Dallas Auto Show TAWA meeting

There was only a few things at the Dallas Auto Show this year that were really newsworthy.

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Also check out our Quick Drive review of the 2013 Buick Regal GS we drove after the Dallas Auto Show.

2012 Ram 1500 Lone Star “Texas-big” 10th Anniversary

One newsworthy event was the reveal of the 2012 Ram 1500 Lone Star “Texas-big” 10th Anniversary edition. That’s right, the Lone Star Ram was started back in 2002 because the people at Ram knew how special the Texas market was for Trucks. The Lone Star Ram was so popular that it was expanded across the U.S. It’s the top selling Ram in Texas and we see why with great interior and exterior addons. This 10th anniversary Lone Star has special commemorative logos and badging to let it stand out.

Our first look at the 2013 Buick Encore:

The Buick Encore was released at the Detroit Auto Show, and of course we don’t go that far north so we didn’t get a chance to see it in the flesh. Well, the team at Buick was nice enough to bring it along to the Dallas Auto Show where we got our first real look at the 2013 Buick Encore.

The Encore is a small crossover that integrates Buick’s signature style. They are really excited to be the first to the American market with this type of vehicle. Buick is looking at the European BMW X1 and Audi Q3 as competitors which have yet to make their mark in the U.S. You’ll be looking at a 1.4-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine matched up to a 6-speed automatic gearbox. Expect pretty good fuel economy numbers and a great interior which is standard in Buicks today.

We’re excited to see the technology in this small SUV and see how well it does for the Buick brand. Also, expect to see a Chevrolet version within a few years.

Checking out the all new Chevrolet Spark:

We posted our full review of the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic a few months ago, be sure to check that out, but this Spark is even smaller than the Sonic. The Spark is an A-segment car which competes with cars like the Fiat 500, Smart fortwo, and the Scion iQ. We weren’t able to check out the interior of the car, but we’re expecting it to be youthful and cheap, but packed with technology. Chevrolet was quick to show off the plethora of unique color options offered on the Spark. You can have your Spark in Salsa, Jalapeno, Denim, Lemonade, or Techno Pink. They will also offer a Grey Area, Black Granite, Silver Ice and Summit White. All to appeal to the all important youth market.

Powering the Spark will be a 1.2-liter 4-cylinder engine and 5-speed manual transmission straight out of Europe. This shouldn’t make the Spark that fun and sporty to drive, but will give you very competitive fuel economy.

The production version of the Scion FR-S:

We saw the FR-S at the Houston Auto Show, but it was still a pre-production version with a 5-axis body kit. It really looked good, but we were still anticipating our first look at the true production FR-S. Well here it is!

Seeing the Scion FR-S in the flesh didn’t take anything away from the hype. We’re still excited to drive this thing – and that review will be coming soon enough – but we already noticed a few things. The FR-S at the Dallas Auto Show was equipped with an automatic transmission. We know they’ll have to sell them, but it didn’t even have paddle shifters on the steering wheel. My opinion, if you have an auto in your sports car, it better have paddle shifters, otherwise just give me a manual. Second, this is a small car. I drive a Genesis Coupe and this is much smaller than that. This means the back seat is basically a shelf. It would be incredibly uncomfortable to have more than 2 people in this car.

You already know all the stats on this car, I’m sure, but the other thing I noticed was how nice the engine is laid out. It’s really low in the engine bay and pushed behind the front axles. This is going to make its center of gravity really great and it seems there’s plenty of room for…say a turbo?

The Abarth 500 brought by Fiat:

Fiat showed off its Abarth 500 and I’m actually really excited to drive one of these as well. The team at Abarth did a lot to make this not just look really cool, but go really well. This should be a true track-day fun car. Drive it normal and get great gas mileage during the week and able to hoon it on the track during the weekend. Look for a 1.4-liter MultiAir turbo engine, Abarth-tuned suspension and brake system, and race-inspired design.

We checked out a lot more cars than just these, but these were some of the bigger ones we haven’t seen yet. Check out all or our photos below!

Check out these pics taken from our new friend and check out his photobucket account HERE.

2013 Ford Fusion at the Detroit Auto Show - NAIAS

Coming into the NAIAS, like most people, we were not expecting too much, and for sure not too much that we haven’t already seen spy shots of on the interwebs. That was true for most cars, but there were a few really good surprises.

