My Favorite Cars at the 2011 Auto Show
The annual Motor Trend First Hawaiian Auto Show was held at the Hawaii State Convention Center this past weekend (March 18 to 20). Hundreds of brand new cars from various local dealerships as well as numerous classic and club cars were on display for the thousands of oogling eyes that came to view the vehicles. I don’t know what the attendance estimates are, but it had to be in the thousands over the 3 day weekend. People love cars and they’ll pay big money for one.
Believe me, most of the cars I saw there were out of my price range. However it is always great to see the new models because in a few years time, many will be on the used car market at significantly lower prices than what they are asking for today.
That all said, pictures of some of my favorite vehicles as well as all of the published photos I shot at the show are included in this post. Enjoy!
Top Photo: The unattainable Mercedes Benz SLS with the gull wing doors was probably the most beautiful car there. The price for it is way up there in the stratosphere, and largely off limits to most hard working, note paying mortals.
The State and the show sponsors are trying to push these expensive electric vehicles on the public. The Chevy Volt is one such vehicle that retails for about $45,000 and takes 10 hours to charge on standard household current. Electrics don’t work for condo dwellers like me who have garages with rows of parking spaces for conventional powered cars and no electric outlets. I don’t think condo owners would want to foot the bill for an expensive retrofit of condos to convert parking spaces to electric outlet charging stations.
2011 Lexus IS 250 – nice 4 door sedan that I would not mind owning.
2012 Ford C-Max – I just liked how this photo turned out.
The Ford Fusion seems to be a popular, practical sedan that has been around now for at least the last 5 years. Nice looking car from Ford.
The big block Ford Mustang Boss 302 V8 is back for 2011.
The 2011 Nissan Leaf is the latest electric car that is getting a lot of press in Hawaii. My comments about the Chevy Volt also apply to the Leaf.
Some people like funky styled vehicles. The 2011 Nissan Juke certainly fits that bill. Kind of funcky, somewhat affordable and maybe even appealing.
If I had some modest bucks to spend on a brand new vehicle, I’d probably get this practical 2011 Subaru Forester. Like last year’s near identical model, I am impressed with the Forester’s styling, size and interior roominess.
Here is a slide show of many of the 2011 – 2012 vehicles on display:
http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649
Many of the usual, local show cars from various car clubs were also on display in the classic car sections of the display. I loved the 1965 Ford Mustang fastback and the 1930’s era Packard.
http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649
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