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The rather low-key event once again came and went during Thanksgiving week, as it annually does. Among them all, six distinctive automobiles most impressed me at this year’s San Francisco Auto Show. Worry not if you missed your trip to the Moscone Center, as you didn’t miss all that much relatively speaking– that is, as far as major auto shows throughout the country are concerned.
San Francisco’s collective display of automotive marvel remains small, quiet and surprisingly absent of many popular models. Nonetheless, a stroll around the convention hall floor does quickly prove educational. Among the random tidbits I learned last week, the Acura RL’s console layout is shockingly microscopic, Volvo needs to put some flair into its sterile dashboard panels, the four-door Mini is anything but, and there is absolutely no way I could possibly fathom myself or anyone else ever shelling out $58K for anything called a Hyundai.
Not to sound excessively critical, plenty of “auto good” wove its way through the show, which brings me to the above six photos. The following models have earned my own unspoken awards:
1. Fiat 500: Most in need of a spin.
2. Range Rover Evoque: Most worthy of a second glance.
3. Lexus LS460: Most comfortable seating.
4. Audi A8L: Most handsome body overall.
5 & 6. 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL & 1965 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham: Most to be admired.
The last two tie for what I consider to be the most stunning pieces on display throughout the entire convention hall. Leave it to me, of course, to pledge my allegiance first and foremost to the classics!
As I mentioned last year, present-day Mercedes-Benz was once again missing from the floor, while the always-beckoning Porsche Panamera this time around remained locked. Regardless, the show’s extensive historical section was alone well worth the $9 entrance fee. After all, while everything new blends into sameness after a short while, automotive legends naturally stand proudly on their own four unmatched wheels.
Altogether, from BMWs that clearly build upon their longstanding stature, to Volkswagens with styling that prompts me to take a nap, the San Francisco Auto Show came through again in its own understated way. Multiple absences notwithstanding, it’s an easily navigable and surprisingly uncrowded venue from which to gain some insight into a somewhat wide array of both fine and not-so-fine machines. Just like my select handful of “winners,” the show altogether– either way you look at it– remains unlike most.
And that’s, yet again, my automotive opinion.
A large, rugged and distinctive off-road SUV has been reduced to an over-sized station wagon– again– whose unimpressive styling could easily be mistaken for any number of competitors already on the road. If it wasn’t enough to lose the truck-based Ford Explorer, now too the Nissan Pathfinder has fallen, sadly enough.
Ryan R. Sanderson 