2013 Ford Fusion:
I did hear that Ford would be bringing the new Fusion to the Detroit Auto Show, and was looking forward to a boring redesign that added accent lines and changed the headlight and taillight design a little. The Fusion is a decent car and last year was one of the best selling years for the Fusion, so why would they bother to change it that much?

Oh, how naive I am. The new Fusion is a complete redesign that merges their European design language into the family sedan. I personally think it looks great for a non-premium mid-sized sedan. It has an Audi-ish profile, a European Ford Mondeo rear, and an almost Aston Martin like front fascia.

It’s not just the looks, but this new Fusion will be offered in many models. Ford will let you chose from a plug-in hybrid, an eco-model achieving 47-mpg, and the standard. The standard car will offer a choice of powertrains starting with the 2.5-liter 4-cylinder pushing 170 hp and 170 ft-lbs of torque. You can also choose from 2 different EcoBoost engines including the 1.6 EcoBoost with 179 hp and 172 ft-lbs of torque and the 2.0-liter EcoBoost with 237 hp and 250 ft-bls of torque. No word on manual or auto transmissions as of yet, but I can say I’m really looking forward to testing out this new ride!

The Chevrolet Code 130R and Tru 140S Concepts:

Chevrolet introduced two concept coupes at the 2012 North American International Auto Show aimed at inspiring next-generation buyers to take the wheel and suggest ideas for a car they can co-create.

These two concepts have been talked about a lot this past week after the reveal at NAIAS, but we had no hit of these before hand. Chevrolet knows they need to focus on the youth market, and what’s more youthful than small and sporty coupes?

The Code 130R, which is a name that confuses us all, is a rear-wheel-drive, small coupe that could take on the likes of the new Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ. The styling is a little quirky, but you can see the Chevrolet heritage bulging out and it’s even sporting some Corvette “cross-flag” emblems on the fenders. Under the hood look for a turbo’d 1.4 liter engine pushing 150 hp and 148 ft-lbs of torque matched up to either a 6-speed auto or 6-speed manual transmission.

Personally, I think GM needs this car. Not just Chevrolet, but even as a sleek Buick. I hope they continue to develop on this platform, but take more styling cues from the Tru 140S.

So what is the Tru 140S? Another confusing name fore sure. Unlike the 130R, the 140S is a front-wheel-drive coupe design. It’s said to have the same engine and transmission setup as the 130R. I’ve heard this design being compared to an Eclipse and I think that fits well, but I’d really like to see this in a RWD platform. The design is really stunning and would make some waves for sure in the compact coupe market.

2012 NAIAS - Acura NSX Concept

There has been a lot said about the new Acura NSX concept and although I still have some reservation, which I’ll get to, I’m going to label it a success. First of all, I think that the design looks really good. I’m not one of these people that say it needs to carryover lots of elements and design from the old NSX. I think a fresh start and fresh design is exactly what Acura needed.

The second reason I’m labeling this a success is because it has a mid-engine layout. I liked the last NSX concept that used a front/mid setup, but it never felt right to me. You can mess with the design but you can’t mess with the layout, if that makes sense. I’m not as bothered as most about the fact that the new NSX will be pushing a “hybrid” platform. Look at the Porsche 918 for justification.

Lastly, I’ll label it a success because they are bothering to show it at all. Acura needs this halo car. My biggest gripe is that they are still saying that a production version won’t be coming for another 3 years at least. I’m ready for this thing to be out now!

All-new 2013 Dodge Dart

The Dodge Dart is another car that you can easily call a success. We saw plenty of leaked photos and spy shots ahead of time and knew that the reveal was coming, but it was still exciting to see exactly what was what. This all new Dart takes over for the retiring Dodge Caliber and is based off the Alfa Romeo Giuletta. The new looks are aggressive and bold and are exactly what Dodge needs for a new compact car. We had a chance to talk to Kathy Graham, a Chrysler Product PR Manager, during last Wednesday’s nights Motorama chat on twitter where she answered a few key questions about the new Dart.

The Dart has been criticized for using the throwback name, but Kathy pointed out that this new Dart isn’t trying to be a modern version of the old one, like the Charger and Challenger. They brought back the name because the original Dart was Dodge’s first car marketed to the youth. It was a fun and affordable compact car and that’s what they are going for with the new Dart.

