Every year, I get on my high horse and tell you why you should schlep your lazy ass downtown and go to the LA Auto Show. Well, I hate to tell you, but 2018 is no exception. The time is now. Just do it. Eddie would go. Make Automotive Beautiful Again. Those are the most applicable tag lines I could scrape up today. For further enticement, see the following rad rides from the show.
Jeep Gladiator
If you think a Jeep pickup truck isn’t news, you haven’t seen this picture.
Imagine yourself, driving down PCH with the boards in the bed, dogs in the backseat, and..wait for it, the roof off. Can’t do that in your Toyota Tundra, Jack. When you get to the beach, you can just fold down the windshield to check the surf. Sigh… I think it’s dreamy and believe that Jeep will sell the hell out of them. Most importantly, according to Ava (my 15 year old, who apparently knows EVERYTHING), we’re getting one too.
The New 911
Sure, the new 911 is exciting. But if you live in LA, you’ll see it and its brake lights soon enough. For the 911 is (as my friend so eloquently put it when I moved here 20 years ago) the Honda Civic of LA. He wasn’t wrong then and he’s not wrong today. The new 911 is, of course, faster and its design is, well, exactly what you expect– meaning not much different. THANK GOD. But it does include Porsche Wet Mode (I call that third base, just kidding), a 10.9″ touch screen, as well as Night Vision with thermal imaging.
The Rivian ST1
Would you buy an all-electric pickup truck? What if it towed up to 11,000 lbs, could handle up to 3 feet of water, a range of 350 miles, and went from 0-60 in 3 seconds? Oh and what if it looked like this:
This is the Rivian ST1, the most exciting car you’ve never heard of. Pricing starts at “$61,500 after the Federal Tax credit” and the company is as legit is it comes. But the billion-dollar question remains—will Rivian be able to fulfill its promise of delivering these gorgeous beasts in 2020? We will see…
Jaguar iPace
Speaking of all electric, how about an performance suv from Jaguar? Yeah, baby, yeah! The iPace is finally here. With a sticker base of $69,500, the iPace has a range of 240 miles, AWD and 512 pound-feet of instant torque. Buckle up kids, we’ve got Priuses to blast!
BMW x7
The boys at BMW having been teasing us with this one for years, like a bitchy schoolgirl. Now she’s here, I’m happy to say that she’s as beautiful as we imagined and with a standard third row and luxurious interior, I’m sure many polished parents will dig this ride.
The Karlmann King
Three million dollars for a car? Well, to be fair, this also comes with an optional security detail, for the King can be bulletproof. Plus, since its max speed is only 87mph—think of the money you’ll save on speeding tickets. They’re reportedly only making nine of these bad boys, so cash in your Apple stock now.
The Mercedes AMG GT Coupe
All you really need to know here is that this thing is 100% more beautiful in person. Bring your drool bucket.
Subaru Has Doggies!
Subaru melts our hearts by making a kissing booth with shelter pups, which is adorbs!
Oh but they’re also making some cars. The Subaru Hybrid Crosstrek is here and happy families across the nation rejoice!
A few other practical notes:
*The Prius now comes in AWD. Now your annoying co-worker has no excuse not to come skiing with you, dammit!
*There’s a new Sprinter Van, giving men all across the country a new reason to volunteer for carpool.
*Hyundai launched the 7 seater Palisade, which looks really fancy.
*Mazda continues its fiery roll with the redesigned Mazda 3 that is gorgeous.
Next up, Mama does her survey of the Dudes and Dbags from this year’s show.
Some lovely machines here!