Auto show exhibits range from hybrids to Hummers
 |
Video: 'Wassap Wit Dat!' blogger visits car show |
|
Video: Hot and Cool cars at the Auto Show |
|
Video: Hybrid vehicles at the Auto Show |
By Dave Dondoneau
Advertiser Staff Writer
| |||
 |
|
||
|
|||
|
|
||
|
|||
|
|
||
|
|||
|
|
||
| |||
|
|
||
| |||
|
|
||
Follow the "Green Trail" at this week's 2008 First Hawaiian Auto Show and you'll be able to compare hybrids against each other and against the same model's non-hybrid version.
Stray from that path and you can see how the other half lives — those lucky folks who can buy a $200,000 car as if it were a carton of milk and who don't bother checking the miles-per-gallon rating.
"There is definitely something for everyone this weekend," said Shaun Foley, public relations associate at Motor Trend Auto Shows Inc. "We've got over 30 manufacturers here and people can compare hybrids, look at future models and check out all the new features."
Hybrids typically run a few thousand dollars more than the regular model of a vehicle.
For instance, a Honda Civic hybrid, starting at $23,000, is rated at 40 mpg in the city and 45 mpg on the highway. A regular Civic typically starts at $21,000 and is rated at 25 and 36 mpg, respectively.
On the high end, a Lexus LS 600 HL is the most expensive hybrid at the show at $114,000 and is rated at 20 and 22 mpg. The base cost of a non-hybrid Lexus LS 600 is $73,000 and is rated at 16 and 24 mpg.
The auto show, whose sponsors include The Advertiser, is running today through Sunday at the Hawai'i Convention Center.
The show includes more than 350 vehicles, including the same cars you find in auto showrooms plus preproduction models, alternative fuel vehicles, exotic and customized cars and vintage Volkswagens.
Some things to look for:
"It's just the most popular area in our showroom every year," Foley said. "The people who buy these cars appreciate them like some people do paintings. They look at a Ferrari like it is their Picasso."
A $200,000 Bentley Continental GTC soft-top convertible will be on display, said Brad Nicolai, general manager and vice president of JN Automotive Group, which sells exotic cars.
"The car is handmade ... ," Nicolai said. "The care that goes into making it is amazing. The steering wheel is hand-stitched and took over 15 hours to make."
The Green Trail will point the way, Foley said.
"With the growing number of hybrids on the market and the interest in these cars we thought it was important this year to mark the path in the showroom with signs indicating which cars are hybrids," he said. "We didn't put all the hybrids together, but we have marked them so they're easy to find."
Other 2009 preproduction models yet to hit dealer showrooms include the Pontiac Vibe, Dodge Journey, Toyota Matrix, Toyota Corolla, Subaru Forester and Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen.
Reach Dave Dondoneau at ddondoneau@honoluluadvertiser.com.
