NY Auto Show

This year's New York Auto Show might as well have been renamed the Korea Auto Show, as it was Kia and Hyundai who owned the stage.

This year's New York Auto Show might as well have been renamed the Korea Auto Show, as it was Kia and Hyundai who stole the spotlight.

Overall, the show was well-attended by media and had everything to offer from a German Race Car to an award for the most pet-friendly car company.  

Mercedes-Benz:  revealed a refreshed R-Class and an SLS racing car that maybe 14 people will buy in Europe. In other words, Mercedes didn't say much at the show.  Chevy only gave us 2 additional trim levels to the Cruze (RS & Eco), but the base car isn't even here yet.  Ford's press conference featured the CEO of Microsoft.  Is this an auto show or a consumer electronic show?  Chrysler?  Dodge?  Hello?  

BMW brought out the 5-series even though its debut was last month in Geneva.  They also brought out a 740i which powered by the 3.0-liter turbo V6.  An important step towards Cafe standards in 2016.  Mini's SUV, the Countrymen, is official.  VW and Porsche both showed off their second gen SUVs, the Touareg and Cayenne.  Both will now be available with HYBRID power.  That's right, a hybrid Porsche!  That's an oxymoron if I ever heard one.

Nissan and Infiniti are testing the limits of design with the Nissan Juke and Infiniti QX56.  I'm going to reserve judgement on these models until I see them on the road.  What I was told is that designs have to appeal to a global audience and not just Americans.  So there.

Acura is getting into the wagon business with the Acura TSX wagon which has a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder turbo and 6-speed autobox.  I'm all for it, but where's the manual tranny?

Last but not least are the Korean siblings - Kia and Hyundai who unveiled multiple products.  Kia's Sportage version 3.0 is beautiful and looks like a poor man's Audi Q5.  Just as clean and smooth as can be.  And to top that, they showed the new Optima.  In the past, the Optima looked like a Korean design study gone wrong, but this one looks like a Jaguar XF!  And it starts at $20K!  Sign me up.  The Optima is Kia's version of the Sonata, and Hyundai announced the Sonata Hybrid and Sport.  The Sport makes 274hp and 269 lb-ft of torque from a 2.0-liter turbo four.  Who needs a V6?  Hyundai also rolled out the Equus full size luxury sedan.  This is a Lexus LS/BMW 7-Series/Mercedes S-Class.....that will come in $15-20K cheaper.  All I can say is that it's all good and consumers will have some great options in 2011.

So those are the show highlights.  I was quite impressed and happy to see the progress that Kia and Hyundai have made.  These are two brands on the rise with no signs of slowing down.

Until the next show.....

-Ron Doron, Sr. Test Drive Editor, Autotoob.com