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.

First drive of Toyota Mirai: Too noisy for an electric car, screams Prius and Camry

MIRAI SEEMS OLD: The interior of Toyota's revolutionary, hydrogen-powered Mirai reminds you too much of the Prius and Camry, and the driving experience is disappointing for a car that runs on electricity, below. Mirai, which means "future" in Japanese, is available only in California for a starting MSRP of $57,500.

BEEN THERE, DONE THAT: When asked why Toyota didn't develop a battery and electric-motor powered car, a Toyota spokesman pitching the fuel-cell vehicle at the New York International Auto Show mentioned the RAV4 with a Tesla power train the company once sold only in California.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

What a letdown.

As the owner of four Prius gas-electric hybrids since 2004, I had hoped Toyota's revolutionary Mirai would transform the driving experience as much as the all-electric Tesla I've owned for nearly a year.

But the Mirai reminds you too much of Toyota's conventional models, and it's, well, noisy for a car that runs solely on electricity.

I got a chance to drive the fuel-cell vehicle in Manhattan on Wednesday, the first press-preview day for the New York International Auto Show at the Jacob Javits Center.

The Mirai was initially shown at the New York show about a year ago.

PRESS CARS: Outside the convention center on 11th Avenue in Manhattan, Range Rovers, Jaguars, Mercedes-Benzes and many other vehicles were pressed into service as media shuttles. That's where I got behind the wheel of a dark-colored Toyota Mirai fuel-cell vehicle that was doubled parked and left running. A Toyota employee was in the passenger seat.

Electricity from oxygen

Often called the ultimate green car, a fuel-cell vehicle generates electricity by forcing a fuel to react with oxygen.

In the case of the Mirai, that fuel is hydrogen, and limited hydrogen fueling stations are why Toyota is only selling the car in California now.

The Mirai also carries hybrid-like batteries and an electric motor.

Generating electricity produces no harmful emissions from the Mirai, but a button on the dash must be pushed periodically to purge "pure water" through a rear pipe.

How quaint.

Refueling at a hydrogen pump gives up to 300 miles per fill, which takes about 5 minutes. The power train is far more complex than in a car like the Nissan Leaf or a BMW i3 powered by a battery and electric motor (Photo credit: Popular Science).

Torque steer, noise

I drove the Mirai around the convention center in heavy traffic, but got a chance to punch it twice, if that's even possible in a car with the equivalent of about 150 horsepower.

Unlike Tesla's one-speed transmission, you can hear the Mirai's transmission shifting, and when you accelerate too hard, you also get torque steer and more noise.

The Tesla Model S is not only quiet. It has the heft of a luxury car and a well-cushioned ride, both missing in the Toyota, as well as incredible speed with little fuss or muss.

Those same qualities are expected in the smaller Tesla Model 3 that will be unveiled on March 31.

I also missed the regenerative braking that slows an electric car once you lift off of the gas pedal.

Free hydrogen?

At the auto show, Toyota said Mirai owners will get free hydrogen for three years, in contrast to Tesla's nationwide network of free-for-life super-fast electric chargers.

The No. 1 Japanese automaker may have no choice but to pitch the Mirai as the world's most environmentally responsible vehicle.

It certainly isn't the quietest, fastest or most enjoyable.

But focusing on its green credentials will be a hard sell, given how giddy consumers are rushing out to buy SUVs and pickup trucks to take advantage of low gasoline prices.

And with the media being kept afloat by advertising revenue from automakers and oil companies, writers will continue to ignore the terrible toll of the internal-combustion engine, including climate change, air pollution, disease and death.

Next: The world doesn't need 99% of the vehicles shown to the media on Wednesday, including a 164-mph Maserati SUV.

Random images from inside and around the New York International Auto Show

On Wednesday, I saw this rambunctious pair in the cab of one of the many car carriers lining 12th Avenue behind the Javits Center in Manhattan, below, where the New York International Auto Show press preview was underway.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Racing from one tightly scheduled press conference to another proved exhausting on Wednesday, when the 2015 New York International Auto Show opened to the media.

After a press breakfast from 7:15 a.m. to 9 a.m., 14 manufacturers unveiled new vehicles and concepts, but none was revolutionary. 

