Phoenix is a beautiful city and the weather today, in late November, was simply incredible.

Outside the convention center Hyundai and Toyota were offering free test drives.

Exotics were displayed outside the convention hall by local dealers. This is the Lamborghini Aventador.

That’s one angry bat.

The new Bentley Continental.

A baby Rolls-Royce, the BMW 7-series-based Ghost.

And while its architecture and powertrain come from BMW, the body and personalized interior are still traditional.

Ferrari California

Maserati Cambiocorsa, arguably the best looking automobile available for sale today. This was designed by Jason Castriota who was trained by Pininfarina and now works for Saab.

Ferrari FF. Nothing positive to say here.

The nav system was plucked directly from the Jeep Grand Cherokee (Ferrari is a subsidiary of Fiat, and Fiat owns part of the Chrysler group who in turn own the Jeep brand).

$10 later, we were inside the show floor. Toyota was eager to show off its Prius V and Camry.

I was SHOCKED. The interior of the new Camry is beautiful. The upper dashboard is beautifully stitched. The center stack abandoned the ugly teal blue plastic in favor of more refined blacks and silvers. The knobs and buttons feel substantial. All of the lids and storage bins are luxuriously damped.

The only oddities are the two panels flanking the bottom of each side of the center stack. They look glued on.

Beautiful padded door panels.

The glove box door uses the same opening and locking mechanism that’s been in the Lexus LS for years. The stitching on the left panel there is unfortunately fake.

Soft storage bin lid with real stitching.

Optional suede seating surfaces on the XLE trim level.

The gauge cluster features an information center inside the speedometer. It isn’t quite as nice as the full color display in the Kia Optima, but the gauges themselves look attractive with silver bezels and ocean blue rings.

This dour trashbin is the new Honda Civic.

The interior is easily the worst of any Honda made in the last 25 years.

The sharp triangular door handles and cute hamster face were replaced by a Toyota-inspired lump of nothingness.

I had a chat with a man standing nearby about how awful the interior was.

Relief! The new Hyundai Veloster. It’s a big odd to look at from some angles, but overall it presents itself nicely.

Hyundai’s headlights get larger and larger. Note the red accents on the wheels.

I’m not particularly crazy about Hyundai’s puckered center stacks. The large LCD is nice.

A clever yet obvious way to separate display areas.

No one cares about the new Lincoln MKS.

A brand new car on a platform, barren.

Kill it with fire.

The Fusion-based MKZ has always been a reasonable vehicle, with a no-extra-cost hybrid powertrain.

The MKZ’s interior is passable. The wood trim looks a bit cheap but the piping on the seats is nice.

None of the interior design elements are original or interesting.

The buttons are too small and crammed together.

This display looks like it came out of a decade-old car. In fact, it looks like the display in my Cadillac Seville which debuted in late 1997.

This gray-haired fellow in the blue suit represents Lincoln’s demographic. And its not his age I’m insulting, its the brand’s lack of freshness and innovation.

The MKT’s interior is a bit nicer with more interesting colors, better panel fitment, and more pleasing shapes.

But the MKT still has a face only a mother could love. This is Lincoln’s new look, and it is awful.

I’ve always been a fan of the Navigator.

But this generation’s square gauges, pulled right out of the malaise era, are downright awful.

The old Navigator was renowned for its satin nickel trim and electroluminescent optitron gauges. What happened, Lincoln?

Looks like a teenager with braces.

Mustang of some sort.

The Taurus continues to be attractive.

Honestly, Fords look much nicer inside than Lincolns.

This swept-back center stack reminds me somewhat of the Acura NSX and Nissan 300ZX. It presents well and makes the cabin feel spacious.

Nice diagonal door panel inserts.

The Taurus’s back seat seems tight for such an enormous car.

The MB S-class soldiers on, still the best mass-produced full size luxury car on earth. I’ll never warm up to its rear end styling.

This is the Mercedes CLS with revised styling. It looks sleeker and longer.

The tail lights have nice details but they come across as a bit too Japanese.

Getting into the back is a challenge since the coupe-like sedan emphasizes sleekness over ingress.

The buttons and knobs are made of real aluminum!

Beautiful high-contrast stitching, plush padding, supple leather.

Grilles in the rear seat. Anyone know what those are? Vents? Speakers?

Analog clock.

The overall design of the interior does look a bit dated, but the swoopy shapes are still pleasing.

The E-class cabriolet looks appropriately German. The name is a bit of a misnomer since it’s built primarily on the C-class architecture. Using the C-class as a basis for the coupe and convertible allows for a sportier feel and lighter weight expected of two-door luxury cars.
The last real E-class-level convertible from Mercedes-Benz was the W124, which has a resale value that’s still somewhere between 20k and 35k.

I’m fond of white leather.

Aside from the obnoxious tri-star badge, the new corporate look for Mercedes-Benz is bold and sharp.

Front of the revised CLS

The SLS cabrio

According to reviews, the loss of gullwing doors and the introduction of an open top enhanced the driving experience.

E-class sedan

The venerable G-wagen

Looks like 1970 outside. Looks modern inside. The short dashboard and narrow cabin are giveaways to its age, but I call it timeless.

The doors sound amazing when they close, like a bank vault.

Fast Tube by Casper

The updated SL was recently announced (old one is pictured), adopting MB’s new sharper styling.

Onward to Fiat. This 500 features a cappuccino brown interior.

Even fat people can drive it.

Attractive seats with perforated leather.

I actually fit in the back. I wouldn’t go across the country back there, but I fit.

Fuel economy is disappointing for how small it is.

People kept walking over to see the 500c convertible, and were shooed because they were blocking the photo. Fiat was offering to take pictures with backdrops of Italy.

Rear visibility is a problem when the top is open.

I like this color scheme, though the white steering wheel and white knobs would require constant cleaning.

For wheel covers, they look quite nice.

I don’t even know why I took a picture of the Dodge Caravan.

The Caravan’s updated interior is nice, however. Its not quite up there with the Nissan Quest, but the materials feel softer and more pleasant than the Toyota Sienna.

Brilliant cargo and seating configurations.

Revised Jeep Compass

The body is much nicer. The interior went from awful to passable.

Dodge Durango

Dodge Journey. I dont know why these aren’t more popular here. They sell well in Europe.

Charger

Chrysler 300 interior. The chrome ring around the radio/navigation is a bit weird, but otherwise the cabin looks more expensive than it is.

New 8-speed ZF transmission with a funny electronic bump shifter.

Nicely sculpted headlights.

Like the 1992-2002 Cadillac Eldorado, the 300 has little design details like these fenders that poke upward.

The Chrysler 200 convertible is a MASSIVE improvement over the Sebring. It’s still too heavy, however, with a floppy chassis.

Inside is where the 200 is most improved.

Mazda Miata. This interior is a bit bland.

Japanese sticker.

The first-generation Miata had classic roadster design elements that this generation sorely lacks.

The revised nose, however, is a welcome change.

The Mazda 6 isn’t as nice inside as its beautiful exterior suggests.

I don’t remember what this is. An Impreza?

Impreza

Ford and Lincoln still use numerical entry, but its hidden.

The Explorer

Some reviewers have complained that sitting in the Explorer feels like sitting in a tube. I haven’t noticed that because I was too distracted by the awful Myford Touch system.

Fast Tube by Casper

Ford Fusion

The interior is okay, nothing special, and due for an overhaul.

Ford Raptor

Part 3