365 Project

Which way is up?

February 8, 2014

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2014 Chicago Auto Show

First off I want to thank BMW and the BMWCCA for the invitation. We had a great time, saw everything (except Mazda, sorry we just missed ya) and found the vehicle with the best arm rest.

The day started off with having to decide on our best travel directions to avoid grade school mom traffic. Turns out that was the least of our traffic woes. Everybody with a car was on every road in Chicago. Took us an hour to go the 9 miles to McCormick Place.

But we made it, parked on the wrong level and found our way inside, only to be greeted by the overpowering smell of bad cheese by the Ford display.

I did manage to see all the trucks I was interested in and was able to remove a couple from my list. Unfortunately, I added a couple to the list too.

Ha. Having trouble inserting the photos into this post and then continuing to write, so I’ll just post all the photos at the end.

Stopped at the Toyota booth first and saw the 4Runner and the Land Cruiser. Both high on my list for my next vehicle. I liked them both, but the 4Runner is a little underpowered.

Nissan has nothing of any interest to someone with the inclination to go even slightly off road, so we walked on by.

Looked at Jeep, but they don’t have anything particularly new except for the KIA Vehicross copy Cherokee.

Not on my list but kinda interesting is FIAT, but the new bigger 500 looks like a typical european taxicab, and the little 500 is fun, but again needs more power. Even the Abarth version is short a few ponies. Style counts for a lot, but to quote Tim the Toolman Taylor “More Power.” Somewhat of a common theme with the Japanese/Asian brands.

Subaru has a good inexpensive replacement for my Audi, the Outback 3.6. Made in Indiana, it’s much bigger, nicely appointed and did I mention it’s not a lot of money?

A car that made it onto my list that wasn’t there before is the Audi SQ5. Nice size, nice interior, plenty of power for its size, and I am getting rid of my Audi A4 Avant, so I know the marque. Gonna have to go drive one.

The BMW X5 also made it onto my list for all the same reasons at the Audi. It’s a little bigger than the Audi, which is ok. It’s drawback is that around here the owners/drivers are about as dissimilar from me as possible. Grocery getter, nonstop cellphone user, la la la. You know who I’m talking about. But I like the idea of an X5 and a R 1200 GS Adventure motorcycle. Same money as some of the other SUV’s I’m looking at.

Like the Mercedes Benz ML63. Nice. Great engine, sat in one at the show. Found it a little short of legroom (I am 6’3″) in the front seat. But the GL550 I sat in had plenty of legroom as well as a third row of seats and lots of cargo space. Both are a little weak in the occasional off road category.

From there we went to Land Rover where we saw a Range Rover Long wheelbase. BIG truck. Not a fan of these back seat center consoles found in some luxury cars and trucks. Waste of space. I still like the standard wheelbase Range Rover, they’re just impossible to find. The guy at the display told me they are about 4 to 5 months on backorder. The Range Rover Sport is a strong possibility. Similar off road chops as big brother, much lighter than last year and plenty of luxury inside. I also like the LR4 for more than a few bucks less. Got a tailgate and good armrests (I’ll get to that in another post).

Continuing on, we stopped at GMC and Cadillac. I am a little disappointed. They are bigger than their predecessors and uglier. Big bulky grilles. Big square lines. Nice interiors, nice equipment, but I can’t get over the sheet metal. No sale for me.

Looked at the Lexus LX570 and the GX4xx(whatever) and I can’t quite figure out who buys these. After all Toyota offers the same vehicle with the same mechanicals and nearly the same bling and options for about $10000 less.

Last but not least was Porsche. They had the new Macan on display. Boy is it small. Based on the Audi Q3 with obviously higher spec motor and interior stuff, did I mention it’s small? Give me a Cayenne GTS please. If I’m not going to go offroad, this is the SUV to have. It’s the right size for my needs, got a great motor, plenty of space, more than a little exotic, etc. Similar spec to all the truck’s I’ve been looking at AND it’s a Porsche.

There are other great SUV’s out there, these are just the ones I’m interested in owning. Check out the KIA or the Ford Explorer.

OK. Here are the photos.