Another Mercedes Prototype.

Mercedes with a Running Board.

The running board might be there for shuttle duty, or it might be part of the design.  This one was outside the auto show, which is another good place to find prototypes.  At times, it's also a good place to check industry people, who often live in an impenetrable bubble.  Many of them think that every product they work on is exciting.

Scion Lowrider

When you get it right, you get it right.  Old school lowriders were and often are big American cars.  Toyota went all out with this Scion and still nailed it.

Mr. Fusion

At the time, the movie made the future look interesting and plausible.  Instead, the intervening years had few automotive accomplishments.  Between 1985 and 2015, there was the SUV boom, and we found out that GM was incapable of making cars that start with an ignition.  Oh well.  This Mr. Fusion was on something from Toyota.

Probably a Chrysler

It's not that exciting, but you're stuck with it.

Cheap Fraud from Subaru

Lots of companies play tricks with their prototypes like this, but this one is from Subaru.  Yes, it's part of the extended coverage, but too many of the same headline makes things hard to find.

Notice the mirror that's too small.  Notice how the roof is the same piece as the front quarter panel!  The only thing that's feasable (done before) is the lack of door handles.  In person, you can see that they innovated by copying Tesla!  Yes, they are planning integrated door handles, now that someone else has done them for years.  Also, the window tint is too dark to be legal in most places.

This is what makes the auto industry frustrating.  Their people have the training to innovate, but instead, they just do stupid things like this every year.

2015 Los Angeles Auto Show, Extended Coverage

Sometimes, you like a car right away.  I have always liked the Chevy Aveo.  It gets bad reviews in the US and good ones in other countries.  The Spark is the same way.  The Aveo is the Sonic in the US.  At least it's not the Whopper.

2015 Los Angeles Auto Show, Extended Coverage

Here's another one from the "Are they still here?" Department.  Smart Cars are still on the market!  Easy to park, nippy, lots of good things.  It's too bad that car buyers are taking current cheap gas prices personally and making other choices.  They'll be surprised later, but Smart buyers won't.

2015 Los Angeles Auto Show, Extended Coverage

I have mentioned what's wrong with Italian design in general.  Here's what's wrong with Alfa in particular.  While the sports car and the sedan exaggerate the point, it's still valid.  In 1965 Alfa stood for many things in terms of design and engineering.  The 2016 Giulia shows why this company should close.  It is a Camry that lacks the excitement of the original.  The reliability is most likely missing as well.  Alfa-Romeo is over.

2015 Los Angeles Auto Show, Extended Coverage

Here's a car from lying Honda.  I attended the opening ceremony for the plant near Guadalajara, Mexico in 1994.  They were building it to serve Mexico and points south.  I knew it was unlikely at the time, and here's a Fit from there.

2015 Los Angeles Auto Show, Extended Coverage

It's the Kia Surface Pro!

You have to wonder about this one.  Kia copies Microsoft's mistake, in which they stopped the design process and decided to build a laptop that doesn't close on one side. The roof is attached in this case, but it doesn't look like it.

2015 Los Angeles Auto Show, Extended Coverage

"Are they still here?" Edition

These two cars are the latest from Mitsubishi.  One is a 2016, and the other is 2017.  I don't remember which is which.

2015 Los Angeles Auto Show, Extended Coverage

Not all prototypes are good ideas.  Some of them are terrible.  Others, like this one, are accidents waiting to happen.  It is often said that there is something exhilarating about cheating death, but being in between two open wheels and the accompanying road film might be a bit much.

2015 Los Angeles Auto Show, Extended Coverage

This is a Hot Wheels track about 30' in the air.  You had to walk up a stairway to get to the top.  Each person got two cars to race.  The winner was the first to land in the box.  The first finish, was not always the first landing.  Many of the cars missed.  This was the most fun part of the show.  It was supposed to lend excitement to the other displays.  It didn't.  The rest of the show was as dull as ever.