International auto show speeds into city

By Olivia Biagi
Collegian Staff
February 7, 2007

The Philadelphia International Auto Show kicked off Friday, Feb. 2 with a closed, black tie event at the Philadelphia Convention Center. At 9 a.m. Saturday morning, the show opened to the public. Most of the major car companies in the world sent their latest and fastest cars from concepts to unveilings of 2007 and 2008 models for everyone to admire. The majority of vehicles were out to touch, sit in and drool over.

Nissan unveiled its 2008 Altima coupe. The vehicle has no list price yet, but looks like
its way too fancy for most college students to afford. - Olivia Biagi

The upper ballroom of the Convention Center featured the elite of the car show: Rolls Royce, Aston Martin, Jaguar and Lamborghini. Roped off from the public were cars made for royalty: the Rolls Royce Phantom (6.75 Liter, V-12 Engine, base price: $333,350) and the Aston Martin V8 Vantage. Newly crowned 2007 Miss America Lauren Nelson sat in front of the display signing autographs and taking pictures. Jaguar showed off its new convertible, the XKR, which has a V-8 engine and 420 horsepower. The suggested retail for the base model (that is, the stock car without any trimmings): $92,500. The 2007 Lamborghini Murcièlago LP640 Roadster showed off its V-12 engine and $270,000 price tag.

Also upstairs were Audi and Infiniti. Audi previewed its new concept car (probably the highlight of the car show), the 2008 Audi R8 (due out fall 2007). The coupe has a V-8, 420 horsepower engine and goes 0-60 mph in 4.6 seconds. It is all-wheel drive, and the price is currently unknown. While the majority of the cars in the ballroom were roped off, there were plenty of other expensive cars to sit in, such as the Audi A4 and Infiniti FX45.

Moving to the downstairs area of the convention center, Polk Audio featured several cars with its stereo systems in the Tuner Salon, a room full of customized cars. Two Nissan 350z’s were among the various cars showcased. One 350z featured a single turbo engine with 400+ horsepower, while the other had twin turbo, 700+ horsepower.

In other rooms were the mid-year Shelby GT 500 Mustang by Ford, the Lotus Elise and Lotus Extige, Nissan’s unveiling of the 2008 Altima Coupe and the Dodge SRT-10 Viper. The 2008 Altima Coupe by Nissan, which has no list price as of yet, has a 270 horsepower, 3.5 Liter, V-6 engine. The brand new 2008 Dodge SRT-10 Viper has 600 horsepower and a new 8.4 Liter, V-10 engine. Dodge also showed off the concept Tomahawk Motorcycle. Although the bike is not yet in production, Dodge sold nine replicas through Neiman Marcus for $555,000. Because the motorcycle is currently a concept, the replicas sold cannot legally be driven on the road.

General Motors, the company that owns Chevrolet and Cadillac, showed it is moving forward into the future. Chevrolet’s concept Camaro (which was unveiled last year), due out in 2009, was shown with its 400 horsepower and an LS2, 6.0 Liter, V-8 engine. Chevy’s 2007 Z06 Corvette also showed up with 505 horsepower and a 7.0 Liter, L57 engine. The starting price is $70,000. Next, a spokesperson for Cadillac demonstrated how the power hardtop on the 2007 XLRV convertible worked, opening the roof in less than 30 seconds. The XLRV also travels 0-60 mph in less than five seconds.

A one-hour special aired by Channel 6 brought the premiere into the homes of Philadelphians city-wide on the special night. Thousands more are expected to visit the exhibit over the next eight months. Four hundred thousand tickets have already been pre-sold.

More importantly, a spokesperson for GM announced that it, along with Daimler Chrysler (which owns Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler), is developing the first full-size SUV hybrid, with an engine that will save 25 percent on gasoline. The first full-size SUV hybrids for 2007 are the Chevy Tahoe (shown at the Convention Center) and the GM Yukon. The full-size SUV hybrid is a major step forward for the car industry, especially for Daimler Chrysler, which took a huge hit in the stocks in 2006 because of their many low fuel-economy SUVs.

The Philadelphia International Auto Show will be at the Philadelphia Convention Center until Sunday, Feb. 11. Students can take the Broad Street Line to City Hall for the free interchange to the Market Street Line, and ride the El eastbound to 11th Street. The car show is open noon- 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-10 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m.-9 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $10 on weekdays and $12 on weekends. While you’re there, look for the BMW M6. You never know the next time you will have the chance to sit in a $100,000 car.

biagio1@lasalle.edu