# Dan Halen Goes to the LA Auto Show



## Dan Halen (May 16, 2002)

Here are a couple photos I took at the auto show; I hope you like them! 














































































































































































































































































































































Hope you enjoyed my coverage of the LA Auto Show!

-Brian


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## lotuselan (Apr 9, 2008)

Is Porsche serious about that Macan center counsul?


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## Dan Halen (May 16, 2002)

Aye... yeah, believe so. Honestly, it translates a hell of a lot better in some of their other vehicles. I didn't have an issue with it in person, but now that I look at it again after you mention it, yeah...

Gotta give them points for simplicity, IMO.


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## davewg (Jul 30, 2001)

Great shots all around. Really makes me want to go to Philadelphia (local to me) or the NYIAS.

My only comment is that there is a distinct lack of Audi content here...:what:  

Hopefully that means something more is coming and that your camera battery didn't die by the time you got to the Audi stand.


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## nickjs1984 (Jul 30, 2009)

Give up the goods!


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## Rudy_H (Jul 6, 2012)

Dan Halen said:


> Here are a couple photos I took at the auto show; I hope you like them!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Is she very tall, or is the Macan really that low? Can you compare it to anything else on the road for how high it sits?

If Audi won't give me a cool wagon...this seems to be a VERY sporty Q5 (Allroad on steroids)
(some springs or coil overs to reduce gap)


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## brennok (Jun 5, 2007)

From some of the articles it is based off the Q5 MQB. I agree though it looks almost low enough to be a hatchback.

According to the Forbes article it is the height of the Cayenne.


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## Dan Halen (May 16, 2002)

davewg said:


> Great shots all around. Really makes me want to go to Philadelphia (local to me) or the NYIAS.
> 
> My only comment is that there is a distinct lack of Audi content here...:what:
> 
> Hopefully that means something more is coming and that your camera battery didn't die by the time you got to the Audi stand.


Actually, I just about killed it at Audi. I had enough room left to take a couple random BMW photos. I didn't even make it over to VW before it died. I can say I was largely underwhelmed by the MkVII Golf line, though. The GTI seemed decent, but it was still a bit generic as compared to the finish level in the last two generations. I did notice a body crease along the top of the doors between the doors and roof on the Golf that may not have been represented in photos previously.

The interior of one of the Golfs had that glossy black plastic all over the place- the same stuff that's around the screens of the current radios. The same stuff that mars if you look at it funny. I guess it's just good that it's not soft-touch? 

Also, those stupid triangular windows in front of the front doors are going to be the bane of a window tinter's existence. And forget getting in there to clean the damn thing, so as all of the plastics off-gas in your new Golf or GTI, that little piece of crap will haze over with no good way to clean it.

The exterior is sharp, but the interior was just very generic and uninspiring to me. Even the GTI was only "meh" at best. The seats are a non-descript ho-hum look, though they are well bolstered. I just expected better, I guess, after the MkV and MkVI interiors.

Audi A3-S3 impressions and photos coming shortly...


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## davewg (Jul 30, 2001)

Dan Halen said:


> Audi A3-S3 impressions and photos coming shortly...


Looking forward to it...

Thanks for the impressions of the Mk VII GTI...sounds a little disappointing. Another member posted a host of pictures in the Mk VII thread in the VW forums. I'll have to go back and look at them with a more critical eye.


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## Dan Halen (May 16, 2002)

Alright, these are in no particular order. I'll put comments before each photo where necessary. Note that both cars (white A3 S-line and red S3) have Wolfsburg VINs. These are *very* early production cars, and frankly, some of the minor details may not be representative of what we'll see, both due to the early build and to the European spec. You'll also find a couple hokey videos showing how a couple things work.

Probably the only notable thing not represented in photos below would be my comments on the B&O upgrade. That will turn this car into damn near a rolling concert hall. It's that fantastic. I jacked it up a couple times and was surprised they weren't asking me to leave the display. :laugh:

Also, I did turn everything off and close all the doors at one point. While a loud show hall isn't very representative of the open road, I really believe they've done a good job insulating the cabin from outside noises. The ambient show noise was a dull murmur with the cabin sealed.

