Although the Auto Show held in January every year in Detroit, the traditional home of the US motor industry, is renowned as the biggest and most important held on an annual basis in America, and of global significance, it is no longer the only significant show held in that country. Three other shows, held at other times in the year, and elsewhere in the country, combine a venue in the heart of a large population with the opportunity for manufacturers to get some valuable poublicity and to put their product in front of a sizeable potential customer base. Of these, the Los Angeles Show, typically held just after the Thanksgiving Holiday in late November is perhaps the best known on the global stage, as the Chicago event, held in February only weeks after Detroit tends to have little that is new coming so soon after a lot of new metal has been shown, and then there is the New York Show which takes place around Easter, with the advantage that it is nearer to the start of the change in model year for the majority of American market products. Whilst I try to attend the Los Angeles Show every year (and indeed have only missed on since 2004), I’ve only ever been to the New York event, back in 2007, so was long overdue a return visit.

With an early Easter in 2013, it looked feasible to stop off in New York en route home from a planned vacation in California and Arizona, and there was an added incentive to so this, as it would enable me to meet up with a group of fellow enthusiasts from the CarSpin forum, who have been making a regular visit to the Show on the Friday following Easter, starting the day off with a lunch hosted at the house of one of the members, and adjourning for a dinner in Manhattan afterwards.And so, I hatched my plans to attend, not realising at the time that this was set to be a vintage show with several world debuts planned, and not just American cars, either, as Land Rover decided to launch the new Range-Rover Sport at the event, with a spectacular event taking place the night before the show opened, featuring Daniel Craig, and Mercedes brought along one of the most eagerly anticipated new products in a while, the CLA 45 AMG. With a striking new Cadillac CTS, and a bold new Jeep Cherokee, an all new, even if it did not look it (deliberately) Kia Soul, the significant Toyota Highlander, and a whole of 2014 facelifts and US premiers, I definitely picked a good year to attend.

The New York Show takes place at the Javit’s Convention Centre, a modern facility located about a 15 minute walk from Penn Station, at the intersection of 34th Street and 11th Avenue, on the western side of mid Manhattan. The main display was in a single large hall, up a floor from the concourse, level, at one of which was a smaller hall completely dedicated to GM. A second hall underneath the main one was largely focused on SUVs and Trucks, with a couple of the smaller Japanese manufacturers also in there. This did mean that some brands had a second stand, and not all of them made the distinction between what went where that clear. Because many of the latest models will not go on sale for some months, there were plenty of cases where the current model and its replacement were both on show alongside each other. This is quite common practice at US shows, though it occurs more rarely in Europe. Here is my report, split by manufacturer on what was on show:

ACURA

After several years of making cars which were almost deliberately and offensively ugly, Acura have clearly decided to tone down their styling to produce something a little more mainstream looking. Making its first public appearance was the 2014 model MDX, a refreshed version of the mid-sized crossover.

Also very new, going on sale only a few weeks ago was the RLX, a replacement for the largely ignored RL, a car that we used to know as the Honda Legend in Europe.

The Civic based ILX was launched in 2012 and has enjoyed some success in the market.

Of course the car that everyone wants them to build is the NSX Concept, which keeps being wheeled out at shows, but seems no neared production. The stand staff said 2014, or maybe 2015. I hope they are right as this is a good looking Acura.

In complete contrast are the only models, the commercially disastrous ZDS, the truly hideous TL (although they did try to rescue the worst of the ugliness a couple of years ago) and the TSX, an Acura version of the Euro-Accord, one of few estate cars of its size sold in America.

ASTON-MARTIN

Three car stand, with examples of the latest DB9, Vanquish and Rapide, all of which are far more significantly altered than you might believe from their external appearance. I still regret the new grille on the Rapide. but it was the one that I heard most people getting most excited about

 

AUDI

Perhaps with memories of the “unintended acceleration saga” from the 1980s still in American consumers’ minds, this brand does not sell cars in anything like the quantity in America that you might expect, but even so, their stand was one of the busier ones, and there was lots to see. Sadly, the A3 saloon which I thought was premiered for the show seemed to have disappeared, but that meant that pride of place went to the RS7 instead. And I for one will not complain about that!

