No Future for the Avenir

You can stop dreaming.

Buick said there will not be a production version of the amazing Avenir concept from last year.
The 2017 Lacrosse is the closest thing we'll get...

Sad, but realistic. Since the Avenir would have been built on the same platform as the new Cadillac CT6. And it would have killed the CT6.

Cadillac's sad looking large sedan would have had no chance against this.

And you know what, I predict the same thing will happen with the equally amazing Avista Concept...

2017 Lincoln Continental

Again, what we saw last year was not a concept, really.
It was this production car with more chrome. A lot more chrome.

I didn't like it then and I like it even less now.
As I said before, this should have never been called "Continental". That name comes with a history, heritage and prestige this doesn't have at all.

Outside it doesn't look any better than any sedans from Acura. It's not ugly. Just invisible.
Inside, the vulgar looking chrome from last year has been replaced by some horrible looking wood trim (At least in the version pictured above)
And just like outside, it has zero personality.

I really like recent Lincolns. I drove a MKZ for 3 days and really liked it. And their new MKX and MKC are great.

They were on the right path. What the hell happened???

Hollywood sight

 I saw this in the streets a few days ago. Just south of Sunset Blvd.

A very rare, but sad sight indeed.
An old Lotus Elite. Hadn't seen one in... well, I'm not even sure I've ever seen one in real life.

It was produced from 1974 to 1982. This one has the side markers, so it was (is?) a US model.
Seems like they only made 2535 of these. So this is a rare car.
It's really too bad to see it in that shape.
Although I do understand something like this must be quite expensive to fix.
But, it's obviously still running!

This is what it is supposed to look like.

Quite a crazy design for its time. Although, I do remember many really modern (crazy) british designs from the 70's.
Like the Rover 3500 or the Austin Princess (Anyone remembers that one?) were great designs that, I think, still look modern today.

Volvo S90 VS.Jaguar XF

 I keep comparing the 2 cars. I know...

But, to me, they are both shocking in their own way.
The S90 interior is shocking because it is so great. And coming from such a "blah brand" like Volvo. A brand that most people had written off. A brand that is not associate with style.

The XF is also shocking. Because how bad it looks.
 And that is coming from a very prestigious brand with a huge history of style and elegance.
The Volvo interior is so good looking. And even original.
It is truly competing with the best in its class.

And,Volvo is saying it will be priced under the $50 000 XC90.
While the Jag starts at $52 000!

Meanwhile, at Jaguar, things are flat and boring. Almost sad.
I mean look at this!

Basically devoid of any style. A coldness that was never associated with British cars before.
( I sat in it, and I can tell you, it's not better in person)
And while Volvo has found an amazing way to display wood, Jaguar seems to be doing its best to hide it.

We have officially entered the "Bizarro World".

Auto Show Quick notes: Interiors

 The new Mini Clubman is really roomy.
This could truly work as a compact family car. On top of that, everything feels and looks good.
(Except the never ending amount of shiny bits everywhere...)

On the other hand, this is sad.

The US/China Only Passat interior looked old when it came out back in 2011. Almost 5 years later all it gets (At least inside) is some new trim. Barely.
So now it looks... really old.

At the show, the Mazda6 sits about 20 feet away from the Passat.
And what a difference 20 feets make!  It is quite amazing. The Mazda feels and looks like another class of car altogether. While pretty much at the same price.

It seems that about anything it its class has a much better interior than the Passat.
Sad...