NAIAS 2016 next week in Detroit and I'll be there

Lincoln Continental Concept at Los Angeles Auto Show

Rumors abound on what will be revealed next week at press days for NAIAS aka Detroit Auto Show.  I'll summarize here a few of what I've been able to gather from official manufacturers news and snippets from reliable sources.

Lincoln.  Production ready Continental will be revealed along with details on the cars features including Black Label top of the line trim.   Expected the twin turbo 3.0V6 generating 400 horsepower to be the talk of the town.

Buick.  Envision concept is definitely to be revealed along with a hinted at Verano replacement possibly a Buickized Opel Astra hatch.

Audi.  I love my A4, its been all but confirmed next generation A4 will be revealed here.  I'll be curious to see how far upmarket they bring it and if they will have a true "M" fighter in the mix.

Acura.  I love this underdog.  Great cars, ugly grills that keep them from  hitting the mainstream luxury market hard.  It may change with the reveal of their "precise" concept with entirely new body language for the brand.

Ford.  We get to see the redesigned 2017 Fusion. What else remains to be seen.  Pure speculation, rumor mills in the tech industry swear Ford and Google went to bed together for the autonomous car so its possible it will be confirmed here since no one has denied it publicly from either camp.  That would be the coup to swipe every ones thunder this year at NAIAS like the reveal of the GT at last years show did.  Pure speculation...so don't quote me.

Mercedes Benz.  Their deluxe mid-size E class is to be revealed during a press conference on Monday.

Honda.  I could snark but they are set to reveal their pickup truck based on their capable minivan.  Look for Ridgeline to be their big reveal.  Rumor has it they'll tease us further with a hot hatch turbo motorized Civic there as well.

Chrysler.  The minivan inventor promises to reveal their best minivan ever at this show.  Will it be good enough feature wise to take on the heavy hitters from Toyota/Honda and even Kia remains to be seen.  I really want them to succeed with this launch.

Watch my flickr album for blogging on the fly recap of NAIAS next week. All I shoot at the show will be uploaded Weds 1/13/16.   Stay tuned for more thorough write ups when I return.

Complete photos from my time at NAIAS courtesy Ford Motor Company can be found in a flickr album. 

Mid September was busy with Auto Shows

First up and probably the best show was the Palos Verdes Concours D'Elegance held September 14 at the Trump National Golf Course in Los Angeles on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.  Amazing location for all top notch restored automobiles.  It was tightly curated and judged.  The categories did have room for survivors or "derelicts" as they called them.

Aside from the Cords, Auburns, and Duesenbergs my absolute favorite was the Virgil Exner Design cars, beautifully finned and detailed mid-50s Chrysler products.  I've never seen so many in one place, funny that the DeSoto brand died in spite of some really clean design on the cars back in the day.

Logo and nomenclature on a DeSoto Adventurer.  This was one of many Chrysler products penned by Exner.

Logo from an Exner Chrysler New Yorker.  Love the blend of heraldry and moderne lines.  Nice touch on an overall beautiful car.

Of course a car show isn't a car show without some outrageous custom cars.  The most outrageous aside from the Hot Wheels Darth Vader car was the BWM Isetta L.A. Lakers tribute car.

Of course this is just a sampling of the images produced at the Palos Verdes Concours D'Elegance.  All 290+ can be found on flick in an album.

The day before the Palos Verdes Show was the equally entertaining Street Rods Forever show in Monrovia.  This annual event iw well attended and the biggest in the SGV. What you give up in terms of curation you get in terms of absolute variety of customs, restored and survivors in a mishmash along a 1/2 mile long stretch of Myrtle Avenue in historic Old Town Monrovia.  I haven't missed a one in nearly 20 years.  Its That Good.

The Best of Show Custom was this 1937 Ford Cabriolet.  The workmanship and attention to detail was unparalleled at this show.  Simply a stunning custom that stood out as superior to many outstanding cars that day.

The Best of Show Survivor was this unmolested showing wear, but completely original survivor was this 1956 Buick Century Wagon.  The "4 holer" was in beautiful condition and hard to believe it 58 years old and still in service.!

Of course, these weren't the only cars I shot.  some 150+ images can be found in a flickr album.

LX Springfest..the big Chrysler party in SoCal

This is pretty wild.  A fan club dedicated to the current family of Chrysler large sedans, not the historic hemi's of old, but the new cars, the modern Hemi that put Chrysler back on peoples map.  Its old school large 4 door American sedans with big honkin' V8s.  What's not to love?