With Thanksgiving last week, and Christmas not too far away, many manufacturers see the Los Angeles Auto Show as the final gift for the year.
There were many things to be thankful for the large brands while electric vehicles were the focus for many.
One brand that will get coal this Christmas from Santa has to be GMC after it announced the closure of five plants and the loss of 14,000 jobs. The local brand decided not to hold a press conference. Smart move as it would have sure to have overrun its appointed time with journos demanding answers.
This year, there wasn’t so much “let’s make America great again” as I saw from brands post-Trump appointment, with instead the focus being on customers and making their lives easier.
In alphabetical order, here are Driven’s top vehicles for at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
Audi
With the all-electric e-tron SUV to go on sale next year, the company went one step further by revealing the e-tron GT concept. Sitting near the e-tron SUV, it looks particularly small but showed the styling the brand is going for with future products.
BMW
The German brand used the last auto show of the year to reveal its Vision iNext concept vehicle that had the on point exterior colour of blush, and some 1980s vibe interior seats. BMW talked at its press conference about its focus on autonomous driving by 2021.
Ford
So you’ve got a Ford Ranger (of course you do as it’s NZ’s top selling vehicle) and you’re planning on going camping these holidays with the kids, then the Base Camp set up is sure to turn heads at your beachside ground.
Jeep
You’ve got to hand it to this brand, it knows the trend is moving towards utes (or pick up truck as they are called Stateside) so why not make one from the popular Wrangler? Meet the Jeep Gladiator. Take off the roof of your cabin and you get a convertible ute – which I bet you never thought you’d want.
Porsche
If you suffer from claustrophobia, then Porsche’s stand in the tiny Petree Hall (more like Petree cupboard) is not for you when the German brand does its presentation. Instead it’s best to stand out in the foyer and watch the event via large TV screens – then head in when the crowds head out. And it was worth the wait with Porsche showing the stunning 911 Carrera 4S. Yes please!
Mazda
Kudos goes to the Japanese brand with the reveal of the Mazda3 that was so close in looks to its Vision model that the overall opinion of the media was Mazda put a number plate on the concept car. Chief designer Yasutake Tsuchinda (pictured) revealed the hatch and sedan Mazda3 models that kept the stunning shadow affect. It took Mazda a year just to get those curved side panels to perfection on a clay model and the affect is amazing. I can’t wait to see is out on the street rather than under motor show lights. It heads to NZ mid next year.
Mercedes
It was all action time for the German brand with even more versions of the highly successful GT sports car. Just when you thought it couldn’t get “racier” along comes the GTR Pro, because the GTR itself isn’t racetrack capable enough! AMG boss Tobias Moers (pictured) delighted in showing off the coupe to the media.
Volkswagen
Ah, don’t we all love the Kombi? So good work Volkswagen in making a Kombi delivery van, albeit suitable for the future. Meet the iD Buzz Cargo electric van that the company showed off for the first time in America. With more than 11.3 billion boxes delivered in the USA each year – with trips short and small – VW decided best was an EV model for the market. Nice work.
