SF Auto Show 2009

I was fortunate enough to be home for Thanksgiving this year, which - coincidentally - is the time of year when the joyous rumble of V10s and the sweet scent of turtle wax draw crowds from the Bay Area for miles around. Every year, my dad and I make a tradition of heading up to the city, staring both wistfully and lustfully at the many exotic cars, and then having the best damn burger and milkshake you'll ever have. I've lost track of how many years we've been doing it, but I'd wager close to 10.

Anyway, this year's show definitely did not disappoint.

Starting off, we have the Cadillac Converj concept.

Let's hope the name is conceptual as well, because

it is just ridiculous (just spell things properly,

people). Despite looking rather spaceship-y, this

is an all-electric soggy muffin with a piddling

amount of horsepower.

Another new entry into the 'well, we probably

shouldn't but let's do it anyway' segment is the

Lotus Evora. It's admittedly a sweet car, and

is a surprising departure from Lotus coupes

of the past in the sense that it's a 2+2,

meaning there is room in the back for two

people without legs or one person lying on

their side.

While I have no doubt that the smooth-as-silk

leather and teak deck finish in the back are oh-

so-nice, I just have no interest in driving

something that would automatically qualify

me for a boat license (having driven the

tugboat-on-wheels Chrysler 300, I can't

even fathom driving something that weighs

precisely 1 ton more).

I don't know much about this car, to be honest.

I believe it's made by someone called SV and

has a tuned Corvette engine in it.

NOW we're talking - the Aston Martin DBS,

one of the most beautiful cars to grace the

asphalt. I have never been built up and then

dealt a crushing blow as I was when this car

was featured in Casino Royale.

Porsche had their brand-new 4-door on display

- the Panamera. I'm surprised they had it open

for people to sit in, since most of their cars are

usually locked up tight. Maybe sales are slow...

it does look like someone sat on it.

While I have never been a huge fan of Cadillacs,

you've got to hand it to them for creating the

fastest production saloon in existence at the

moment (specifically, the CTS-V).

True beauty - the Audi R8 V8. Such a thing

of beauty, this one.

Annnnnd then there's this. I'm not even certain

what this was at one point, but you would have

to be obsessive-compulsive to keep it looking

like this (no offense intended to the sufferers of

OCD out there).

And just for humor's sake, we have the Zeppelin.

At one point it was some huge ugly monstrosity,

now transformed into a huge ugly pearlescent

monstrosity.

And now for something slightly more attainable:

the Audi S4. Subdued yet aggressive. Harsh

yet refined. Something yet something. Such a

fantastic car.

But Carson, you ask, why are we coming back

to the R8? Because this is no ordinary V8

supercar. Audi has released a new engine for

this jaw-droppingly-gorgeous machine: a V10.

Ohhhhhhhhhhh yeah...

Baby got...rear diffusers...and check out

those massive oval tailpipes! Just like on the

outgoing RS models...so good.

The new(-ish) speedy saloon from Lexus, the

IS-F. Rather unique are the stacked tailpipes.

I looooooove old cars like this with the long

curving fenders (Morgan still makes modern

cars like this styled after the brilliant cars of

the early 1900s).

Another fantastic old car - the 1938 Talbot

Lago T120 Roadster.

Another amazing piece of history - the Bugatti

Type 57. Hard to believe that the company

that was making those is now making these.

I sadly can't recall the make of this one, but

would have loved to have driven on back in

its day. Just look at the hoses coming out

the side - they're like veins.

Vrooooooom...