Events: 2015 Los Angeles Auto Show

Thanksgiving guarantees two things each year to us here at EWBG: eating way too much and a trip to the Los Angeles Auto Show. Over the last few years, the LA Auto Show has started to become one of the large auto shows that people actually pay attention to with manufacturers revealing new concept models and production ready cars in one of the largest automotive markets in the US. With each year, the number of new reveals increased along with the popularity of the test drives that manufacturers offer to attendees. With each successive year, more and more manufacturers set up tents and booths outside the LA Convention Center to allow show goers a chance to sample their latest wares. Let us take a look at some of the cars that we saw at the show this year, as well as some of the cars we test drove.

Test Drive: 2015 Kia K900

I do not think I could ever see myself driving anything larger than a BMW 5-series or Acura RLX. Giant luxury barges really are not my thing. These are cars that are expected to be more comfortable in the back than in the driver's seat; a car you would own if you had a driver to shuttle you around in. While the Kia K900 was never on my radar, the opportunity to have a Kia employee drive one to my front door to test drive one came up. Hey, if they are willing to bring the car to me and allow me to test it around my neighborhood, why not?

During our visit to the Los Angeles Auto Show in November, East Brother and I spent some time at the Kia test drive event driving the new Soul EV. Also at the event was a K900 "product specialist" who was signing people up for personal test drives of the Hyundai Equus based K900 luxury sedan. While our original intention was to test the K900 at the auto show, both East Brother and I figured an extended test drive around familiar roads would give us a much better insight to how the K900 performs.

Events: 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show

2014 marks the first year in a while that East Brother and I were able to attend the Los Angeles Auto Show together. With two people at the show, we were able to cover much more of the cars and test drives that I ever was able to do on my own. We arrived at 9am, right as the doors opened. East Brother went in to cover the new cars while I started on the various test drive events. Here are some highlights from this year's Los Angeles Auto Show.

Events: The New York International Auto Show

The Big Apple put on a good show this year. I drove into town on Friday afternoon and had a nice time catching up with a friend I had not seen in a while. With an early start on Saturday, I got to take advantage of New York's world class public transit system, including the fairly recently installed Citibike bike-sharing service, and arrived at the Javits Center bright and early. Waiting in line, I had a chance to chat with a lovely couple, who also had come down from Boston to attend the auto show, and observe the chaos that was caused by the governor deciding that he wanted to make an appearance. Taking advantage of early entry, I was able to spend some quality time with a number of cars, shoot a lot of photos, and generally enjoy my long day.

Toyota wins the prize for being the most ADD at the show, with not only a huge number of cars, but also all sorts of entertainment options such as racing simulators, distracted driving simulators, fuel cell car ride-alongs, and much much more. GM looses points for figuring out how to get stuck in its own wing away from the rest of the show, making it less crowded, but also less inviting, although their display was quite plentiful. The biggest losers were supercars, which were poorly represented with only one local dealer bringing a few to show. The biggest winners were almost certainly consumers, who got to see just how good cars of gotten in the last decade.

Below, we take a look at a number of the significant vehicles from the show and I offer my thoughts about each. You can also view the full gallery of photos from the show in our Photo Gallery.

Super Bowl Ads: Super Bowl XLVIII

Every year, the Super Bowl brings together serious ad dollars and millions upon millions of viewers. While the effectiveness of the ads on actual purchases is at best weak, much like the Broncos in the drubbing they took last night, the automakers are among the biggest spenders to purchase some of the most expensive airtime. Luckily, the ads that they have put together tend to be excellent. This year is generally no exception with a number of very entertaining ads, although some of them came from rather unexpected places. What follows are our favorite car-related ads from this year's big game.

Editorial: Has automotive design become stagnant?

With the first auto show of 2014 now over, the automotive press dispersed back to their respective caves to stew over the latest reveals and what that means for the industry, and the automakers all patting themselves on the back for a job well done, it has been a rousing start to what should be an exciting auto show season. However, one thing continues to bother me, which is that, aside from a handful radical concept cars, that ultimately fail to ever make it into production in any form, most of the cars are increasingly starting to look alike.

Jaguar's F-Type convertible, an example of a car I personally
think has a great deal of design innovation, especially from
the front and rear three-quarter angles.

