Hyundai further solidifies in my mind the value proposition. They have great interior work and promises at least something worth the value points in their line of Genesis. There are 4 trim levels for the 4-door and 2 for the 2-door, starting with their ~24000 ish 2.0T 2-door up to the 5.0 liter, 429 HP R-spec 4-door at about 47000. Worth every penny compared to the competition.

My dad was in mosty to get a glimpse of the new Honda Accord redesign. None to be seen except a concept accord on the floor. It gives us a good idea what it’ll be like, I guess.

The new Audi S8 impressed me a lot.

Realigning the top-end Mercedes S class was a good move.

Cayman is still a great buy if you want a nice sports car. Forget the Boxster, even if it is redesigned for 2012.

Among American muscle cars, consider the new low end CTS coupe, which I bet gives the Genesis a run for its money. For pure $-to-HP, the new Shelby Cobra Mustang is impossible to beat. I mean, you’re paying $50000 or so for 620 HP? Nuts.

The new Kia car with all their superbowl budget, it’s solid choice in the already crowded compact segment. I mean even the Passat this year is a very good choice. Or even the Jetta maybe. They are really the same. Just don’t buy the CC, seems like a poor choice unless you are sucker for AWD.

As for the budget ricer segment, I’m pretty hype about the BRZ and the FR-S. Well, first off, why would you buy a FR-S is beyond me, since the BRZ is outright better. Comes with standard nav! I mean, can I relive my 240SX? If it comes in under 24g it will probably beat the Genesis, at least at the sub-$30000 range.

Did you know Nissan is trying to push out a respectable line of vans, not the mini types, but commercial/passenger sort of thing? Watch out, Mercedes Benz!

I was really impressed by the Fiat 500’s. Abarth man, that could be sweet if priced right, and I guess starting at 22000 makes it reasonable. Despite what reliability issues they may have. I’d take it over, say, a GTI or similar. The fact that it only has a 5-speed transmission is more of a problem. I am willing to take a price cut for a slight performance cut in this case.

The Acura ZDX, what is this I don’t even. Pretty nice though.

And there were other things. Like seeing Stan Lee talking to the McLaruen guys.

Until next year!