It’s always a bit of a risk sending four car nuts out into the hordes of an auto show, cameras at the ready, and asking them to bring back their favourites.

We did it with Senior Editor Jonathan Yarkony once, and all we got back was hamburger and hotdog photos. We did it with Jacob Black once… all we got was a (scary) glimpse inside his fractured mind.

This year, we sent Brendan McAleer, Chris Chase, Simon Hill and Dan Heyman into the fray of the LA Auto Show. These are their favourites.

Brendan McAleer:

Kia Ballast Point Sedona
At about 4:30 pm on the day of the show, having been up for twelve hours to catch the leaks overnight and having logged a dozen miles of back and forth getting elbowed in the endless scrums trying to take a picture of yet another crossover, Kia’s booth hoves into view like an oasis in the desert. Reporters, tradespeople, dealers, and all the other various hangers-on cluster around like wildebeests at the watering hole. So sure, it’s not production ready, but it’s still the best thing ever.

Back to the Future Tacoma
Really, it’s the simplicity of this idea that’s the best thing about it. Taking a bush-bar [the term you’re looking for is “‘roo bar” – Ed.], a bed rack, and a smattering of yellow KC off-road lights, Toyota transformed their Tacoma pickup into a childhood icon. It’s Marty McFly’s truck, the one we all lusted after – heck, Marty lusted after it too for a while – an image of off-road fun in the California sun. Sure, Doc’s gull-winged Mirai has a sense of humour about it as well, but the Taco’ still looks cool today. I’d love to wake up to find it in my driveway – “Throw another coat of wax on there, Biff.”

Dodge Viper ACR
While Fiat was busy trying to convince us that the Fiat 124 convertible provided a cure for erectile dysfunction (you’ll understand when you see the commercial), just around the corner Dodge had the real lusty presence. The bewinged Viper ACR is simply the baddest car on the show floor, capable of mopping up most of the exotics on display, as well as any of the concepts. It’s just such a beast, and suffers fools not at all.

Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio
This car deserves its own detective show, with a lead character called Lucky. Hire pale-eyed Alexandra Daddario, give her a badge and a gun, and commence loose-cannoning all across Little Italy. The twin-turbo Giulia is prettier by half than the M4 GTS sitting across the way at the BMW booth, it’s more interesting, and it gives me heart palpitations. Amore!

Porsche 911SC Targa
Rob Zombie–lookalike Magnus Walker was on hand at the Pirelli booth to show off one of his “Outlaw” 911 builds. However, over at Porsche’s factory booth, the genteel simplicity of a classic 911 outshone all the cutting and welding. The Targa’s probably the least-loved variant of the classic cars, but the success of the new one is bringing it back into the spotlight again. It’s probably already too late to keep your eyes peeled for a good deal on one, but you might get lucky.


Chris Chase:

Honda Civic Coupe
The new design language Honda applied to the Civic sedan looks good in two-door form. Here’s a car that looks more substantial than the one that came before. I’m looking forward to seeing how this coupe looks wearing the inevitable Si treatment.

Buick LaCrosse
Wearing a front fascia previewed by the Avenir concept shown earlier this year in Detroit, Buick’s new flagship sedan looks purposeful, with taut lines and big wheels pushed out to the corners. If there’s a car whose looks prove Buick is serious about appealing to a more enthusiastic audience, this is it.

Scion CH-R concept
If nothing else, the Nissan Juke has proven it’s okay to like a weird-looking crossover if it drives well. And hey, a few years in, the Juke almost looks normal. We hope Scion is serious about doing a production model based on the CH-R, because if it looks half as cool as this concept, it may have the power to bring the kind of coolness Scion needs to enliven its lineup. [But didn’t we already see this as a Toyota in Frankfurt? and then again in Japan?]

Kia Sportage
Here’s the thing: I have tremendous respect for how Kia has turned itself around in the last few years. Part of that is due to German designer Peter Schreyer’s influence on the brand, and his influence has only grown as he moved up the ranks to become Chief Design Officer of the Hyundai/Kia group. But with the Sportage – a car that looks a touch too much like a Porsche Macan – I feel like we’ve reached “peak Schreyer,” a car I think takes his influence a step too far.

Land Rover Evoque convertible
Like the Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet (that never came to Canada), the Evoque convertible is the answer to a question nobody asked. We like the Evoque a lot, but the droptop version looks like a toy. Maybe that’s why Land Rover launched it here in LA, where it will fit right in on Rodeo Boulevard.


Simon Hill:

Alfa Romeo Giulia
Not just because it looks sexy, and not just because the Quadrifoglio edition is the fastest four-door to ever lap the Nurburgring, but because its introduction gave the Italian automaker an excuse to bring in a whole tent full of vintage Alfa Romeos. And who can resist that?

