2006 NY Auto Show Press Day 1

PSFK/IF! was on site at the 2006 NY Auto Show for the first of two press days. We attended both the Scion and Audi launches. Yesterday saw most of the major brands holding press events. We’re planning to stop by today for a bit to check in on a few more and we’ll report what we saw tomorrow.

Scion debuted a world premier concept car called the Fuse. Mark Templin, Scion vice president, delivered a mini-brand recap of where Scion is in the market and what’s coming. He defined Scion as an ‘owner driven brand’. To date, beyond selling cars, Scion also publishes a magazine, holds regular events at galleries promoting young artists, sponsors ExpressFest (a music event), and also runs a fashion label called Release.

The new concept designed in California by Toyota’s Calty studio was inspired by the “HAKO” super GT racing cars from Japan. There are numerous personalization accessories integrated into the Fuse. The exterior headlamps and fog lamps can be programmed to illuminate in various colors. The rims have integrated LED lighting that serves to animate the wheels while driving and act as turn signals. When parked, the back tail gate folds down and forms an outdoor bench seat. Believe it or not, Scion’s average buyer age is 31.

Scion Photo gallery here.

After Scion, we headed up to Audi to see the world debut of the 2008 TT. The original TT is considered a recent design icon and there was a lot of anticipation as to what Audi would do to improve the two seater. The launch started off with an address from Johan de Nysschen, the Executive Vice President of Audi of America. Audi as a brand continues to be very strong in the US market. Johan introduced fashion designer Doo Ri Chung who spoke about design inspiration. Doo Ri presented several image references that were common in her approach to designing clothing and what became inspiration for the TT. She then presented a dozen pieces from her spring collection in full fashion runway style, models included. The TT was introduced by former supermodel Tatjana Patitz and rolled out on to the stand. The car incorporated much of the current Audi brand vocabulary most notably the enlarged front grille and softer exterior surfaces.

Audi Gallery here.