As announced here before Thanksgiving, we scheduled a Curbside Classic get together at the LA Auto Show for September 30th. Here’s a report on the show, with a decided CC flavor. To start our tour, let’s look at some cars we found curbside on the way into the LA Convention Center. As you can see, BMW set up their “iExperience” center on Figueroa Street directly across from the event.
Here’s a better shot of the car offered at this ride and drive. Recognize it? Neither did I, but turns out it’s BMW’s new i3. BMW is a bit late to the electric car game, but they’ve made up for it by becoming the first mainline manufacturer to offer a model with a carbon fiber chassis and composite body.
Inside, we met up with Curbside Classic reader and commentator Jim Labue, who uses the screen name “Nikita”. I enjoyed talking with Jim as we toured the show, and discovered that in addition to reading Curbside Classic, he’s an avid aviationist as well. We had an interesting discussion about engines for homebuilt aircraft, as Jim talked about the evolution of powerplant options including Volkswagen, Corvair and Subaru air power as well as a new dedicated powerplant eliminating many of the weaknesses of these automotive based engines.
Contributor Jim Klein was also in the building on Saturday, but due to time restraints could not meet up with us- Maybe next time, Jim!
Sharp eyed readers (along with everyone else) spotted this 1968 Camaro behind Jim in the picture above. This is the Tim Allen Camaro, present at the show to support one of Tim’s favorite charities. Interstingly enough, this “new car show” included an early model ponycar from each of the American manufacturers.
The Camaro included an updated power plant, using the 427 cubic inch LS7, complete with fuel injection. This made the car far more interesting than the other two iconic ponycars.
This first year Challenger sat at the Dodge display to remind attendees that Chrysler has always built “cool” cars (if we choose to forget the ’84 Dodge Charger). Complete with dog dish hupcaps and the 426 Hemi, you’ll find this car filed under “show queen,” rather than “curbside classic.”
Filed right next to it was this Shelby Mustang GT350. Don’t get me wrong, these are beautiful cars, but your authors here at Curbside Classics look for a bit more than just beauty and perfection.
For instance, this Mitsubishi Mirage better fits the Curbside Classic profile. The Mitsubishi display gave me the same “one foot in the grave” vibe I felt at the Suzuki display two years ago (as we know, Suzuki is no longer present in the US market). When I saw this sad little hatchback, I knew I should save it for posterity. I offer this challenge to Cubside writers circa 2034- Find this car on the streets of LA, and post an article reviewing the downfall of the Mitsubishi Brand here in the States.
In contrast, I expect Nissan to maintain a prescence here over the next twenty years, and the Juke may even be an occasional site in future LA. However, this NISMO (NISsan MOtor SPorts) trim package should be very rare indeed. The Nissan product specialist informed me this was the second NISMO package developed for the Juke, but I still haven’t spotted a Juke with the first package installed.
As we know, Curbside Classics focuses on the mundane made notable by rare options, trim packages or colors. Here’s a future Curbside Classic based strictly on color. I’ll make two predictions regarding this green abomination:
1) The Cherolet nameplate will carry forward over the next two decades.
2) The Spark namplate dissappears the next time Chevy updates their entry level car.
Obviously, I’m not sticking my neck out very far- Both predictions are based on very solid automotive history.
On the flip side, here’s a color I like with a roofline I hate. I’ve made this point before, but why would Mini take one of the most efficiently packaged minicars in the world, and WRECK it by removing two seats and adding this ridiculous roof?
Finally, let’s close with this image of the new Lexus and Infiniti front fascias. Is it just me, or did the two companies hire the same stylist?
I’ll have to remember to argue that point in twenty years, when these cars gain CC status.
The front ends of the Lexus and Infiniti in your last shot is really odd. This looks like what a company would do to disguise a model to sell under another brand, like Chrysler and Dodge.
The Mitsu display reminded me of something else:
I’ll take the ’70 Challenger.
+1
All the reviews I’ve read of the Chevy Spark have been pretty good – “pleasantly surprised” comes up a lot – and it’s selling decently well, so there’s definitely pent-up demand for a cheap, simple, practical 5-door A-segment car. How much of that Mitsubishi will, or can, claim is an open question.
