The 2016 Pennsylvania Auto Show

I make it a point to get to an auto show every year. I love cars, I love to drive, and I love to look at, sit in, and drive everything out there that's new. Over the past few years, I have alternated between Pennsylvania's three major auto shows in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and the smaller Pennsylvania Auto Show in Harrisburg. I decided on Harrisburg this year because Toyota joined Ford in hosting a ride and drive event this year, and I just didn't feel like driving three hours to Philly or Pittsburgh. Also, the Farm Show complex is just outside the city, so the test drive route has some hills and curves, as opposed to the auto shows in Philly and Pittsburgh, which is nothing but lights and bumper-to-bumper traffic. Also, the tickets are a reasonable $8 online, and you even get a 1-year subscription to Motor Trend magazine, which will come in handy if we run out of toilet paper. Anyway, if you are interested in cars, read on to see my test drive experiences, the cars I saw, and some overall impressions.

I will start with the test drives. I am glad I came on a Friday, because there was no line, and I was able to hop out of one car and into another at both the Ford and Toyota events. Here are the test drives in the order I took them. I started with Ford.

Mustang Ecoboost: Since I drive a minivan, this was a welcome change of pace. The test drive route took us into the state department of agriculture grounds, which takes you around curves and up hills. This Mustang has a 2.3 liter turbo 4, which makes an impressive 310 horsepower while getting 31 mpg on the highway. I did feel a bit of turbo lag, but the 'Stang was definitely quick enough when the power kicked in. As always, I love the balance and handling of a good rear-wheel drive car. This is also a great performance bargain at less than $30,000. Still, if I was ever able to get a Mustang, I would still go for the V8. I love the low-end grunt and neck-snapping power delivery of the larger engine. Besides, this is an American musclecar icon, and, in my opinion, it just isn't right to have a small engine in this kind of car, unless they rename it the Mustang SVO. And yes, I know you can also get a turbo four in the Camaro. Sigh.

F-150 2.7 liter Ecoboost: I drove this pickup because a good friend of mine is on the engineering team for this particular engine as a thermal dynamics engineer. I believe he works with the engine's coolant system. I apologize if I am mistaken. The latest version of America's best selling vehicle now has a lighter aluminum body (I jokingly tell my friend it is a Budweiser can on wheels), and a virtually infinite number of configurations. The pickup I drove accelerated briskly, and rode and handled very well for a pickup truck. I have always liked the way the F-150 drove, and, if I ever had the need for a pickup truck, I would get an F-150. That day may come, because I am sick of hearing my cousin moan and groan about how he is the only person in the family with a pickup truck, and is always being called to help people move or haul stuff. My only nits to pick are with the overly macho interior, which has too many sharp angles for my tastes. Also, this particular model stickered at $46,000, and it had cloth seats. The base model with rear wheel drive and a regular cab is about $26,000. Pickup trucks sure aren't cheap. By the way, this great engine will make its way into the 2017 Ford Fusion Sport, which will be the family sedan from hell. Can Ford rename it the Fusion SHO?

Fusion Energi: This is a plug-in hybrid version of Ford's midsized sedan. It can run on just electric power for 20 miles, but the gas engine kicks in when needed. The product rep told me that they can get between 80-90 mpg on the highway on long trips. When you run out of juice, the 4-cylinder gas engine still gets a respectable 38 miles per gallon. It was an interesting sensation to start the car and hear nothing. It wasn't until I went up a hill when I began to hear the engine. With a combined 183 horsepower between both powerplants, performance was adequate, although I am sure most Fusion Energi buyers aren't looking for a hot rod.  The Fusion Energi starts at $33,000, but the $7,500 tax credit from the Feds makes this a reasonable proposition. Also, unlike the Prius, which somehow got even uglier this year, the Fusion Energi actually looks like a normal car. This is good for most people, bad for pretentious tree huggers who want the whole world to know they are driving a fuel-efficient car.

Now on to Toyota, the world's finest maker of transportation appliances and vehicles for people who don't like to drive.

RAV4: The Rav is all new for this year. I drove a loaded model. The two-tone black and tan interior looked fantastic. I would call it the best in its class. The Toyota people took us on a much shorter drive, basically around the block, so I couldn't get a feel of how well it drove. Like any Toyota, the power, ride and handling were adequate and competent. It is a perfectly good SUV that I am sure will be reliable, and I would recommend it to people. My wife would love this car. The MSRP of the RAV is about $37,000, which is on par with other loaded vehicles in this class.

Camry: The Camry I drove was also loaded. It had the V6 engine, leather-appointed interior with attractive red stitching, and a complement of active safety features such as lane-departure warning, adaptive cruise control, and a pre-collision system, which will apply the brakes if it senses that a frontal collision is imminent. These features have been in high-end cars like Mercedes for several years, and it is good to see them trickle down to cars for the masses. This car was really quick, thanks to the V6, which, in the interest of fuel economy, may be phased out of the next redesign. Again, I couldn't get too much of a feel for the ride and handling, but they felt fine for the short drive. Again, not the world's most exciting car, but one I would definitely recommend to others.

