April is a great time to be in New York. The weather shifts from bitingly cold to slightly warm, and the air remains virtually pollen free. It’s a joyous several weeks to spend outside before the crushing humidity of summer knocks the breath out of you, but I nevertheless spent several hours indoors for the 2014 New York International Auto Show.
There’s always an interesting organization or group of vehicles tucked away in the back corner. This year however, the organization with interesting vehicles was in no dark, dusty corner. The NYC Police Museum apparently has a great collection of bona-fide classics, like this ’58 Ford Custom.
And this Plymouth Fury.
They also had some newer wheels in the form of Chevy’s Caprice. It was a great surprise to see them at the show.
Of course auto shows are primarily about the new cars, and here we have the next generation Mustang. This iteration of the pony car is truly one for the 21st century because of two very important firsts: a standard independent rear suspension and its European debut. The modern age isn’t going to harm the Mustang at all it seems, and neither will the One Ford initiative.
The Focus also gets an update for the 2015 model year with a front end that brings it in line with the Fusion and Fiesta.
It was probably inevitable that Ford’s compact was going to get an update to make it blend in with its siblings. Not likely written in stone was the addition of a three cylinder option. What you see before you is that car, and it features the same one-liter Ecoboost as available in the Fiesta.
Here’s the new Kia Sedona. It looks like the Ford Flex and Nissan Quest had a fun night about nine months ago. Certainly not a bad thing, and it seems like this could give the Chrysler “mini” vans a run for their money.
The Kia GT concept is certainly a more invigorating design than the people hauler previously discussed. It’s not an outdated look by any means, but it has the aesthetic qualities of something out of 1993’s Demolition Man.
Can a photo punch you in the face? If so, this Lexus most likely just gave you a pretty nice shiner. As I mentioned in last year’s coverage of the NY Auto Show, we’re knee deep in the Large Grille Era (LGE) of automotive design. This car features a new corollary though: one large grille that swallows the space normally reserved for the smaller one towards the bottom of the front end. There’s also those check marks under the headlights that probably got a laugh at Nike’s legal department.
Here’s a more tastefully done LGE vehicle: the Cadillac Elmiraj concept. It’s a two door version of the Ciel concept that debuted several years ago.
Nissan had the most risk taking designs at the show. Generically titled “Sports Sedan Concept,” this is likely the next Maxima, or something close to it.
The not-quite four door GT-R looks good out back too, and the thin strip along the c-pillar is a nice little touch.
If you were wondering what that CUV was behind the concept, it’s the production version of the next generation Murano. This picture is obviously not the best quality; the lighting at this year’s show was basically a mix between an Apple store level of brightness and JJ Abrams lens flare. But it does demonstrate the blacked out c-pillar that hides a bit of its proportions.
The front end also mimics the sedan concept. Nissan sure does love this color, don’t they?
This year marks milestones for two historic nameplates. The Mustang turns 50 and the Miata turns 25. Doesn’t the Miata feel younger than that, though? Here’s a first gen model that was featured with a bunch of others at the show.
Speaking of blue, here’s the hood of a 2014 Corolla. The only interesting thing about this car was the fact that it had a clear bra on, not seen on other models in the Toyota section.
The last blue car photographed for this piece is the BMW i8. Remember when electric cars were going to kill sports cars? Now they’re a status symbol. Strange days, indeed.
As the antithesis of the BMW, Toyota’s Camry is as common as a paper clip and just about as exciting. It gets a light refresh this year, smoothing out the front and giving the rear end of very Lexus look. Those vaguely trapezoidal taillights are becoming even more ubiquitous these days and probably warrant a blog post of its own.
But I’ll take some design homogenization over a crass attempt to hide a fat C pillar any day. This looks hideous, and hopefully the designers at rival auto companies agree. You can tint your windows to match the black of the pillar or drive around in shame. Or, you could buy something with a more honorable design like a Fusion or a Chrysler 200.
Speak of the devil! The 200 cribs much of its styling from the Fusion, but it’s still got a good look. Even better is its white interior, which will hopefully make its way into more vehicles in the near future.
Here’s a vehicle that will be sharing a showroom with the 200 soon enough. The Renegade may just be a heavily reworked Fiat, but it looks like a Jeep and talks like one too. Plus, it comes at the right time, since interest in B segment CUV’s is taking shape in the North American market.