Glacier White A3 S-line; it's a sharp color, but white may just be too bland on this car for me:



















Armrest console, with USB charging and AMI:



















Glove box inputs:










Power outlets (I was disappointed at the absence of a 110V outlet, but maybe that will be a spec difference for the US cars):



















The S3 had full LED interior lighting, which doesn't photograph well with what I was using. Anyhow, these are some photos of random things on the interior. The interior light controls are actually individual push-buttons rather than a rocker switch:



















The headlamp switch is *TINY*... as in "I could barely get two fingers on it" tiny:










The switch panel was actually different between the S-line and the S3, where it's matte black plastic in the S-line and a deep gloss black in the S3 (S-line first, S3 second):



















I took various photos of the roof; unfortunately, in our haste to get out of the apartment Thursday morning, I left my damn tape measure in my suitcase... so no measurements of the roof opening size. :banghead:

I seem to recall that the last photo shows the roof fully open. It's... a bit disappointing for "panoramic."














































... and various photos of the roof from the outside. As you can see in the first photo, the body stamping stops at the back of the glass. The small black strips on either side of the glass appear to be part of the actual pano roof assembly, based on the rubber seals between them and the roof. Also worth noting, but not shown in the photo, is that there is a crease/ ridge in the black part of the roof where it meets the front of the glass. That is, the larger black part in front of the glass is slightly higher than the black side strips. It's nearly unnoticeable, but I wanted to mention it. It's the same way on the Golf pano roof, I believe.





































I also wanted to call out just how small the back window opening actually is in reality. I tried to capture it in a couple photos, but it wasn't really happening (I'll include them, anyway). The angle of the back glass is *really* steep. The effective opening for the rear window is just really, really small. I don't think it's "major visibility issue" small, but it was small enough that it really surprised me.




























Speaking of the rear, how about some rear seat impressions? The photo below represents me sitting behind myself. I sat in the pilot's chair and set it to a comfortable position for myself. I don't drive incredibly stretched out, but I also don't drive right up on the wheel. In hindsight, I should have also had someone photograph me in the front seat. Oops.

The legroom is serviceable, and the headroom is borderline incompatible with my 6'2" frame. If I sit straight up in the rear, my head *just* touches the roof. If I lean ever so slightly to the right, I'm good. I think somewhere around 6'1" is probably the sweet spot, assuming average torso length. Overall, it wasn't uncomfortable, and I could work with it on trips of 4-6 hours, I imagine.




























While we're discussing the back seat, how about this throwback? Someone's been laughing for years at the number of units they committed VW and Audi to buy. When will the madness end?!










... and that's certainly not US-spec:










B&O is trimmed very, very well:










A little bump in the trunk:










... and while we're talking about the trunk, how about some spare tire information? There isn't one. I think this is probably due in part to these being European spec cars, but the view under the trunk floor cover wasn't encouraging. If we're not fortunate enough to get at least a folding spare like the Touareg has, we seem destined to get a can of goop and a pump. God/ Allah/ Jehovah help us if they saddle us with ****ing run-flats.



















... more to follow.


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## Dan Halen (May 16, 2002)

Most of the exterior has been photographed very well from most angles, but I took a few photos, anyway.

Spacers required:























































I also took some random interior photos, with the MMI not getting a lot of attention as that's already well-photographed as well. I did take a couple, anyway:





































I really like the brushed-look console trim; I just wish it extended all the way to the armrest:










The instrument cluster is covered by one solid piece of polycarbonate rather than having the individual dials covered with their own protective covers, such as the cluster in the MkV GTI and GLI. These single-piece polycarbonate covers usually mar easily, so I'm slightly disappointed to see it in the A3 and S3.










S-line interior trim:










S3 interior trim (photo is sort of poor; it's a nice brushed stainless trim):










Knee airbag; US inclusion TBD::










Turn and cruise stalks:










Fairly useless door pocket is fairly useless:










Seat backs don't fold completely flat, but get close:










Door hinges and wiring are... very minimal:










... as are the trunk hinges. It's also worth noting that the trunk hinges don't seem to infringe on usable trunk space nearly as much as they could:










No key hole. Anywhere. Not for a switchblade, not for the "smart key" which usually goes into the dash:










Passenger front seat belt. I'm disappointed, honestly. My current car has a loop which catches the buckle and prevents it from slapping against the B-pillar trim with the windows down. Maybe that won't be an issue in this car, but I was able to tap the seat belt and have it smack against the pillar trim. Small gripe, I know.










Beefy shift paddles:


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## Dan Halen (May 16, 2002)

A little bit of eTron love:





































Note that it has the super sport seats. Neat.


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## Dan Halen (May 16, 2002)

Oh, and one last thing... the ECU is in a bit of an odd spot, if not a substantially better spot. Pulling it for APR to bench tune it once they figure out how to outsmart TD1 will be a cake walk. :laugh:










Non-A3 related, they had ChrisFu's car on display as well:










Audi is using a 235/35R19 on the 19" wheels. They didn't have an A3 with 18" wheels for me to check.


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## cyberpmg (Nov 27, 2001)

Awesome pics and details! :thumbup:

Can't wait to see them at NAIAS.


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## Dan Halen (May 16, 2002)

A couple random final thoughts...

The fit and finish is absolutely as stellar as we've been hearing. It's a damn solid car.

