Stepping foot into the 58th annual San Francisco International Auto Show could get any mans’ heart pounding. The sight of the 2014 Bugatti Veyon Transformer Edition ($2.1M), the Pagani Huayra ($1.3M) and the rare 2017 Lamborghini Aventador Superveloce Roadster ($500K) is a sight in beauty and supreme engineering.
Electric, hybrid, and alternative-fuel cars were the theme and truly stole the show. From the BMW i8 swan-wing door, plug-in hybrid to Volvo’s first ever hybrid vehicle to the redesigned Toyota Prius, there was a strong presence of eco-friendly vehicles.
The Toyota Mirai, the world’s first electric fuel cell car, is now available exclusively to California consumers. In Japanese, “Mirai” means “future,” and this car is the future of driving: it runs solely on hydrogen and only emits water. The Mirai can even travel 312 miles on a full tank (combined city/hwy 66 mpg). Every new owner receives three years of complimentary fuel, a hydrogen fuel station finder app, 24/7-customer support, and an eight year/100,000-mile hydrogen power train warranty.
The new 2016 Toyota Prius made its debut this year. With its new shape it’s easier on the eyes than earlier models were. It also gets better gas mileage at 54 mpg (city), 50 mpg (hwy). The Prius offers safety technologies like forward collision warning with pedestrian detection, lane departure warning with steer assist to name just a few.
Technology aficionados will marvel over the 2016 Acura RLX Hybrid. Not only will this luxury sedan achieve 28/32mpg (city/highway), it packs a punch with next level tech! With the Advanced Package, a 360-degree camera actually helps you park while another camera manages “Road-Departure Mitigation”–in other words, this baby is smart enough to prevent you from driving off the road. And if you’re backing out of a parking space and don’t notice the bicyclist who came out of nowhere, the RLS will provide an alert. The 2016 Acura RLX with the Advance Package starts at $60,450.
Several vintage roadsters from 1928 Stutz Model Speedster, to the 1955 Mercedes Benz 300 SL were on display, sponsored by the Academy of Art University. While not laden with technology features, it was easy to marvel over the beautiful workmanship they exhibited for their age.
Thirty-eight of the world’s major manufacturers displayed their 2016 model cars, trucks, SUVs and vans. Vintage classics and exotic sports cars also appeared bringing balance between simple and cutting edge safety technology. To check out some more highlights from the car show, go to the LLERO Photo Gallery!