The New York Auto Show has been one of the largest car shows in America for well over a hundred years. Globe and Mail’s Petrina Gentile joins Kim Parlee to talk about the latest and greatest in car trends.
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Welcome back. The New York Auto Show has been one of the largest car shows in America for well over 100 years. My favorite car expert, Petrina Gentile, was just at this year's event. And she was there last week. She's here to tell us all about the latest and greatest in car trends. So nice to see you.
Great to be here.
You have one of the coolest jobs anywhere, because you get to kind of try everything. So before we get into it, you've driven everything. What's your favorite car?
I still have a sweet spot for that Tesla Model S.
Oh.
I have to say that. I think it's that technology-- the autopilot system being able to drive on its own.
It's fast.
It's fast, and it really is ahead of its time in terms of technology.
Wow. So of everything, really you're enamored with the Tesla.
Yeah.
That says something. OK. All right. OK, let's get to the New York Auto Show. You were just there, as I said. What were some of the hottest trends you're seeing up there?
One of the biggest ones out there, SUVs-- so they're all the rage now. SUVs, actually, in Canada and the US, are actually outselling passenger cars.
And why is that?
You know what? I think just people are moving into something that, one, they want something more larger, more comfortable for the family. Women are really attracted to SUVs as well. And luxury SUVs are a hot commodity.
Really? OK. Let's run through some, because you've got some here. This is the-- we are about to look at a 2018 Mercedes AMG GLC 63. They need a better name.
That's right.
All I'm going to say-- and trust me with this one. This is a luxury SUV.
It is, yes. So it is actually from Mercedes' AMG division. AMG is their high performance division. And this is basically not a regular little GLC. This is a fast performance vehicle. It has a twin turbo V8 under the hood. It has 469 horsepower and goes 0 to 100 in less than four seconds, in case you're running late.
Who needs to do that?
If you're running late taking the kids to hockey practice, you have a little bit of extra juice.
Run over a few kids in the process, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I don't know if you know, in terms of list price, but what are these things run at, like ballpark?
Well, they won't give the prices on a lot of these vehicles. So the 2017 version, you're looking at about $45,000 for the base model. But you're certainly going to pay a lot more for the AMG.
Velar.
Velar. Thank you. Much better. So what's good about this one?
This is brand new. So the Range Rover family keeps on growing and growing. Now this is the sixth one in the Land Rover family. And it is huge. It falls just above the Evoque. This one, they did release the price. It's about $62,000 when it will go on sale this year. And it really is an off-roading machine.
I saw the Evoque. I also always really liked that one, too. But it's all-- it's just tiny windows, right? That's the one thing with that one as well.
Yeah.
The 2018 Lincoln Navigator.
This is a huge, massive SUV, with three rows of seats. We've seen it in several concept vehicles of this particular vehicle. I don't know if you remember it, but it had gullwing doors and a sliding staircase on it. Of course, it's not in the production vehicle, which is this particular vehicle, but huge, spacious, very, very luxurious, when it comes to market.
When you go to these shows, I'm curious, you talk about production, like in terms if you see these, these are often-- I mean, is this ready to go into production? Will it look like this?
Yep.
It is, OK.
This is the production version, so this is what it will look like. No gullwing doors on this one.
All right, yeah. They're just not practical at the end of the day. Subaru Crosstrek, this is the 2018. What's interesting about this one?
This one is completely redone for 2018. It's more spacious. It's longer. It's wider. But it gets a lot of cool technology. And I love the technology. So it basically gets, for example, high beam assist. So high beam assist will actually turn on and off the high beams, depending on the oncoming traffic.
Oh nice, so you don't have to do that.
You don't do it. It even has an emergency reverse braking system. So if you're reversing out of a parking spot at the grocery store--
And someone comes up?
Yeah, it will actually warn you. But it can actually brake the vehicle to a complete stop, so you hopefully avoid an accident. So it's pretty impressive technology.
Wow, that is impressive. The Nissan Rogue, Rogue Dogue?
That's right.
Really? I was going to say someone made a typo here. But that's actually the Rogue Dogue.
That's what it is. Yeah, this is the concept vehicle. But I had to show you this one, because this is a vehicle for your four-legged friends. It has basically a ramp that your dog will just run into and out of. It has built-in water containers, food containers that are smart, so they will fill themselves up.
What do you mean they'll fill themselves up?
They'll fill themselves up automatically. So once it gets low, the water level's low, it just actually will come up on its own. It doesn't need someone to do it for you. So you're not going to get spillage in the car. It even has a hose that comes out of the vehicle. So you can give your dog a little shower, and then bring it back inside the vehicle.
