Chicago 2014: A Wrap-Up From The Floor And A Full Gallery

After two days of walking the floor at this relatively quiet show, here’s a recap of what has happened:

It might have been residual interest from their Super Bowl ad, but the previously-released K900 seemed to still attract a lot of attention from the media. The car is great looking in person and feels like a true luxury sedan inside. A small problem for Kia was that there were also media members mistakenly around the Cadenza talking about it being from the Super Bowl ad. They aren’t the last people who will confuse the Cadenza and the K900, trust me.

Toyota: Showed and demonstrated the 2015 lineup of their TRD Pro Series Tacoma, Tundra, and 4Runner. They will be available this fall in black, white, or burnt orange. Although nothing was done to the engine, there are a lot of suspension, cosmetic, and interior upgrades. The press event started a little bumpy as they inadvertently sprayed a few in the media with mud (or was it on purpose?) when the Tundra driver did a burnout so we could hear the sound of the TRD exhaust (it sounded good!). After that, the reaction was nothing but positive. The vehicles look mean, especially the 4Runner. There seemed to be more chatter throughout the day about desiring one of the Toyota trucks than about any other vehicle released. Based on their aggressive appearance, I would guess (read = hope) that these will be purchased by folks who will actually use them off-road and less as a grocery getter. These vehicles definitely go against Toyota’s “boring” image that is often mentioned by enthusiasts.

Nissan: Released the new Versa Note SR and displayed a concept Frontier Diesel Runner truck. The Frontier is a 200hp Cummins 4 cylinder that should get about 35% better fuel mileage than the current V6 Frontier. No one noticed or cared about the Versa Note. Instead everyone rushed around the Frontier solely because it was a diesel, even though it may never be made. We were told to give feedback on the idea because it in still just a study. They also mentioned that a major announcement about the Titan will be coming in one year. Personally, I liked the SR version of the Versa. I have never been a fan of the Versa before, but the SR appearance package seems directly targeted at the Honda Fit Sport or Ford Fiesta hatch. I liked what the changes do for the look of the car.

Subaru: The world premiere of the 2015 Legacy. It will be about the same size as the previous model, all-wheel drive, CVT transmission, and can get 36mpg highway. Offered with a 175hp 4 cylinder of 256hp 6 cylinder. There is an optional extensive list of safety features as part of their EyeSight package.

Chevrolet: Unveiled their new City Express commercial van and a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Silverado Bi-Fuel truck. The van is a reworked version of the Nissan NV200 to offer their commercial customers a smaller work van than the current full size Express. The CNG truck can achieve 650 miles on a tank of combined use. The van looks good and seems like a no-brainer for Chevy. It is still odd that they would release this and still not offer a passenger variant though. For anyone that bought the HHR with side panels, this is the van for you.

The CNG Silverado can change from regular gas to CNG with the push of a button, is available in all cab configurations, and is fully warranted and serviceable at GM dealers. They say there are 1,300 CNG stations in America with more coming. They plan to release a CNG Impala as well.

Volvo: Brought out their 2015 Polestar versions of the S60 and V60 wagon. Basically these are a very limited run of performance cars. They’re beautiful. For a moment, during the reveal, I was thinking that this could be the wagon enthusiasts are always looking for. Then, after talking about how all the development came from Polestar’s race teams, Volvo PR indicated that the cars will only be offered in an automatic. Shocked, I asked what led to that decision and I was told, “It was because we want these cars to be daily drivers, we want you to be able to drink your Starbucks at the same time.” I honestly felt very sad walking away from that. Are brands really afraid of offering Americans stick-shifts because we may spill our Starbucks? Other than that, there are a lot of great things about these cars, including a pretty cool (for parents) integrated child’s booster seat.

BMW: Showed off the new $83K 740ld xdrive, and the X3 xDrive28d. The diesel 7 series will be about $1,500 more than the gas trim and only comes in AWD long wheel base. It is the same engine that powers the X5 diesel. The X3 uses a 180hp 2 liter turbo diesel.

Lincoln: The new Navigator was on the show floor all day, but no one seemed to notice. That’s hard to believe, since the vehicle is enormous. Possibly this was because it has the same exterior dimensions and most of the same sheet metal as the previous model, except for the hood and tailgate. There aren’t many vehicles left like the Navigator, and this one doesn’t stray too far from the previous model. Although it has the family grill, it really stands out amongst all of Lincolns. The V8 has been replaced with a twin-turbo V6 (the only V6 in that segment) that gets 370hp. We will have to wait and see if it will be better, or better-received, than the Escalade, QX80, or LX570

Volkswagen: VW held a press event to announce that they will be entering the Global Rally Cross series with 2 all-wheel-drive 560hp Beetles. They surprised the crowd by having former F1/NASCAR driver Scott Speed and rally driver/Top Gear star Tanner Foust get out of their respective cars, followed by team owner Michael Andretti.

As a huge race fan, it was nice to see a motor sports announcement and the commitment of VW to this racing series. This was better than when immediately following Toyota held an entire press event just to announce they are sponsoring one entrance of Dayton International Speedway.

Maserati: Showed off the star of their Super Bowl ad, the $66K twin turbo V6 Ghibli. The company is confident to the point of being cocky about how great their cars are. Visually it does stand out against similarly priced mid-sized sedans. The Ghibli has some “hips” over the rear axle that gives it a powerful stance.

And that’s all, folks! The next stop for TTAC auto show coverage will be New York in April. Check out the pictures below.