Other comments from the test drive: I asked both reps if someone has ever wrecked a car on a test drive, they both said no, and both people had been doing this for several years. Both reps were very nice, provided good information, but did not outright try to sell the car. I had a very good conversation with Joe, the rep from Toyota, who knew a great deal about their products and the industry. He even admitted that the Dodge Grand Caravan, the car I drive, is startlingly fast, and can blow the doors off a Sienna, Toyota's minivan. I conceded that, as fast as it is, my Caravan at 80,000 miles already had two major transmission repairs and will be gone when it hits 100k and the powertrain warranty ends. I would guess that most Siennas won't have those kind of transmission issues.

Other observations from the auto show:

Prototypes and pre-production models: The big disadvantage to coming to a smaller show like this one is the lack of pre-production cars that are all over the news at the big shows in Detroit and Los Angeles. I give a lot of credit to Ford, who brought by far the most preproduction cars. I saw the Focus ST, which, with 350 horsepower, will be an unbelievably fast hot hatch. Also there was the Lincoln Continental, which didn't look bad at all in person. I think this is a good car to help save this brand. The rest of the Lincolns were awright, awright, awright. They also brought the pre-production Super Duty pickup, which borrows some of the styling cues from the new F-150 as well as the aluminum body made from the millions of recycled Pepsi cans that are being sent to Dearborn. Conspicuously absent was the new Chrysler Pacifica minivan. Judging from the pictures, this is the nicest looking minivan I have ever seen, and I would love to see one in the flesh.

Car I forgot even existed: The Buick Cascada 4-seat convertible is a rebadged, Polish-built Opel with a 1.6 liter turbo engine and a porky curb weight of just under 4,000 pounds. Since the Chrysler LeBaron convertible is no longer sold, Michael Scott would approve of this car.

Car I can't believe still exists: The Cadillac ELR. This is what happens when you take a Chevy Volt, put leather seats in it, and add $20,000 to the price. Virtually none of these cars were sold, but the ELR soldiers on, because this plug-in hybrid helps Caddy's image. This car was not present in the Cadillac display, nor were the new CT6 and XT5. (Update: It turns out Caddy pulled the proverbial plug on the ELR on 2/3/16, the same day Toyota killed the Scion brand).

Most expensive car you could actually sit in: A $115,000 loaded Corvette Z06 convertible. This sounds expensive until you realize this car can blow the doors off most Ferraris that cost double or triple this amount. Finally, the interior of this car almost justifies its price tag, and is no longer the GM plastic parts-bin nightmare that it was before.

Coolest interiors: The i3, the electric car from BMW, takes a minimalist, Scandinavian approach to its interior with eucalyptus wood on the dash and carbon fiber plastic in the door panels. Also there is no instrument panel, just one screen over the steering wheel, and another screen mounted in the center of the dash. Unfortunately, this car has a range of only 81 miles, which increases to about 150 if you pony up another $4,000 for the range extender.

The other interior worth mentioning is the Volvo XC90. With its small, but powerful engine, focus on  safety, and seamless use of technology, this SUV is a game changer. The interior is tastefully decked out in leather and wood, and has a large, vertical screen in the center of the dash which is intuitive and easy to operate. There are also a handful of redundant controls under the screen for the volume, defogger, and other functions. Volvo has created an interior that is both beautiful and functional.

Most British option: The "Bespoke interior charge" on the Rolls Royce Wraith, one of several options that pushed the price of this car up to a staggering $390,000, making this the perfect car for rappers or pro athletes. To paraphrase the great Colin Firth, "Now the first thing every gentleman needs is a good interior. By which I mean, a bespoke interior. Never off the peg."

Overall impression #1: After driving the Camry, and looking at cars around the show, the next generation of safety features is making its way to affordable cars, and not just Lexus and Mercedes. About 10 years ago, multiple airbags on the front and sides of the car were becoming common. Now just about every car has them, along with traction control and stability control. Even backup cameras will be required in every car by 2018. We are now seeing a new, more active generation of safety features trickling down from luxury cars to affordable cars. Features like adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, front crash avoidance and rear cross traffic alert systems are becoming more and more common, and it is possible they may soon become required equipment, and that's a good thing.

Overall impression #2: Boy, are new cars expensive. The average new car transaction is well over $30,000. The RAV 4 i drove was $37,000. A $65,000 pickup truck is not out of the question. Even loaded compact cars like the Cruze and the Focus push into the high 20s. Granted, these are based on the MSRP and not the out-the-door price from a dealership, but still, cars are a lousy investment, and this reinforces my belief that my money is better spent on a used car.