This year’s Denver Auto Show had luxury cars and daily drivers for attendees to check out.
Photo by Michael Kutz
From Aston Martins to Dodges, cars of every shape and size made an appearance at the Denver Auto Show. Simple little coupes and the most luxurious European imports were on display, ready for show attendees to pull the handle and hop in to see what the cars have to offer. Aside from an entry fee of ten dollars, attendees could sit for free in nearly every car and judge how soft the seats are, how good the sound isolation is, the stereo quality, and even the amount of hidden storage in the consoles.
There was a fair representation of most car brands, with Porsche being the noticeable exception. One of the highlights was the Scion area. They played techno music, had examples of every model on the floor, and a large touch screen that allows users to create and customize their own Scion. These cars are in demand for urban youth, with the major selling point being that each model starts below $20,000 and there are over 250 accessories buyers can order with their Scion to make it unique (another benefit is that all the add-ons are under Scion’s Warranty). The big news is that Scion is planning to release a new model, the iQ. Using a 1.3-Liter four cylinder engine, the iQ is built to carry two passengers and some cargo. It’s going to compete with the Smart Car in price, and Scion show representatives estimate a fuel economy close to 45 mpg in the city.
General Motors had a large section of the floor, dividing space between Chevrolet, Cadillac, and GMC. GMC showed off their heavy duty trucks and SUVs, with a decent lineup for 2010. Chevy had a new, energy efficient, bright green Camaro on display, and a Transformers Edition Camaro was open for attendees to sit in and examine. This uniquely equipped car has Autobot insignias on the wheels, the front quarter panels, and is embroidered into the armrest. The production of Transformers Edition ran from September of 2009 to February 2010, and it’s sure to be a collector car. The green color on the Camaro was only available on LT models, but by 2011 it will be available on all Camaro trim levels. People have been getting excited about the convertible Camaro, set for release in 2011. Also, Heads-Up-Display technology will be added to the 2011 Camaro along with an upgrade under the hood. A Heads-Up-Display is composed of a small projector which aims an image at a mirror that reflects it onto the windshield, showing information like the vehicle’s speed. A new HP V6 will give the car 312 horsepower, an increase from the 304 horse engine that is currently available.
Cadillac was showing off their CTS Coupe, their first two door-model since the Eldorado in 1993. This sporty car shares the platform of their four door models, like the DTS, but is shorter, wider, and lower. Officially out of the concept stage, the CTS Coupe is set for release in June. It’ll be equipped with a V-Coupe V8 motor capable of producing 556 horsepower, giving the car a 0-60 time of 3.9 seconds. As far as accessories go, it’ll be able to hold music on its 40 gigabyte hard drive, record 100 minutes of radio, and pause and replay live radio.
Chrysler had a couple of their classic cars on display, pristine vehicles from the 1960’s that helped invigorate a feeling of the muscle they had and are currently regaining. A 2010 Dodge Viper was on the floor, alongside a ‘64 Plymouth Savoy, a ’64 Dodge Coronet, and the new Dodge Challenger. The only newcomer is the Jeep Grand Cherokee and a couple extra heavy duty vehicles.
Lincoln has been updating its models with a new split wing grill, a more traditional design once featured on classic Lincolns. The latest vehicle is the MKX, a five-passenger crossover vehicle equipped with loads of technology. It will have a wireless hub, meaning you can connect to your car’s wireless network and get online. It also has HD Radio with iTunes tagging, a service that saves information about songs played on the radio and puts that list on an iPod that will show the list next time it is connected to iTunes and ask if the user would like to purchase it. Ford also plans to phase out the Lincoln Town Car and its sister car the Mercury Grand Marquis to make room for vehicles with more advanced technology.
The European Car companies had a good variety of cars on the show floor, ready for attendants to open the doors and sit in soft seats. Volkswagen was showing off their Golf TDI, a very efficient diesel car. Their biggest change is going to be the disappearance of the New Beetle. It will be unavailable for order by the end of this year and will be redesigned during that time. A spokesperson from Emich VW said, “It’ll come back, but not as the same beetle. It’ll be kind of like an Audi with bulges.” Another change will come to the Passat. Volkswagen has sold Passats since the late 1980’s. The name is going to change, as well as the styling.
Mercedes had a unique CLK AMG Black Series model on display. This car is made through a currently exclusive partnership with AMG, a car customizer and Mercedes. Each engine is built by hand by one man, one at a time, and his signature is on every engine. A returning contender is the Mercedes SLS AMG. It sports Gull-Wing doors and a shape reminiscent of the 1954-57 Mercedes 300SL Coupe, which had the same type of doors. It’s set to debut in four weeks and has so many backorders, they haven’t built enough to fill the orders. Sadly, the SLS AMG didn’t make an appearance at the Denver Auto Show. Mercedes introduced the GLK, a crossover vehicle, a while ago and it was open for people to hop in. Notably, the people representing Mercedes showed a lot of class in the way they spoke to show attendees.
BMW was showing off their new 2011 5-Series, which is composed of the 528, 535, and the 550 Gran Turismo. These new models were redesigned from the ground-up, featuring a near 50-50 weight ratio from the front to the back. It was redesigned for the safety of the drivers, featuring infrared night vision, which is displayed on the in-dash entertainment screen and an active 4 wheel steering system that assists the driver during turns.
Aston Martin had three cars on display which were available for a close viewing for serious buyers. They had a new convertible, the DBS Volante, a Vantage, and their latest work, the Rapide. The Rapide is a four-door model, the first four-door sports car since the Aston Martin Lagonda, which was no longer produced as of 1990 (Lagonda is now a possible name for their concept crossover vehicle). It is in direct competition with the Porsche Panamera, Porsche’s four-door sedan which, along with the rest of Porsche, did not have an exhibit at the Denver Auto Show. One of the Aston Martin representatives was the editor-in-chief of his high school newspaper in Broomfield and was very open to questions.
An interesting exhibitor was Lamborghini Denver. They had two cars on display, one being the special Matte Blue painted LP640. The car itself costs $450,000 not including the paint, which was a $28,000 option. Lamborghini Denver is based in Centennial and is the oldest Lamborghini dealer in the United States.
The show-stealer was the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Concept car. Unfortunately, there is only one in existence. The Stingray Concept is road-ready and has a large amount of new technology inside it, which explains the 1.5 million dollar cost of producing it. There are no plans to produce more of them; however, it is possible that certain design elements from the Stingray could make it into the next Corvette redesign in 2014.
Notably, Ford and Audi would not answer any questions due to corporate reasons. Which is a shame because there was a Ford Fiesta on a pedestal, that after a successful sales run in Europe could be coming to America, but the representatives refused to make any kind of comment.
An interesting sight to see was the Rocky Mountain DeLorean Car Club. They had five DeLoreans on display. Show attendees could walk up to the DeLoreans, but were not allowed to touch them. Seeing so many rare cars in one area was a really cool experience, and it’s very good to see that unique cars aren’t simply stored away and not enjoyed.
The Denver Auto show was a great chance for local Denver residents to pull some door handles, turn up the bass, and see how soft the seats are in cars that are available to them or just a little out of reach. It’s a great way to see which cars would make a good purchase and get some questions answered in an environment free of sales pressure. Many of the representatives were very professional and some companies went as far as to bring in international members of their company, such as Volkswagen who had Bulgarian and French bilingual leaders in their company. It was a showcase for technology that is only a few years or months away from the showroom and a fun show for car enthusiasts of all ages. Many people are already looking forward to next year’s Denver Auto Show.
