Thoughts from the 2010 Chicago Autoshow

Personal File: I hit the Chicago Auto Show last weekend with no grand expectations. I knew the show was going to be more restrained than years previous due to the economy and that many brands are no longer in business. In lieu of this, I was surprised to see many automakers continuing to hand out lavish brochures.

After collecting brochures from every manufacturer (as I do every year) and reviewing them when I got home, I noticed that both Cadillac and AUDI had some issues. I know that photography and artwork had to be created and approved far ahead of show time, but these two manufacturer brochures really stuck out to me.

Cadillac leads my review with two oddities. The first is clear case of "cut and paste" from one CTS to another - a wagon to a sedan. The second Cadillac oddity is the DTS. In what appears to be a wheel swap, the wheels shown have the appearance of hubcaps due to the incorrect angle/perspective. Click an image below to see more.

Cadillac CTS

Cadillac DTS

AUDI is next with two oddities of their own. Both of the issues are with non-moving vehicles. I believe the goal was to make each image more dynamic by adding wheels that were in motion, but both images failed. The original wheels on the A5 convertible and A8 are still clearly visible in some areas. Click an image below to see more.

AUDI A5 'vert

AUDI A8

What do you think - did I just stumble upon a dirty little secret with manufacturer brochures or was it just a bad year for AUDI and Cadillac?

All source photos copyright original owners

Rendered: 2012 BMW M5

From Edmunds InsideLine: SANTA MONICA, California — So now that the 2011 BMW 5 Series is out in the open, it's time to move on to the really good stuff. We're referring to the next BMW M5, of course, you know the one we spotted on the Nürburgring late last year?

Click here to view this article.

2011 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Cabriolet Is a Go

From Edmunds InsideLine: SANTA MONICA, California — Recently, Inside Line broke the story that Mercedes will introduce a C-Class coupe in an effort to lure younger buyers and battle both the successful BMW 1 Series and 3 Series. And now we have the first image of the coming C-Class convertible.

Click here to view this article.

Comment Moderation

Unfortunately some people love to ruin what is great about the internet. I have resisted going to moderated comments as I feel that goes against very spirit and nature of the blogging world. However I am tired of the SPAM my blog receives after my posts are indexed by search engines.

From this point on, all comments will be moderated.

If your post is legitmate and you are a real person, it will be posted as quickly as possible. If it is SPAM it will be logged, deleted, and reported to the FTC.

Thank you for your understanding in this matter.
Nick Wilcox

2011 Mercedes C-Class Coupe Revealed

From Edmunds InsideLine: SANTA MONICA, California — Two weeks ago, Inside Line broke the story that Mercedes will introduce a C-Class coupe in an effort to lure younger buyers and battle the successful BMW 1 Series. And now we have the first image of what the two-door just might look like.

Click here to view this article.

Thoughts on the refreshed 2010 Honda CR-V

Personal File: I hit the Indianapolis Auto Show today with a buddy and his family and I happened to notice a few styling changes on the Honda CR-V for 2010. I don't really follow Honda that much but I was surprised that the updates were very subtle. I've never liked this generation CR-V (starting in 2007) and I was disappointed more wasn't done with the 2010 refresh. So in lieu of the new year, I put this little chop together this evening of what I think would have been a proper refresh. I'm going for a little more previous generation front fascia treatment but I think it adds a better top to bottom balance and looks more "put together".

What do you think - better or worse?

All source photos copyright original owners

My wish list for the 2011 Buick Regal

Personal File: I recently read on GMInsideNews that production of the Buick Regal will be moving to Oshawa Canada starting in 2011. This is great news as there is a possibility that the vehicle could receive a few more Buick design cues. The only major change moving it from Opel to Buick for 2010 was the grille change.

In the hope that something more may come of this production switch, I wanted to put together a "wish list" of items I feel would truly integrate the Regal for Buick North America.

Edits include:

• Revised profile - sweep-spear profile added similar to LaCrosse and the Opel downturning swoosh in the front door has been removed
• Revised tail lights - to reflect similiarly, but not exactly, to the LaCrosse
• Redefined trunk cutline - this is just a pet peeve of mine! The current trunk line is very awkward so I tried to adjust it to a more pleasing line that extends up from the bumper cover trim/cut line until it reaches the back window glass
• Revised trunk chrome bar/badges - cut off parts of both sides of the chrome bar that extended into the lights and slightly moved badging to further bring similiarty to the LaCrosse
• New wheels - the current wheels are terribly drab so I grabbed the wheels from the LaCrosse concept for proof of concept.

Now I think it looks like a proper Buick! What do you think?

All source photos copyright original owners

2010 MAZDASPEED3 - a face only a mother could love

Personal File: The restyled 3 appears to be a huge hit for Mazda and with the new MAZDASPEED version coming for 2010, the little 5-door that could is ready to ramp up the wow factor. I really wanted to love this car but I cannot get past the bizarre Nagare styled front end. While I applaud Mazda for evolving their design language, this new direction has me scratching my head.

With some very minor adjustments to the front fascia and grille, as shown above, I think the car could look really sharp. What do you think?

All source photos copyright original owners

Don't Wait Up for the Cadillac CTS Convertible

From Edmunds InsideLine: Given the upheaval at GM, we've doubted at times that we'd ever see a Cadillac CTS coupe, much less a wagon. Now both of those variations exist, and there's only one more CTS to wonder about: a convertible. The lines kind of work, don't they?

Click here to view this article.

2011 Chevrolet Colorado - MCE projection

Personal File: I have a growing distaste for the current generation small/mid-size truck offerings by General Motors. GM made some really bad design decisions with the front ends on both vehicles thanks in part to the platform sharing with Izuzu.

I've been contemplating doing a mid-cycle enhancement projection on the Colorado for a long time now and finally sat down and took at a stab at it tonight. I wanted to remove the old Chevrolet "bar" theme from the previous Silverado and freshen it up a little so it is more in line with the designs of the new Tahoe and Silverado. What do you think?

All source photos copyright original owners