As the leaves turned in the Catskills, greenery and green cars were hard to find

On a visit to Monticello, N.Y., an open top, manual transmission, deserted two-lane roads and a gorgeous fall day are an unbeatable combination.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

MONTICELLO, N.Y. -- Quiet has returned to the two-lane roads that wind past clusters of homes framed by fall colors.

This week saw the annual invasion of the International Motor Press Association, whose members were unleashed at the wheels of performance and super cars with incredibly loud mufflers.

IMPA, the country's oldest organization of automotive journalists and public relations professionals, set up camp at the Monticello Motor Club, a 4.1-mile race circuit and playground for the wealthy nestled in the Catskill Mountains.

Many sponsors

Sponsors of the so-called Test Days included Detroit and foreign automakers, manufacturers of tires and automobile sound equipment, PR Newswire and the private club where the event was held.

Previous Test Days took place at Pocono Raceway and Lime Rock Park.

On Wednesday, writers and publicists had access to a parking lot filled with some of the fastest cars in the world, many of which could be driven on the track.

Others were meant to be driven only on quiet public roads in Monticello and nearby villages, set amidst lakes and wooded hills. 

On Tuesday, the first day of the event, all driving was restricted to public roads except for IMPA members who signed up for drives or rides with instructors on the challenging race circuit.

I did hot laps in a Fiat 500 Abarth and a Lexus GS sedan with 467 horsepower, but actually enjoyed driving several other cars over nearly deserted public roads that were a breath of fresh air compared to the congestion of northern New Jersey.

Among them were the FIAT 124 Spider, Infiniti Q60, Jaguar F-Type, a luxury sports car with loud snap, crackle and pop exhausts; and Volvo S90 AWD Inscription, a comfortable sedan that is the biggest Volvo I have ever seen.

Being confined to public roads didn't lessen the excitement for some IMPA members.

For example, a writer for the Chicago Tribune syndicate who gave me a ride in a McLaren GT shouted, "That's 90 [mph]," as he paddle shifted up through the gears on Route 42 toward Montcello's economically depressed downtown.

One of the few green cars at the event was the highly anticipated Acura NSX, an all-wheel-drive supercar bristling with 573 horsepower from a twin-turbo V-6 and three electric motors, above and below.

A pro racecar driver at the wheel of the Acura NSX took me on the fastest lap I have ever experienced at the Monticello Motor Club.

Green cars

Sadly, there were no purely electric cars at the event.

Chevy didn't bring the Bolt, the first $40,000 EV with more than 200 miles of range, even though the four-door hatchback is expected to go on sale at the end of the year.

And as usual, Nissan had IMPA members lining up to drive the fearsome GT-R, but disappointed me and others by not supplying an updated all-electric Leaf with a longer range. 

Typically, most of the writers and publicists who attend Test Days are gear heads, speed freaks and lead foots who are wined and dined by the automakers, and loaned new models for a weekend or a week.

They willingly engage in a conspiracy of silence about climate change, the 53,000 deaths every year from auto emissions, and the environmental benefits of hybrids and EVs.

I heard one IMPA member boast of driving a Fiat 500 Abarth at 107 mph on a Nevada highway, complaining he was the only one of 10 writers in a caravan of speeding Fiats pulled over by the police. 

Toyota Mirai, Prius

Toyota brought the Mirai, powered by electricity from a hydrogen fuel cell; as well as the Prius Prime, a plug-in gas-electric hybrid that has an EV range of 25 miles.

I got behind the wheel of both, and found the Mirai far quieter and more refined than the pre-production model I drove in Manhattan last April at the New York Auto Show.

The Prius Prime only went a few all-electric miles before the gasoline engine kicked in, because its handlers from Event Solutions International (ESI) forgot to plug it in overnight.

Both the Mirai and Prius Prime approached the quiet of a Tesla Model S.
   

Two more photos of the mid-engine Acura NSX, above and below. 

Toyota's Prius Prime, a gas-electric hybrid, wasn't plugged in overnight, and yielded only a few miles in all-electric mode on Wednesday, above and below.

Toyota Mirai is a car in search of hydrogen fueling stations, above and below.

Hydrogen gas reacts with oxygen in the air and produces electricity to power the vehicle.

This McLaren GT, which cost more than $200,000, didn't match the excitement of the Acura NSX.

The Alfa-Romeo 4C Spider with paddle shifters was a hoot to drive on the racetrack.

A Ford Fusion gas-electric hybrid.

A driver returning to the pits at Monticello Motor Club.

Tuesday's lunch at the Monticello Motor Club included veggie burgers, coleslaw, and potato salad. I didn't attend that night's banquet at Honor's Haven Resort & Spa in Ellenville, N.Y., but was told no fish was available for IMPA members who don't eat meat.

Eggplant Rollatini, Potato-Crusted Cod and Caesar Salad were on Wednesday's lunch menu at MMC.