What am I smoking, right? But let's take a minute and look at this closely. Since automakers are increasingly looking to capitalize on whatever is driving demand at the time, nearly all of them have a few very specific goals in mind, which include better aerodynamics to improve fuel economy, bigger grilles to accommodate increased cooling demand for forced induction motors, and the "four-door coupe" look that is all the rage these days with consumers. As a result, many cars are starting to share similar profiles, wheel designs are starting to share common themes, and even the "me too" LED daytime running lights are starting to all blend together.

Some of this is attributable to the distinct style of a few top level designers who have hopped around from automaker to automaker, taking their specific design aesthetic with them as they migrated employers. Ian Callum, who was the chief designer at Aston Martin, carried his signature look onto Jaguar when he landed there. Peter Schreyer, who previously was employed at Audi, has moved onto working for Korean upstart Kia and brought his design influence to both Kia's and Hyundai's latest vehicles. However, even outside of these specific cases, design language continues to converge across the automotive marketplace as consumers have voted on their design preferences with their wallets. Those who dare to stray too far from the desires of the market have been hit with much negative critique from journalists and consumers alike.

Back in August of 2013, Chris Bangle, noted head of design at BMW who penned the controversial BMW 7-series that earned the moniker of "Bangle-butt" for its slightly odd-looking rear decklid, called for the industry to shake things up a bit and try to be more innovative in their designs. However, at the end of the day, manufacturers are in the business of selling cars. As much as they want to be innovative and distinct, they also want to maintain a brand identity and to offer cars that buyers are willing to pay for. Sometimes, it is possible to be too radical, as Acura found out when it introduced the "beak" that adorned the 2009 TL and subsequently alienated a sizable portion of its loyal customers. Other times, it pays to be different, as Hyundai discovered with swift sales of its funky Veloster hatchback. The trick is finding ways to create subtly distinct cues that allow for differentiation while maintaining the right balance of making sure that a new design is fresh and innovative, but does not offend the sensibilities of the buying public. Getting to that point, however, can mean great financial risk.

News: Chinese Automakers Quietly Build a Detroit Presence

The New York Times recently ran a piece detailing the small, but growing, presence of Chinese automakers in Detroit and the surrounding areas. This foothold in the heartland of the American automotive industry is not necessarily a bad thing as it means the potential revitalization of an area that many Americans had already written off. The Chinese automakers, seeking the expertise of long-time Detroit Three engineers to bolster their technical shortcomings, are taking a very different approach to that taken by their Japanese counterparts some four decades ago. Instead of making a big splash, the Chinese are slipping in under the radar hoping to avoid the backlash and ire that the Japanese faced.

Test Drive: 2013 Mid-size Family Sedan Comparo

Over the course of the last few weeks, we have individually examined a number of mid-size family sedans. You can read the detailed individual reviews by clicking on the followings links:

2013 Ford Fusion SE
2013 Honda Accord Sport
2013 Kia Optima LX
2014 Mazda 6 Touring
2013 Nissan Altima S
2013 VW Passat SE

Each car had its strengths and weaknesses, so declaring a winner was fairly challenging, though a clear loser was evident from the start. Continue reading to see how the cars performed in the various categories.

Test Drive: 2013 Kia Optima LX 6AT

Update: See how the Kia Optima did in our 2013 Mid-Size Family Sedan Comparison.

Kia has seen quite the resurgence in the last few years, having been infused by parent company Hyundai with a dose of style, quality, and engineering. No longer is Kia a brand full of terrible cars, that people bought because they were just cheap transportation. Instead, people are now buying Kia's because they are actually legitimately good cars, that are still relatively inexpensive. Of course, the specter of Kias of yesteryear continues to haunt Kia, with many people still concerned about reliability despite having one of the best warranties in the business. But as Kia has established its beachhead with cars like the Soul, pitched to us with the help of hip hop hamsters, one area that will ultimately decide whether or not Kia will be accepted as a serious brand by the masses is in the mid-size family sedan class.

The 2013 Kia Optima, which shares its platform, motor, and many parts with the well reviewed latest iteration of the Hyundai Sonata, is Kia's entry into the class. The swoopy sedan, designed by someone who previously worked at Audi (ok, actually he used to head up design at Audi) is the best looking Kia Optima ever and has already given itself a leg up against the competition by being one of the most daring designs in this class of rather pedestrian looking boxes. Can this handsome new-comer really take on and take down some of the highly decorated veterans such as the best selling, and recently redesigned, Honda Accord?