It seemed there were big crowding going on at certain models (and makes sometimes) while other ones were very desolate. I’ll quickly run through the happenings at some of the makes:
·Mercedes-Benz – Very crowded, lots of nice high end cars. They were lacking some of the lower models which would seem more of interest to the “common folk.” They had an SLR (even though it was poorly displayed and had a cable running out of the half open trunk).
·Acura – Actually pretty desolate, lots of cars displayed, all models, few trim choices though. They put a lot of effort into their simple display and had plenty of people to help too.
·Kia – Unfortunately a very empty display while there are a lot of good cars there (The Forte sedan / coupe look like they are going to be a great seller! Interesting use of QR codes.
·Audi – Great display (the Z4 was placed a bit too far beyond hungry hands though IMO) and lots of choices of models and a few trim choices too. Very packed.
·BMW – Lots of empty space and lots of people to pack it up.
·VW – One of the better ones of the show. They had the best choice of trims for their models IMO. Lots of space and lots of cars, not as much people though.
·Ferrari (one car F430) Lamborghini (1x Gallardo 1x Murcielago 1x Murcielago Roadster) Bentley (meh who cares), Maserati (two cars), Lotsu (Exige, Elise S/C, 2-Eleven), Spyker (2 cars), Rolls-Royce (who cares). Swarmed and swamped with people. Lotus was kinda overlooked but the Lambos were getting all the attention along with the Ferrari. The Lambo’s were too close to the people IMO and were being molested and touched on their gentle matte finish. (Some douchebag comes up and touches it and starts feeling it up with his dirty greasy hand while he holds popcorn in his other hand). Poor paw prints all over the cars, I would love for these cars to be unchained from their barricades so you can get near them but I realize that people will pester these cars if allowed to get near them. The Ferrari was exclusive enough to be far from anyone with the model taking requests to take pictures of the car from closer up. The Spykers just caused confusion among people who didn’t understand them. The high class cars were well presented for a clique brand. There was some ‘potential’ buyer who was allowed past the blockade to enter the car and get closer but only by being escorted by 2 gentlemen in suits.
·Ford’s - display was very well done with a very wide array of all their models and many in several trims, there were 4 or 5 Flexs alone. They also had displays of parts and very helpful tech information. They had some simulator thing I didn’t try out for the SVT Raptor. They had a seemingly invisible Shelby out there too that was overlooked by many even though it was near the center. Great job by Ford. I had a good overall opinion of Ford even though I’m still not a fan. I especially liked the Ford F-250. I must say the interiors have improved…but still not quite there yet.
·Toyota - was meh, nothing exciting, they had a model of each, I checked out the Venza which I was fairly impressed by. The Toyota display seemed raped and just ill-treated. It was a fairly tight spot to be.
·Nissan - was crowded around the GTR (not as bad as last year) and the new 370Z. The Versa seemed to be gaining a lot of attention too. Lack of people for help and few models seemed prevalent.
·Lincoln - had one interesting concept car to display other than that it was meh.
·Mercury – Erm, not much to say here.
·Mazda - had an interesting assortment of cars. They were celebrating 20th Anniversary of the Miata so they stuck out a few special Miatas out there. They seem to have forgotten to put out their actual models they are selling now though… They had a CX7 and 9, and the new Mazda 3 (almost hidden), and a lonely RX-8 all alone. They had a new MX-5 on a stand that you couldn’t go near and maybe one new Mazda 5. But that’s it, no people to help either. Not very Zoom-Zoom if you ask me. They also had 3 race cars behind their stand, also kind of hidden, again, lacking any actual sellable models.
·Lexus - I avoided because there was nothing of interest to me there.
·Smart / MINI – I know they are very different and owned by different brands (ironically Smart was closer to BMW and MINI to MB). Mini had a great selection of trims and models (makes it sound like there is more than 2). Smart had a great selection of trims and a cut out of a Smart car to reassure you about its safety…not that it worked it seems lol.
·Mitsubishi - had a great display with a great selection of cars. Good display although a bit tight. Lots of helpful people.
·Land Rover / Jaguar – I somehow didn’t find anything memorable about this. It was ok, nothing exceptional.
·Dodge – An insurmountable amount of people at the cars (having two Vipers you can sit in didn’t help) and a GREAT selection of trims for all their cars. On the other hand, just feet away, in the HUGE vast selection of Dodge Trucks it was a barn wasteland. They had one of the largest displays with the greatest selection of pickups and trucks; not a single other person besides me were there. It really is too bad because they had some fairly nice items there.
·Chrysler - had a superb selection of models and trims but I was absolutely ashamed of the TERRIBLE, downright horrible quality. Worst quality of anything I’ve seen at the show (other than Jeep)
·Jeep – Great selection of choices, they had what seemed like all the trims for their models. The quality was absurdly crap though. Interior plastics were ****!
·Honda – Great display. Good selection of models and a few trim choices too. As much as I hate FWD cars the Honda Fit was a clever little car that I kind of like…that is high praise coming from someone who despises small, FWD, cars.
·Bridgestone – Not sure the point of their display. Didn’t really display many tires. They had one Formula car out there.
·Suzuki- had a great display with lots of cars. I don’t know much about them but they seemed ok with decent quality.
·Hyundai had a superb selection with the very important Genesis and Genesis Coupe available to be sat in and felt up; they feel good too.
·Subaru - had a good display with lots of tech information and lots of helpful people. It was pretty barren but well furnished. The new Forrester looks good.
·US Army – annoyed me because they were constantly asking me to stick around and do their activities. This is a recruitment tool for them. YUCK!
·The back section with the Volo Auto Museum and vendors seemed blah. Lots of vendors selling shoddy products and ‘scams’. Nothing good in that section. A few SCCA cars and old cars were around but nothing out of the ordinary besides an unmolested Supra.
·GMC – Didn’t even go in there but it was barren and empty.
·Pontiac - had a buncha choices. Most interesting to me was getting a seat in the Solstice which I kinda liked besides the interior plastics. Very nice cars though, wonder how they drive. Great selection of cars, pretty empty though.
·Saturn – Not a fan of them but I did like the Sky (same interior problem as Solstice) and the Astra seemed fairly functional and well put together.
·Buick – Completely avoided this section.
·Saab – Quirky cars, I like ‘em though. Lots of friendly helpful people to answer my questions but not a lot of other people to ask them. They made it clear that I was the first person to approach them that day with questions (this was in the evening too, OUCH!).
·HUMMER – Emptyish, no real Hummers (H1) and relatively weak display. Subaru’s and Suzuki’s display gave of a more offroad feel than Hummer.
·Cadillac’s - were fairly nice from the outside. Fit and finish on the panels was ok. The interior plastics though I was slightly taken aback by; especially on the XLR, for that price…ouchies.
·Chevy – They had a VOLT which was interesting to see in person. They left a ZR-1 with its roof all with finger prints on the $60,000 per gallon clear coat. It was nice of them to let people into the Corvette’s too. The new Camaros were nice; I was highly impressed with the level of interior quality from Chevy on its interior. It felt more rubbery then plasticky. Great job American manufacture.

Many of the cars feel like they are being homologated into becoming one another; either through by legal “safety” reasons or just manufactures copying each other off. Amazingly it seems that the cars that are always being accused of copying other brands probably had the best “unique” styling which seems to not make sense. And in general a lot of displays were reused from last year (Scion was just terrible in that regards, the Subaru ‘rock’, R8 stand, and few others; subtle details but noticeable to the sharp eyes.