GMC introduced its Granite concept at the North American International Auto Show this week. When I heard about the Granite from fellow bloggers who had attended preview events hosted by General Motors, I cannot say that I was that excited. The vehicle was described at a Scion xB, Kia Soul, Nissan Cube type of vehicle. Been there, done that I thought to myself.  I was wrong, click read more to find out why…

The initial surprise to me was the exterior: It looked more substantial and premium than any of the aforementioned vehicles. However, the real shocker was the Granite’s interior. Every now and then, you find yourself in complete sync with a designer. For me, this is the case with the Granite’s interior designer Gael Buzyn. The way Gael and the team at GM’s North Hollywood, California studio conceived the interior of the Granite, as an upscale urban loft, makes a lot of sense for a vehicle that would support a younger professional’s many requirements: Transportation to/from work, a night out on the town, going for a mountain bike ride, trips to Ikea, etc. without having it ending up with a “hose it out” interior like that of the Honda Element. Instead, what you have is an upscale, yet highly flexible interior that you are proud to show your friends, but not afraid or limited in using for everyday life.

If you think about some of the brands that young professionals might aspire to:  Diesel, G-Star, and Bell & Ross are a few names that come to my mind, the Granite’s interior syncs with that same vision.  The interior sports a suede-like material, but its not “show only” quality, the designers worked with an automotive supplier to create a realistic material that would be resistant to wear and be production feasible.  Although the shifter is “drive by wire” it has a high mechanical interaction with the driver, feels substantive and rugged.  Ambient lighting is recessed into the headliner, contributing to the cabin’s spacious feeling.

What are the production possibilities of a vehicle liken this?  Well, I can tell you that no manufacturer has time to “play around” when it comes to concepts.  GM has shown this GMC concept which is theoretically Delta (Orlando, Cruze) based and privately shown a “baby Enclave” Buick that is Gamma II (next generation Aveo) based.  While those platforms are different at this point, either one of those vehicles could be moved around if needs be and if they stay separate, undoubtedly component sharing would be very strong between the models.

So we have established that GM is serious, how about the features in the GMC?  The French doors (they are not independent, the front door must be opened first) are a key piece of of puzzle, but in speaking with GM design chief Ed Welburn, it is questionable whether or not such a feature could be cost effectively added.  Integrating crash support into the rear door would make the door very heavy, whilst fully independent opening “suicide doors” have an even greater set of engineering issues.  However, it is exactly these doors that set the vehicle apart.  Traditionally front hinged doors would present issues for access into the cabin, making it less flexible.  For example, taking advantage of the folding front and rear seats to slide in a mountain bike or a parent placing a child seat in the back would be much more difficult. 

How about the center tunnel mounted seating?  Again, Welburn said that such a design would add significant cost to the vehicle, but he did leave the door open by saying that if costs were spread out amongst several vehicles, maybe it could be produced at a reasonable cost.  We have already established that the interior materials are capable of real-life demands and General Motors has been leading the industry when it comes to production interiors as of late.
 
My comments to the GMC staff were minimal:  Keep the interior as premium as possible, perhaps incorporating a wood floor (perhaps synthetic teak with rubber runners for traction), and do not lose the functionality of the rear door system.  It is my belief that a Granite, built with a high level of components as shown in Detroit, could easily demand a price of mid to high twenties and potentially more with a premium powertrain option.

Why is the GMC Granite my top pick?  Very simply it is a desirable vehicle without being unobtainable.  For contrast, I love the Cadillac CTS-V or even further the Audi e-tron concept.  Both of those cars are out of my price range and neither have the practicality I require.  Even if I did scrape together the cash to own them, I’d be so freaked out about driving and parking them that much of the fun would be gone.  Instead, the GMC Granite represents an attainable, desirable vehicle that doesn’t offer a lesser experience.  It is a GMC that I could buy, use and enjoy.

General Motors covered my expenses so that I could attend the 2010 North American International Auto Show.

January has once again arrived and I find find myself in Detroit for the Auto Show.  I have posted random tidbits on my Twitter account and full reports and interviews will be posted later on, but for now I just wanted to share some general observations.

The mood at the show this year is markedly different than 2009.  There is more confidence and optimism being shared by executives who are all too happy to close the books on a year that had more downs than ups.

Looking at the three domestics:  Both General Motors and Ford are showing a strong lineup of products, heavily influenced by future fuel economy mandates.  Chrysler was pretty quiet at the show.