I had dinner on Tuesday night at Crust Italian Eatery in Rock Hill, N.Y., a restaurant next to my hotel. Steamed Clams were $10. A glass of red wine was $6.

I also had a Caprese Salad with Fig Balsamic Glaze ($12), but the only off note were the roasted tomatoes, which had been refrigerated and were much too cold.

Crust Italian Eatery bakes 24-inch pizzas. Bottles of wine are $20.

On the way home, I stopped to charge my Tesla Model S 60 on Route 300 in Newburgh, N.Y., where six free Superchargers were available in the parking lot of a strip mall, above and below.

Customers were dining outdoors at Cosimo's on Union Ristorante & Bar, which serves wood-fired pizzas. I had a yogurt next door at Hoopla Frozen Yogurt (51 cents per ounce).

Nissan hedging its bets with new Leaf EV, new Armada and other gas-guzzling trucks

The homely Nissan Leaf EV is available with a bigger battery in the 2016 model year and added range -- up to 107 miles on a full charge. You can still get a Leaf that goes a maximum of 84 miles before you need more juice.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Jose Munoz, chairman of Nissan North America, delivered good news and bad news to consumers worried about climate change and the 53,000 deaths blamed on auto emissions every year.

Speaking to members of the International Motor Press Association in Manhattan, Munoz said Nissan is "close" to launching a new-generation all-electric Leaf with a redesigned body.

There was no indication whether the second-generation Leaf will have more range than the 107 miles available with a 30kWh battery in the 2016 model.

Leaf lags behind Tesla

The homely Leaf, introduced in December 2010, once led electric-vehicle sales in the United States, but it has changed little and has been eclipsed by Tesla, which cost more than twice as much.

Meanwhile, Munoz -- also executive vice president of Nissan Motor Co., Japan's No. 2 automaker -- had plenty of bad news for environmentalists.

To take advantage of the low price of gasoline, Nissan is launching the "Year of Trucks."

He promised a new Armada and Pathfinder, and a "brand new" Rogue, a crossover.

And if the price of gas rises again, Munoz said, Nissan will market its herd of gas-guzzlers as the most efficient on the market.

In answer to a question from the audience, Munoz delivered more bad news regarding Manhattan's traffic congestion and pollution.

The automaker has no plans to add a gas-electric hybrid version of the Nissan NV200, the so-called Taxi of Tomorrow.

So, the Nissan NV200 instantly becomes the Taxi of Yesterday.

The roomy Nissan NV200 taxi.

Autonomous driving

The Nissan executive did say the company is rolling out autonomous driving features, starting this year, to prevent accidents.

By 2020, he said, Nissan will sell cars that will be fully autonomous in a city environment.

Of course, if Nissan introduces a fully autonomous NV200 taxi, there's no telling how many drivers will be thrown onto the unemployment lines.

The free lunch is alive and well in Manhattan, thanks to Nissan North America, one of the automotive companies that play host at meetings of the International Motor Press Association, described as the nation's oldest organization of automotive journalists and public relations professionals.

I enjoyed a plate full of salad, roasted vegetables, smoked salmon and tomatoes with bite-size mozzarella balls.

I also was able to get two crisp-skin fillets of branzino instead of the same fish prepared in a butter-cream sauce for the buffet. I drank red wine and had fresh fruit for dessert.

Driving a bland second-gen Chevy Volt, cramped Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe

The International Motor Press Association's annual cruise-and-schmooze shatters the silence of Bear Mountain State Park with performance cars such as this 485-horsepower Dodge Challenger with a Hemi V-8 engine and Shaker Hood.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The first-generation Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid bombed, selling only 100,000 units in five model years.

On Thursday, I drove a second-generation Volt with a longer electric range than the original, and thought this is the car to buy while you're saving up for the ultimate EV, Tesla's Model S, or the upcoming Model 3.

A Volt and a 2016 Toyota Prius were the only green cars available at the Spring Break event at Bear Mountain State Park in Harriman, N.Y.

Writers, publicists and other members of the International Motor Press Association got to drive about 70 new models over the winding roads of the park under the watchful eyes of police, who have been known to issue $450 speeding tickets. 

One of the most disappointing cars I drove was a Mercedes-Benz AMG C-Class Coupe that was too small to accommodate four adults comfortably.

I thought this flashy but cramped car -- with an MSRP of around $58,000 -- would be faster, having been souped up by the German automaker's in-house speed shop, AMG.

But when I hit the gas pedal, not much happened.

One car I didn't get to drive is the 50th anniversary edition of the Ford Shelby Hertz GT350 "rent a racer."

But a friend who rode shotgun with another writer said the highly modified V-8 powered Mustang was the most impressive of the day.

This breathtaking view includes the Hudson River in the distance.

The 2017 Chevrolet Volt is quiet and bland.

Mazda's new Miata sports a grille with a shit-eating grin -- just like the one on the driver's face after he throws the sports car around on the park's winding two-lane roads.

The loud snap, crackle and pop of the dual exhausts on Jaguar's F-Type certainly entertain the driver, above and below, but probably annoy the hell out of bicyclists and other park users.

