2009 Canadian International Auto Show - Overview

Text and Photos by Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

This year's Canadian International Auto Show pushed on bravely despite the economic downturn and glum news of layoffs in the industry.

They mood at this year's Auto Show was sombre and low key, a big difference from the glitz and spectacle if the past years. Aside from a few dozen car aficionados snapping photos and enthusiasts checking out the latest and greatest, you could feel the heaviness of the times clear across the exhibit floor. The focus of this year's show was hybrid and green technologies that improved on economy over horsepower and styling.

The Nissan GTR Supercar makes an appearance in Toronto

More on the 2009 Canadian International Auto Show after the break.

The Subaru G4e Electric car concept: A sign of green things to come

This year's Car of The Year award went to the Hyundai Genesis, a luxury sedan and the first Korean-made vehicle to ever take top honors in the show. The Toronto Star explains the reason why the Genesis turned so many heads.

"The Genesis, Hyundai's first rear-wheel drive, performance sedan, beat 11 other "Best New" category winners to win the top prize, adding to its win earlier this year as the "North American Car of the Year."

To win Canadian Car of the Year honours, the Hyundai Genesis was first named AJAC's Best New Luxury Vehicle Under $50,000, defeating several other well-known luxury brands, such as the Audi A3, Acura TL and Infiniti G37X.

Following rigorous testing, the auto journalists decided the Genesis surpassed competitors in areas such as engine refinement, ride comfort, exterior styling, visibility, roominess and comfort. "

Hyundai

Small was Big

Subcompacts, specially those with electric engines or hybrid variants were popular at the show even if most of them were prototypes. Kia and Nissan lit up their exhibit spaces with the Soul and the Cube respectively. Mitsubishi, whose iMiEV concept car is a full time electric car and is about as large as a Smart ForTwo, was a popular draw in the show.
Mitsubishi was on board with their electric iMiEV concept car .

The 2010 Kia Soul - Subcompact with an attitude.

The desire for small, economical cars is reflective of the tough times faced by car buyers specially considering the pressure to consume less gasoline and simplify the way we commute. The only problem we saw with the latest batch of micro compacts is that they haven't really evolved stylistically and remain unattractive, boxy and look like derivatives of the popular Honda Element and the Scion xB. We get the need for cheap and functional transportation but really can't fathom the milk truck cookie-cutter approach taken by the manufacturers.

Jonesing for the Trucks
Trucks and pickups are still popular specially when you consider models like Hummer's H3-T truck, Ford's Raptor Pickup and some of the more sober models from Jeep.
Raptor in Toronto: Grilled out and massive, Ford
This Hummer hauls: The H3T truck

All in all, the 2009 Canadian International Auto Show managed to showcase the trends for the coming few years quite well. We would have liked to have seen more innovation and technology as well as exciting new models in all fronts but 2009 is obviously a year of introspection in the market. This mood was evident in this year's auto show.