Among the other S and RS models, the S6 and RS5 Cabrio stood out for me, as I am not a real fan of the latest S8 which was also present.

I do still love the R8, though, as it seemed did just about everyone else on the stand and this V10 Plus model looked good in its matt blue paint.

Audi are gradually increasing the number of diesel models they sell in America, with the A6 making its debut in TDi format, along with the A4 Allroad, a reappearance of the Avant style body in a US market Audi after they foresook the style in favour of the Q5 and Q7 models. Of these latter, the SQ5 was among those on display.

 

Other models included the A7, A5 and TT.

BENTLEY

Three car stand featuring the new Flying Spur, along with the Mulsanne and GT Speed.

BMW

Lots to see here, of course. There was an example of the 3 Series GT, in 335i spec, which I am struggling to like. Given America’s general indifference to hatchback models, I suspect that this will be very much a nice play in the US.

What I do like is the 6 Series Gran Coupe, present in 650i and M6 guises.

The 1 Concept Tourer was here, presumably to get us all used to its hatchback styling. This car does look so much better than the B Class Mercedes.

BMW have launched a cheaper 3 Series in the US, called 320i, and the show also premiered the 328d (which sounds awfully like what the rest of the world calls a 320d).

There were examples of the rest of the extensive range, from 1 Series to the M cars of M3 and M5.

BUGATTI

Although the Veyron has been around for a few years now, they still never fail to draw the crowds, and there were lots of people ogling this one.

BUICK

Facelifts for two of Buicks models for 2014 were revealed here, to the LaCrosse and the Regal.

The Enclave, like the other Lambda based Crossover models, was altered for 2013 and the Verano and Encore were both new for 2013, so Buick will have a very recently refreshed entire product line by later in the year.

CADILLAC

Having seen the launch photos of the new CTS, with its immense column of lights at the front, this was a car I really wanted to see in person. It is certainly striking, and the interior quality is a lot better than on its predecessor. Most were very positive about it, and I can see it will do quite well in America, but it cannot imagine it getting any closer to the existing players in Europe than the current car.

 

The ELR, a shapely Coupe that is largely based on Volt underpinnings was the other turntable star.

The rest of the range was all present, from ATS to XTS, SRX to Escalade.

CHEVROLET

No-one was ever likely to miss the Corvette Stingray which was pinned up high on the wall at the end of the concourse level of the venue.

There were a further duo of the C7 Corvettes, a coupe and a convertible, on show in the main GM hall.

Camaros were split in 2 separate displays, with the 2014 facelifted cars in the GM Hall and the current models in with the trucks (!). I am not convinced by the new rear lights, but otherwise the changes look quite subtle. I hope that they have done enough to compete with the all new Mustang which I expect to launch at this event next year.

  

The new Impala was first shown at this show last year and has literally just gone into production, so the cars will appear on the road “soon”. Allegedly, Chevrolet are going to try to keep them out of the rental fleets for now, which is a pity as it looks quite smart and would be a welcome rental vehicle!

The Spark and Aveo had their own displays on the approach to the GM hall. The former has not really achieved the goal of competing with the MINI and Fiat 500 as an object of desire. Why am I not surprised?

There were plenty of examples of the 2014 Silverado, commercially the most significant Chevrolet of all. This looks fairly similar to the outgoing mode, but has definitely been made to look more gawdy and brash at the front.

The Traverse CUV was refreshed for 2013 and these have started to appear in the rental fleets.

The new SS was making one of its first appearances, and there were also examples of the rest of the range.

NASCAR

CHRYSLER

The 200 was making a last stand before being replaced early next year with a 200S Limited Edition model.

The other Chryslers on show were all familiar cars.

