L.A. Auto Show: Preseason sneak-peeks in the blogosphere
The 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show takes place in November and enthusiast websites are already abuzz with rumors and speculation about the star turns and major reveals. After a whole raft of spy pics that have made it on to the Internet, the 2010 Nissan 370Z’s official unveiling at the show won’t elicit any gasps, but it’s still an eagerly awaited machine.
This is the new generation of Z car, replacing the perennially popular 350Z coupe and roadster. The change of name reflects the 3.7-liter V-6 that replaces the previous car’s 3.5-liter engine. Styling-wise, the 370Z looks like it will be sporting head- and taillights similar to the new Nissan Maxima (pictured). But the good news is that critics of the 350Z’s weight are said to have been heeded; the 370Z should be lighter and with a wider track. Add those factors to the extra power and this should be a really fun driver.
The Nissan stand looks like it'll be a busy one, since the 2010 Nissan Cube is also rumored to make an appearance. This will be the second generation of a car whose first iteration never quite got off the ground, but it seems its time has come.
Another set of teaser images are those of the 2010 Ford Mustang, supposedly another all-new model, not that the Ford is giving much away.
There’s a whole subsection of the automotive media dedicated to spy shots, where photographers will camouflage themselves, hide in trees for days on end and do all sorts of crazy stuff to get a scoop snap. So manufacturers retaliate by taping sheets of plastic over the bodies of their new designs, or cover their cars with stripes and zig-zags to disguise the lines.
As a result, spy shots like those of BMW’s 2010 Z4 are hardly informative. But the word is that this new-generation sports car will have a retractable hard top and less, ahem, radical styling. A BMW source told us that the new Z4 wouldn’t appear before next year, but alternate sources say otherwise. If it doesn’t debut at Los Angeles, Detroit in January would be the next best bet.
There are two more possibles (isn’t this how rumors get started?). Southern California would be the perfect place for Ferrari to unveil an open-top version of its 430 Scuderia super-car.
And wouldn’t the City of Angels also be the ideal location for Toyota to show off its next-generation Prius? Californians have embraced the hybrid in a big way, so we deserve to see the new one first. A heavily masked version has been spotted in San Francisco recently.
Photos: Nissan/Ford