In the GM aisle we saw the Aveo RS “concept” that basically shows us what the next Aveo will look like (minus the show car jewelry).  It is a stylish number that holds a lot of promise.  We also saw the Spark which will slot beneath the Aveo as the new entry level model in the lineup.  Also on the stage was the Cruze,  replacing the Cobalt,  which promises to offer a tremendous jump in refinement.

GMC showed us the Granite concept and it ranks up near the top of the charts for me at this year’s show.  I honestly was not expecting to be so impressed with a car that had been described by some as a Scion xB, Nissan Cube type of vehicle. The Granite is much more than either one of those vehicles, its interior shows a real maturity and premium look that pleases the eye.  I spoke with Margaret Brooks, Product Marketing Director for small cars and crossovers at Chevrolet, and what she said applies to the Granite:  You cannot appear as though you are trying too hard or be overly juvenile in marketing to youth.  For me, the Granite might be in the shape of an xB/Cube, but it is in the spirit of Mini and I estimate it would likely command a similar pricing of $20K-$30K should it be produced.  My only hope is that the interior not be watered down too much in a production model.

Buick showed us the Regal GS concept and it has received a lot of compliments on the show floor.  The wheels on that car are fantastic and who is going to argue with more power hooked to a manual transmission?

Cadillac’s CTS-V coupe takes a beautiful car and dumps a Costco sized container of chili pepper flakes on it.  It just might melt cars parked next to it.

Cadillac’s XTS concept is thinly veiled look at the STS/DTS replacement.  I will be having a closer look at it today.

Over on the Ford stand the biggest news is the Focus and what a story it is.  The current U.S. Focus is a dumpy design whereas the new sedan and hatch are simply beautiful. We finally get the same car as the Euros and that can mean nothing but good things.  There is a lot of nice detail work in the sheet metal and the sedan does not get the short end of the stick:  It’s just as attractive as the hatch!

Bottom line is that Ford and Chevrolet have two extremely competent entries in the Focus and Cruze that will give consumers powerful reasons to buy domestic again.

Lincoln showed us a refreshed MKX.  The new nose of Lincoln looks the best on this crossover. The interior also gets a nice touch-up, with touch sensitive controls on the center stack and better materials. The rear does see improvements, including a novel approach to LED lighting where the lights are turned around and reflected back, eliminating the “hot spots” that most LED taillights have.

Chrysler placed beautiful models in front of its vehicles and a Chrysler badged Lancia Delta hinted at what the future might hold in store for the brand.  Overall the only production news at the show were some special edition models, not much to write home about. Most interest was placed on Sergio Marchionne walking around the show floor.  He certainly has his work cut out for himself.

Honda showed us the CR-Z hybrid, a car I was prepared to hate.  However, in person it looks quite nice.  The only disappointment for me was that its mileage was only in the 30s for both city and highway.  I was shocked when I heard those figures.

Toyota displayed the FT-CH hybrid concept.  This car would be a little brother to the Prius and likely be part of a Prius family. I didn’t spend a lot of time looking at it, but I have no initial objections.  Seems like a good idea.

Volkswagen showed us its NCC concept, but lets just call it the Jetta coupe and be done with it.  Very good looking car and the interior is attractive.  If I had to quibble, VW’s instrument panels have become a bit ho-hum, how about shaking things up?

Audi showed us its latest take on the e-tron electric sports car concept.  This Detroit model is much better than the orange monster that I recently looked at in Los Angeles.   If the production model looks like this, it will be a clear winner.

When you add up all the debuts at this year’s show, it wasn’t quite the bumper crop of some years past.  For example, there was no news conferences from Nissan, Infiniti, Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Acura, and Volvo to name a few.  When you add that together with the brands that are no longer with us this year, it adds up to a lighter schedule.  What was displayed at the show was good, there really were no stinkers from anyone.  Ford and GM really did the heavy lifting, the home teams have a lot to be proud of.  It would have been nice to have seen more from Chrysler, but they are in a major transitional period.

General Motors covered my expenses so that I could attend the show.

New for 2010 in the State of California are increased fines, between $250 and $1,000, for violating disabled parking laws.

While researching this story, I went looking for some Creative Commons licensed photography, what I found wildly exceeded my expectations.  You can view some of the amazing work I found in this linked slideshow.