I wonder, you know, does that actually-- I mean, it's totally fine and awesome. And I think probably a lot of dog people are like, yeah, we do that. We built our own ramp. We did that. So does actually-- do you think that sells vehicles, in terms?
Well, you know what? It's getting a lot of attention. It certainly is. And I think that's really what the main goal is, to attract a lot of attention. I don't know if this vehicle will even make it--
We'll have you back and find out.
--into production, yeah.
That's actually totally fun. I love that. OK. New tech, also something we're hearing in cars, when you talked about the headlights that come down and the automatic braking if someone comes in behind you. But self-driving cars?
This is another big thing. I was just in Spain last month and driving the new Mercedes-Benz. This is the E-Class coupe, and it has their version of their driving technology, which is as close to an autonomous car as you can get. And we have a clip of that, so you can just see how it works on the road.
All right. Let's run it.
- To use this system, it's really simple. There's a stalk on the left-hand side of your steering wheel. Push it towards you twice, and check this out. Look Mom, no hand. The vehicle is driving itself. Now, what's even cooler, I can change lanes. The vehicle's doing it on its own. I'm not touching a pedal, and it's actually got back into the same lane. So it's very impressive.
That is completely awesome and totally freaky. So I'm curious, I mean, again, you-- this is your living. You drive everywhere. You see all these cars.
Was it comfortable? Could you, I mean, were you in it long enough to kind of go, OK, I can pull back here?
I did get comfortable. But it is intimidating. When you first get in the vehicle, and you're giving up that power, it is a little bit nerve-wracking. So it is nerve-wracking at first, but you know what? You get comfortable with it pretty quick. And it is quite fun.
But you always have to be aware of what's going on around you, because you never know. I mean, the technology is still not perfect, so you want to be able to take control of the vehicle whenever you can. And you can't do this for long periods of time-- 30 seconds or so, and then it warns you, put your hands back on the wheel and take control.
Interesting. So we still have a ways to go until this becomes something that's out there. OK. Color trends-- now one thing I was going to say, I was actually taking notes while you were-- all those things here. And I noticed a color of all the-- most of the vehicles, white.
Exactly, white. There was a big study done in the US from Autolist.com. And they looked at over 3 million different vehicles dating back to 2005, to see if there was a correlation between color and resale value. And they found there is a correlation between the two. It's not 1,000s of dollars, but it's 100s of dollars. So if you buy a white vehicle, that is one of the most popular vehicles that you could buy in terms of color, especially for sedans and SUVs. You're going to pay on average about $200 more than another vehicle, another different color vehicle.
But you might get a few hundred dollars more when you're actually going to sell. Another color any other colors that were popular?
Well, it depends also on the type of vehicle. So for convertibles, for example, if you buy a red convertible, you're actually going to pay way over price. You're going to pay on average-- I think it's about $340 more. But if you buy a gray vehicle, you're going to actually pay less for it in a convertible. So you can actually save maybe about $390 for that gray convertible.
So it's twofold. If you're looking for a new convertible, go with red, because chances are it will depreciate a little bit less. And you'll make a bit more money when you go to sell it. If you're looking at a used vehicle, go for the gray convertible, because you'll actually probably save a couple of hundred dollars on it.
Let me ask you. I've only got 30 seconds, but just, you have such a fine job. How much-- how many cars do you think you've driven?
Oh my gosh, I drive, gosh, 1000s probably since I started 13 years ago.
And how fast have you driven, and let's be clear where.
On the autobahn in Germany, certainly had it up there. Because you have to test it out. I've had it up to 290. You have to test it out-- and on the track, on the race track in Rome, and Lamborghinis, easily, easily in that range as well, even in the corners, because you really get to push it on the race track a little bit more.
Oh my gosh, push your heart rate, too. And what do you drive? Do you say? You don't.
I drive.
As a car journalist, maybe she can't say.
No, I can say. You know what? I drive a 2001 Honda Accord.
No, you don't.
I do, yes. It only has about 110,000 kilometers on it, though, so.
Very smart.
Yeah.
Very smart. That's someone who's smart with her money. Petrina Gentile, award-winning automotive journalist, joining us here and in the studio, and she, of course, working with the Globe and Mail. All right. Thank you so much for watching.
