Houston Auto Show
 

for those of you that are in the area....and MIGHT have heard the commercials on the radio....but didn't get the details....and ESPECIALLY for those of you that didn't hear the commercials....here are the details for the show.

Show Dates:
April 13-21, 2002

Show Hours:
Saturdays: 10:00 A.M. - 10:30 P.M.
Sundays: 10:00 A.M. - 7:00 P.M.
Mon thru Thurs: Noon - 9:30 P.M.
Friday: Noon - 10:30 P.M.

Location:
Reliant Center
8400 Kirby Drive
Houston, TX 77001
(713) 799-9500

Admission:
Adults - $8.00
Children 12 and under free
when accompanied by an adult
Tickets on sale at Reliant Center box office.
Box office opens 15 minutes prior to show opening
There are no advance sales of tickets.

Discount Coupons:
Available in April at participating Chevron stations and new car dealerships. Valid for $1 off one regular admission.

Yep, I can't wait to go, but I'm not sure when I'll be able to sneak it in...

Thanks Nuke,


When is everyone going....I'm trying to close on a house so I may go Sat....While I still have time and money.

its looking like Craigrrrp and I are going to try and go on Sunday the 14th.

I'd love to go on Sunday but we're hosting some friends from out of town, and I don't think they're going to want to go. But it looks like I can sneak out early next week Friday, so I might go then...

Well I did get approved for my home loan.........and on close on it Mon....so I may not be able to make it at all now.......

<weighing importance> Auto Show w/ mp5 buddies.....or.....A new home( my aftermarket life is coming to a screeching hault now) .....I'm just psyched cause now I will have a place to call my own.........WOOOOHOOOOO.

Thanks for letting me ramble.:cheers: :bigthumb: :cheers:


And now that I am moving out of the inlaws place....MY :inthebum: life will be coming back too!!!!

Congrats, vkyolv. Home ownership has its down sides, but on the whole it's way cool...

Yeah..like paying $1200 a month for the next 30 years:(

nah, that's not the down side. First, you'd have to be forking out most of that for rent anyway, and second, most of that is tax deductible. The money thing is a wash.

No, the down side is that, unlike renting, you can't just call someone when something breaks and have them fix it for free. You gotta spend either your time or your money...

Hey, for those of you going this weekend, I want a full report here so I know where to go first when I get there!

:D

We are going Sunday. I'll see if I can find anything interesting. I was looking at the website and it looks like the selection will be kind of limited (in my opinion). The new 6 and the Z will be there. The awesome GT40 is what I'm going to look at. So if I were you I would stop by the Ford section first. I might have to "borrow" that car for a little while. Just going to be a bunch of concepts and previews you have already come across in other literature. I was trying to find out if the Mazdaspeed Protege will be there but I don't think it will be. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Hey guys I'm going to be home in San Antonio on Wednesday night Thursday morning. I'm definately going to be at this sometime next weekend.

Ok. Went to the Autoshow today. The Mazdaspeed Protege was there. I recommend looking at the SVT Focus and then looking at the Mazdaspeed. I decided I would rather have the Focus (heated leather trimmed seats, better transmission, traction control, etc.) especially since it will probably be cheaper. The Solstice and Z were there. Both looked really good. BMW had a couple of 7 series, an M5, and 2 M3's. Porsche had the whole model line represented (including a GT2) but the doors were locked, windows up, and tops up. I think my favorite was the GT40 it looked awesome up close. The Saleen S7 was there again, this time in silver. Aston Martin had a couple of DB7's. They all looked good. BMW did not bother to bring the Mini. The factory rep. told me that there were not going to be any franchises in Texas, I just wanted to see their take on a British icon. The new Jaguar X-Type is great for 30k and the XJ8 Vanden Plas is the most comfortable car on the face of this earth. You just kind of mold into the seats. I did not like the M5 they had there. The leather inside is brown instead of tan or black (I Hate Brown Leather!) and the interior all seemed just a little too weird. I think the M3 was a more comfortable and sorted out vehicle. Hell, I guess thats about it. There were a lot of trucks and stuff there but I really don't like trucks. Look at the new Mazda 6. It looked pretty cool, a bigger version of the Protege basically.

I went to the show today as well, sunday, with my son joseph, and Craigrrrp, and his dad....it was a good show. There were a few cars missing that I would have loved to see....but alas...I guess you can't have everything.

In the Mazda stable...of course the Mazdaspeed was there...and the Mazda6. GUYS....guess what? the Mazda6 hatch COMES with Altenza style tails!!!! lol I couldn't believe it!! at least the one there had them on it. the standard 6 had red tails....the Mazdaspeed....well I was disappointed with the color...I was expecting a monochomatic deep orange paint....its NOT, its a pale orange with a pearl coat. nice enough...but it wouldn't be my first choice.

