Monster's visit to the Australian International Motor Show 2008 (reviews+photos)

[Monster]

Originally Posted by Merc1

Poor Lexus, Infiniti is handing them their lugnuts at every turn. The new G37 Converitble is going to mop the floor with this thing.

M

I really don't understand what was Lexus thinking. They need a proper coupe, not this. Speaking of which, the Cadillac CTS coupe is next.

[Merc1]

Its the SC430-thinking/idea all over again, but in their eyes this IS version is much sportier. A joke really.

M

[Monster]

Cadillac is going to be re-introduced to the Australian market, so they have this coupe concept and the RHD version of the CTS on display.

I was surprised by how compact the CTS coupe was. It looks bulky. probably because of that tall front grill and thick bonnet, but it looked to have the same length as a 3 series coupe. The sharp crease lines and flat crisp surface treatment is refreshingly different to all those imitation flame surfacing on most new cars. I do have a few issues with this car. The car looks like an odd mix of coupe and hatch from the side view, like a giant Astra 3 door. The front end styling is still too busy, and it looked exactly the same as the sedan. Because the car tapered to a point at the end of the car, the rear looks unproportionally narrow. The car is extremely light sensitive. There are some surfaces on the car which is only visible under certain lighting.








The CTS sedan looks good, but it isn't as elegant as its european compeitors. I have read a bit about the interior quality of the CTS, and I wasn't disappointed. I liked the design, it is more european than american, but the balance is right. The built quality and material quality standards are high. All controls feels solid and nice to touch, including the air vents. The leather like trim on top of the door panels and on the dash felt almost like real leather. The only thing I don't like is the wood trim. Not sure if they are real, but they don't look very real to me. The cabin is spacious and comfortable, rear seat comfort is little better than the E-class. The interior feels a little smaller than the E as well.

Overall I am impressed by it. Good effort from Cadillac but it is still missing that rock solid feeling I get from sitting inside the E-class.

[Merc1]

The rear of the coupe, specifically the side profile is a mess. No where near the grace and elegance of say a 3-Series or G37 Coupe.

M

[Monster]

Originally Posted by Merc1

The rear of the coupe, specifically the side profile is a mess. No where near the grace and elegance of say a 3-Series or G37 Coupe.

M

Is it suppose to compete against those cars? The CTS coupe didn't really receive much attention, most people were looking at the more attractive coupe, which is the Holden. I did noticed a lot of people from the middle age and above were checking out the CTS sedan.

[Merc1]

Yep, CTS Coupe, 3-Series Coupe, G37 Coupe for starters..

M

[Monster]

Originally Posted by Merc1

Yep, CTS Coupe, 3-Series Coupe, G37 Coupe for starters..

M

I see, and the CTS sedan is after the 5 series and the E-class or the 3 and the C-class?

[Monster]

Last one for the day. This crazy Gemballa GT800. Usually I dislike aftermarket modifications but I have to admit this car looks fantastic.





love these matt painted wheels.

[Merc1]

Originally Posted by Monster

I see, and the CTS sedan is after the 5 series and the E-class or the 3 and the C-class?

Good question. In reality it is priced like a 3/C, but it closer to the 5/E in size. The CTS sedan is a sort of an in between car, it competes better with the 3/C than it does the 5/E though. Except for the CTS-V which seems to be a killer in both segments.

M

[Monster]

I have to say, Lambos usually looks fantastic in yellow, but not the LP 560-4, maybe yellow has gone out of fashion, it certinally didn't look as good as white. The LP 560makes the Gallardo look old. The new front bumper definitely made the car looks a lot sharper and brings it up to date. They have the white Gallardo spyder right next to the LP 560 for comparison.











IMO the LP 640 is still the best looking car out of the Lambo range. After all these years it still look drop dead sexy, even in this odd shade of green, which does not suit the character of the car at all. Can't get any decent angles of the car.

[SDNR]

Absolutely brilliant photos Derek

[Monster]

Originally Posted by SDNR

Absolutely brilliant photos Derek

Thanks Rob. The photos could have been much better if I have more space to move around, and the placement of the cars aren't very camera friendly. The harsh lighting also doesn't help at all. For some cars, like the Ferrari California, we can really only see one side of the car because the other side is blocked off, and I can't see the entire rear end of the car because we are separated so far away from the car. Maserati is pretty stupid this year. They placed the GranTurismo S behind a wall.........so people can only see the front and the back of it.

