In the interest of time, I'll keep my comments for Part 2 brief and to the point! :) Here are some of the other cars that caught my attention at the auto show:
1. The 2010 Kia Soul: The Soul has the boxy shape like the Scion XB and the Nissan Cube, but it is by far the best looking of the three. It has a 2.0 liter, 140 hp four cylinder engine, and 19.3 Cubic feet of luggage space. If its reliability is good, this may just be a good car.
2. The 2009 Toyota Venza: The crossover based on the Camry sedan looks good. It may be equipped with a 2.7 liter, 182 hp four or a 268 hp V6 engine, depending upon your preference. The blind spot at the rear is a nuisance, however.
3. The Honda Fit: This economical, good-selling car has its advantages, but when I saw a IIHS crash test pitting it against the larger Honda Accord and doing poorly (along with the poor-performing low-speed bumper test), it left me quite disturbed. I like the Fit--but I'm not sold on buying it, in spite of its good reliability.
4. The 2010 Chevrolet Camaro and the 2009 Chevrolet Corvette: The Camaro: the good- retro good looks, great base 304 hp V6 engine; the bad- Tiny windows, placement of some gauges down by the transmission shifter on the floor console (that is retro gone wrong), and wimpy trunk and back seat space. The Corvette: the 638 hp, $106,000 Corvette ZR1 is hot, but it looks too much like a base model--that's inexcusable for a car that expensive. Still, I would like to drive both the Camaro and the Corvette- they would be awesome to drive!
