Fun at the LA Auto Show
The 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show is over for this year. Like so many LA events, it was beyond crowded and Black Friday was a busy day at Staple’s Center. Just finding parking was a feat in itself. After driving in circles trying to find a lot with open spaces that wasn’t in West Hollywood, I spied a valet lot while at an intersection where I couldn’t do a U-turn. I asked the traffic cop how to get to the valet and he proceeded to give me very complicated directions on how to get to the valley. Deciding that I really did want to go to the auto show, I turned left, closely followed by a young couple on a Hog-styled Honda. I went to do the right/right/right turn to head back to the valet and they pulled up behind a cargo van in the left lane. Closely. The cargo van, for no apparent reason decided to back into them and smashed the front end their bike. As I watched the young woman scream obscenities she was parroting from her boyfriend, I was reminded of why my Grandmother said that women should not cuss. It is most unattractive and looked silly.
So the valet story is almost over- I promise- but I have to write down all of this because it is probably more interesting than anything I saw inside Staple’s Center. As I pulled into the valet lot, the attendant looked briefly at me then pointedly looked at my first edition 1999 Z3 Coupe, glanced over at the row of fancy-parked Lamborghinis, Mercedes and a sweet M5 and told me that I should have washed my car first. I paid $30 for the privilege of being told to wash my car! He took my keys and then hid it in the back of the lot so that no one would see my shame.
Once inside after paying 1/3rd of the valet cost to enter, the first car I saw was that Tesla that keeps getting trotted out for events. I guess that being 2 years behind in production led them to understand that lending the old showgirl to Yokohama tires was better than paying thousands for a booth. The interior was still the concept version with bits of exposed wires connecting the starter and I wondered if I plugged it into an onion if it would start.
On the main floor, the first thing that grabbed me was the Ford Flex. It let go of me pretty fast after staring at it for a bout 30 seconds so I decided to have a look at the Mazda RX-8 with its “freestyle” doors. Yes, that is correct. Suicide is officially a Very Bad Thing and will henceforth be referred to as Freestyle. It makes sense in the automotive world. A brave driver in a souped up tuner would never consider themselves to be suicidal but would probably like to think that the interpretive dance called drifting that is all the rage is Freestylin’. It’s just like Bob Fosse on wheels!
On to the concept cars, which were tiny, and will never be produced as seen at the show. Kia, VW and Chevy all made almost the exact same versions of the Mini and I wish that I could have put every one of them in my pocket and taken them home. I especially like the Chevy BEAT because the badge font made it look like it is called the BERT. VW did give me a little car to put in my pocket and take home. It is made of recycled plastic and it is a blue SUV and has a little hole on top to put, um, a pencil? A single pencil. Wow. It sort of seems like a waste of recycled plastic but maybe it will sell a lot of those Touregs for them. It was about this time that I overheard a kid tell his buddy that Ferrari is better than Lexus.
In the dungeon-like lower level, there were throngs of people looking at the auto accessories for sale and I even peeked at the big bubble that I could zip around my car to protect it from that shameful dust. I think that they will only work when you are starting in a clean zone and my parking space is a dust bowl so I moved on. The one vendor that I bet was bored out of his gourd was the guy selling something to help you get ice off of your windshield. Did no one tell him that the bus was stopping in Los Angeles, California?
In all it was an eye-glazing overload of people and cars and just further cemented in my mind that I am happy with my dirty little Z3 until I find that next little used car that doesn't mind being dusty and I can’t live without.
Stumble It!
So the valet story is almost over- I promise- but I have to write down all of this because it is probably more interesting than anything I saw inside Staple’s Center. As I pulled into the valet lot, the attendant looked briefly at me then pointedly looked at my first edition 1999 Z3 Coupe, glanced over at the row of fancy-parked Lamborghinis, Mercedes and a sweet M5 and told me that I should have washed my car first. I paid $30 for the privilege of being told to wash my car! He took my keys and then hid it in the back of the lot so that no one would see my shame.
Once inside after paying 1/3rd of the valet cost to enter, the first car I saw was that Tesla that keeps getting trotted out for events. I guess that being 2 years behind in production led them to understand that lending the old showgirl to Yokohama tires was better than paying thousands for a booth. The interior was still the concept version with bits of exposed wires connecting the starter and I wondered if I plugged it into an onion if it would start.
On the main floor, the first thing that grabbed me was the Ford Flex. It let go of me pretty fast after staring at it for a bout 30 seconds so I decided to have a look at the Mazda RX-8 with its “freestyle” doors. Yes, that is correct. Suicide is officially a Very Bad Thing and will henceforth be referred to as Freestyle. It makes sense in the automotive world. A brave driver in a souped up tuner would never consider themselves to be suicidal but would probably like to think that the interpretive dance called drifting that is all the rage is Freestylin’. It’s just like Bob Fosse on wheels!
On to the concept cars, which were tiny, and will never be produced as seen at the show. Kia, VW and Chevy all made almost the exact same versions of the Mini and I wish that I could have put every one of them in my pocket and taken them home. I especially like the Chevy BEAT because the badge font made it look like it is called the BERT. VW did give me a little car to put in my pocket and take home. It is made of recycled plastic and it is a blue SUV and has a little hole on top to put, um, a pencil? A single pencil. Wow. It sort of seems like a waste of recycled plastic but maybe it will sell a lot of those Touregs for them. It was about this time that I overheard a kid tell his buddy that Ferrari is better than Lexus.
In the dungeon-like lower level, there were throngs of people looking at the auto accessories for sale and I even peeked at the big bubble that I could zip around my car to protect it from that shameful dust. I think that they will only work when you are starting in a clean zone and my parking space is a dust bowl so I moved on. The one vendor that I bet was bored out of his gourd was the guy selling something to help you get ice off of your windshield. Did no one tell him that the bus was stopping in Los Angeles, California?
In all it was an eye-glazing overload of people and cars and just further cemented in my mind that I am happy with my dirty little Z3 until I find that next little used car that doesn't mind being dusty and I can’t live without.
Labels: Cars, Concept, LA Auto Show, Staple's Center, Tesla, Valet
Stumble It!
posted by Miss Mota Mouth@ 2:02 PM 0 Comments
