The 2012 Australian International Motor show kicked off yesterday and while the likes of Ferrari, Audi, Maserati and BMW along with 22 other brands aren’t on display this year, other brands like Mercedes with 27 cars on show and Ford with a massive hands on outdoor display the 2012 motor show will still please any car enthusiast If you are heading to the motor show this year, here are some of my picks.
Lf-LC Concept
Based on the Lexus LFA the LF-LC is a Hybrid Supercar developing an impressive 370 KW (500HP) with petrol and electric motors. The LF-LC is based from what Lexus have learned from the LFA. Inside the cabin there is hardly a switch to be seen with two 12 inch touch screen controlling the cabin.
Ford EVOS
Ford is also showing a concept car, the Ford EVOS. The EVOS is a four seat plug in hybrid. The concept of the car is to explore the connectivity with driver’s information automatically adapting handling, steering and engine controls. While still a concept it’s quite stunning to look at and defiantly worth a look.
Holden Volt
Yep, of course Holden have brought the Volt along and there isn’t much more to say about it, you’ve heard us rave about it now you can experience it yourself, Holden are offering test drives.
Ford Test Track
If you go out the doors past the Ford booth you will find the Ford Test track, here you can see first person a range of Ford vehicles but the best part is you can get a hands on drive of a Focus or the new Kuga with technologies like automatic park assist, active city stop demonstration or if you have the nerves you can ride shotgun in a Ford Ranger as you are taken up, down and backwards over a giant hill course set up.
Games
This year there are a bunch of companies offering racing and driving simulation. Subaru and CarsGuide have GT5 to play, Mobil have a V8 Supercar simulator allowing you to race on Bathurst, Toyota also has more active simulator, Caltex has driver simulation and training and Forza has an 8 player competition.
Despite 26 manufactures missing from this years car show the convention centre is packed full of cars almost all of which you can jump in and have a feel. The most surprises are coming from manufacturers like Kia and Hyundai, their cars look great and seem to have a lot of potential. Gone is the cheap look and feel which both manufacturers are putting a lot of work in to change. We are now starting to see the shift with cars having bigger touchscreen controls and also making the change to screens replacing your typical instrument cluster to more informative and adaptive displays.
