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April 24, 2010

Albuquerque Auto Show 2010

Went to the local show yesterday. Right away you can tell that living in the fly-over country has its disadvantages: the show floor is small, many brands are missing entirely (like Suzuki or Lexus), of those present the selection is rather haphazard, unless they are big names like Toyota or Ford. The only "hot" thing was the 2011 Fiesta in its typical salad livery -- pedestal only, no touching.

Ford Ranger I actually considered, as a pseudo-jeep, out of antipathy of Chrysler and as a statement against the bloat. Sadly, this visit put an end to such designs. Ranger is crazily small inside. I was able to fit, just so, but Ford included a bizarre bump in the headliner where my head would be. In case of a rear-end collision I would break my neck or crack my skull. The mileage is just plain bad. Frontier delivers the same numbers, and it's much bigger and heavier.

Ford Transit Connect is terrific. Sure, it's small. So you cannot step off the driver's seat and into the cargo area like on Dodge/Mercedes/Freightliner Sprinter. But other than that it's just packaged so well. In case of a frontal collision, I would hit my head on the shelf that goes above the windshield (despite being held in place by the belt), so I would take it off. It seems removable. The only blemish is the crude way the add-on floor is finished in front. To avoid the chicken tax, this vehicle is delivered from Turkey as a passenger van. Ford rips out the seats and installs this floor locally.

Jeep Wrangler is the real deal, even in our sissified age. Funnily enough, there's a ton of space between the radiator and the accessory end of the V-6, because they kept the snout where the old inline-six was housed. Bet you can drop a V-8 in there. One unfortunate problem: I hit my head upon the roll cage in the same place where I hit it in the Ranger.

I love the redesigned Jeep Liberty. I can see the road out of it. Folding front seat is better than RAV's because it exposes plastic to the cargo, and in RAV you I must use a tough tarp. OK, the low is engaged with an electrical switch, but at least it has one. The stuff under the hood looks ok. I would've bought it this week, if it weren't made by Chrysler. As it is, I guess I'll have to cough up the cash for Pathfinder.

Toyota Yaris was the highlight that I'll cherish. It's the ideal automobile for weaboos. It has no cupholders! So awesome. Also, just the right amount of cost-cutting: recirculation baffle is manually operated. I do not mind the central instruments, I drove a rental 1st gen xB once. Apropos that, the first thing I checked was the operation of the doors, and it's fixed now: pulling on the handle unlocks. And note this: I cannot fit into Ranger and Wrangler, but I can into Yaris (barely, but still). I wish I had an excuse to buy one, but alas... Maybe after divorce.

The show continues tomorrow, $8 a head (and $6 onsite parking).

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 07:47 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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