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autoshow

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

Today I went to the auto show that's in progress. The highlights, for me, were:

1) the designs that University/college kids entered into an competition that required designs evocing culture and expressing certain technical feats. While there was a certain amount of duplication among the entries (and quite a few glaring spelling errors), I found it hopeful that the people training for doing this kind of design were for the most part to be considering useful rather than fanciful things. There were even ideas like small commuter cars that joined together to make more efficient 'trains' on the road for major urban highways.

2) sitting in some of the cars that I've been researching against the day that I might need to buy a commuter vehicle. I learned that the Kia Spectra is a much more comfortable and decent-seeming vehicle than, for instance the Chevy Cobalt or the Pontic Pursuit. And I learned that I can fit into the Honda Civic hybrid, even if I'm not sure I could afford its $30k price.

3) sitting in some bizarre vehicles like the Honda Element (which I rather enjoyed, the utility of the vehicle is certainly surprising)

4) finding useful stuff from the government, like comparison information on emissions, and insurance information.

5) sneering at the outrageous prices of some of the 'luxury' vehicles ($70k for an Acura that looks like a glorified Civic?!)