Lexus kicked things off at 9:10 and a Rolls-Royce reception was scheduled to cap off the day at 4:20 p.m. 

Food service was disappointing, compared to last year. See:

Automakers woo media with free food and drink

On Wednesday, I left before 1 to catch the ferry back to New Jersey.

No mystery here. On Wednesday, Jaguar, above, and Subaru, below, readied media introductions of cars with powerful internal-combustion engines that are sure to aggravate air pollution wherever they are sold.

Subaru showed an "STI Performance Concept." The media's reward was box lunches containing a vegetable or turkey wrap, bag of chips and a cookie, according to one server.

The Lexus Press Event, above and below, included loud music, strobe lights and the unveiling of two news models. What really surprised me was how many members of the world automotive media stood up and applauded when the wraps came off. What exactly were they applauding?

General Motors President Dan Amman gave the keynote address in his pronounced New Zealand accent. Here, he looks like he is praying no one in the audience asks him what he has to say to the families of drivers killed by Chevrolet's cheap ignition switches.

I heard this man say he is a member of the BMW board. Big deal.

This sleek machine reportedly has an MSRP of $2.3 million.

Only invitees holding a black card were admitted into Porsche's hospitality lounge.

Fancy tail lights aren't enough to elevate the body of the Toyota Mirai fuel-cell sedan above the ordinary.

In the United States, Toyota will sell only 3,000 Mirais from the fourth quarter of 2015 through 2017, a spokeswoman said on Wednesday, citing the limited places to refuel the car with hydrogen.

The Volkswagen e-Golf and other purely electric cars from Ford and Mitsubishi look like kitchen appliances when compared to Tesla Motors' luxurious Model S, which has more than twice to three times their range on a full charge.

World's automakers unveil their latest ideas for hastening climate change

Instead of showing a production model of the next-generation Prius hybrid, Toyota unveiled the Mirai fuel-cell sedan at the New York International Auto Show press preview today. Only 3,000 will be available in the U.S. from the last quarter of this year through 2017, a spokeswoman said.

The interior and exterior of the Mirai are underwhelming -- too reminiscent of the Camry. The electric-drive sedan will have a range of 300 miles on a fill-up of hydrogen.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Only a small fraction of the hundreds of vehicles on display at the New York International Auto Show in Manhattan can be considered environmentally friendly.

At today's press preview in the Javits Center, I saw a handful of purely electric cars, maybe a dozen gas-electric hybrids and Toyota's hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle, which is going on sale later this year in very limited numbers.

After all, the show is produced by the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association, not the Environmental Protection Agency.

At the opening press breakfast this morning, dealer association President Mark Schienberg emphasized that performance is the leading factor driving new-car sales -- followed by technology and fuel efficiency.

In other words, don't look for a great many new products later this year and in 2016 that are aimed at slowing climate change.

The show opens to the public on Friday.

The Toyota Mirai's electric motor (rated at 153 horsepower), fuel cells and hydrogen tank, front to rear. The midsize, four-passenger Mirai will have an MSRP of $57,500.

The Ford Focus Electric.

Volkswagen's all-electric e-Golf.

Mitsubishi's all-electric, hard-to-pronounce i-MiEV.

The low-slung BMW i8 plug-in hybrid sports car has an MSRP of $137,450, but that doesn't include treatments from a chiropractor.

The new Ford GT, reminiscent of the race car that won Le Mans from 1966 to 1969, is going on sale next year.

Mazda's new MX-5 Miata.

Lincoln unveiled a limousine-like Continental Concept, which is expected to be produced for the 2017 model year. The announcer said the car will have soft-closing doors, which reminded be of the Toto toilet seat.

Automobile writers packed one of the first press conferences of the day, for the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu, which is being billed as finally competitive with the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord in the scrappy midsize-sedan segment. A gas-electric hybrid version also will be available.

Platters of fruit and cheese were typical of the fare offered to members of the automotive media at the 115th edition of the New York International Auto Show. Subaru gave out box lunches with vegetable or turkey wraps. Espresso bars were common, but Porsche restricted its lounge to invitees holding a black card. In general, the automakers seem to be cutting back on food service compared to last year's press preview.