The Los Angeles Auto Show

This week was the start of the Los Angeles Auto Show, otherwise known as that thing that I go to every year to look at cars I cannot afford. It's the event where I answer the question, can I still enter and exit a sports car with some measure of grace?

Luckily the answer is still "yes"

Apparently the big news is hybrids- General Motors showed hybrid Escalades, Tahoes and Suburbans. As much as I loathe gigantic SUV's I have to tip the hat to a system that will allow them to get the same mileage as a mid-sized car.

Here's my impressions:

My lotto winnings would go towards a Cadillac XLR-V

















Or perhaps I'd spend half that on a Mercedes SLK and spend the rest on plastic surgery.




















The Honda S2000 is lovely, but the sport version they had on the floor had a rear wing on it that would have been more at home on a bi-plane and was in a color that could only be called "erectile dysfunction yellow"

















Both the Saturn Sky and the Pontiac Solstice are wonderful little cars, but I don't know about the fiddly tops: having to get out of the car to put the top up would be a pain. But they are cheaper than any of the above by about $10k, so...




























The Mazda MX-5 (I think they don't want us to refer to it as a Miata anymore) is still the best: it's small enough but still has decent room inside and enough trunk room with the optional hard-top stowed to have some bags in the trunk. So that putative weekend getaway with the BF could happen. If I had the money for the car. Or the money for a weekend away. Or, fo that matter a boyfriend.
















Of the sedans I looked at I was impressed by the new Malibu, which is really nice and the new CTS which is gorgeous..


























Hands down the cutest thing at the show? The Smart Cabrio. I don't know how many they'll sell of these at $16,000, but they are hella cute and I could easily see myself tootling around in one.