Cleveland Auto Show Reaction

Today was the last day of the Cleveland International Auto Show, where all the major automobile companies brought their products to the show room floor of Cleveland's IX center. As a little bit of an automobile enthusiast (hardly as much as my dad though), it was pretty much a no-brainer to go, and it was quite an enjoyable show. Basically, every thinkable make of automobile was in the building, and all of the models were there, as were potential future cars, or as they call them, "concept cars". It was quite a show, and quite worth the $12 admission cost to go walking around, looking, and sitting in any automobile that one would like, granted, my dad and I went in the late afternoon, before dinner, so the crowds weren't too large. We basically got to maneuver and walk as we wished. With all this in mind, I'd like to share some thoughts on the specifics of the show. And to get started, I think I need to share some of my automotive biases. For one, I am a stringent supporter of the American automobile. It is typically my personal opinion that the American car tends to be the most stylish yet durable piece of automotive machinery one can buy. This is a broad generalization I make, but the point is my personal preference resides in American cars. With this in mind, it basically means, most of my time at the show was essentially focused on the American automotive companies, I did look over most of the Asian cars as well. However, I basically passed on the European imports. My reasoning as to why is that it is my opinion the European imports, are expensive for one, and this diminishes the appeal of them, especially when most of them are only expensive because the ARE imports. Secondly, their style tends to not change very often. For instance, my friend's BMW from the 80s hardly looks any different than some of the BMWs you see now. Stylistically, their variety lacks, and I'm a very stylistically motivated automotive mind. One other bias I have to mention is an affinity for liking cars, not trucks or SUVs. I feel like the latter lack a certain offering of style and economic friendliness in how they burn gas. With this said, I'd like to talk about some of the things I liked, and didn't like that were presented at the show.
I felt the biggest winner at the show as far as showing a good body of cars and impressing in what they have was General Motors. They may have met bankruptcy in recent times, but they are innovating and improving and clearly trying to turn themselves around. I was particularly impressed with Chevrolet, they've put out a very nice fleet of cars. I was especially pleasantly surprised with their Camaro, which is incredibly stylish for more of a performance vehicle, and just as economically friendly. Its actually less expensive than the new-look Ford Taurus, which should be a step down. For being a little puddle jumper, the Cobalt is still nice, I'd definitely take it over the Ford Focus (sorry to pick on Ford here). The Malibu has been considered one of the most underrated cars in America for a while now too. Their Chevy Volt electric car is a very intriguing concept as well, and they had a model chassis on the scene. The only misstep in their fleet in my opinion is the HHR SUV, which should have been discontinued years ago. Its an odd crossover type vehicle that I just find ugly and deplorable. Other GMs that impressed were Buicks mostly. The Lucerne is a nice car, as is the larger LaCrosse, which I've liked for years. It competes very admirably against Chrysler's 300.
Another, foreign automotive company caught my eye as well. And I need to apologize because I've given them a lot of flack over the years. They are Hyundai. Hyundai's put together some very impressive, yet purchasable cars. The first that come to mind are the Sonata and the Genesis. I was entirely surprised with the Genesis, its style is very nice and its performance is more than one would expect. Looks are deceiving here and I like this car. The Sonata is sleek and equally impressive, it kind of reminds me of some of the Buicks, but with some different accents to the body and interior. Their SUVs are some of the most bearable in my opinion too. They aren't overblown, and they tend to be efficient and reasonably stylish. My beef with Hyundai, if there is one, is how generic some of their compacts come off as. The Accent and Azera come off as very generic and boring to me, basically like most automobiles in the mid 90s. If Hyundai could apply some of their creativity to these vehicles they'd be in great shape.
Now for things I didn't like. For one, I wasn't impressed with essentially ANY of the other foreign makes. I've made my opinion clear on the Euros already. As for the other Asian type cars, the Hondas come off as generic, boring, and lacking any creativity or change over the past 5 years. Look at a 2005 Accord, then look at a 2010 Accord, its basically the exact same thing. I was kind of afraid I'd get run over my a Toyota too. But in all seriousness, I wasn't wholly impressed with them either. They weren't terrible, but nothing that astounded me either. My biggest gripe though was the lack of change from a base model to the more luxurious Asian models. I don't see anything that different in a Lexus or an Acura. The frames and interiors appear essentially the same, just color schemed a little differently, and perhaps a little more chromed up or better fabric, but nothing all that substantial.
My other disappointment comes from the Mopar realm (Chrysler/Dodge). I've been a pretty ardent Mopar supporter in recent history, but I was essentially disappointed. Chrysler was showcasing their Town & Country SUV, which in my opinion is worthless. Its the largest, boxiest, most generic, gas-guzzling gross thing they have in their product line, but that was their showcase. In fact, the best part of said showcase, was that the (relatively) young woman upon the stage talking about the Town & Country was BAD (in the good way). In my opinion the novelty of the PT Cruiser has worn off, and some of the things they are trying to do to make it fresh are just kind of bizarre. What really should have been the showcase was the 300, easily Chrysler's best car. Its beautiful, sleek and stylish, a favorite of mine, essentially the middle-class man's Bentley. Unfortunately, they put some extra chrome and rims on it and had it also as their concept car. Good to know that's the extent of Chrysler's R & D Department. As for Dodge, I held them in pretty high regard coming into my visit, now, not so much. The Dodge Charger was a favorite of mine, until I found its interior is essentially the now extinct Dodge Magnum's interior from 4 years ago. The Challenger just disappoints me, it is easily steps behind the Camaro and Ford's Mustang, especially in style, even if it does harken back to the old school Challengers of the late 60s. Furthermore, the Caliber and Avenger look too similar to me, and kind of fall into the Honda tendency of being generic.
I guess I'll end this with some final thoughts... or something. I realize I've thrown a lot of names out there and stuff. Tomorrow morning I think I might throw up a post with some pictures of the mentioned vehicles, just to give a better visual to those that would like to know better. This was really just my personal thoughts and experience with the products at this year's auto show. I'll conclude by giving my top 3 favorite cars that I saw presented. I'd love to hear and comments or responses anyone may have in return for what I've said. Feel free to get at me.
Top 3:
3. Ford Taurus (starts at $25,000)
2. Chrysler 300 (starts at $28,000)
1. Chevrolet Camaro (starts at $23,000)

honorable mention: Hyundai Genesis (starts at $33,000)

- Hype