Auto Shows! Auto Shows!Though this column strives to bring forth the strange and unusual of the automotive world every month, sometimes we just need to capitulate to the inevitable. Hence this month, we're heaving up a good portion of coverage from January's Los Angeles and Detroit auto shows. Why? Because that's where everything was happening as this was written.
f,,* Don't worry, we'll clearly mark whether a vehicle was shown at L.A. or Detroit to keep the confusion level consistently humming.
Toyota's Supercar Is A LexusFrigid Detroit - A couple of months ago we saw the prototype for this car orbiting Germany's Nff,rburgring in tantalizing camouflage. Now it has appeared as the Lexus LF-A Concept and it's even more intriguing.
It's an open secret that the LF-A is headed for production, but Toyota ... er, Lexus ... is still being very coy about the details. For instance, Toyota has no problem telling us the engine has "a displacement of less than five liters" and is "capable of developing more than 500 hp" we still don't know how many cylinders it has. So we'll stick with our original guess of 10 cylinders arranged in a V until proven otherwise. But if it's a V8, a V12, or a ball of free-floating energy, that's OK too. And we don't know for sure whether that engine is in the front or the middle of the car, either. However, Lexus is claiming 200-mph capability.
What is apparent is that LF-A carries its radiators in the rear fenders and keeps its drivetrain and exhaust centered along the car's central spine, allowing for a clean underbelly for maximum aerodynamic efficiency. Our guess, based on the car's proportions, is the engine is in front and that all-wheel drive is part of the equation. Speculation about a high-performance hybrid drivetrain remains just that-speculation.
Lexus is calling the LF-A a "pure concept," but pure concepts rarely undergo significant testing in Germany. So our guess is we'll see a version of the LF-A in dealerships sometime during 2007 as an '08er. We should even know where the mystery engine is by then.
VW's edgy jettaSlushy Detroit - VW has made no secret of the next Golf-based GTI and it's apparently determined that there's no reason to be quiet about the next Jetta GLI, either.
If you took the GTI treatment and applied it to the new Jetta, you'd have a dead-on accurate formula for the new GLI. Power comes from a turbocharged, direct fuel injection 2.0-liter engine making a stout 200 hp, which should make this the quickest Jetta ever. Other elements to the package include a standard six-speed manual transmission (an automatic DSG transmission will be optional), a lower and stiffer suspension, 17-inch alloy wheels and tires, a new front grille and a revised interior that includes sport seats.
The new Jetta should be on sale as you read this. The 2006 GLI should make land by the fall.
Nissan'sAzea AppeaChilly Detroit - Has Toyota's Scion division put some fear into Nissan? Apparently, going on the evidence of the Azeal Concept, which seems to clone Scion's tC with a few significant mutations.
Like the tC, the Azeal is a smaller car that carries a larger car's four-cylinder engine as its powerplant. In this case, it's the 2.5-liter four that's used in the Sentra SE-R and base Altima with the addition of a turbocharger. Nissan isn't talking power output for this combination, which leads us to believe it's more a theoretical drivetrain than an actual one.
Designed at Nissan's new styling studio outside Detroit, the Azeal has some neat detailing in its styling and the wheels are pushed to the far corners to give it a very flat and appealing stance. Could this be the next Sentra coupe? We're hoping.
We're also hoping the next Sentra benefits greatly from sharing much of its engineering with the Renault Megane. Considering the floundering lack of success for Renault over here previously, that's really more a prayer than merely a hope.
Subaru's Slightly Weird SUVMushy Detroit - Is Subaru abandoning us? Forsaking the lust we've developed over the last few years for the WRX by heaving its engineering muscle into the SUV sweepstakes? Maybe.
The 2006 Subaru B9 Tribeca is one of the weirdest-looking Subies in quite awhile-that nose will spread throughout the line-but one of the most conventional beneath that appearance. With size enough and seating for seven, the B9 Tribeca is powered by Subaru's 3.0-liter, 250-hp H6 engine that is hooked up to its thoroughly debugged all-wheel-drive system. Otherwise, it's, well, an SUV. And it will be built in the Lafayette, Ind., plant alongside a version to be sold by Saab.
Here's the weirdest part of the B9 Tribeca though-its name. Tribeca is a neighborhood in New York City; basically, the TRIangle BElow CAnal street between the Hudson River and Broadway. Aren't SUVs supposed to carry names that inspire thoughts of exploring the wilderness? You know, names like Explorer, Yukon, Land Cruiser, Pathfinder and Outback? The name "Tribeca" makes no sense, unless this Subaru will be used as a cab or subway car.
Let's hope this most urban of SUVs doesn't edge the WRX out of Subaru's heart. The world will find out when it goes on sale this summer.
And yes, we noticed this is yet one more vehicle whose name is also a space on a bingo card.
Saturn Shoots For The Sky And Hits ItSnowy Detroit - It's not a surprise that Saturn will be getting its own version of the Kappa platform roadster that's best known as the Pontiac Solstice. But no one was prepared for how heartbreakingly gorgeous Saturn's Sky would be. If the Sky is Kate Beckinsale, then the Solstice is John Lithgow in drag.Except for the amazing (but superficial) makeover, the Sky is very much what the Solstice is. That means it has a neat Corvette-like central spine, a rear-drive chassis with all-independent suspension and it will be powered by a 170-hp version of GM's 2.4-liter Ecotec four-cylinder engine. Those are 18-inch wheels by the way. A supercharged version of the Ecotec is likely to be optional (The "Sky Red Line?") as it will be on the Solstice, but GM isn't saying much about that right now.
The Sky will be on sale as an '06 model with a price tag slightly higher than the Solstice's. With the Solstice starting just under $20K, figure the Sky to start just over $20K.