If you want to see this interview or any other interviews, here is where you could go. Go to moneytalkgo.come/life. You can find this interview, plus a whole bunch of other really great stuff-- help you with any of the big things that are happening in your life in terms of taxes, retirement, cottage. It's all there, and you can find so much over there as well. Thank you so much for joining us tonight.
Great to be here.
You have one of the coolest jobs anywhere, because you get to kind of try everything. So before we get into it, you've driven everything. What's your favorite car?
I still have a sweet spot for that Tesla Model S.
Oh.
I have to say that. I think it's that technology-- the autopilot system being able to drive on its own.
It's fast.
It's fast, and it really is ahead of its time in terms of technology.
Wow. So of everything, really you're enamored with the Tesla.
Yeah.
That says something. OK. All right. OK, let's get to the New York Auto Show. You were just there, as I said. What were some of the hottest trends you're seeing up there?
One of the biggest ones out there, SUVs-- so they're all the rage now. SUVs, actually, in Canada and the US, are actually outselling passenger cars.
And why is that?
You know what? I think just people are moving into something that, one, they want something more larger, more comfortable for the family. Women are really attracted to SUVs as well. And luxury SUVs are a hot commodity.
Really? OK. Let's run through some, because you've got some here. This is the-- we are about to look at a 2018 Mercedes AMG GLC 63. They need a better name.
That's right.
All I'm going to say-- and trust me with this one. This is a luxury SUV.
It is, yes. So it is actually from Mercedes' AMG division. AMG is their high performance division. And this is basically not a regular little GLC. This is a fast performance vehicle. It has a twin turbo V8 under the hood. It has 469 horsepower and goes 0 to 100 in less than four seconds, in case you're running late.
Who needs to do that?
If you're running late taking the kids to hockey practice, you have a little bit of extra juice.
Run over a few kids in the process, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I don't know if you know, in terms of list price, but what are these things run at, like ballpark?
Well, they won't give the prices on a lot of these vehicles. So the 2017 version, you're looking at about $45,000 for the base model. But you're certainly going to pay a lot more for the AMG.
- The next one you have here is a Range Rover. 2018 Range Rover Velar?
Velar.
Velar. Thank you. Much better. So what's good about this one?
This is brand new. So the Range Rover family keeps on growing and growing. Now this is the sixth one in the Land Rover family. And it is huge. It falls just above the Evoque. This one, they did release the price. It's about $62,000 when it will go on sale this year. And it really is an off-roading machine.
I saw the Evoque. I also always really liked that one, too. But it's all-- it's just tiny windows, right? That's the one thing with that one as well.
Yeah.
The 2018 Lincoln Navigator.
This is a huge, massive SUV, with three rows of seats. We've seen it in several concept vehicles of this particular vehicle. I don't know if you remember it, but it had gullwing doors and a sliding staircase on it. Of course, it's not in the production vehicle, which is this particular vehicle, but huge, spacious, very, very luxurious, when it comes to market.
When you go to these shows, I'm curious, you talk about production, like in terms if you see these, these are often-- I mean, is this ready to go into production? Will it look like this?
Yep.
It is, OK.
This is the production version, so this is what it will look like. No gullwing doors on this one.
All right, yeah. They're just not practical at the end of the day. Subaru Crosstrek, this is the 2018. What's interesting about this one?
This one is completely redone for 2018. It's more spacious. It's longer. It's wider. But it gets a lot of cool technology. And I love the technology. So it basically gets, for example, high beam assist. So high beam assist will actually turn on and off the high beams, depending on the oncoming traffic.
Oh nice, so you don't have to do that.
You don't do it. It even has an emergency reverse braking system. So if you're reversing out of a parking spot at the grocery store--
And someone comes up?
Yeah, it will actually warn you. But it can actually brake the vehicle to a complete stop, so you hopefully avoid an accident. So it's pretty impressive technology.
Wow, that is impressive. The Nissan Rogue, Rogue Dogue?
That's right.
Really? I was going to say someone made a typo here. But that's actually the Rogue Dogue.
That's what it is. Yeah, this is the concept vehicle. But I had to show you this one, because this is a vehicle for your four-legged friends. It has basically a ramp that your dog will just run into and out of. It has built-in water containers, food containers that are smart, so they will fill themselves up.
What do you mean they'll fill themselves up?
They'll fill themselves up automatically. So once it gets low, the water level's low, it just actually will come up on its own. It doesn't need someone to do it for you. So you're not going to get spillage in the car. It even has a hose that comes out of the vehicle. So you can give your dog a little shower, and then bring it back inside the vehicle.