Given that Mitsubishi Motors is fading in *every* market, unlike Suzuki which is dominant in India and in Japan’s kei-segment and holding steady everywhere else, there’s a lot riding on the Mirage’s ridiculous pie-crust wheelcovers. That white car’s a prime candidate for painting the steelies red a la Niedermeyer Xbox.
So far MINI’s only launched the “hardtop” (regular 3-door hatch) version of their next generation. Convertible’ll probably be next and my guess is the Coupe and Roadster will simply disappear while the Clubman will get four normal doors and a lift-up hatch.
IIRC the Mini Coupe is heavier than the Hardtop on top of everything else – shades of Ford EXP.
My understanding is that the MINI Coupe is essentially just a Roadster (with all the structural reinforcement thereof) with a fixed metal roof.
I like how the wheels on the $30k+ Mini look almost identical to the $15kish Spark.
efficiently packaged?! The MINI?! oh that’s funny.
You really don’t get very many small cars over there do you? The MINI’s appallingly poorly packaged compared to other small cars. Admittedly the various variants from the stock MINI each get more badly packaged but it’s starting from a pretty weak position in that respect already.
Of course packaging efficiency isn’t what sells these, it’s the handling and the cutesy-retro gubbins. I’m right there with you loathing the roofline on the MINI Coupe but then I’m not their target market. Sadly I suspect they’ll sell by the truckload 🙁
The MINI, by design, is getting further and further away from the original concept (1959 or 2001, take your pick) with every generation. I figure by the fifth generation it’ll be as big as a 3-series and the only thing in common with previous MINI’s will be the overall shape and the face being an approximation of the previous generation.
I’ll be wondering how long it’ll take for them to change the name, as MINI will eventually become a bad joke.
Unless the new car looks much better in person than in spy shots I think it could be the one to jump the shark, it looks very bulky with a significantly rqised waistline
One of the reasons the new MINI is bigger is that its platform will be shared with the forthcoming FWD 1-Series; in essence, the next 1-Series will be a bigger MINI rather than a smaller 3-Series.
I don’t see how the MINI is so badly packaged. Maybe compared to a Honda Fit, sure, but it doesn’t have any massive consoles or need opera windows, either.
Yeah dont get to carried away with Mini handling, they dont
Nope, the coupe isn’t selling and is being axed with this model. The new Mini won’t have a coupe variant.
KJ
Very sorry I missed you guys, but it was a good show. You are right about that Mitsu display, very “Dead Man Walking”. Also, to my eyes at least, Kia and Hyundai seemed to have much more impressive displays than Mercedes who had about 40 cars all displayed like they were in a parking lot or stuck on the freeway with minimal space between and bad lighting…Very different than the last LA Auto Show I attended about ten years ago…
Volvo gave me the same dead-man-walking impression. A big display space in the middle of everything, an expensive-looking two-story Scandinavian wooden house-like hospitality suite (I guess – it was cordoned off), but very little foot traffic compared to everyone around it.
Mercedes was meh, German snobbish; most of their cars were locked except the low-end models. Even Maserati let people climb around inside the cars.
The Italians had the nicest booth babes, as usual.
Mini Coupee? Looks more like a Mini Toupee. Add a stiff breeze and watch out for comb-overs.
Sorry I couldn’t make it as I was with family on the East Coast that weekend.
The Mirage would make a good $9,995 car, but at $13,500, you’re not far off a Mazda2, which offers 100 hp rather than 73 hp, much more attractive looks, and better handling as well.
The MINI Coupe supposedly was only offered because it was very inexpensive to develop from the MINI Roadster.
I don’t know how much longer Mitsu will be around but I do know that the dealer here just opened a new, separate facility for the brand. They had been selling them out of their Dodge/Ram/Jeep store so they either ran out of room or are gambling that Mitsu won’t go away soon. I drove past the dealer last week and they had a good sized herd of Mirages; many of them in pastel/rainbow hues. I suppose if Mitsu does go away the dealer can just move one of his other brands into the new facility.
Dave, thanks for posting the story and the pics. But honestly, I understand why young people have so little interest in cars. I loved the three vintage ponycars, but all the moderns made me want to buy bus tokens.
Whoa, not so fast there! He simply chose to photography the unloved oddballs. I’m sure there were plenty of Porsches, Corvettes, heck even an EVO at the Mitsubishi booth, loved by young and old alike.
