Toronto New Car

The biggest event in the Canadian auto business is on this month at the Toronto Convention Centre. The Canadian International Auto Show (also known as the Toronto Auto Show) is a mecca for car enthusiasts, hobbyists, industry types, and regular folks in the market for a new car.

While theres a lot of planned and written about the show, I just read this fantastic synopsis from McLean’s Magazine letting you know what to expect, what to look out for and what to pass on if you’re heading down this week.

The Toronto show is scheduled just after the more prestigious North American International Auto Show in Detroit however it still boasts over 1000 new vehicles spread across three buildings and the Rogers Centre.

Though some of the flashier concept cars that were unveiled in the Motor City are absent, it’s still the place to take the pulse of what’s happening in Canada’s auto industry, or to be confounded by left-field visions of the future. Here are some of the highlights and lowlights of this year’s show.

Most predictable trend:
As in Detroit, and everywhere else in the auto world right now, car manufacturers were falling over themselves to boast about how green their products are, how much they’re doing for the environment, and how much they care about the world your children are going to inherit. GM’s sizeable Yukon, for example, features 2-mode hybrid system rear wheel drive, which the company trumpets as the world’s only hybrid system for full-size trucks.

Toyota bragged of investing “$1 million an hour, globally, in research and development projects” with the aim of greening its products, and displayed its Hybrid X, a concept vehicle that promises a vague step towards “a future in which vehicles produce zero smog-forming emissions.” This auto show was at such pains to drive home the green message that, while bins for both paper and plastic recycling and for foodstuff disposal were scattered everywhere in the convention centre, it took real looking to find a place to deposit old-school, landfill-bound garbage.

Best car-related fashion statement:

After touring the BMW display, one middle-aged auto show patron told his family, “I’ve changed my plan. I want an S-series. Screw the environment.” It’s a difficult dilemma. You’re in the market for a sweet ride. Your head says you should do your part for the earth by making a green purchase. Your heart, however, wants style, power, and frankly, something that’ll make the neighbours just the tiniest bit jealous. This has led some green car companies to try for a hipper, tougher image. At the Smart Car display, a range of merchandise was available that included a series of t-shirts showing the Smart Car in place of the skull in a Jolly Rogers design, or in red, with devil’s horns and pointed tail attached. Hmmm, can the Smart Car get you through your mid-life crisis?

Most disappointing trend:
Reports from Detroit suggested that car companies were making bolder colour choices this year, with lots of electric blue and apple green on display. In Toronto, sadly, the palette was mostly same old, same old. With few exceptions—like a violent green Dodge Viper, or the candy-coloured Smart cars—the landscape was for the most part the same as it’s been for years: a tapestry of mostly blacks, whites, and muted reds, blues and greens. Even the highly-touted new Cooper Mini Clubman was showcased in a lounge that was, like the car, informed by a “Hot Chocolate” palette. As one Mercedes display suggested, you can dream in any colour—as long as it’s not too exciting.

Most over-the-top luxury vehicle accessory:
If you’re going to fork over the cash for a new car, you have a right to expect a few extras. At the low end of the scale, you can expect a keychain, maybe a calendar from the dealership. A little further up the ladder, they might toss in an iPod. If you throw down for a Rolls Royce, you’ll get stylish complimentary umbrellas, stored in dedicated compartments in the car’s frame. But the 2008 Bentley Arnage Councours is the king of the fancy trinket. The limited edition vehicle—it starts at $243,990 and only 40 will be produced—includes “a special picnic basket with Bentley branded china.” Nothing against conspicuous consumption, but isn’t it getting a little out of hand when you’re even trying to impress the ants?

The “What–The-Heck-Is-That?” Prize:
Toyota’s i-REAL probably generated more double-takes than anything else at the show. A three-wheeled, single-person concept vehicle that’s maneuvered via two joysticks, the i-REAL’s wheelbase shortens for use on sidewalks and stretches out to make it more stable in vehicular traffic. It’s the latest attempt by Toyota to design a personal commuter vehicle for city-dwellers. It also has a very cool blue light panel on its rear.

The Back to the Future Award of Merit:
Though it’s as unlikely an approximation of the 21st century as the film that informed its interior design—Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey—Ford’s new Airstream concept vehicle stands out. An exercise in retro-futurism inspired by the Airstream trailer, it’s powered by a hydrogen fuel cell designed by Canada’s Ballard Power Systems, and the sculpted rear seating area combines with the swiveling pod seat in the front to create a “cocoon-like environment” for socializing. In the middle of the floor stands a 360-degree screen that serves as an entertainment display, and which also boasts “ambient mood settings including a modern lava lamp and virtual fire.”

Worst attempt at pandering to “The Kids”:

Jason Kirby reports in this week’s Maclean’s that General Motors is on its way back. Presumably, their youth marketing strategy isn’t driving that resurgence. “FRSH RIMZ”? Fresh Rims? This uncomfortable attempt at hip hop-speak is as embarrassing as your father doing a Notorious B.I.G. song at a karaoke night. Come on, GM.

Best Batmobile surrogate:
Though Pontiac’s sleek Solstice concept car has been floating around since 2002, and a more conventional production version of the roadster has been available for two and a half years, it still looks like a fantasy—the kind of thing in which a superhero should be cruising the streets. In fact, with its low, streamlined design, it makes an even better Batmobile than…well, the Batmobile.

Or at least Project Gotham’s version of the Batmobile, a gaudy attention-getter on display on the concourse of the Rogers Centre. The Project Gotham SUV is a heavily-modded 2002 Ford Explorer XLT that features 115 television screens, a personal mini fridge, night vision cameras, and a smoke machine. And yet, is apparently drivable.

Least appropriate deployment of butterfly doors:
A veteran of the 2007 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Kia’s Kue concept car was still one of the more immediately striking vehicles on display in Toronto. Bedazzled young men were lining up to take photos of the thing, and with the Kue’s flashy set of butterfly doors, it’s not hard to figure out why. But while vertical doors are more commonly seen on high-end performance vehicles, let’s not kid ourselves, guys. It’s still a Kia. It’s not going to land you a supermodel.

All in all, McLean’s offers the best review of the show. If your looking for pricing and/or directions, you can find them in our Toronto Auto Show Admission and Entrance Post. Links from there take you to coupon pages.

Enjoy!