The Chevy Trax, the Bowtie’s answer to the B segment crossover question, was at the show as well. Its mini Equinox styling should make it a success, even if it doesn’t draw your attention like the Renegade does.
The Chevy Spark is a car that has intrigued me since its debut it was very spacious but a pretty glaring issue the dash mounted speaker you see on the right. That can’t be too good for acoustics, but it might be asking too much for a more premium speaker location on a car in this price range.
Our last “normal” vehicle is this 2015 Colorado. Will this truck turn the mid-size truck segment around? It’s attractively styled and will feature a host of engines ranging from an I-4 to a 2.8 turbo diesel. If this doesn’t sell, you’ll be able to win a debate against another armchair executive who wants Ford to revive the Ranger.
As they always say, save the weird and depressing stuff for last. First up is a Prowler. Is it a Plymouth or a Chrysler? Do many people care at this point?
The area around the Javits center isn’t really what you expect from Manhattan. There aren’t any interesting shops or restaurants, and the nearest subway stop is pretty far away. This is all set to change very soon with the 7 Line extension, which will likely breathe new life into this area of the city. The new tunnels being constructed for this purpose must also connect to Hell, because that is where this Torino likely hails from, despite the sign seen above.
Last and least, we have the Mitsubishi display. This picture was taken on a Saturday, when getting a decent shot of a car was akin to struggling to get to the front row at a concert. Not here. No one was checking these models out at all. Hopefully someone bought these three some Dippin’ Dots ice cream from the stand on the second floor to cheer them up for being ignored.
Interesting variety. FWIW, the Ford police car is a 58, not a 57. The Plymouth Fury is a 65. The display of old police cruisers would have been fun to check out in person.
Wow – the Miata is 25. That snuck up on me. Did they have an early model in white? IIRC, for the first year they were only offered in red, white and blue.
That Mitsubishi display is just depressing.
The current Mirage appeals to me in the same way a lot of old Japanese shoeboxes did. Let the auto magazines complain about it all they like; competitiveness isn’t everything. A dinky, slow car is something missing from the marketplace, as far as I’m concerned, and with only 3-cylinders and no turbocharger, this might deliver a greater proportion of its EPA numbers than some others.
I’d like to run a Miata birthday piece.
The Chevy Spark isn’t dinky and slow? It’s a little more fashion-conscious than the Mirage, but it’s really in the same class. It could be argued the Scion iQ could go there too, though I think it’s obvious mission to out-Smart the Smart ForTwo results in some nonsense. (Though I have no idea how much the iQ costs compared to the Mirage.)
Even considering the presence of the Spark, I do think there is a market for the Mirage. Just don’t know if it’s enough to save Mitsu in this country. If they have other models than that, the Lancer/Evo (is there even still and Evo version?) and the Outlander, I’m not aware of what they might be.
Spark is overstyled. Is IQ available with a manual transmission?
As depressing as Mitsubishi’s display was, their sales are actually up year-over-year, likely due to the Mirage. I’m guessing those buyers aren’t the type to attend auto shows.
Unfortunately no, just a CVT. iQ is also about $3500 higher base price than the Mirage, so maybe they’re not really competition at all. (If you select all of the myriad options you can get it over $22k.) Overstyled or not, the Spark also hits under $13k base price and has more standard equipment (alloys on the base model, for example), but it gets an extra cylinder compared to the Mirage and commensurately lower mileage (31/39 for the Spark, 37/44 for the Mirage).
So they’re definitely competitors, but one appeals to a younger/more aspirational buyer and one appeals to a more rational/frugal buyer, I suppose.
JPC, glad I re-read the comments. You identified the Fury – my driver’s training car (!) – as a 65.
So many of the current cars look alike to me that I mistakenly identify them all the time in traffic. Not much here that sets my world on fire. I like the rear styling of the potential Maxima but the look already has become somewhat generic.
Ed, that is a ’58 Ford, not a ’57.
What’s interesting about that ’58 is that it was the first year the NY police used a four door car for patrol. Most used in NY had a straight six, but 1958 Ford police car saw the one year only option for the 361 from the Edsel. Further, I recently read Ford did not offer the 352 in Canada until 1960. So the top retail Ford V8 in Canada in 1958 and 1959 was the 361 Edsel engine.