I wonder, you know, does that actually-- I mean, it's totally fine and awesome. And I think probably a lot of dog people are like, yeah, we do that. We built our own ramp. We did that. So does actually-- do you think that sells vehicles, in terms?
Well, you know what? It's getting a lot of attention. It certainly is. And I think that's really what the main goal is, to attract a lot of attention. I don't know if this vehicle will even make it--
We'll have you back and find out.
--into production, yeah.
That's actually totally fun. I love that. OK. New tech, also something we're hearing in cars, when you talked about the headlights that come down and the automatic braking if someone comes in behind you. But self-driving cars?
This is another big thing. I was just in Spain last month and driving the new Mercedes-Benz. This is the E-Class coupe, and it has their version of their driving technology, which is as close to an autonomous car as you can get. And we have a clip of that, so you can just see how it works on the road.
All right. Let's run it.
- To use this system, it's really simple. There's a stalk on the left-hand side of your steering wheel. Push it towards you twice, and check this out. Look Mom, no hand. The vehicle is driving itself. Now, what's even cooler, I can change lanes. The vehicle's doing it on its own. I'm not touching a pedal, and it's actually got back into the same lane. So it's very impressive.
That is completely awesome and totally freaky. So I'm curious, I mean, again, you-- this is your living. You drive everywhere. You see all these cars.
Was it comfortable? Could you, I mean, were you in it long enough to kind of go, OK, I can pull back here?
I did get comfortable. But it is intimidating. When you first get in the vehicle, and you're giving up that power, it is a little bit nerve-wracking. So it is nerve-wracking at first, but you know what? You get comfortable with it pretty quick. And it is quite fun.
But you always have to be aware of what's going on around you, because you never know. I mean, the technology is still not perfect, so you want to be able to take control of the vehicle whenever you can. And you can't do this for long periods of time-- 30 seconds or so, and then it warns you, put your hands back on the wheel and take control.
Interesting. So we still have a ways to go until this becomes something that's out there. OK. Color trends-- now one thing I was going to say, I was actually taking notes while you were-- all those things here. And I noticed a color of all the-- most of the vehicles, white.
Exactly, white. There was a big study done in the US from Autolist.com. And they looked at over 3 million different vehicles dating back to 2005, to see if there was a correlation between color and resale value. And they found there is a correlation between the two. It's not 1,000s of dollars, but it's 100s of dollars. So if you buy a white vehicle, that is one of the most popular vehicles that you could buy in terms of color, especially for sedans and SUVs. You're going to pay on average about $200 more than another vehicle, another different color vehicle.
But you might get a few hundred dollars more when you're actually going to sell. Another color any other colors that were popular?
Well, it depends also on the type of vehicle. So for convertibles, for example, if you buy a red convertible, you're actually going to pay way over price. You're going to pay on average-- I think it's about $340 more. But if you buy a gray vehicle, you're going to actually pay less for it in a convertible. So you can actually save maybe about $390 for that gray convertible.
So it's twofold. If you're looking for a new convertible, go with red, because chances are it will depreciate a little bit less. And you'll make a bit more money when you go to sell it. If you're looking at a used vehicle, go for the gray convertible, because you'll actually probably save a couple of hundred dollars on it.
Let me ask you. I've only got 30 seconds, but just, you have such a fine job. How much-- how many cars do you think you've driven?
Oh my gosh, I drive, gosh, 1000s probably since I started 13 years ago.
And how fast have you driven, and let's be clear where.
On the autobahn in Germany, certainly had it up there. Because you have to test it out. I've had it up to 290. You have to test it out-- and on the track, on the race track in Rome, and Lamborghinis, easily, easily in that range as well, even in the corners, because you really get to push it on the race track a little bit more.
Oh my gosh, push your heart rate, too. And what do you drive? Do you say? You don't.
I drive.
As a car journalist, maybe she can't say.
No, I can say. You know what? I drive a 2001 Honda Accord.
No, you don't.
I do, yes. It only has about 110,000 kilometers on it, though, so.
Very smart.
Yeah.
Very smart. That's someone who's smart with her money. Petrina Gentile, award-winning automotive journalist, joining us here and in the studio, and she, of course, working with the Globe and Mail. All right. Thank you so much for watching.
If you want to see this interview or any other interviews, here is where you could go. Go to moneytalkgo.come/life. You can find this interview, plus a whole bunch of other really great stuff-- help you with any of the big things that are happening in your life in terms of taxes, retirement, cottage. It's all there, and you can find so much over there as well. Thank you so much for joining us tonight.