The super sport seats really aren't all that sporty, where "sporty" is equated to bolster height and profile. They're comfortable and will hold you in place, sure- but they're not as bolstered as even, say, GTI MkVII seats. For this reason, I'm going to be exceedingly pissed if they leave them out of the US cars in the name of "comfort."

I'm glad I was able to go out to LA for a few days and spend some time with the car, even if I wasn't able to bring back much more than we already know.


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## ChrisFu (Jun 9, 2012)

Lol, thanks for the A5 love! Let me guess, it was S-tronic?

Great pics. Finally get a good feel for the little things.

Did that black roof panel section on the S3 look as out-of-place in person as it does in the photo?


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## davewg (Jul 30, 2001)

Dan Halen said:


> Oh, and one last thing... the ECU is in a bit of an odd spot, if not a substantially better spot. Pulling it for APR to bench tune it once they figure out how to outsmart TD1 will be a cake walk. :laugh:


The only thing I see in that picture is a set of legs.... :laugh:


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## BrutusA3 (Jul 10, 2013)

Thanks for the pics and thoughts. What throws me off a bit is the pano roof, it looks small from the inside but looks huge from the outside, not sure if this is due to photos or what. I assume white A3 was a 1.8T, did they have a 2.0T quattro?

B.


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## Rudy_H (Jul 6, 2012)

what was the trunk like? Cooler friendly? 

I guess the only way is to test it out, but I can't put a cooler in my car so it will be difficult either way ha


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## Dan Halen (May 16, 2002)

Yes. I intended to measure the trunk opening as well, but the forgotten tape measure stalled that.

I don't see any reason it shouldn't fit a reasonably-sized cooler. I have one of those square coolers with two wheels and a handle, and I don't think it even fits in the trunk of my Jetta. One like that may be tough, but a more standard rectangular variation should be fine.


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## Dan Halen (May 16, 2002)

BrutusA3 said:


> Thanks for the pics and thoughts. What throws me off a bit is the pano roof, it looks small from the inside but looks huge from the outside, not sure if this is due to photos or what. I assume white A3 was a 1.8T, did they have a 2.0T quattro?
> 
> B.


Didn't see one. Yeah, the roof is a bit deceptive. It may be 20% larger than the sunroof in my Jetta. That's a generous estimate at that.

I did look at it while it was open very briefly (I had to get one of the reps to go get a key so she could open it for me), and it didn't appear that the opening was made substantially smaller by the structural bits of the roof. I think the glass panel is just quite a bit larger than the opening, at least behind the opening.


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## Dan Halen (May 16, 2002)

ChrisFu said:


> Lol, thanks for the A5 love! Let me guess, it was S-tronic?
> 
> Great pics. Finally get a good feel for the little things.
> 
> Did that black roof panel section on the S3 look as out-of-place in person as it does in the photo?


You know, for some reason, I recall it being a manual.

The roof panel didn't look as out of place in person. It's still sort of an ungainly thing, but it's not all that bad. I think it could certainly benefit from the rest of the roof being black, though.



davewg said:


> The only thing I see in that picture is a set of legs.... :laugh:


Good eye!


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## Dan Halen (May 16, 2002)

Rudy_H said:


> Is she very tall, or is the Macan really that low? Can you compare it to anything else on the road for how high it sits?
> 
> If Audi won't give me a cool wagon...this seems to be a VERY sporty Q5 (Allroad on steroids)
> (some springs or coil overs to reduce gap)


It's difficult to say. I think she's exceedingly tall, but I also recall the Macan looking rather squat. It's sort of a sharp vehicle. But no, unfortunately I can't really compare it to much else on the road. I'm now sitting here wondering how it would look beside an Evoque.


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## conlson (Aug 7, 2013)

BrutusA3 said:


> Thanks for the pics and thoughts. What throws me off a bit is the pano roof, it looks small from the inside but looks huge from the outside, not sure if this is due to photos or what. I assume white A3 was a 1.8T, did they have a 2.0T quattro?
> 
> B.


I'm with BrutusA3 on the 2.0TQ - want more details  I thought the picture posted in another thread of the 2.0TQ was from the LA Auto Show, but that must not be the case. Did you get a chance to ask one (or several) of the Audi reps about when we can expect more pricing details? It's just agonizing to get details in such a piece-by-piece fashion. As you said, there wasn't really anything new to those of us on this forum other than seeing the cars in person.


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## Dan Halen (May 16, 2002)

conlson said:


> I'm with BrutusA3 on the 2.0TQ - want more details  I thought the picture posted in another thread of the 2.0TQ was from the LA Auto Show, but that must not be the case. Did you get a chance to ask one (or several) of the Audi reps about when we can expect more pricing details? It's just agonizing to get details in such a piece-by-piece fashion. As you said, there wasn't really anything new to those of us on this forum other than seeing the cars in person.


They couldn't even tell someone the HP estimate for the S3. They were reading from the press release we had already seen.

