Along came roughly 1,000 cars from manufacturers all over. Just after the prestigious Detroit extravaganza, the 2011 Chicago Auto Show hits McCormick Place Febuary 11th-20th. The past few gatherings were toned down as the troubled economy altered our spirits. But from the looks of this year’s setup, you may be in store for a little more fun this time around. Although car manufacturers emphasize mileage and savings, more exciting may be new electrically powered vehicles. We have some nice family cars and interesting concepts to see. Finally, we’ll explore new offerings in this latest generation of muscle cars.
Some companies are ditching that traditional internal combustion engine and testing the waters with battery powered cars. Ford introduces the 2012 all electric Focus. It’s cheap to maintain because there’s less moving mechanical parts in an electric. The company says this car eliminates nearly 2 dozen components requiring service during the usual 10-year, 150,000 mile life of the car. The Focus Electric Concept sounds promising.
Toyota’s 2012 Prius plug-in Hybrid uses gas and electric, and uses a lighter lithium battery. This 5 door 5 passenger hatchback can be charged with a standard 110 volt outlet in 3 hours. It’s got electric motor assist with a 4 cylinder engine.
The 2012 Rav4 EV is also electric and may be due for mass production in 2012.
Some larger family cars of note include the 2011 Honda Odyssey and the fancy 2011 Cadilac SRX. Introduced in 2010, the turbo version is gone but the respectable stying is still there for this year.
From Ford comes the completely revamped 2011 Explorer.
The Ford C-Max was a hit in Europe. It isn’t quite a crossover or SUV, just a multi-activity car. Special feature of note is the hands-free liftgate. You use the motion of your leg to open the rear.
Honda introduces the Civic Sedan concept at the show. It comes in sedan and coupe forms.
Switching gears, we’re on to the next generation on muscle cars. Dodge (or really Fiat) continues with its Challenger. The 2011 SRT8 392 has a larger engine featuring 470 horsepower V8 at 6.4 liter displacement over the previous 425 horsepower 6.1 liter motor. Thankfully, a six-speed stick is standard, with a five-speed automatic optional. Pictured is the 2011 Challenger R/T classic (R/T stands for road and track).
The 2011 Camaro from Chevrolet is now offered in convertible form.
I’ll finish with my personal highlight of the 2011 Chicago Auto show. Ford and Shelby American, Inc announced the return of the Shelby GT350 in 2011. Cars were made in very limited numbers. For 2012, only 350 GT350s are planned. Color options are red, white or blue. Also, the first convertible since 1970 will be offered. This is what legends are made of: motors reaching up to 624 horsepower, heavy duty breaks, gauges galore inside, racing stripes, and the classic Shelby nameplate. Shelby American displays these limited edition cars at the show.
Boss of the streets again! The Mustang Boss 302 is back after 40 years with this 2012 model. Below is the car with the Laguna Seca package.
Yes…the spirit of the late 1960s lives on.
