A long auto show season that began with last year’s gathering in Paris is getting set to wrap up with the annual New York International Auto Show. And things will be going out with a bang, rather than a whimper.
Automakers have been building momentum as the devastating Great Recession fades into the rearview mirror, bringing out a growing array of products targeting every conceivable niche. And that means that the Big Apple will see plenty of debuts – some of them extremely significant, including new flagship models coming from both Lincoln and Cadillac.
All told, at least two dozen completely new or significantly updated models will make their appearance during the two-day media preview, with several others, such as the 2016 GMC Terrain, will wait until the public days of the show to roll out.
In keeping with the New York region’s reputation as one of the country’s largest and most influential premium car market, manufacturers have saved some critical new luxury vehicles for launching onto the stage at the Jacob Javits convention center. Rolls-Royce will stage a preview, for example, and McLaren will use the event to introduce its 570S, the first in its new Sports Series family.
Range Rover will bring out the new SVAutobiography, the maker’s most lavish and expensive production model ever, at $200,490. It will also be its most powerful, with a supercharged, 542-horsepower V-8 available. The British brand’s sibling, Jaguar, will also have something to show in the form of its completely redesigned XF, a mid-luxury sports sedan.
Mercedes-Benz will introduce not only a new midsize SUV but a new naming nomenclature as it rolls out the 2016 GLE. It fills the tire tracks of the old Mercedes ML, all of the maker’s utes being dubbed GL going forward, with the E- badge reserved for midsize models. (Think of the familiar Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan.)
Infiniti, meanwhile, will stage the world debut of the new QX50 crossover while also giving the smaller QX30 its first North American showing.
Two of the most eagerly anticipated debuts have already begun to generate headlines. Ford Motor Co. has given a handful of media, including TheDetroitBureau.com, a look at the all-new Lincoln Continental. Lifting its badge from one of the brand’s most historically significant nameplates, the Continental replaces the largely forgettable Lincoln MKS.
Officially, the New York Auto Show will only see the introduction of a prototype, but the “concept is a pretty strong hint of what the production vehicle will look like,” Lincoln President Kumar Galhotra said during a Sunday night interview.
Coincidence or not, Lincoln’s long-time domestic rival, General Motors’ Cadillac division, is introducing a new flagship sedan of its own, and has been dropping hints for months, starting with a quick tease of the big car shown during an Oscars commercial. On Tuesday evening, during a special preview, invited media will get to see the actual CT6 sedan in all its sheet metal glory.
The 2015 New York International Auto Show won’t be limited to luxury cars. At the bottom end of the spectrum, Smart will bring the completely redesigned Fortwo microcar to the U.S. for the first time.
Chevrolet will reveal a new version of its only slightly larger, Korean-made Spark minicar. It also will have a completely remade version of its midsize Malibu sedan, hoping to do better than it did with the poorly received model launched only three years ago.
(GM updates Terrain for NY Auto Show debut. For more, Click Here.)
Korean carmakers will have some introductions of their own. Kia will challenge the Malibu with the debut of its own midsize sedan, the next-generation Optima. Sibling Hyundai will reveal the U.S. version of the compact Tucson SUV, after having given the new model a global preview at the Geneva Motor Show barely a month ago.
New York is one of the largest regional markets in the country for compact utility vehicles, so even though GMC won’t have a news conference, it will give show-goers a first look at the updated 2016 Terrain and Terrain Denali models.
(Click Here for details about Cadillac and Lincoln going head-to-head with NY debuts.)
Mitsubishi has been offering hints of what’s to come in the form of an all-new Outlander, and we’ll finally get to see the new model this week at the Javits center.
NY has traditionally brought a balanced mix of domestic and import models, and from Japan we’ll get to see the new 2016 Nissan Maxima sport sedan. As with the Caddy CT6, Nissan offered up a surprise tease of the Maxima during a 90-second commercial it aired during the Super Bowl two months ago.
Toyota will have something new to show from all three of its U.S. brands. At the low end, Scion will introduce two new products billed as the “evolution” of the youth-oriented brand. That includes the five-door iM hatchback and the iA sedan. The Toyota brand will reveal the new hybrid version of the RAV4 crossover. And Lexus will roll out the redesigned 2016 RX, a staple in upscale American suburbs where it has become the modern alternative to the minivan.
(To see more about Range Rover debuting the SVAutobiography, Click Here.)
Several makers have been vague about what they’re bringing to New York this year, but two makers are expected to put an emphasis on performance. Subaru is reportedly set to debut a small muscle car. And Porsche is hinting it has an all-new sports car in the works, with an announcement scheduled for Tuesday night, ahead of the maker’s official NY Auto Show news conference.
Though New York brings the last of the major shows for the season, automakers will continue to roll out new products in the months ahead. Considering how crowded these shows have become, many manufacturers have been looking for alternative venues, such as the Texas State Fair, an increasingly popular spot for previewing new trucks. So, keep your eyes out as the flood of new products will only continue in the months ahead.