Went to the NY Auto Show today at the Javits Center. I had a great time, and took a lot of pics. I got to sit in two Camaros, an silver automatic SS/RS and a red manual SS. It was a a great feeling to finally be able to check out the car we've all been following for close to three years.

Here's the pictures I took:

 

 

Me sitting in the Hyundai Genesis Coupe. I wanted to see how it compared to the Camaro V6.

 

 

And now for the real goods:

 

 

This was the crowd around the Corvette ZR1. Maybe 10-15 people.



This was the crowd around the two Camaros, an Inferno Orange LT/RS and a red SS. About 70+ people.









Pictures don't do Inferno Orange justice. In pictures, it looks kind of reddish. It's actually more like a slightly darker Hugger Orange. It's a pretty cool color.

 

Me sitting in the red manual SS. The shifter feels solid. A lot of reviews have said it has a heavy feel to it, that you need to muscle it into place. I disagree. It had a bit of weight to it, but it wasn't hard to shift at all. The seats are comfortable, but they didn't feel supportive enough. I'll probably end up replacing my seats with aftermarket ones.






Guess what car this wheel/brake combo was attached to?

 

Answer? The Chevy Cruze.







This is the GM-Segway joint project, the PUMA. Pretty interesting.

 

The new Mazda 3's, including the Mazdaspeed 3 shown here, are fugly. They look like they're smiling, and not in a good way.








This is equal parts Camaro enthusiast, and simple observation - the redesigned 2010 Mustang doesn't really look that good. The taillights look weird, and the front end looks kind of droopy, like the car is sad or something. Maybe it is, now that the Camaro is out.

 

The new Lancer Evolution doesn't look as good as the last one. No one was really paying attention to this car at the show.



Me sitting on a new Suzuki Hayabusa. Suzuki's cars are completely forgettable - the motorcycles they had on display were getting the most attention.



Me sitting on a Suzuki M109R. Cool-looking motorcycle, but if I was going for a bike like this, I'd get a Harley.

I refused to go through most of the Japanese manufacturers' displays on principle alone. I was forced to walk through the Toyota display because it was right at the entrance. I took a couple pictures of the Venza because my fiancee liked the way it looked. I did see the new Prius on my way out of Toyota's area, and it was hideous. There was a presentation going on about it, and they were talking about how the new Prius will get 50 MPG. I actually said out loud "The Chevy Volt will do better than that," as I walked past.

All in all, it was a lot of fun. The show runs until April 19th, so if you're in the NY/NJ area, go to the show.

 

Out of all the cars at the New York Auto show, you didn't take pics of the vehicle that won 2009 World Car of the Year

Supplies! It's not a Toyota...

 

It was kind of a depressing show this year. There were basically no real concept cars, and everyone is in retreat mode. Not much in the way of interesting or new performance or niche cars.

When I was there, the Pontiac/Saab/Hummer/Saturn booths were EMPTY.

 

Your experience with the Camaro and ZR1 was exactly the same as mine in 2004 when I went to the San Fransciso International Auto Show. EVERYONE was crowded around the two 2005 Mustangs and NO ONE was paying any attention to the Ford GT that was 5 feet away.

I was shocked, as I thought most people would never have another oppurtunity to be that close to a Ford GT again...

 

Sadly, Cruze won't actually be getting those brakes.

Except possibly on a yet-to-be-announced SS version.