It's best at this point to wait on some of the more involved dealers to point us in the right direction.


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## kevlartoronto (Jun 10, 2012)

I'd buy the s3 in a heartbeat if only it was offered with a manual .... Stab to the heart seeing those pics of the automatic shifter.


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## mike3141 (Feb 16, 1999)

There's no 110V outlet on my A3--has there ever been one?


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## Dan Halen (May 16, 2002)

They've been in VWs for a while now- or at least they were in the MkV. There's no excuse for the A3/S3 to *not* have one, IMO.


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## Rudy_H (Jul 6, 2012)

Dan Halen said:


> They couldn't even tell someone the HP estimate for the S3. They were reading from the press release we had already seen.
> 
> It's best at this point to wait on some of the more involved dealers to point us in the right direction.


Next week in Canada we will be able to start playing with A3 configurators for of course Canadian spec A3's so I would say don't be surprised of next week an update to the web site occurs.


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## Travis Grundke (May 26, 1999)

kevlartoronto said:


> I'd buy the s3 in a heartbeat if only it was offered with a manual .... Stab to the heart seeing those pics of the automatic shifter.


I will say this: I filled out a Driver's Circle survey for Audi on Friday and there were several questions related to the manual transmission. My guess is that they are lobbying hard to bring it in at least one model. One thing we should all keep in mind is that there are no 6MT+Quattro A3 configurations being sold in Europe outside of the S3 at this point in time.


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## Pat_McGroin (Oct 17, 2010)

I checked out the LA Auto Show on Friday, I must say the sedan A3/S3 didn't give me the urge to get rid of my current A3. Don't get me wrong it's a lot nicer in person than in photos and the interior is amazing but I'm stuck on hatches/wagons. 

I must agree with Dan about that rear window, in my opinion that thing was TINY!

Also the stand next to the S3 read,"Estimated HP -290"

:/


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## brennok (Jun 5, 2007)

Hmm looks like I might be out of luck with my iPod Classic since I didn't see an aux input.


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## JOES1.8T (Sep 8, 2003)

Nice photos Dan. 

Love the Porsches, my office in our unit here had the privilege of being invited by Porsche for a professional business development meeting with their consultants. They treated us very well by giving us a free tour of the plant, museum, and other logisitcal matters to include providing lunch at no cost. We werent allowed to take photos during the plant tour, but it was an awesome experience to see how they are made from start to finish and the plant is amazing, bunch of automated robots running around delivering parts. I didn't even realize that the plant and museum was less than 5 miles down the street from where I live.


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## mike3141 (Feb 16, 1999)

brennok said:


> Hmm looks like I might be out of luck with my iPod Classic since I didn't see an aux input.


Just get an AMI Aux cable:

http://www.amazon.com/IMAGE-Music-I...GBPC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1385464562&sr=8-2


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## Dan Halen (May 16, 2002)

JOES1.8T said:


> Nice photos Dan.
> 
> Love the Porsches, my office in our unit here had the privilege of being invited by Porsche for a professional business development meeting with their consultants. They treated us very well by giving us a free tour of the plant, museum, and other logisitcal matters to include providing lunch at no cost. We werent allowed to take photos during the plant tour, but it was an awesome experience to see how they are made from start to finish and the plant is amazing, bunch of automated robots running around delivering parts. I didn't even realize that the plant and museum was less than 5 miles down the street from where I live.


I'm an industrial engineer by degree, so manufacturing plants have always been fascinating to me. I can imagine that was an amazing experience!


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## kevlartoronto (Jun 10, 2012)

I looked up the height of the Macan..It's 3.2 inches shorter than a Cayenne. I quite like the look of the Macan. Too bad Porsche didn't make it even lower....more like a hot hatch.


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## brennok (Jun 5, 2007)

mike3141 said:


> Just get an AMI Aux cable:
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/IMAGE-Music-I...GBPC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1385464562&sr=8-2


Always forget about options like that thanks.


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## Rudy_H (Jul 6, 2012)

kevlartoronto said:


> I looked up the height of the Macan..It's 3.2 inches shorter than a Cayenne. I quite like the look of the Macan. Too bad Porsche didn't make it even lower....more like a hot hatch.


Ok I wasn't sure where it was measured - according to a press release I see 63.9 inches (162 cm) high total.
So Audi Allroad is 58 inches, Q5 is 65.20...

Of course it's hard to find the center of gravity, but if ground clearance on the Q5 is 7.9 inches, and the Macan is 9.0 inches and can be lowered to a minimum 7.5 inches using the new air suspension.

What does that compare to?

Well an Allroad again is 7.1 inches, so it sits higher then an Allroad...already getting disinterested...


Back on the S3 train after a slight derailment, Macan is just another generic CUV with a cool emblem and big engine, likely handles well for it's class...


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