Why oh why is Ford using the same front end on all three of their F cars? I know it isn’t a new practice, but does it enhance the lowest and diminish the highest? “Gee, Bob, your new Fusion looks just like Joes Fiesta!”
Another thought.
That ’58 Ford may be the one on the cover of Hemmings Classic Car recently. The owner retired to Florida and the car is a clone based upon a low mileage car from Kentucky or Tennessee. He loaned the car to the New York police museum. This is likely it.
That issue was very interesting.
Given the success of BMW’s ‘corporate look’ (the twin kidney grilles), everybody has got the same idea. Kia’s ‘tiger nose’ has been rather successful. Chevrolet’s ‘split’ is easily recognizable, as is Lexus’ ‘spindle’.
I think its a reaction against the “all cars look the same anymore”. Anytime someone wants to make their entire line look like the Ford Fusion or competing Kia, I can’t complain. They’re nice designs to work off of.
The key is coming up with a signature front-end theme that is also attractive. BMW has been highly successful, and Kia’s look has also become very successful. Ford had it going in the mid 2000s with its three bar design, but it seems to have lost interest in that one. The Chevy and Lexus looks are, however, just not that attractive. To me, that Chevy design is just bad, and seems to be the worst part of any one of the vehicles it has graced over the last several years. The Lexus reminds me of a 1930s electric space heater.
Being that the Lexus “Giant Grilles” all seem to have a mesh-like texture, they remind me of an electric shaver. Acura’s current corporate grille with the pointed “tooth” in the top part reminds me of a punch-type can opener.
You’re right though that it does provide identity, and when done well, can become signature (besides BMW and Kia, the Dodge “crosshair” comes to mind, though the Challenger doesn’t have it). Ford’s tri-bar was perhaps a little too simplistic for their current design language, though it works on the trucks.
The new Lexus grille reminds me of the ’61 Plymouth.
I’m OK with the Lexus grille, but only when they’re black rather than the chromey abomination seen here. That looks terrible.
I passionately hated the Chevy grille they’ve been using for the past decade or so (since the SSR), the horizontal bar one, and I think it’s really tarnished some otherwise great looking cars (the previous generation Malibu in particular) – but the new, utterly conventional design on the Impala and Traverse I’m in love with. I would have thought this was gonna be their new corporate “face” moving forward, but the Colorado and Trax seen here seem to indicate otherwise…
You don’t like this one, JP?
I actually do like this one.
The new Impala and Traverse grilles I really like. However, the “dog with a bone in its teeth” Chevy grille with the Elvis-belt-buckle sized bowtie has always looked super ugly to me.
It does make me wonder what Aston Martin’ll do in 10-15 years when people knock their ultra-high-end supercars for looking like an old Ford.
Ah, whoops. Could have swore that was a ’57. Thanks for the correction.
Fixed. Thanks!
OK, so that’s the i8. “Interesting” styling. This past Friday, I got to see the first i3 running around on the streets of Richmond’s West End (where the dealership is located – it’s a demo car). I can’t really call the styling “interesting”.
It’s more along the lines of, “I never realized what an absolutely beautiful car the Pontiac Aztek was.”
I find KIA has the freshest design language of late. The GT has this ‘don’t mess with me” facial expression. The grille is reminding me of Clint Eastwood’s lips.
The 7 train is the train being extended, not the Second Avenue subway. By 2015, the 7 train will be going to the Javits Center.
It’s only about five blocks’ walk from the Port Authority bus terminal and Times Square as well. I did the NYIAS and NNL East the same weekend (not usually possible but Easter came at an odd time) and took the opportunity to walk around Times Square at night before catching the bus back to the hotel in Jersey.
Just goes to show you how little I visit New York! (I’m from upstate)
Not a fan of the new Mustang. That front end is just awful. It reminds me of something unflattering but I can’t seem to put my finger on it.
I was really liking what Ford was doing with their “edge” theme. Their new stuff is all overwrought.