There were quite a few concepts that just made you drool....both cars and trucks. in the car department there was the Pontiac Solstice, quite a little package...and IF they make it to production....they won't be able to keep them in the dealerships....two seats....225 HP....bad to the bone performance....and all for 20K. If you even took the time to look at the Buick La Cross....you spent a while with your tongue on the floor....it was so beautiful....absolutely awe inspiring. it was equiped with voice recognition voice commands for opening the hood, the sliding hatch, and a few other features....The GT40 was very nice as well....but just an updated race car of the past......Ford had their TONKA Truck F-350 there....that dude was A TRUCKERS TRUCK....very impressive in everyway....then there was the Dodge M80....that little truck was awsome as well....it looks like a BIG toy....and IF it makes it to prodution it won't stay on the dealers lots either....with an estimated price tag of only 15K. It will certainly take the small truck market by storm.
The Saleen S7 was there as previously mentioned, and the Rep there told the guy next to us...for 100K DOWN, they would START to make one for you.
Porsche had a nice line up...but NOT a complete one....there was one car that was missing that I had hoped to see...the Cayenne, known as the fastest SUV on the market, this WILL get your soccer mom's to the game on time!! with a standard NA engine with 337 HP and 310 ft-lbs of torque and 0-60 in 6.4 seconds....then of course if you are REALLY in a hurry at times...there is the optional Turbo option which will give you 449 HP and 442 ft-lbs of torque with 0-60 in 5 seconds flat! Turn me loose in one of those to get the groceries!!!

all in all....a good day....one that dreams are made of. :{D

Thanks for the update Sir Nuke and kc5zom...

And it's a darn good thing I have an imagination...since I can't go :(

I have some Pics of some of the more interesting stuff....will post them later on....BUT....just to wet your appitite....

Yeah the paint on the Mazdaspeed was a little bit ugly. I like the new 6 but I think Mazda may be rethinking that one in a few years. The mainstay of that market level is the conservative car shopper and they went a little bit edgy on all of those trims. I saw guys drooling but a lot of women (including mine) would not be caught dead driving something like that as a daily driver (although she said I could have one). Maybe they should have saved the edgy bits for a sport version. I think this will go well with enthusiasts but it won't be able to grab much of Honda or Toyota's share of the market. Which is, of course, what making cars is all about. As for the GT40 it was a lot more than just an updated race car. It was a thoroughly modern vehicle with a design that visually paid homage to the original models. The car underneath should be able to play with just about everything made today when production begins. I'm not sure if it will be able to take a Turbo 911 or not though. I think it will (because of the added horsepower) but the extra weight might be a problem. As for the Cayenne, I think it was evil and stupid of Porsche to make the damn thing in the first place. So I didn't even notice it wasn't there. I hope Jaguar does not dilute their brand name by making an SUV.

Congrats! Im also in the process of buying a house. My credit is perfect, so I dont think I will have trouble getting a loan. I havent talked to a bank yet to see how much I would be approved for. The bank will most likely approve me for 50k more than I want, but that doesnt mean I could afford it LOL :)

If you dont mind, could you give me some pointers that you may have learned. Like the process you went through? You can PM me or email me. Thanks :D

KC, what i ment by the GT-40 being an updated version of an old race car...is the shape and body REALLY didn't change that much...CERTAINLY under the skin they are TOTALLY different cars....the new will out perform the old with NO problem....but to me...it really didn't catch my eye that much...as it wasn't all that much different.....I remember when the ORIGINAL GT-40 came out....just not that special to me I guess.

I am only old enough to have met the GT40 a little late in the game. But all of those Le Mans wins can't be wrong! I just like the fact that Ford is getting back into the supercar business after all these years. If GM doesn't hurry up and do something drastic they are going to be way behind. But I don't think that Pontiac will build the Solstice. The Pontiac brand requires a certain amount of "character flaws" before a new model can be sold. I don't think they could afford to make the Solstice ugly enough to be a good Pontiac. Oh well. I think the Miata could use the competition. Maybe then Mazda would push a V6 version on down for our hot little American hands (sorry, somebody said that today and it has been implanted in my rather tiny head).

Oh. And if anyone is interested I have pictures too. Just IM me at Kc5zom (on AOL) and I will e-mail them to you. I got a good one of the GT40 that is sitting on my desktop, a few of the solstice, one of the mazdaspeed, and some other assorted vehicles.

FYI it is official...I am a homeowner now....:cheers:

If anyone has good pics from the auto show I would appreciate it if they somehow found their way into my email. VkyolV@yahoo.com

Congratulations, vkyolv, that's really cool. Best wishes for many years of trouble-free home ownership!

Thanks

Ok. I put these on my website:
http://www.geocities.com/brhildebrand

Let me know if anyone has any problems.

Congrats man! You are only a year older than me. Doing damn good. I would have had the down payment for my house if I would'nt have blown my engine, and had to get a new one! There's always next year when the bonuses hit agian.

I just wish I had the play money too....oh well ..... AT least I have a garage to work in now...right???????:cheers: drinking beer and working on the car.....woohoo

Yeah,

I have a small A.A.S. in EET.