Top 7 Cars & Concepts, New York Auto Show

When it comes to auto shows in America, the three big dogs are Detroit, LA and New York. The New York International Auto Show (NYIAS) is the oldest one of them all, with its first show in 1900 – yes, it’s that old! Located in the heart of Manhattan, it brings together nearly every manufacturer you can think of, including all their big execs, industry leaders, enthusiasts and consumers from all ends of the world. Clearing over one million attendees each year, it’s arguably one of the largest automotive events there is anywhere. With all that said, we simply can’t hold back how overjoyed we are to have our Scion Tuner Challenge FR-S front and center this year! You can find it in the North Hall of Javits Center at the Scion booth (the show ends April 12). Also don’t forget to read the entire feature on our FR-S in the May ’15 issue.

Anyway, back to subject at hand – we did manage to see some exceptional new cars and concepts that’ll be interesting to watch unfold as the year progresses. In no particular order, here are the top seven cars we came across at the 2015 New York Auto Show.

While it debuted in Detroit, this was the first time seeing the new GS F with our own eyes. It looks more aggressive than we imagined and its appearance is complemented by the luxury sedan’s 467-horsepower (hp) 5.0-liter V-8 (the same engine from RC F). The seats and slightly more aggressive styling cues give it a slight motorsport feel while still remaining sophisticated overall. With a limited run of 1,600 cars, we expect these babies to fly out of your local Lexus dealer like hotcakes!

We were quite optimistic when the iM concept debuted at the LA Auto Show with a very sporty hot hatch design. The night before NYIAS opened, Scion invited us to the reveal of the 2016 iM production model – less cool and sporty than what we expected, but we hope the aftermarket can step in to make it a ‘lil sexier when the car is available later this year. Its best features are Pioneer head unit with a seven-inch display, LED running lights, backup cam, optional TRD gear from the dealer and a sub-$20K price tag.

There’s a glimmer of hope for Civic fans. This 10th-gen Honda Civic Concept is said to remain more or less unchanged when a production model comes out of the woodwork. It shares similarities to the Type R hatchback introduced earlier this year at the Geneva Motor Show. We dig the LED lights and aggressive exterior of the coupe. Honda tells us the base model will come with the company’s new four-cylinder turbo and a six-speed manual – win! Our fingers are crossed… Honda even says the Type R is coming back to America but we can only wait and see!

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