I went to the Chicago Auto Show a couple of weeks ago to see if there was any good news about the auto industry. Times have been tough for car companies so my expectations were not as high. Luckily, many of the cars on display were planned long ago so there was plenty on display.

The most stunning car from the show was the Jaguar XFR. This car is the perfect blend of elegance and performance. The only real disappointment was that I could not get inside one of these cars.

The Dodge EV was another eye catcher. The credit for the looks should probably go to Lotus. This electric car is based on the Lotus Europa (similar to the Tesla Roadster that is based on the Lotus Elise). The spokesperson was short on details, but was certain that the car would make it to production. I’m skeptical.

At the show, I got to see the new Honda Insight for the first time in person. It is a really sharp car. It has a surprising attention to detail when you consider that it is an economy car. This is a very appealing hybrid, but the Prius is still more upmarket.

The Toyota Prius started a revolution in the auto industry and I think this new one will continue to set the standard. The new Prius seems to only improve on everything that the old one did.

The Nissan Cube was probably the funkiest car at the Auto Show. It features asymmetrical looks and the US-version is a little rounder than its name suggests.

The new Ford Taurus was on display at the Auto Show. This car attempts to recapture the sales that Taurus used to have in the early ’90s. In my opinion they’ve got a good chance now because this car doesn’t have ridiculous or boring styling that cursed the old models.

The biggest surprise of the show had to be the Spykers. It is so rare to see a Spyker anywhere and there were two models at the Auto Show. There was a very large crowd surrounding the cars. Everything about them just looks amazing in person.

The Volkswagen area looked great, but was lacking in new models. I think we have to wait until next year to really see the next generation of VW. The Gold Coast CC was amazing though. It was easily one of the most beautiful car at the show. It is a good sign that VW is attempting to give all of their new cars bold styling.

Mercedes had an SL65 AMG Black Series on display at the show. Black Series cars are especially rare, so I was surprised that they had one on display. Everything on the spec sheet, like the 661 horses, make this car seem amazing. In person it is a bit of a let down though. The wheels on the car are just plain boring and the car looks under styled (but I guess that’s because it us all functional).

The Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 was there again. It looks much better with the wheels without the chrome finish. The window hood is still incredibly cheesy though.

There has been a lot of buzz about Hyundai lately because of the Genesis. They took the car to the next step by bringing a Genesis Sedan that was modified by DUB Magazine. It looked very sharp.

The show was great and worth the time. I have a feeling it wil be smaller next year, but I’ll worry about that later. You can see the rest of my pictures from the show here.