DODGE

The 2014 Durango was making its first showing, with the new full width tail reflector the easiest visual clue to the changes.

The rest of the range went from the Dart, through Avenger, Charger and Challenger to the Journey and Grand Caravan.

 

FIAT/ABARTH

America seems to have taken to the 500 in a way that has surprised some of the commentators. After a slow start, strong sales growth was posted in 2011 and 2012, with sales getting very close to those achieved by MINI, with a much smaller range. Additional variants of the 500 have filled out the range, with the 500 Turbo and now the 500e joining the initial 500, and the subsequently added 500C and the Abarth. There was only one Abarth on the stand, but I have seen several on the streets of New York and Connecticut so it is clearly selling in the Tri-State area as well as the Pacific South West.

 

On sale in July is the 500L. I wouldn’t bet against this doing quite well, too, as a rival to, well, not much apart perhaps from the more costly Mazda 5.

FORD

A vast stand, as you might expect, with examples of the huge and diverse range offered, more of which is looking familiar to Europeans. The latest Fusion is now quite a common sight on US roads, even if it is still 18 months away from being Europe’s next Mondeo.

 

The Focus was present in hatch, sedan and ST guises.

Americans get a four door Fiesta as well as the hatch, and their STs will be 5 door models when they get them.

 

The C-Max is only sold as a Hybrid model in America.

The new Escape joined the familiar Flex, Taurus and Edge models on show.

The Mustangs were attracting plenty of attention. Ford have made continuous changes to this model since the launch of the current generation back in 2004, which has kept it fresh. An all new car is expected in 2014, in celebration of the 50th birthday.

The latest Transit Connect will go on sale in the US shortly. The old model did better than I might have predicted.

It is joined by US versions of the regular Transit which replace the long-running E250 vans.

The Atlas Truck was first shown at Detroit, a thinly disguised version of the next F150 truck, this was a clear spoiling tactic against the new GM rivals.

GMC

Big news here is the 2014 Sierra truck, of which there are several examples on display. A close relative of the Chevrolet Silverado, this one also appeared deliberately bold and brash. Exactly what some customers will love and others will hate.

Refreshed for 2013 were the Terrain and Acadia models.

 

HONDA

Only thing that was truly new here was a concept vehicle, though the 2014 Odyssey was also claiming some of the limelight, sporting some small modifications among which is an in-built vaccuum cleaner system.

The latest Accord is now quite a common sighting on the road, though I have to say that I do find its styling very non-descript. There are saloon and coupe models.

The old Crosstour continues, no longer with the Accord name in its official title.

The facelifted Civics were here, too.

 

The rest of the range from Fit, through Insight to CRV and Pilot were also on show.

HYUNDAI

Centre piece here was the HND-9 Concept.

 

The 2014 Equus has been mildly updated from earlier models.

Elantra comprises three models now: sedan, coupe and GT (which looks awfully like the i30)

The rest of the vast range was also on show, from the Accent, through Sonata and Azera to the Tucson and the new for 2013 Santa Fe Sport and Santa Fe.

INFINITI

Most important new model is the Q50, a replacement for the G37. Not a visual improvement to my mind, though it does trump the hideous new Lexus IS.

The recently revealed JX model has now got a Hybrid version, which in the new naming scheme is called the QX60h.

There were examples of the rest range, all still sporting their familiar names: G, M, EX, FX, JX and QX.

 

JAGUAR

Pride of place went to the XKR-S GT.

However, my star of the stand – unsurprisingly – was the gorgeous new F Type.

Also new was the XJR, and the XFR-S was making another appearance.

 

The familiar XF and XJ models are now available with All Wheel Drive.

JEEP

So, the new Cherokee. What do you think? The styling is certainly different. I concluded that the high end models look better than the cheaper ones with their awkward black plastic lower front bumpers and nasty wheel trims.

I am not a fan of the small styling changes made to the Grand Cherokee, either, though the mechanical and trim improvements are all clearly worthwhile.

