Almost like a «return to the past», the 2021 edition of the Salon de Los Angeles presents itself with a pleasant vitality, as evidenced by the many new features (mostly powered exclusively by electrons) that we can discover there.
It's true that many of the European brands didn't attend — they just remain faithful to the events on Chinese soil, given the importance of this market — and that brands like Tesla, Nio or Rivian also chose not to be present given their marketing approach bet on other types of promotional channels.
However, as only those present count, the brands that are there do not disappoint and one of the most novelties brought to the California event is the very European Porsche.
show of strength
Porsche is once again showing its fiber on the Pacific coast and at the last major auto industry event before the end of the year, its presence in the Staples Center pavilions almost makes you forget there is a pandemic.
Obviously, this reinforced presence at the California event has a very simple reason: California is one of the world's leading markets for the Stuttgart brand.
So, in addition to the latest derivations of the Taycan range — the "van" Sport Turismo and the GTS — Porsche brought the most superlative of the 718 Caymans, specifically the version GT4 RS with 500 hp of power (it's the same engine as the 911 GT3), reduced mass and a cannon time on the Nürburgring in the luggage.
If you want to find another sports car that doesn't shrink at the sight of the “muscled” Cayman, the best thing is to make your way to the General Motors stand where, with natural pride, the Corvette Z06 , for now its most powerful version, equipped with a naturally aspirated V8 engine of no less than 670 hp. And without any kind of electrification, something increasingly rare.
Asian Featured
While most European builders chose not to travel to Los Angeles, South Koreans from Hyundai and Kia took advantage of this void to gain significantly more attention at the 2021 Los Angeles Motor Show. movie theater.
THE Hyundai SEVEN is a luxury crossover that clearly shows that the South Koreans are aiming to start meddling in the struggle of premium brands in the coming years. According to Jose Munoz, Executive Director of Hyundai USA “SEVEN shows our creative vision and progressive technical development for the future of electric mobility”.
The crossover, which is well over five meters long, is built on the group's electric platform, the E-GMP, and, like the IONIQ 5, has a very spacious interior and eye-catching LED lighting units.
On a 350 kW charge, this luxury SUV is capable of taking a battery charge from 10% to 80% in just 20 minutes and the promised range is 500 km. From Kia's side, the “answer” to Hyundai SEVEN goes by the name EV9 Concept.
As Karim Habib, the ex-BMW and ex-Infiniti designer who is now Kia's design director, tells us, “Kia's intentions were clearly formulated: to become a world leader in providing sustainable mobility solutions. It is with great pride that today we show the world the prototype of our large electric SUV”.
Also from Asia arrived this year in Los Angeles to Vinfast , whose President, the German Michael Lohscheller (former CEO of Opel), made a point of introducing two electric SUVs. According to Lohscheller “the VF e36 and e35 are the first steps towards an electric future that will be played globally, as we will also be in the European market at the end of 2022”.
The new Vietnamese brand takes advantage of this stage and airtime to reveal that its US headquarters will be precisely in Los Angeles. Also from that region of the Globe came some of the main attractions of this show.
Vinfast VF e36.
There, Mazda debuts its new crossover for the North American market, the CX-50 , the first model to be produced under the Mazda-Toyota cooperation at the Huntsville, Alabama, plant.
Subaru, on the other hand, a hugely successful brand on that continent, doesn't make a fuss and presents itself with the biggest stand in the entire salon. The world premiere was the electric SUV Subaru Solterra , the twin model of Toyota bZ4X , which also has debut honors in the Californian capital.
The Subaru Solterra…
As for Nissan, which in Europe has been facing restructuring, it is taking advantage of the California event to regain much of its shine with the electric crossover parade Ariya and the new (real) sports coupé Z , which has its peak of popularity in the US more than anywhere else in the world.
Still in the field of Asian brands, the new Lexus LX 600 It also garners a lot of attention as a direct rival to highly sought-after California models such as the new Lincoln Navigator and Range Rover , which also shines in the spotlight at the downtown Los Angeles convention center.
The NIssan Ariya and the Z side by side.
the future today
As you would expect, most of the new features at the 2021 Los Angeles Motor Show are electric and one of the most attention-grabbing is the «consecutively postponed promise»: Fisker showing for the umpteenth time the series production version of the electric crossover ocean.
Designed by the eponymous stylist, who stood out in the past with models like the BMW Z8, this SUV has seen its arrival on the market repeatedly threatened by financial liquidity problems.
The promises are constant, but we still don't know how and when the Ocean will start to be produced and sold, initially in the United States.
A much more concrete reality is the electric version of the best-selling motor vehicle in the US for four decades. We are, of course, in the pick-up domain, and we are talking about Ford F-150 Lightning , a model that could change the paradigm of the US car market.
Ford F-150 Lightning
With more than 150,000 pre-orders, its arrival on the market could create a "drag" effect that leads brands and consumers to embrace electric propulsion in the United States. And, above all, in what is the “greenest” state in the entire country.
Author: Stefan Grundhoff/Press-Inform