According to the legislation, any of the following acts will net you the enhanced fines:

1. A disabled person who knowingly permits his or her  disabled placard or plate to be used by a person not entitled to it
2. A person displaying a disabled placard that was not issued to him or her (except when transporting a disabled person), or a disabled placard that has been canceled or revoked
3. A person using a vehicle displaying a special identification license plate issued to another who parks in a parking stall or space designated for disabled persons
4. A person who, with fraudulent intent, displays or causes or permits to be displayed a forged, counterfeit, or false disabled person placard 
    

Placard abuse has long grated on the nerves of many.  Firstly, because it robs the truly disabled of convenient parking.  Secondly, because it robs many local coffers due to the exemption from paying parking meter fees.  Thirdly, it robs local businesses because there is no time limit, thereby limited turnover in business districts.

As an added bonus, DP placard violations no longer need to be treated as misdemeanors, so cities can elect to allow parking control officers to cite violators instead of having police officers show up.

You can read more about this topic in this SFGate story.

While the Honda Insight has an uneven record in the press, a free car is still a free car.  Don’t worry about the “Tinked Out” Insight in the picture above, the car up for grabs is just a plain old Honda Insight.  You do not have to buy a DVD to enter, just click the “Enter without purchase” link.  Click here to enter.

Do you ever get frustrated when you see a performance Buick on stage at a Barrett-Jackson auction and wonder why Buick no longer makes anything remotely like that?  Stew no longer as Buick has seen fit to release information on the Buick Regal GS concept.

View a gallery of Regal GS images plus some pictures of performance Buicks from years ago in this linked slideshow.

Back in October of 2009, I speculated that Buick just might give us a Regal based on the high performance Insignia OPC.  That dream is coming closer to reality with this GS “concept” that looks pretty darn close to reality.

“We designed the Regal GS to explore the appeal of a high-performance variant of the Regal,” said Craig Bierley, product marketing director for Buick. “Like the Regal, the Regal GS is based on the award-winning Opel Insignia, and we believe it will reinvigorate Buick’s storied Gran Sport legacy.”

The General pulls a bit of an interesting move in that the OPC’s 325-horsepower turbocharged V6 has been swapped for a 2.0-liter direct-injected EcoTec four-cylinder that pumps out an estimated 255 horsepower and 295 lb.-ft. of torque.  When you consider the fact that the 2.0 is on the US parts shelf and ready to rumble, it makes a lot of sense.  Besides, who is going to argue with 295 lb.-ft. of torque?  When asked about the Regal GS concept and its chances against the competition, a Buick insider had this to say about the matter.

The show car has all wheel drive, six speed manual transmission, Brembo brakes, Recaro high-performance seats, Interactive Drive Control System, jet black interior and a suede-covered, flat-bottom steering wheel.
No word on whether or not the GS will become a reality, but who are kidding here?  The GS is about as close to a “lock” as you can get in the car business.

Below is an embedded video of a Buick GSX, just to remind you of how things used to be.

Programmable liftgate on 2010 Equinox

2010 Equinox front seat features

2010 Equinox rear seat features

This is part two in my coverage of the 2011 Toyota Sienna from the Los Angeles Auto Show reveal.  For part one of this series, please click here.

More images of the 2011 Sienna, including some nice shots of the reclining middle row, in the slideshow below.

The 2011 Sienna offers some new options for buyers to choose from.  For example, you can now opt for a 187 horsepower four cylinder engine which serves up 19 mpg city and 26 mpg on the highway or a sportier SE model that offers 19″ wheels, lowered suspension, various unique exterior and interior trim and sportier handling.  The SE shown at the show had a cloth/leatherette interior and it would appear that this is the way SE models will be equipped  That would mean that buyers wanting to “have it all” will have to forgo the SE and continue to opt for the Limited which is somewhat disappointing to me as I would like a sportier van, but I also want every bell and whistle.  All Sienna’s promise to be somewhat crisper in the handling department thanks to engineering changes.

Several people have asked what the “wart-like” bump is on the first sunroof of Sienna’s equipped with dual roofs.  I inquired with Toyota staffers and the answer is that it is a wind deflector for the second roof.  I also asked about the driver and front passenger door armrest cubbies that used to be on certain models, the short answer is that they are gone.  The sunglass case and conversation mirror have now been integrated into one unit, such as it is on the Honda Odyssey.

On the safety forefront, a driver’s side airbag is now standard bringing the count up to seven.  It is interesting to note that the new 2011 Chevrolet Cruze will have 10 standard airbags, so six or seven bags are no longer cutting edge.  The Limited model offers an available Pre-Collision System (PCS) which integrates with the adaptive cruise control (which is now radar instead of laser based).  The backup camera can now offer 180 view which will help getting out of driveways and on screen guides to assist in the backup process.  There is also Safety Connect, standard on the Limited and available on the XLE, which like OnStar will notify authorities in the event of a crash.