I thought the Porsche display was the most impressive of the show and it was crowded with all ages, especially the young.
+1 ArBee. The pundits love blaming the lack of youth interest on the economy or more interesting alternatives like tech gadgets when really the blame lies on the OEs for offering such dull products, overall.
Sure there were a few hits here and there, the best at the LA show being the new Mazda 3 Hatchback. The small crossovers, in particular, all look alike. Even the much ballyhooed Macan was a big disappointment.
I expect Mitsu to leave the US Market soon enough. The cars they make are boring. Perhaps this Mirage is being brought out to capture the glory years when every 2nd car on the street in the 1990’s was a mirage DE?
The Nissan Puke…err…Juke is still ugly even with all those “go fast” parts
The Spark is selling like hot cakes and GM finally has a winner in the subcompact/ A segment with the Spark and the Sonic are pretty well built. The Spark is the first US city car that is actually worth driving. It has some space for cargo with the seat up and seats 4 without making it feel like you riding in a clown car. As the only true 4 seater with 4 doors offered in the USA at this point it owns that market. The Fiat 500 seats 4 but is a 2 door and is a bit odd looking. The other in this group(the Scion iQ and the Smart are useless)
As for the color, I like the color but then again I have a 2013 Ford Fiesta in lime green
You kinda lost me after the Mustang shot oh well.Mitsubishi is offering 10 year powertrain warranties here to try to generate sales, its an interesting ploy. Hyundai used to offer 5 year warranties to gain brand awareness/sales back in the day and improved their cars considerably as well, Mitsu yeah dead brand rollin.
That Mini is an ugly brute
BMW minis look fat,stupid and awful compared to the many BMC versions still in use here.
First time I ever heard of the BMW iExperience thingies I believe I exclaimed “BMW is DEAD to me!!!” and stormed away from my desktop. Seeing them out in the open like that makes me want to burn them with fire!
Luckily the Camaro/Challenger/Mustang to follow calmed my nerves lol
The fact that Mitsubishi is getting real close to it’s death bed isn’t helping their case either I don’t think. A friend of mine is looking to get a new small CUV/SUV and liked the Outlander or whatever theirs is called but is afraid of what will happen to her warranty and such once they are gone. And being here in Canada I figure they are more likely to leave our market before the states, especially given how long it took before they were sold here in the first place.
Yes, it’s something of a shame that Mitsu is going down the tubes. I have to believe that the keiretsu that is Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will find a way to keep the automotive arm going, but probably not here in North America. Back in the 80’s they were very innovative, above Honda and Isuzu for bleeding edge features. Toyota always has been rather stodgy, and it wasn’t tremendously different back then, either.
I think the Outlander Sport is a great little SUV, in fact one of the few that has taken my eye off of the Equinox and the Journey. Amusingly, IIRC, the Journey and the Outlander share some chassis items. But like you, I’d worry about taking out a loan and getting warranty service on an Outlander.
The remaining cars are nothing to get excited over, but if I were seriously credit challenged, the Galant would be a logical choice. It’s not cutting edge, but not a 1953 Studebaker in being sold as a “new” 1966 Studebaker, either…
I love that last picture! By just looking at the front view, the IS and Q50 do look very alike. Of course looking at them in profile changes the whole thing. I’m really not a fan of the large frame grilles that are becoming increasingly common. It’s really uncreative in my opinion, and especially in the Lexus’ case, ugly. The only one who pulls it off is Audi, who was the original. It works better on their cars because they uses horizontal or vertical slats, not mesh like these two.
The big grilles are rapidly becoming this generation’s padded coach roof. What makes them especially ridiculous is that a lot of the time, most of the grille area is actually blanked out — modern cars take their intake and cooling air under the bumper and having more exposed radiator area is aerodynamically undesirable. It ends up making brand-new cars into “20-footers” (where they only look good from at least that distance) and making me nostalgic for the ’80s grilleless nose look.
It was fun seeing the show with Dave. His knowledge of the business added a lot to my experience. Thanks, Dave.
Here is a CC I snapped in the parking structure on the way out.
Hey hey, as much as I think of the original VW Beetle as a crude Nazi Shitbox, I cannot turn my back on a Dodgers themed one(Think Blue)
The Lexus looks like an Oldsmobile sucking a lemon.