Los Angeles Auto Show starts November 28
The 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show gives a world debut to 50 vehicles on November 28 and 29 when it opens for Press Days. I will be there to report on these. On November 30 to December 9 the show will be open to the public featuring debuts ranging from electric cars to luxury designs from the world’s automakers.
Debuts include world-firsts from Ford, Toyota, Acura, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, Subaru, Chrysler, General Motors, BMW, Fiat, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Volkswagen.
The debuts also include the latest in-car technologies as well as highlight fuel-efficient, hybrid, electric and alternative fuel vehicles, demonstrating that green continues to be a dominant shade of innovation in the industry. Overall, there will be two dozen all-electric and plug-in hybrid models at the Show, at least a dozen clean-diesel vehicles and nearly 20 vehicles achieving 40-plus mpg with highly advanced four-cylinder gasoline engines.
BMW will debut at least two exciting cars including the BMW i8 Spyder hybrid roadster concept, a first-cousin of the BMW i8 plug-in hybrid stunning in Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol. Luxury and performance cars from Bentley, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Porsche will make the Tesla Model S look very affordable.
Now that people live in cities in record numbers, exciting new small cars will draw crowds including the Chevrolet Spark EV, Fiat 500L, Mini Paceman and Clubvan, and a new VW Beetle Convertible.
Green Car of the Year
On November 29, Green Car Journal will announce the Green Car of the Year from these five nominees:
The Ford C-MAX is an exciting crossover with the room of a small SUV. It is available as a hybrid delivering 47 mpg, or as the C-MAX Energi with 21 mile electric range before this plug-in hybrid engages the engine to provide over 600 miles of range.
Ford Fusion is available with maximum customer choice between fuel-efficient EcoBoost engine, stop-start, AWD, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid. I was impressed in my test drive with all the safety and telematics features including automatic parallel parking.
Toyota Prius c starting at $19,000 delivers 50 mpg and has surprising room in this smaller member of the Prii family.
Mazda CX-5 SkyACTIV delivers 29 mpg in a small SUV that starts at $20,695. For better traction on wet and icy roads, the four-wheel drive model still delivers 28 mpg; impressive that only an extra $2,650 is needed for 4WD.
Dodge Dart Aero demonstrates 32 mpg fuel-efficiency without the added cost of being a hybrid.
If I could select two they would be the Toyota Prius c and the Ford C-MAX. I was quiet impressed with my test drive of the Prius c with 53 mpg city, 46 mpg highway, and 50 mpg overall. By dropping the backseat, my wife and I were able to load two mountain bikes inside the Prius c, enjoying both the bike ride and the sporty handling of the Prius c on winding roads over the ocean.
The Ford C-MAX would be my one choice for Green Car of the Year. Ford’s C-MAX Energi already won the 2012 Green Car Vision Award™ winner at the Washington Auto Show. The highly-efficient plug-in model, which is expected to come to market in late 2012, is built on the same global C-car platform as the Ford Focus and other Ford models to come. This distinguishes Ford as the first back-to-back winner of the Green Car Vision Award. The C-MAX Energi beat these impressive electric cars: Tesla Model S, BMW i3, Cadillac ELR, and the Mercedes-Benz hydrogen F-Cell.
I will be reporting to you from the LA Auto Show. Notable will be comparing my test-drives of new hybrid and electric cars. The exclusive media ride-and-drive highlights both “green” vehicles as well as those featuring advanced in-car technology such as automatic park assist, radar-based object detection systems and driver assist technologies. This event brings together one of the broadest selections of green and advanced technology vehicles for side-by-side test drives on open city streets as well as in closed course demonstrations. It is anticipated that more than 30 all-new vehicles will be available from more than a dozen manufacturers.
