LOS ANGELES AUTO SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
Thanksgiving treat for the whole family
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Dan Karnowsky,
Tuesday, November 20 2007
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 The Los Angeles Auto Show opened this week with more than 40 world and North American automotive debuts. Visitors will find a showcase for over 1,000 of the newest vehicles in every shape, style and size; from subcompact to full-size cars, SUVs, to crossovers, exotic sports cars to minivans and from fuel-efficient hybrids to exotic concept cars.
The show is being held two weeks earlier than last year and is open from Friday, November 16 through Sunday, November 25. It’s open throughout the Thanksgiving weekend and even on Thanksgiving day.
This could be the perfect holiday activity for families or anyone who wants to be dazzled by a sea of chrome and snazzy paint. Here are some of the highlights.
 Audi unveiled its concept Cross Cabriolet Quattro with great fanfare and glitz. Hosting the event for Audi was Peter Greenberg, travel editor from the "Today" show, who welcomed along with the usual Audi engineers and dignitaries, another celebrity guest, renowned architect Frank Gehry.
Gehry, who is known for buildings with metal exteriors constructed intosculptural shapes, commented on the design of the concept vehicle andremarked upon the technical difficulties inherent in automotive design,drawing upon his own experience in attempting the process.
Audi is claiming new territory in presenting a four passenger SUV that is also a convertible. The concept also features Audi's ultra low emission diesel engine, along with its full time four wheel drive "Quattro" system.The striking color has been dubbed "Copper Sunset". Crowd reaction to the concept vehicle will help determine whether Audi advances the CrossCabriolet towards actual production.
 Lamborghini unveiled it's new supercar, the Reventon, with the breathtaking price tag of over $1.4 Million dollars. Even so, competition to own one of these ultra exclusive vehicles will be fierce, as only 20 will beproduced.
The design, which was inspired by the stealth bomber, is still instantly recognizable as a Lamborghini, with the traditional scissor opening doors,but has a somewhat more angular body than other current models.
Built largely of carbon fiber, and featuring a special matte finish paintjob, the car looks as aggressive as any car seen to date, and has performance to match. Lamborghini claims that the 650 hp V-12 engine will accelerate from 0-60 mph in a neck snapping 3.4 seconds, and has a top speedof over 210 mph.
Lamborghini chose California for the North American debut of the Reventon in acknowledgement of the fact that the state accounts for more than one quarter of all US sales. The company noted that the US is their most important market and accounts for 40% of their sales worldwide.
The name Reventon was chosen according to Lamboghini tradition. Reventon was also the name of a famous fighting bull from the early 40's. The Lamborghini logo pictures a bull in fighting stance.
 Jaguar announced pricing for it's upcoming XF Sedan. This all newdesign is a break from traditional Jaguar models, with a more contemporary European look that resembles in some respects the much more expensive Maserati Quattroporte.
Jaguar is offering the XF in three trim levels. The V8 Luxury Model has a base price of $49,975 and seems a lot of car for the money. The V8 PremiumLuxury starts at $55,975, and the Supercharged XF will retail for $62,975. All three versions feature a six speed automatic transmission with paddleshifters as standard equipment.
The XF goes on sale in the US on March 1st, 2008.
 Honda announced that it will begin leasing their new FCX Clarity fuelcell vehicle in 2008. Sales will be initially concentrated in areas wherethe necessary hydrogen facilities already exist, particularly in SouthernCalifornia. Santa Monica, Torrence, and Irvine currently have hydrogenrefueling facilities, and are expected to be the first markets.
Honda also offers a home energy system that converts electricity to hydrogen, which will heat and cool your home as a by-product of hydrogen production. The home unit is twice the height of a typical central airconditioning unit, but otherwise smaller. By giving consumers theopportunity to create their own refueling stations, Honda has potentially solved the "chicken and egg" infrastructure problem that has kept fuel cell vehicles from the real world.
The vehicle boasts interior materials which are created from renewable bio-materials, particularly seat coverings made from plant material. The exterior design seems a compromise between their current popular Honda Accord model and Toyota's best selling hybrid, the Prius.
Honda will offer three year leases at a cost of $600 per month, which includes all maintenance and collision insurance.
 Rolls-Royce is looking good according to Bob Austin
According to Bob Austin, chief spokesman for Rolls-Royce, the company projects that it will produce and sell the full capacity of their Goodwood production facility in 2007. Rolls has already delivered about 80 of their new Phantom Drop Head Coupes, and expects to deliver another 40 by year end. The rest of their 1000 vehicle building capacity was taken up by their fullsize Phantom Sedan.
This represents a stunning success for a company that virtually started overin 2002, after being separated from Bentley Motor Cars, their previous sibling. At that time, Bentley, which was purchased by VW, kept all of thecompany employees and the factory facilities; and Rolls, which was acquiredby BMW, was forced to start over by hiring all new employees and building a new production facility.
Austin mused that the separation may, in fact, have inured to the ultimate benefit of both marques, as Bentley has also been quite successful after the separation, particularly with their well received Continental GT. Bentley has returned to it's heritage of fast sporting autos, while making their cars more accessible. Rolls-Royce has taken the opposite tact of making theircars more exclusive, while focusing on ultimate luxury. Both strategies seem to be working, as demonstrated by their increasing sales.
When:
Friday, November 16 – Sunday, November 25, 2007
Friday, Nov. 16, 11:00 am – 10:00 pm
Saturdays, 9:00 am – 10:00 pm
Sundays, 9:00 am – 8:00 pm
Mon. – Wed.,11:00 am – 10:00 pm
Thanksgiving Day, 9:00 am – 8:00 pm
Friday, Nov. 23, 9:00 am – 10:00pm
The show entrance closes one hour prior to the show closing.
Where:
Los Angeles Convention Center
1201 S. Figueroa Street
Downtown Los Angeles, CA 90015
Admission:
Adults: $10:00 (cash only)
Children under 12 get in free when accompanied by an adult.
Seniors (65+) $7.00
Ticket sales close one hour prior to closing every night
Parking:
Daily - Convention Center Garage: $12.00
Valet: $30.00
Weekend - Grand Avenue Garage (Grand and Venice) $10.00. Additional weekend parking is available in public lots a few blocks north of the convention center on Figueroa Street.
For more information: www.LAautoshow.com or call (213) 741-1151
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