My wife calls me the eternal optimist. I can’t help it! I obviously love my wife, my job (notice how wife comes before job...) and am generally just a happy guy. Quite honestly, 2009 was a tough year for me too as the industry I adore went through a really rough patch. The mood in the business was so dismal last year, I did not bother going to Detroit, my first absence in five years.
Having just returned from the 2010 edition of the NAIAS (look for our coverage in these pages and on upcoming Auto123.com Show episodes) and I am stoked! And I mean it! The ambiance was good, there were tons of new products to behold and I left Cobo Center having had a clear vision of the light at the end of the tunnel.
Back on home turf, it was the Montreal auto show’s turn to make me smile. I am certain that if you have any degree of interest for cars, this year’s edition of the Big Show will not disappoint and at some point, your pearly-whites will be exposed. Here’s what you can expect to see:
Up in Seventh Heaven, you’ll get a glimpse of the best the auto world has to offer including the new 2010 500 hp Porsche 911 Turbo (Coupe and Cabrio) and the 621 hp Bentley Continental Supersports. Up here is where you will also find the North American Premier showing of the Pininfarina-Bolloré Blue Car, an electric vehicle powered by lithium-metal-polymer battery (LMP) developed by Bolloré, which holds an industrial site in Boucherville slated to produce batteries.
Getting back down to earth, makes like Mazda and Chevrolet unveiled to the Press two cars that may very well find themselves at the top of shoppers lists very soon: the subcompact Mazda2 (sliding in below the 3 as Mazda’s entry level car) and the Cruze (replacing the Cobalt).
One of the many special attractions is John Scotti’s collection of 1930s classic cars worth well over a million dollars. Ever heard the expression: “It’s a dusie”? Once you lay eyes on the two 1930 Model Js, you’ll understand the meaning of it.
Another is the stunning and momentous (well, not quite...) compilation of microcars. One of them, the 1965 Peel P50, actually holds the Guinness record for the smallest mass-produced automobile. Not to be overshadowed by the minicars, Auto Hebdo has assembled a few “creations from Quebec” including a steam-powered Henry Seth Taylor-built Boghei from the 1860s and a very special 1971 Manic GT.
Having just returned from the 2010 edition of the NAIAS (look for our coverage in these pages and on upcoming Auto123.com Show episodes) and I am stoked! And I mean it! The ambiance was good, there were tons of new products to behold and I left Cobo Center having had a clear vision of the light at the end of the tunnel.
Back on home turf, it was the Montreal auto show’s turn to make me smile. I am certain that if you have any degree of interest for cars, this year’s edition of the Big Show will not disappoint and at some point, your pearly-whites will be exposed. Here’s what you can expect to see:
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Up in Seventh Heaven, you’ll get a glimpse of the best the auto world has to offer including the new 2010 500 hp Porsche 911 Turbo (Coupe and Cabrio) and the 621 hp Bentley Continental Supersports. Up here is where you will also find the North American Premier showing of the Pininfarina-Bolloré Blue Car, an electric vehicle powered by lithium-metal-polymer battery (LMP) developed by Bolloré, which holds an industrial site in Boucherville slated to produce batteries.
Getting back down to earth, makes like Mazda and Chevrolet unveiled to the Press two cars that may very well find themselves at the top of shoppers lists very soon: the subcompact Mazda2 (sliding in below the 3 as Mazda’s entry level car) and the Cruze (replacing the Cobalt).
One of the many special attractions is John Scotti’s collection of 1930s classic cars worth well over a million dollars. Ever heard the expression: “It’s a dusie”? Once you lay eyes on the two 1930 Model Js, you’ll understand the meaning of it.
Another is the stunning and momentous (well, not quite...) compilation of microcars. One of them, the 1965 Peel P50, actually holds the Guinness record for the smallest mass-produced automobile. Not to be overshadowed by the minicars, Auto Hebdo has assembled a few “creations from Quebec” including a steam-powered Henry Seth Taylor-built Boghei from the 1860s and a very special 1971 Manic GT.
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