I agree, the rest of the car looks like an improvement over the old model, but that front end is off-putting. It wouldn’t have killed Ford to keep the old snout. Instead of a friendly open smile, it seems to be duckfacing me with a sneer. I don’t know why Ford decided to make it ugly, I guess they were competing with the Camaro – which has NEVER been an object of desire for me, and my first car was a ’69 Camaro. I won’t be shopping for a Mustang of this generation.
That KIA or the 370Z will be my lottery winnings car.
Large mouth Bass with angry eyes?
I like that KIa GT and the NIssan 4 door sports sedan. Too bad they’ll be priced out of my means of reach in much the same way the Mustang already is. If Ford would keep the pricing down to an inflation corrected version ($18049.74) of the original price of $2368., they wouldn’t be able keep them on the lot. Even with an extra $1000 tacked on, A/C would be a bargain compared to the $283 ($2157) it cost back in 1965.
It’s a shame about MItsu, but even if I was shopping them, the nearest dealer is 180 miles away in Memphis. They should merge with Suzuki and try a new tack if they want to stay here. Introduce a five vehicle range, small car, medium car, small pickup, sports car and minivan. Compete with the Koreans on price while touting Japanese ‘quality’. and back it up with a decent warranty and a 1960s era VW service philosophy.
Can I use that silly Lexus mesh grille as a shaver? And those Nike swooshes would look good on my sneakers.
I went twice and took so, so many pictures but didn’t get around to writing an article. You beat me to the punch, Edward. But here are some observations I shared with a friend of mine back home.
I was far more impressed by the BMW i3, with all it’s quirky design details, especially in the interior, than I was the fussy, overwrought i8 (although mechanically, the i8 is amazing!). Seriously, check out the i3’s interior. So cool. Before seeing it, the i3 wasn’t even on my radar.
The Kia K900 was getting a LOT of looks, and it was really impressive (even more so than the Equus). The VIP package makes the rear seats absolute thrones. I loved the interior (and I like the Optima and Cademza interiors too)
Mustang looks much bigger than I expected! I would take a ’15 Challenger though, the new interior is great although I didn’t get to sit in one. The ’15 Charger looks cool, but I want to see a non-R/T one. I love the current Charger and frankly just updating the tail lights to the “soft” LEDs on the new Durango would have been change enough, but I’m glad they didn’t change too much. The side scalloping, which is the best part of the Charger, is very much intact. And that kinda piggish snout is toned down.
Chrysler 200 looks way better in the metal, and looks to be one of the best options in that segment (alongside Accord and Fusion). The 300 needs an interior revamp, though. It looks cheap and dull, and I don’t recall seeing a Luxury Collection model there.
The new Camry? Big step back. No one was looking at it. The interior, which needed fixing, looked the same! What was the point?! The new Sonata is blander too but still nice, although the interior is now very Kia-esque (horizontally oriented dash instead of the flowing center stack Hyundais usually have, similar switchgear).
Kia, make the GT3 Stinger concept. It is beautiful.
Finally got to sit in a Chevy SS. What a spacious, high-quality interior, although red isn’t a great exterior color. I prefer the dark storm grey. The new Impala has a lot of presence and looks really expensive inside and out. It’s platform mate, the LaCrosse, I’ve never liked the proportions of although the detailing is nice (the belt line is way, way too high). The revised interior is blander – I loved the swoopy, expansive look of the pre-facelift model – but you can get purple “sangria” leather – they had one car so equipped, which had a purple exterior too!
The fake wood used in most GM cars now is overly glossy and just gross. It’s a shame, because I generally don’t mind fake wood (although real stuff is better).
The Canyon/Colorado look huge. The Corvette is amazing, no shock there.
The Volvo XC90 looked so out of place because it’s embarrassingly out of date. They display it but not the newer S80?
Mitsubishi tried to copy Audi and Lexus by only displaying white cars. They were also stuck in the basement, which was supposed to be for SUVs (Mazda had a full-size display on both floors though). Mitsubishi looked like a stand at an appliance convention, and the cheap and tinny Mirage was proudly touting some award from the Hispanic Press or some similar non-automotive organization. I suppose you take what you can get, because the Mirage isn’t getting MT COTY or C&D 10Best.
