The new Shelby GT350 Mustang may not be the only Shelby American-Ford Motor Co. collaboration for the new generation Mustang.
It’s going to be a busy week for automotive scribes hoping to keep up with all the news coming out of the Los Angeles Auto Show – and that means great news for car shoppers looking for the latest and greatest offerings.
Based on advance announcements, industry scuttlebutt and the LA show’s latest media schedule, there look to be at least 30 world introductions at the L.A. Convention Center, with twice that many new models on display for the first time in North America if you include those recently shown at the Paris Motor Show and elsewhere.
The Tinseltown gathering will underscore the increasing diversity of the American automotive market, with everything from battery-cars to high-performance vehicles, entry-level crossovers to ultra-exclusive sedans. If anything, this week’s L.A. Auto Show breaks with recent history. In recent years there has been an emphasis on green machines. This time around, there’s a big push for performance and luxury.
A few question marks remain – for one thing, whether Toyota and Honda will show off the new fuel-cell vehicles they’re introducing in Asia this week.
The L.A. Auto Show will feature a mix of familiar and all-new models. The big Chrysler 300, the Mazda CX-5 and the Ford Explorer will be on hand after undergoing major mid-cycle updates. Acura has rushed a significant refresh of its ILX sedan hoping to kick-start sluggish sales of the entry-level model.
But there are plenty of completely new products on tap, including the Honda HR-V, an entry-level crossover, and the new Land Rover Discovery Sport, the latter expected to anchor a new range of SUVs from the British marque.
There will be a fair showing of concepts – though rather than offering pure fantasy, many of them hint at production models to come. That includes the Scion iM, the first in what is expected to be a wave of new products for Toyota’s youth-oriented brand-within-a-brand. The Audi A9 offers a hint of a new coupe-like flagship for the brand. Paris showgoers got a first look at another flagship to come, the Infiniti Q80 Inspiration concept.
As the largest single market within the U.S., California has an outsized influence over the automotive industry. That’s especially true when it comes to environmentally friendly vehicles. And they’ll still have a presence this year. Mitsubishi will show off a concept plug-in hybrid, the XR. Mercedes-Benz will stage its first U.S. showing of the S550 Plug-in Hybrid.
The German maker will have an outsized presence in L.A. this year, and much of that will focus on the performance and high end of the luxury market – no surprise considering Southern California alone accounts for about a quarter of the global sales of Mercedes’ AMG line-up. Among the models it will present are the new Mercedes-AMG GT S, and the latest take on the S63.
Also set to make its world debut is the new Mercedes-Maybach S600 Pullman. If the name is familiar it’s because the launch of the big limousine marks the return of the Maybach nameplate which aren’t Daimler AG had seemingly pulled off the market for good several years ago. It will now stand as a high-end sub-brand rather than a marque in its own right.
(Mazda brings new CX-3 City SUV to L.A. Auto Show. For more, Click Here.)
Also set to have a major presence in Los Angeles, Porsche will reveal three new models, including the Panamera Exclusive Series. It plans to produce just 100 of these special models at a price tag of $264,885 – plus another $995 in deliver charges. BMW will launch two new performance crossovers, the X5M and X6M.
(Click Here for details about the new Chrysler 300.)
The Germans won’t have a lock on muscle, however, Cadillac will debut its all-new ATS-V, a 450-horsepower brute meant to take on such stalwarts as the BMW M3 and M4. Then there’s Ford which only recently launched its 50th anniversary Mustang. The LA Auto Show will see the first in an upcoming wave of spinoffs, the 500-horsepower Shelby GT350 Mustang.
(To see more about the new Shelby GT350 Mustang, Click Here.)
Also set to debut is a customized Mustang designed by former Aston Martin stylist Henrik Fisker who plans to produce a limited-edition series in partnership with L.A.-based Galpin Motors, the world’s largest Ford dealership.
And the list goes on, with new products large and small, affordable and exclusive, targeting virtually every possible niche that car buyers might imagine.