Chismillionare Auto Show Report

$12 will get you in. $10 during the week
Went down at lunch - REPORT

Impressive- inside & Out
Best of Show Jaguar XKR cabrio- no joke, it's %@%$$^ perfect. PERFECT!!!!!!!!
A DB9 for half the price. . STUNNING. Not a sissy car by any means. Easy ingress and egress even for my Peter Griffin physique. This cat has claws.

New Honda Accord Sedan and Coupe- really handsome design- you won't believe how big they are for Hondas- The accord Sedan is bigger than a 300C in every dimension- not kidding. 270hp v6 and gets 25mpg for $25K!!!

Yukon Denali- Interior a revelation and the capability it offers is astounding. Get the Denali over the Yukon or Tahoe, you get a 6 speed automatic, 6l 400hp engine and all time 4wd as opposed to push button while still being almost 20 grand less than the same Escalade. If you need HID's and cooled seats, get the Caddy which as far as I can tell are the only differences.

Corvette Z06- Silver bullet is as stunning as its performance is prodigious. New interior upgrade package ($8000 package- yikes) makes it almost as nice as a Benz or Audi... Stitched leather dash and no plastic. I think when you buy one you must present the dealer with a valid pilot's license. Getting pricey at 77 grand.

Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT 8- all wheel drive 420hp 0-60 in 4.6 sec in wet or dry and 65 cu ft of cargo. Nice easy in and out( we call that ingress and egress). Interior upgraded for this year. Beats out E63 AMG wagon and S4 Avant for family hot rod winner. Can you believe the Audi R8 just beats it in the quarter mile by about three tenths. Price 42 grand. 37 used on ebay. Yeah that's called VALUE!!!!

Chevy Malibu/Saturn Aura- handsome all around. Would reccommend along with the Honda

Impressive from Outside- roped off or on rotating displays

Best in Show after the Jaguar XKR
Nissan GT-R Yep that's right- phenomenal design. Pictures cannot capture the subtlety of the design. There is much more curve/ sinew than you can pick up in 2dimensions. Fit and finish are there in spades. Bonus that the model they had was Right Hand Drive!! This is the real super car for half the price of an R8 and half the price of the more comparable Porsche 997 Turbo. Tires-- enormous 325/35/20. GTR will do 7:38 at the Nurburgring just as easily as it will happily trot down to Whole Foods for some Cabernet and Gruyere in four inches of fresh snow.

Second Runner Up Audi R8- I was waiting to see it in person and it is just how I thought. Amazing, very Audi very much a design and engineering exercise. Example was super snow white with tobacco leather. An everyday car for sure and will turn heads like a Ferrari or Lambo, but Nissan GT-R will most likely walk all over it for half the price and is more of the enthusiast's choice.

Pontiac G8 GT- Great looking- Chiseled and strong. Interior looks excellent and very roomy like all new GM products. Pitch on rear seats of special note- Rear seat passengers are thought of highly with this model. Lots of under leg support for front and rear passengers. Great bolstering and cavernous trunk. Larger platform the new Caddy CTS. Priced 34 loaded with 360hp. 5 grand less than the loaded non SRT 300C that was on display


Mercedes CL 65- Alubeam paint amazing- Only Pillarless coupe in production. A coupe that has full power front and rear windows. Seven feet of open space between side mirror and quarter panel. 209K as priced.

Not to be outdone by the 627 hp 460 thousand dollar SLR roadster. Be like Paris Hilton if you dare. No other car could joe flip flop jump into and drive 205 mph with one hand on the wheel and the other one working the ipod. Thanks to Gordon Murray and McLaren for this. Remarkable piece of engineering.

High line marques to see- not usually at the show but they have now moved to the convention center on Summer St insead of bayside expo center.

Super Lime green Lamborghin Murcielago roadster- $425,000 sticker with a SOLD sign on the window!! Black Gallardo Spyder and yellow Gallardo Superllegara still available.

Ferrari F430 Coupe Yellow/Black. $225000 F430 Spyder Red /Tan $245000
Maserati Gran Turismo- beatiful in black/tan. I would take mine in light blue with oxblood leather.

Aston Martin- Vantage Roadster in White with Cognac leather. Vantage Coupe in Modena Yellow with black interior with yellow stitching- not sure if that works.
Chismillionare's Dream Car- DB9 Volante in Sage(light green) with cream leather and bamboo wood accents. Aston representative handing out Aston Martin Winged emblem drool wipes.

Bentley Display for Papa Don- Butterscotch metallic Continental GTC Cabrio with cream leather and macassar wood $200 grand. Bentley Azure convertible $375 grand for the ultra wealthy or up an coming rap artist. Of note in the Azure- the 4 inch thick shag lambswool floor mats and champagne chiller in the back of the Silver Spur Mulliner edition.. Ahhhhh now that's nice


Disappointments

Audi S6 and Audi S5
Seats are quite slim. I know I am wide of beam but I have loved Audis in the past. New interior layout instrumentation terribly vexing and not clean. Getting Pricey. S6 eighty grand. New S5 almost 60 grand.

Infiniti G37
Interior claustrophobic and I am not terribly tall. Forget ordering the sun roof even with the seat all the way down.

Cadillac CTS- Motor Trend's car of the year. Lovely interior. Smells super inside. Not worth the 42 for the sporty one but 32k for the normal engine non sports package a bargain of epic proportions. But the A pillar and B pillar always seem to be in way/field of vision. Rake on Windshield very steep. Like looking through a mail slot while driving. I would not buy one, but this car will do to sedans, what the 300C did two years ago.

Volvo S80 V8- Almost 60 grand for what appears to be an interior by Ikea. Seats are flat as a board and design is derivative. New Jag Xf a better bet.

Saab Turbo X. Much talk on this lately. 300hp Haldex AWD- only 300 to be made, only in black. 42 grand is hilarious for a Saab though. Maybe for 22 grand in two years. Now, Laughable.

Mercedes E and CLS- Odd that a 5 series BMW is roomy yet an E class and especially CLS feel like Mini Coopers. The new C class is in fact roomier but is overpowered by the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. I know they say they promised you a Mercedes Benz in the ads, but unless you step up to AMG models, there is better value elsewhere.

Good time- no crowds, in and out in 50 minutes.