The familiar Wranglers were also on show, along with a Patriot and a Compass.

Jeep had an outdoor off-road course erected, where the vehicles could be demonstrated in action on rough surfaces, 30% gradients and improbable looking inclinations.

KIA

Lots to see here. The US market has taken to the Soul in a big way, so Kia clearly decided not to mess with a winning formula for the second generation car. It looks very similar to the first one, and that is utterly deliberate, Kia say. I do prefer the outgoing model from the outside, but the interior of the new one is a lot nicer.

Also debuting was the Koup version of the Forte, which joins the already revealed 4 and 5 door models.

The large Cadenza was first shown in the US at the LA Show in 2010, but has never been put on sale, That will change with this mildly facelifted version planned for release later in the year.

Other Kia included examples from the rest of the range: Rio, Optima, Sportage and Sorento.

  

LAMBORGHINI

An Aventador and a Gallardo were up on plinths, either side of a Lotus.

 

LAND-ROVER

World debut for the Range-Rover Sport. This looks much more like a grown up Evoque than a slightly sportier Range-Rover. Very nice.

The rest of the range was also all represented.

LEXUS

A vast array of models, as Lexus has a huge US range, and telling some of them apart is not that easy. Highlight, if you can call it that, was the new IS. Still not liking this, and I doubt I ever will.

The ES, GS, LS, LX, GX outgoing IS and CT were also all on show.

LINCOLN

The Escape based Concept C

The new MKZ

The rest of the range comprise the MXS, MKT, MKX and Navigator

LOTUS

The Evora is the only Lotus offered in America these days, and it is a rare sighting.

MAZDA

There has been a rush of new mid-sized saloons to the US market in the past few months, and in my opinion, the latest Mazda 6 is the best looking of them, by some margin. Currently only offered in the US with the 2.5 SkyActiv petrol engine, there is reputed to be a diesel model coming soon as well.

Still my favourite of the full;-sized Crossovers, the CX9 received a facelift for 2013, and several of the new models were on show.

Other Mazda on display ranged from the 2 though various versions of the 3, and 5, to the MX5 and recently launched CX5.

McLAREN

Three examples of the MP4 12C, in Coupe,. Spider and Can Am form. There were huge crowds around this stand, which must have made arch-rival Ferrari wonder if their decision not to attend was the correct one.

MERCEDES-BENZ

Not only was the CLA 45 AMG making its debut, but this would be one of the first chances for many in America to see the regular CLA. Mindful of how tight space in the back is, even for someone who is not large, like me, it was perhaps prudent that both cars were on display plinths, way out of reach for people to get a really good luck.

Also on a plinth was the B Class electric car and the facelifted E Class.

From the rest of the vast range were a mix of AMG and “ordinary” models, from S Class and CL, through the CLS, to the sports cars including the SLK, and the SUVs, including the latest GL, ML and G Class models.

 

MINI

MINI had a large stand with one example of just about every body style that they make represented. Newcomers were the Paceman, the JCW GP and the ClubVan.

MITSUBISHI

A marque whose continued existence in America is clearly one that many people question, as the product range has been much reduced over the years and there has been a real lack of new models. That will change with the two new models on show: the Mirage and the Outlander, though how America will take to the former is unclear at this stage. There was a cut away exhibit of the still-to-come Outlander Plug-in-hybrid model.

The only other products in the current US range are the iMIEV, the elderly Lancer and the Outlander Sport (ASX to Europeans).

NISSAN

Nissan promised a new model every 6 weeks, and if you look at the US range you can see that there have been several those available to the US buyer. Latest us the Versa Note, which will replace the 5 door hatch version of the Versa.

This is now a different car completely from the 4 door Versa.

New last year were the 2013 Altima and Sentra, both of which are styling variants on a theme.

The Juke was being premiered in Nismo format as it was at Geneva.

Completely new was a Hybrid version of the Pathfinder, which joins the regular model, all new for 2013.

