go out of its way to annoy me. I consider myself with the times in terms of technology and of a mild temper but the sync system in my 2012 Fiesta raised my blood pressure because I was always yelling at the damn thing that I finally just traded in the car. I loved the car and feel it had one of the best manual transmissions I had ever owned but the sync system just ruined the car for me.
Ford was on a roll at the time getting great reviews and high marks for reliability. Sync almost completely destroyed all the momentum they had built. Some argue infotainment frustrations shouldn’t affect reliability, and maybe they shouldn’t, but it’s been a major drag that their reputation has yet to recover from.
I have the Sync system in my ’12 Escape. It will call anyone in the universe but the person I want???.
I have given up on Sync and only use the Bluetooth feature which allows me to accept calls while driving. Other than a few small issues, I would recommend this generation of Escape to anyone sans the damn Sync system???
I kind of liked those Accord interiors. It’s better than their new Pilot/Ridgeline interior with the non-recessed screens that are hard to see in direct sunlight or the awful two-screen setup in the Odyssey. And if you think that cowl looks high, you should check out a new Civic:
That is the previous Civic, not the newest one, which has a digital but more conventional instrument panel. (Picture of 2016 below, from Automobile Magazine.) I have never found the cowl of the 2006-2011, 2012-2015, or 2016+ Civic to be “high”, either.
I kinda like the interior layout of mine. It has more room in the back than my Mustang… of course, that isn’t saying much. ;o)
The main thing I miss when I drive it is the full suite of analog gauges. The instruments on the new Civic are really cool, but there’s something about the old fashioned “big six” (to borrow an aviation term).
That is the interior of the previous generation Civic. The current one dropped the two tier dash setup.
The capitals of NY state and the nation of
Brazil have very similar architecture! Nice
aerials of the outside, and a nice trip back
nearly a decade in automotive years. 🙂
An interesting view of cars from a moment in time. As I occasionally ponder the purchase of a second car, or perhaps (depending on my current DD’s bill of health 6 months from now) a replacement, I’m looking at 8-10 year old cars, which makes this series worth my perusal. Since I’m too cheap for a car payment (in light of a college-aged child, for one very good reason) 2005-2008 car hit the sweet spot for what I’d feel comfortable paying cash for. I’d forgotten the Focus coupe, which viewed from today’s perspective looks a lot better to me than it did at introduction, and I’m warming to the Mazdas from this period as well. I had a friend who leased a Mazda 6 back in ’07, and I drove it a couple times. It was not exactly inspiring, but it was much lighter on its feet and sprightly than other cars in its class. Maybe one in decent shape wouldn’t be a bad option.
As for the architecture, I’ll confess to liking it. I’m a sucker for mid-century design anyway, and architecture that gives one pause to look longer and wonder “What were they thinking?” is good architecture in my book. Yes, the plaza concept can be viewed as wasteful or presumptuous, but when utilized for the intended purpose it makes sense.
I don’t think I ever expected to hear Mazda’s interior quality described as “outstanding,” at least not for a Mazda 3. I spent more time than I care to remember in an ex GF’s Mazda 3 and I remember a black void of rock hard plastics. I detested being a passenger in that car. I suppose generously you could call the materials “durable.”
Isn’t that more an example of brutalist architecture than mid-century modern?
Kind of! And a portent of late ’60s-’70s “urban
renewal” projects that allowed for any type of
surfacing as long as it was bare concrete(!)
I was thinking the same thing. At first glance I thought some of the buildings, the Cultural Education Center in particular (could they have chosen a worse name?), were cast concrete, which is one of brutalism’s defining features. However I don’t think that’s true, I think it’s just the light.
It’s definitely interesting, and I rather like it in a vacuum and as an independent concept. But as the centerpiece of a downtown area I can see how it might be considered a failure–a vast plaza like that, especially in an area with harsh winters like Buffalo, is going to be terminally underused 95% of the time and contributes very little to the surrounding downtown fabric. The fact that the convention/exhibition space is *underneath* the plaza is a neat trick, though. I’d like to see it in person sometime but, alas, as of yet I’ve not had a reason to visit upstate NY.
I remember visiting Albany for Governor Eliot Spitzer’s inauguration in January 2007. After the ceremony, they had a food court-type in the plaza and visited the New York State Museum.
As someone who has never bought a new car (and probably never will), it’s fun to look at these now, because they’re old enough now that I could be shopping for one of them if I didn’t already have one.
I really thought the generation of Subaru Outback featured here to be the handsomest design. It’s a shame they bloated it into a fugly mess of an SUV instead of keeping it a sleek wagon. Having owned an ’05 and an ’03, though, I can attest that my ’05, while a good looking car, had many more performance and mechanical issues than the ’03. Often, change simply for change’s sake leeches the soul out of a car.
IIRC 2007 was the last year Subaru would sell you a non-Outback Legacy wagon. Always relatively rare, they look tastefully lowered even as factory stock.
A 2004-2007 Legacy GT wagon is very high on my list of desirable used cars, and I’ll be looking for one when it comes time to replace the Crown Vic. However it may prove hard to find one that hasn’t been hooned, given the small number to begin with and the propensity of “performance” Subarus to fall into wannabe-tuner hands.
It is a really nice design though, even in raised-up Outback format.