The 2007 New York International Auto Show, which kicks off this weekend, had its main press day yesterday. Although there wasn´t much in the way of radical concepts unveiled, there were a few that had their North American debut after being shown at the recent Geneva Auto Show. As you may recall, the Detroit Auto Show in January see our coverage here was uniquely weird, and that trend continues. In the Big Apple´s cavernous Javits Center, big-car king GM unveiled three wee microcars (with the help of blond triplet babes), we got to see some odd but oddly logical taxicab concepts, and, hey, what would an auto show be without an entire booth filled with 100,000 Polly Pockets driving around in tiny cars? Not up on Polly Pocket? Then Click here to see our full slideshow.
by Eric Adams
As is customary with Audi´s current S-models, the S5´s aggressive front end features a nicely hatched grill and a menacing strip of LEDs under the headlights. If one of these comes up behind you, move over.
by Eric Adams
Am I making myself clear?
by Eric Adams
As the daddy to two little girls, I´m well acquainted with the whole Polly Pocket phenomenon. The tiny dolls and their myriad accessories, which I´m perpetually unclogging from both our vacuum cleaner and our cat, constitute the vastest portion of the plasticky undergrowth in their room. They´ll be absolutely delighted, of course, with the new two-inch Polly Wheels, which debuted at the New York show along with several racing playsets. It was a startling non sequitur at the show: a vivid, pink, preteen oasis set amid the dense thatch of heavy-metal automobilia. Finally, little girls can get excited about a car show.
by Eric Adams
Inside, it´s all about luxury-and a little leather pouch on the passenger floorboard for a wet umbrella. Actually, you´d think that at this level of luxury, you´d never even have to deal with wet umbrellas. You could just press a button, and a brand-new one would shoot out of the dashboard. They´d reload at the dealership every 3,000 miles.
by Eric Adams
Nervous execs look on, hoping, praying that the exceedingly wobbly platform wouldn´t crash onto the roof. I waited, too-hoping, praying that it, well, would. I love Ferrari dearly, but it would have been so worth it to see that.
by Eric Adams
Infiniti took the wraps off its G37 coupe, which features a new V6 engine that emits 40 percent fewer hydrocarbons than its predecessor, four-wheel steering, a rearview camera and plenty more high-tech gewgaws.
by Eric Adams
General Motors unveiled its three new microcar concepts. Collectively, they´re known as the triplets. So who does GM get to unveil them? Triplets! Get it?! The three cars are based on a new global mini-car platform and were designed at the GM Design Center in Inchon, South Korea.
by Eric Adams
It takes this craftsman 18 hours to make each steering wheel.
by Eric Adams
Onboard potty? Nope-it´s a fuel pump, the single most frequently replaced part of a taxi. Ordinarily, replacing one takes a cab out of commission for several days. This one can be swapped out in a few hours. Not a bad arrangement.
by Eric Adams
If one of these pulls up beside you, you´ll know instantly that its name begins with a â€B.â€
by Eric Adams
This car, the new Mercedes CLK63 AMG Black Series, is a stunner. Its 500hp V8 pushes the car to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds and a top speed of 186 mph. It´s essentially a street-legal version of the Formula One safety car.
by Eric Adams
Before the show started, I got a chance to drive the BMW Hydrogen 7 technology demonstrator around Manhattan. This full-size luxury ride is powered by liquid hydrogen or gasoline, and it can switch between the two on the fly, with no change in performance.
by Eric Adams
The chairman of GM North America, Bob Lutz, expounds on the amazing triplets.
by Eric Adams
This year also saw the results of the Taxi 07 design project, sponsored by the Design Trust. By far the most interesting taxi concept was the aptly named Standard Taxi, produced by the Vehicle Production Group. Thought unconventional-looking (which is being generous), the Standard Taxi includes tons of clever innovations that benefit both passengers and operators and which, when viewed altogether, seem utterly perfect for a taxi.
by Eric Adams
They aren´t exactly â€micro,†but they are small. The Groove would be the diesel triplet, designed to evoke Chevy´s hot-rod era.
by Eric Adams
Mazda´s sleek Ryuga concept has been repainted for New York and is still an absolute work of art. Gullwing doors span the entire length of the passenger compartment.
by Eric Adams
Behold the new Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera, one of the most fantastically named cars in history. It´s a lighter, faster version of the Gallardo, with a top speed of 192 mph and a 0â€60 time of 3.8 seconds. Its V10 engine produces 500 horsepower.
by Eric Adams
By unveiling the wide, low Flex, Ford flexed its muscles (sorry) in the crossover segment.
by Eric Adams
The public will get to vote on which one it wants (car, that is, not triplet). The Beat, shown here, is the sporty version, with a 1.2-liter gasoline engine. Behind it is the Chevy Trax concept, which sports an unconventional powertrain: A 1.0-liter engine drives the front wheels, and a battery-operated electric motor powers the rear wheels, for a clever, low-cost, on-demand all-wheel-drive.
by Eric Adams
The car meets the Americans with Disabilities Act standards for accessibility. You can easily roll a wheelchair in there, as well as, say, a baby stroller. It has easily installed body panels, each of which is used in several places on the car, and standardized lighting and other mechanicals that can be readily and cheaply acquired from auto-parts stores.
by Eric Adams
The equally stunning Hakaze crossover concept uses a similar design language and features slick scissor doors, cameras in place of mirrors, and a partially removable roof, which Mazda uses to give the car a more roadster-like feel.
by Eric Adams
Despite the growing uncertainty in the industry about hydrogen´s future-particularly its production and infrastructure-BMW is quite serious about this car. It is in actual production, though only up to about 100 units, which the company expects to lease to selected individuals sometime in the next year. Qualifications: be a high-profile VIP-type, so there will be some marketing benefit, and live near one of the two liquid-hydrogen stations in the U.S. (in Washington, D.C., and Oxnard, California; the thinking, of course, is that as hydrogen takes off, there will be more stations).
by Eric Adams
Not your average fuel port.
by Eric Adams
Honda´s offering in New York was aimed straight at hardcore speed demons. Its S2000 CR (Club Racer) improves on an already barely-street-legal sports car by shaving weight, stiffening the suspension, adding aerodynamics, and generally just tightening up the entire package.
by Eric Adams
Bentley held a party Tuesday night in Central Park to unveil its monstrous, limited-edition $350,000 Brooklands coupe.
by Eric Adams
Audi showed off its S5 for the first time on American soil. The enhanced version of the new A5 coupe uses a 4.2-liter V8 FSI engine producing 349 horsepower.
by Eric Adams
Porsche´s awesome Le Mans racecar sat front and center at the Splashlight Studio near the convention center.
by Eric Adams
Want to see the whole thing? Too bad, it would diminish the mystique. But it has a 6.75-liter pushrod V8 that dates back to 1959. It has been upgraded with two turbochargers to nudge the output up to a respectable-and absolutely necessary, given the beast´s undoubtedly outlandish curb weight-530 horsepower.
by Eric Adams
Also on hand at the Splashlight, the 2007 Porsche 911 GT3 RS, a 415hp, 193mph track car.
by Eric Adams
The Hydrogen 7 has an enormous tank for the liquid hydrogen, which must be warmed before it is injected into the 12-cylinder engine.
by Eric Adams
OK, let´s not put the cherry picker over the Ferrari!