Under the hood of the base Dart, you get a naturally aspirated 2.0-liter pushing 160 hp and 148 ft-lbs of torque. You also have a 2.4-liter (184 hp 171 ft-lbs) and a 1.4 turbo (160 hp 184 ft-lbs) with 6-speed manual or autos to fit them all. This should be a very competitive car in its market and it’s aimed right for the likes of the Focus, Civic, and Elantra. Also expect to see a SRT variant coming with this car. Although they haven’t officially announced it, Dodge and Chrysler would be crazy not to make one.

2012 BMW 3 Series

Obviously, all the cars listed in our surprises and successes posts are cars we’re looking forward to driving, but there are a few others.

Scion showed off, for the first time on American soil, the FR-S Drifter. We like the drifter with it’s 600 hp, but we’re really excited to get the chance to take the FR-S out on the streets and maybe even to Texas Motorsport Ranch for a little track fun.

The new BMW 3-Series wasn’t a big surprise at the NAIAS, but it is still a car that we can’t wait to get our hands on sooner than later. Even though it’s as big as an old 5 Series, the 3 Series will always be the benchmark, and I just love what they’ve done with the new design.

The Hyundai Veloster Turbo is something we knew was coming as well and after test driving the Veloster a few months back, I really can’t wait to get in one with more power! On the same note, the 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe was unveiled at the show and this is one I’m really excited for, for a few reasons. One, I own the current Genesis Coupe 3.8 and love it. Two, after a few weeks of hating on the new design, it’s really grown on me and I actually really like it. Can’t wait to get my hands on both these great cars!

I’m reviewing the Chevrolet Sonic 1.4 turbo at the time I’m writing this post and I’m really enjoying it. Chevrolet showed off the Sonic RS at the Detroit Auto Show and like anything else, more power couldn’t hurt.

Stepping up to a little more luxury, we’re also excited to check out the new Cadillac ATS. We loved the CTS-V, but we were always just luke-warm over the base CTS. Will the ATS bring about the same results? The style looks good with it’s toned down lines, but will it really be able to compete with the BMW 3 Series like Cadillac keeps claiming? We’ll just have to drive it and find out!

2012 NAIAS FAILS

When you bring a concept car or a production car to a big show like the North American International Auto Show, you really want to make a statement with that car and get as much good press as possible. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out and these are the cars we think fall into that category.

2013 Mopar 200 Super S was showed off at the Chrysler display in Detroit. Although I really do think the new 200 is a step above the Sebring, which isn’t that hard to do, I still feel that Chrysler needs to do more to improve its luxury status. Making a sportier Mopar variant isn’t what I had in mind.

Buick came out and showed off its new compact SUV named the Encore. We reviewed the Enclave and liked the direction the style is going. It’s not so much the style that made this a fail though. This is a small SUV; as small as the Nissan Juke. Why does Buick need this car? Is there a big demand for this car in this segment? If GM was looking to bring the platform into the family, they should have probably started off with a Chevrolet instead of a Buick, but we could be wrong. They might just sell well. Only time will tell.

Lincoln made a lot of hype about bringing the all-new MKZ concept to the Detroit Auto Show. We even saw a few teasers released by Lincoln that gave us hope. I’m just not digging the new design though; and it’s not just me. Lincoln needs to do something big to bring its name back and I’m afraid this just wasn’t it. It’s not just design, Lincoln needs to focus on who they want to compete with, and build competitive products, but they’ll never really be competitive with their front-wheel-drive platforms. They need to go all rear-wheel-drive or a true all-wheel-drive setup. They need to bring the enthusiasts in with a real halo car, whether that be a large luxurious RWD sedan, or a new sporty coupe based off the Mustang platform.

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RRM Platinum Edition Kizashi

Love, hate, or don’t really care about the new Kizashi from Suzuki one thing has always been certain, RoadRace Motorsports has their own plans for the new Zuk. Our friends at RRM have had a role in the Kizashi from very early on and have been working on aftermarket parts for this car for a year now. What is the best place in America to show off a new car with fantastic aftermarket potential? Well that would be SEMA. RRM has their Platinum Kizashi on display at SEMA this year and has released a few photos of the car on their Flickr site.

Check out the pictures on Flickr and check out the RRM site.

I know this is a Texas car blog and Frankfurt is a long ways away from Texas and many of the cars displayed there will never see our shoreline. But bear with me as I go through my top picks from the Frankfurt Motor Show.  This is an enthusiast site, so I hope you enjoy the cars as much as I do.

Frankfurt Germany

Click the link to see them.