Range Rover Evoque Convertible
We may have always suspected this thing was coming, but it’s still utterly audacious. And seeing it in the flesh makes you realize that it really is the ultimate beach car.

Kia’s custom cars
It’s true that these were all seen earlier at SEMA, but I wasn’t there. The chop-top Optima with the suicide doors is sweet looking, the Forte Koup off-roader is just nuts, and the Ballast Point Brewery’s Sedona mobile bar simply has to be the coolest 2015 minivan on the planet. Because free beer!

Fiat 124 Spider
Yes, it’s in many ways it just a reworked Mazda MX-5, but it’s more than just that. It’s a Fiat. So it has Italian style. And I’m a sucker for these things.

Galpin Hall of Customs
Yes, yes, some of these have been see before. But look! A pair of Peels! A splitty Volkwagen Mystery Machine! A Rocket Speedster Mustang! A hot rod ’34 Ford five window coupe! A tuned Mazda MX-5! And so much more! A true bounty of riches.


Dan Heyman:

Hot Wheels Play Area
Yes, there’s plenty of places to buy Hot Wheels toys at the show, but I challenge anyone to find a place to race their wares that gets much bigger than this. Rising 20 feet above the ground, your Bone Shaker or Twin Mill will pass through not one but TWO loops, racing their way to a final resting place some 20 feet later. It may not quite have the scope of the full-size Hot Wheels track seen at the Indy 500 some years ago, but it’s pretty good. Bonus points for the baskets full of current Hot Wheels castings.

High-risers, low-riders
Do you even lift, bro? Depending on your aftermarket tastes, the lifted heavy-duty behemoths could actually be one of the low-lights of the show. Nevertheless, the Aftermarket Hall has to be seen to be believed; the monster trucks (including a six-wheeled mutant Jeep Wrangler) are one thing, but something has to be said for the biggest of big wheel bikes and slammed Rolls-Royces that make up the other half of the exhibit. Oh and you can’t miss Madness Motorworks’ display – “We make toys for big boys,” says owner Boris Tilim – a tuning garage that specializes in A- and B-segment cars from Fiat, Smart and even Jeep.

Alfa Romeo tour de force
Classic million-dollar race cars, bespoke coach-built specials, modern sports cars and, of course, the all-new Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio Verde Super Sedan and Fiat 124 Spyder make up one of the flashiest OEM displays at the show. While we’ve seen Alfas here for a few years now, the addition of a bonafide sedan to the North American lineup signals an even more tangible return of the brand to our shores. Plus, with 510 hp and 442 lb-ft of torque, the Quadrifoglio Verde will give the BMW M3 something to think about. The cars displayed at the show even had six-speed manual transmissions…

Range Rover Evoque Convertible
Yes, yes I know. It’s ludicrous. Ridiculous. Preposterous. And any other “ous”-es you can think of. I mean, a Range Rover – you know, those cars that have scaled and splashed among the rain-soaked English moors for decades – with no roof. It’s too much. But this is LA, and LA loves excess. Perhaps more importantly, LA loves convertibles, so this was the perfect setting for the launch. And you know what? It really doesn’t look bad, even with the top up, which has it looking like a proper, hard-top Evoque Coupe. Even the Land Rover people on hand are convinced that the convertible will actually have more people taking their Evoque off-road, due to the luxurious-yet-active lifestyle it represents. Yes, we’ve seen disasters take this form before (remember the Murano CrossCabriolet? No? Good.), but the Evoque looks very good, it remains off-road capable and it’s the next step in modernizing a brand that isn’t always the epitome of the word.

Fast Fords
Old news? A little, but visitors to this year’s show should skip the Ford booth at their peril, especially if they’re fans of the Blue Oval’s performance models. Look! There’s the Focus RS! Look! A trio of tuned Mustangs! And there’s the GT, and its racy GT LM cousin! Spectacular and well worth a shot or two. Or three. Or four. Or…

BONUS: Jurassic Park… in LA
No, we’re not talking about a ride at Universal Studios. This is a Kia Sorento (behind it? A Sedona minivan), that was modified for this year’s SEMA show. It rides high. It has a snorkel. It has racing seats. It has beadlock tires and more (most?) importantly, it looks like what the vehicles from all four of the Jurassic Park movies should have looked like. Nice.

Bonus x 2: The simulators
Ford, Dodge and Hyundai all have full-fledged driing simulators at the show, and they can be played, 100% for free. The Ford exhibit has you piloting a GT through the dusty turns of Forza Motorsport’s take on Laguna Seca. Hyundai has you tackling a selection of race courses, and Dodge lets you virtually pilot the Viper… from the seat of an actual Viper.

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