As someone who has owned four Toyota Priuses and now owns a Tesla Model S, I loved the opportunity to drive the new generation of the world's best-selling gas-electric hybrid. The 2016 Prius seems peppier and handles beautifully on two-lane roads. The interior was free of the squeaks and rattles that developed in our 2010 Prius.

The center console's wireless charging pad for cellphones is a terrific feature.

For decades, Toyotas have been known for easy to see and use controls -- a marked contrast to the notoriously unfriendly interiors of more expensive models from Mercedes, BMW and other manufacturers.

With new 164-mph SUV, Maserati is latest to say 'vaffanculo' to climate regulators

Hundreds of people attended the press preview of the 2017 Subaru Impreza in Manhattan on Wednesday, but as soon as an executive invited them to approach the stage and take a closer look at the new cars, many turned around and rushed for box lunches that had been concealed under a large black tablecloth, above and below.

I enjoyed my hummus-and-feta-cheese wrap on the trunk of a Subaru WRX, which was on display during the first press day of the New York International Auto Show at the Jacob Javits Center.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

It's an annual spectacle few members of the public ever see.

First, the world's automakers ship their newest models and wildest concepts to Manhattan, where they are displayed in a show sponsored by the region's auto dealers.

All are hoping to win glowing reports, millions of dollars of free publicity and a spring sales boost from hundreds of members of the media during a two-day schmooze-and-booze preview.

On Wednesday, the first of two press days, I sipped bourbon, sake and champagne, and stopped for free lattes (with almond milk) at espresso bars set up by the automakers on the show floor of the cavernous Jacob Javits Center.

I started the day in the North Hall with a box lunch after Subaru showed its all-new 2017 Impreza, and returned there at 5 p.m. for a cocktail party for members of the New York-based International Motor Press Association.

The sponsors freely poured wine, beer and other alcohol, and served such hors d'ouvres as sliders and rare ahi-tuna sushi.

At the New York International Auto Show, this artwork was on display at a cocktail party the industry threw for members of the International Motor Press Association. Is the artist saying the media are in bed with the automakers?

The Maserati Levante SUV will be available with a Ferrari-built engine producing 345 horsepower ($72,000) or 424 horsepower ($83,000). They have top speeds of 156 mph and 164 mph, respectively, just what we need when Governor Christie closes the George Washington Bridge again. 

Multi-media events

Most of the domestic and foreign automakers stage elaborate, multi-media events to announce new vehicles, such as the Maserati Levante, a 424-horsepower SUV that is even louder than the Italian automaker's annoying Quattroporte.

As with Levante, the world could do without 99% of the cars shown.

On Wednesday afternoon, the media saw a Maserati film made on the cobblestone streets of Bologna, at the famous Monza racetrack; and, presumably, on an autostrada, showing a Levante roaring along at what could have been its top speed of 164 mph.

An executive with a thick Italian accent ignored a shouted question about gas mileage.

When the Levante goes on sale, it will eclipse the Range Rover, Porsche Cayenne and Cadillac Escalade as the most environmentally irresponsible vehicle on the planet.

Levante refers to "a warm wind," though some observers might think of its tailpipe emissions as similar to the kind of huge fart you'd experience after a bowl of pasta e fagioli (pasta and beans).

A rumor circulating on Wednesday had a large family in Sicily placing an initial order for 250 Levantes.

See: First drive in Toyota Mirai

You could wander from one display to another, and sip fine bourbon, above.

Three sakes also were available for sampling.

Leave it to a German carmaker, BMW, to serve a pale, unappetizing pork sausage, above, with pretzels, below. Other automakers held invitation-only cocktail parties and lunches.

Mercedes-Benz served cups of a salad made with quinoa, and wine glasses filled with cut fruit.

I live in northern New Jersey and have become sick and tired of seeing BMWs, Audis and Mercedes-Benzes. At the auto show, those German carmakers have some of the biggest displays, above and below.

Mercedes introduced three more cars the world doesn't need. Even those outrageously expensive AMG versions are no match for the fastest Tesla Model S. The California-based upstart isn't taking part in the show.

Lexus, Toyota's luxury division, showed a production model of a gas-electric hybrid sports coupe, LC 500h, above and below.

Meanwhile, Audi unveiled a hardtop R8 V-10 Plus, which is probably noisier than earlier models.

Getting there

The auto show opens to the public on Friday. Web site: 

Largest auto show in North America

This year, I was able to take an NJ Transit bus to the midtown Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan, and walk underground to connect to the No. 7 subway.

That line has been extended one stop to 34th Street-Hudson Yards, and the station is about a half-block
from the Jacob Javits Center on 11th Avenue and 34th Street.

In the past, the trip was far more expensive:

I drove to Port Imperial in Weehawken, parked and took the NY Waterway ferry, then walked a long two blocks to the convention center entrance.

The 34th Street-Hudson Yards subway station in Manhattan opened last September.