Overall the 2011 Toyota Sienna is a relatively safe update of the current Sienna.  Nissan showed that radical entries in the conservative minivan market are rejected by buyers, so Toyota was sure not to move the needle too far.  Some buyers might be disappointed to see that certain high tech features like a hard drive based entertainment system are not available, but most will likely be quite satisfied with this updated edition.  While Toyota did not address a hybrid Sienna at this time, it is very likely that a hybrid Sienna will show up sooner rather than later in this model’s life cycle.

There is much more to the 2011 Toyota Sienna and you can read all about it in Toyota’s official press release.  Hopefully these highlights will be of some assistance to you.  Below this story are several videos.  The first two videos are the live footage I shot  at the press conference.  The third video is a Toyota representative demonstrating the removal and installation of the eighth seat (which stows in the back hatch area).

2011 Toyota Sienna Complete Press Reveal Part 1

2011 Toyota Sienna Complete Press Reveal Part 2

2011 Toyota Sienna Eighth Seat Removal and Installation

The 2011 Toyota Sienna was revealed at the Los Angeles Auto Show and I was in the front row to cover all the action.

You can view some of the pictures that I took of the 2011 Toyota Sienna while attending the show in the slideshow below this story.

The third generation Sienna is an evolutionary vehicle that picks up on the strengths of the previous product and refines the overall look of the van.  You can immediately tell that the van is a newer model, yet there are no outlandish styling features that would send relatively conservative minivan buyers running for the hills.

The front of the van has a Venza inspired grille and does slightly resemble the F3R concept with a more pronounced chin.  There is a nice shoulder line running down the side of the van that gives the Sienna some visual interest.  When viewing the van from the rear, you will notice LED taillights, amber turn signal and hidden rear wiper tucked under the rear spoiler.

Climbing into the van, the instrument panel has been revised.  The graining on the materials is quite nice, but if you touch them you will find that former soft touch surfaces, such as the top of the dash, now feature harder plastics.  On the higher end models, the faux wood now has a much more realistic look to them, a la the Venza.  In the top center of the dash there is an information display.  For vans equipped with a DVD player, discs are loaded in the front of the dash in a slot loader (like the Honda Odyssey) as opposed to the current setup where you have to sit in the middle row in order to load the DVD.

I will have more information on the 2011 Toyota Sienna in part two of my coverage, but I will leave you with a YouTube clip that I took.  I walk around the van and then sit inside.  Hopefully it gives you a better perspective.

Cadillac released official photography and details today about the forthcoming CTS-V Coupe.

View the CTS-V Coupe from all angles in this linked slideshow.

The CTS Coupe is already a bold design in and of itself, the V treatment capitalizes that design and adds an exclamation mark.

The CTS-V Coupe scores the same 556-horsepower, 551 lb.-ft. of torque 6.2L engine that breathes fire in the CTS-V sedan.  That kind of whomp will send you to 0-60 mph in 3.9 seconds.

Cadillac chief Brian Nesbitt had this to say about the new addition to the Cadillac family,

The CTS-V Coupe marries our most potent and sophisticated technology with our most dramatic production design.  This combination of visual and technical attributes is designed to create a very compelling choice for luxury sports car consumers.

When it comes to shifting gears, you can row it yourself with a Tremec TR6060 six-speed manual featuring a dual-disc clutch or let a computer do the work with a Hydra-Matic 6L90 six-speed automatic with paddle-shift control.

Bringing the whole thing to a halt are Brembo brakes with impressive six-piston calipers in the front and four-piston calipers in the rear.  The Brembo’s bite down on slotted and vented rotors.  Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 summer tires are standard equipment.

Keeping things sporty inside are available Recaro seats and an exclusive Saffron color option.  The same “suede like” microfiber steering wheel, seat inserts and shifter also make it over from the CTS-V sedan.

If you recall, there was a recent study that showed that men who drove a Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet for an hour had significantly higher levels of testosterone in their saliva than after driving a 16 year old Toyota Camry.  I would like to see a similar test for drivers who spent an hour behind the wheel of this coupe:  I would imagine that the levels would be off the charts.

Pricing is not yet available, but the CTS-V sedan starts at $62,845 with destination, so you have a framework for what the CTS-V Coupe will set you back when it arrives in early summer.