 

Other show cars included a Leaf, a Maxima, a Rogue, the NV200 taxi and the rather odd Murano Cross Cabrio which I thought had been discontinued.

PORSCHE

Porsche had a dilemma, clearly, when planning their stand. Do they emphasise the newly released new Cayman, or do they remind everyone of the 50th anniversary of the 911? Of course, both featured but it was the 911, with the US launch of the GT3 which got the most prominent display. I heard lots of people saying that the latest 911 has just got too fat and a bit ugly, and the Cabrio version with roof up did give me that impression, too.

 

The new Cayman is a striking looking car, especially in the bright yellow hue of one of the show cars.

The Boxster, Panamera and Cayenne were all represented, too.

RAM

The large trucks have been refreshed, and to my mind look more appealing than the new GM ones.

The familiar Fiat Ducato vans have been mutated into RAM versions and these were on show, looking quite good, though they were all locked, so I could not investigate from the inside.

ROLLS-ROYCE

Another appearance for the Wraith, which joined a Ghost and a Phantom Drophead on the stand.

 

SCION

The racking-style display which characterised Scion’s show stands for years appears to have been consigned to history but this brand that aims to appeal to the younger buyer still looks quite unlike almost any other at a show, with lots of use of black backgrounds. Latest product offering was the facelifted 2014 tC, a small coupe that competes against the Civic and Kia Forte.

The rest of the range comprises the xB and xD small cars, the even more diminutive iQ and the one everyone really cares about. the FR-S.

SRT

The new branding used by Chrysler for their performance cars, there was a separate SRT stand, with the Viper the most conspicuous, perched up high.

Other SRTs included the Charger, Challenger and 300.

SUBARU

In the metal, the WRX Concept looks better than pictures had suggested. But only a bit. Like all Subarus, the styling is not going to be this car’s strongest feature.

Of immediate significance was the global launch of the XV Crosstrek Hybrid. I have little doubt that this model will sell well in America, given the number of Subarus that they buy and the fact that they are all convinced that Hybrid is the answer to being “green”.

Current production models included the latest 2014 Forester, the Impreza, Legacy and the rather unloved Tribeca.

TOYOTA

The first stand many would come to, as it was right by the main entrance, and the first car in evidence is the Furia Concept which presages the all new Corolla scheduled for later in the year.

Brand new at this event was the 2014 Highlander, a CUV which has grown yet again over its outgoing version, which was substantially larger than the first generation model. Not wrong with it, but when someone described it as the love child of a Mazda CX9 and a Kia Sorento they were not wrong, though I will bet that both of them drive better than this does.

The 2013 RAV4 us now on sale, and it is an ugly looking device. Americans may take to it like the outgoing model, but this is really going to struggle in Europe. Distinctly average.

There were lots of the rest of the range on show, ranging from Yaris, Corolla and Camry to the Prius family which was augmented last year by the C and V models, to the larger Land Cruiser and Sequoia.

The latest trucks were on show, too, including the super-sized Tundra, a revised version of which was first shown at the Chicago Show in February.

VOLKSWAGEN

Big news here was the first US appearance of Golf Mark 7. Tagged a 2015 model, it won’t be sale in the US until into next year, but there were examples of the three and five door and a GTi (marked as Concept) here to wet people’s appetite for what is coming.

The rest of the US range was represented including the Jetta Hybrid, the US version of the Passat, the CC as well as Tiguan and Touareg and open and closed versions of the new new Beetle.

VOLVO

Newest addition to the US range is the V60.

The subtle facelifts to the familiar S60 and XC60 were on display, along with the established S80, XC90 and XC70 models.

 

This was a most enjoyable show. The event is quite compact but there was plenty to see, and it was not crowded. The Javits Convention Centre is where 34th Street meets 11th Ave in mid Manhattan, so it is easy to get to. Worth thinking about for a 2014 trip!

And finally, the pictures from the pre-event lunch:

 

The group from CarSpin waiting to board the train to Grand Central

And enjoying some dinner afterwards.