Since nobody seems to have posted yet about any of the U.S. auto shows, I thought I'd share links re: Jaguar's "Advanced Lightweight Coupe" (i.e., alum. XK8 coupe), introduced in Detroit at the NAIAS. Videos at the former link include Ian Callum, btw.

I'm going either this Saturday or early next week... I can take some pictures if you'd like.

I would, but I live in DC. Our auto show is little more than a gathering of show room floors. We get a few concept cars and a seperate room with the luxory and specialty vehicles (always love seeing the new Rolls), but it is not impressive. Year after year it gets nothing but criticism, yet nothing changes. My father and I used to go every year, but now we've decided that not enough changes each year, so we go every other. Sad, really.

Yeah, Denver's is more like yours. One concept car, MAYBE. Crap.

That'd be sweet. Any shots of the new Jetta (Bora to our European friends) that don't duplicate this official one, or of the new BMW 5-series wagon/estate from the rear, would be cool!

Bumping my own thread; bad form I know. But this in from The NYT...

Quote:
Jaguar, Ford's British luxury car division, is limping. The British are known for their defiant oratory under fire, and Ian Callum, Jaguar's design chief, showed a study for the next XK sports coupe under the low-key name of Advanced Lightweight Coupe.

"We had to do it," Mr. Callum said of the decision to unveil the car here, acknowledging the criticism the company has taken, especially in Britain, for its failure to build a smaller F-Type concept shown in 2000. A production-ready version of the Advanced Lightweight Coupe will be revealed at the Frankfurt auto show this fall and will go on sale next year.

But for some Jag watchers, the concept coupe lacked the powerful stance of earlier Jaguars. It seems to have sprouted parts from vehicles like the Ford Taurus, Chevrolet Cobalt and the Range Rover. Stripped of the concept-car decorations and refined in detail, it may yet prove to be an apt successor to the current XK, but it is not the more accessible, higher-volume car the company needs to become profitable again.

[closed the quote -wfaulk]

I went Monday night and took photos of the new Jag and Jetta. I'll post later today.

Quote:
sprouted parts from vehicles like the Ford Taurus, Chevrolet Cobalt and the Range Rover.

I have to disagree with this. The car was beautiful. But I have to admit it wasn't "new" looking enough to get most people's attention. It also got lost in the sea of British racing green Jags (were they all green??). Most people I went with thought it was an older model from afar.

If that's the new Jetta, VW have successfully made their car look like a low-end Toyota. IMO, that's a significant insult. Their previous generation line-up was one of the strongest (aesthetically speaking) from top to bottom in my opinion.

The Jag looks awesome. But I'd clear out all those "inspiration" images and use only an image of an Aston Martin - because that's all that was needed to come up with the styling for this beast.

Bruno

Agree on both counts. I wanted the Jetta photos to confirm the new econobox-like styling from UNofficial angles. The pix of the new GTI I've seen are just horrendous, but I *am* interested in the new VWAG, U.S.-spec models' (A3, A4, GTI, GLI) direct gas injection engines mated to the DSG.

2005 NAIAS Gallery

The gallery is uploading right now, so the link should work in about 5 minutes or so. I would have waited to post then, but I may not be around the PC at that time.

Cars featured:

• 2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
• 2005 Ford Mustang Aftermarket Concepts
• Jaguar XK8
• 2006 Volkswagon Jetta/Bora
• Ford "Shelby" Concept
• Chrystler "Firepower" Concept

PS: Much better automotive information than the NYTimes.