[Germaniac]

Originally Posted by Monster

Thought that souded familar, couldn't remember it was from The Castle.

Haha...

watch from 7:09

[SDNR]

Such a funny film

[///K]

I always hated autoshow's lighting, it is always TOO bright and reflects TOO much on the car. Especially on black cars.

Good to see zonda and koenigsegg, disappointingly we don't have em at our autoshows.

[Monster]

Ok it is time to continue the update.

Some genius has decided that it is a good idea to place the Grand Tourismo S behind a wall, so people can only see the front and the back of the car. The black colour hides the lines too well, so the car looked like a giant black object. They have a normal Grand Tourismo in solid red. It isn't the best colour for the car, this red do not go well with the elegant shape of the car, and those yellow brake calipers is not a good combination with the exterior colour. However, this car is still looks sensational





I still prefer the aussie market standard 20" wheels. These one looks too complicated.

[Merc1]

This is longest autoshow coverage rollout I've ever seen....lol.

Kidding. Keep the pictures coming. The Masers are gorgeous. Though I'm concerned about some members comments on their interiors. I've only sat in a Quattroporte once when it first came out. I need to drive a Maser now.


M

[Monster]

Originally Posted by Merc1

This is longest autoshow coverage rollout I've ever seen....lol.

Been a bit busy lately, and I am about half way through my write up on my visit to Top Gear Australia.

Originally Posted by Merc1

The Masers are gorgeous. Though I'm concerned about some members comments on their interiors. I've only sat in a Quattroporte once when it first came out. I need to drive a Maser now. M

So far I haven't been able to sit inside one, but I would love to.

[Monster]

The Maserati Quattroporte . Looks gorgeous from most angle, but the back remains weak. The soft curves are starting to look dated but the car looks very desirable.

[Monster]

The main attraction over at the VW stand was the Passat CC. A lot of people were confused by this car, they think this is a brand new Passat replacement instead of a 4 door coupe version of the car. Regardless of their confusion, everyone loved it. I loved it too. The car looked great from most angles, but there is really nothing that can be done to hide the front wheel drive proportion of the car. The car will look a lot better if the front overhang is not as long.







People were genuinely impressed by the interior presentation. This colour combination is fantastic, and it looks a lot more expensive than the price of the car. I was impressed by the feel and quality of the leather trim, and the comfort levels at the front and the rear of the car. Rear seat access and comfort is not an issue, well at least for me anyway because I an't that tall.
Although the interior looked luxurious, the actual material of certain parts of the interior is a bit disappointing. The plastics used at the lower half of the dash and around the transmission tunnel was the same hard hollow sounding material they use in the normal Passat.

[phaeton]

Don't forget the BlueMotion VWs while not exciting it is part of VWs future

[Beemer B773ER]

Dude, what time and day did you go to the show? There's barely a crowd there ?

I went that first night (Thursday) and of course it was busy! I took over 530 photos with my new camera, but didn't have time to post them as I went on a quick overseas trip a day later.

Most of my car show photos will probably pop up in the Automotive Car Competition. No point creating another thread when Monster's done such a great job with this review. Good work mate!!

[phaeton]

I'm glad they're going to do one Australian international show a year now

It was lucky I was a VW enthusiast otherwise there would have been no point in myself attending.

EDIT I took 110 photos of mostly VW Group products

[Monster]

Originally Posted by Beemer B773ER

Dude, what time and day did you go to the show? There's barely a crowd there ?

I went that first night (Thursday) and of course it was busy! I took over 530 photos with my new camera, but didn't have time to post them as I went on a quick overseas trip a day later.

Most of my car show photos will probably pop up in the Automotive Car Competition. No point creating another thread when Monster's done such a great job with this review. Good work mate!!

Thanks mate. I was there on Tuesday. I wasn't really surprised to see that the show wasn't packed at all, and it didn't get any busier as the day went on. It was good because I could see and inspect the cars for as long as I want with no interruption. I went onto all the racing simulations as well, there were no lines for them.

[Monster]

Originally Posted by phaeton

Don't forget the BlueMotion VWs while not exciting it is part of VWs future

VW could have make it more exciting if they have more technical information and technical showcase of what is behind their BlueMotion.