I love Lexus interiors nowadays, and the NX looks pretty cool. This is a big shock for someone who has never been a big Lexus fan (because I’ve always disliked Toyota). I also love the looks of the Mercedes GLA, but the CLA’s rear seats are a torture chamber. Meanwhile, I can sit comfortably in the back of a VW CC and they still look great inside and out, despite their age! They make the normal Passat look terrible. I really do dislike the Passat interior… If you’re going to use cheaper materials, at least try a different design! It’s just bland and cheap. Sales are going nowhere, too.
BMW X4 is just as ugly as expected, Acura RLX as dull as expected (and looks like a thousand different cars).
I used to mock the Lincoln MKX for being a tarted-up Edge, but a) the face lifted version has grown on me; b) the interior is fantastic and; c) it looks great with 22 inch wheels, although the 22” rims they had were clearly just Edge Sport rims. The Acura RDX looks cheap in base trim: no LED tail lights, and the cheapest interior screen. Acura interiors are bland, too.
Why do people love the Ford Explorer? My Flex love has cooled too, they are not as high-quality and roomy inside as I thought. They had a white one with a black roof though that looked amazing. Why buy a Lincoln MKT, which would have an even tighter third row?
Speaking of Lincolns, the MKS has a much less obtrusive center console than the Taurus. And the seats are like butter! We couldn’t sit in an MKC but they look sharp. They also locked the Navigator and Ford Expedition. Really?
Sat in almost every three-row crossover and SUV. Only the Durango has a third-row I can comfortably sit in. What are the odds, it was already my favorite! They had a Citadel with bling-y wheels and I loved it. The interior could be a bit more polished, but I still think the Durango is the best in its segment.
Of course the CTS is amazing, I expected nothing less. ATS coupe could stand to be a bit bolder though. Interesting that the announcer mentioned how confusing Cadillac names are… I hear the new Cadillac chief wants to ditch the naming system. The XTS VSport looked nice but I still hate the proportions. And yet it’s platform-mate the Impala looks perfect.
New Genesis is sharp!
QX80 is as ugly as ever: they facelift it but keep the fake looking fender vents?
The Q50 is nice on the outside, but I don’t like the interior.
Ghibli is beautiful.
Jeep Renegade is bigger than I expected, and I love the Cherokee inside and out.
The Mazda3 and Mazda6 are easily the best-looking compact and intermediate, respectively.
Benz S-Class coupe is stunning.
The Malibu is just as cramped in the rear as I’d feared. GM was going somewhere with the ’08, but they took a step back with the ’13.
And it may be getting old and there are better full-sizers, but I would love a Taurus SHO. They had one in “Dark Side” metallic and it was very nice. Giant console aside, I like the interior. Terrible visibility, though.
Is the new Mustang appreciably smaller than the outgoing model?
From 1987 through 2007 I used to go to these shows as my annual rites of Spring but somehow as I had gotten older and became less fan of large crowds, I stopped going altogether. My strong interest in cars had never changed even since I was a little tyke but the walking distance between the crowded Times Square and Broadway through the Jacob Javits Convention Center along with the large crowds just became too much plus no direct Subway accessibility link back then. You either have to take the M34 Crosstown at 34th St. or the M42 Crosstown bus at 42nd St or walk almost close to a mile from either one of those points. At around $14.99 it was still a bargain since in 1987 IIRC, the tickets were at least around $7.99.
The front ends of many of these cars remind me of Pixar’s movie “Cars”.
I had the exact same impression.
The mustang lame it’s loosening its cool it could be any old blob from anywhere ford have lost it again .the challenger and camero are the cool ones now. The Lexus looks like a joke .the Nissan very cool the caddy cool BMW cool Kia cool the rest could be any old generic blobs,lol
That interior shot of the Chevrolet Trax is the inside of a Spark, not the Trax.
Whoops! Thanks for pointing that out.
I find the majority of the new models to be ugly, surrealist, and vaguely sinister.
The Mustang looks awful.
The Cadillac is nice.
geez, those are some homely cars. I guess it’s a good thing, I won’t be tempted to get back into car payment world. 🙂
The Camry may have all new sheet metal, but looks like they decided to keep the same doors, hence the blackout C pillar applique.
At the Portland Auto show I sat in a Santa Fe and it smelled like a spray paint can which is what my folk’s 05 Sedona smelled like when new. That experience has once again turned me off of Kia/Hyundai products.