2011 New York International Auto Show

THE striking new sheetmetal unveiled at the Shanghai motor show was still warm under the spotlights last week when the automotive world wheeled around to New York to see a host of new models that are heading Down Under.

From top: Ford Taurus facelift, Kia Rio sedan, Lexus LFGh, Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8.

Subaru claimed most attention with its latest reinterpretation of the Impreza hatch and sedan, and told us the inside story of the crucial new car’s development, while Ford pointed to the styling of this year’s facelifted Falcon through its US Taurus – and at the same time emphasised the global nature of its V6 engine.

There was no comment on the future of Australian manufacturing from Blue Oval top brass, but ‘One Ford’ – for styling, platforms and powertrains – was again writ large.

General Motors, meanwhile, talked up Commodore’s relevance in the face of the global medium-large Malibu – shown in the Big Apple with a hybrid version that should eventually join the imported range in Australia – while Chrysler turned out its image-leading SRT8 Grand Cherokee and 300C high-performance twins, both of which GoAuto can confirm will go on sale here.

There were plenty of other significant cars on show that are heading this way, not least of which are Kia’s redesigned Rio sedan and uplifted Soul, Nissan’s forthcoming light sedan, and, hopefully, a hybrid and factory turbocharged Kizashi from Suzuki.

Toyota also delivered more details on its FT-86 rear-drive coupe through a concept – the FR-S – from its Scion youth brand.

As they did in Shanghai, the top luxury car marques used their motor show floor space to flex some considerable muscle.

While Lexus took the wraps off its LF-Gh concept prior to the New York opening, BMW weighed in with a 2.0-litre turbo for its Z4 roadster, Mercedes-Benz brought its twin-turbocharged E63 sedan and wagon, Jaguar launched no less than three upgraded models – XF, XK and XJ – and Nissan’s Infiniti brand confirmed that a new large luxury crossover, the JX, was coming soon.

It all made for quite an incredible week in world motoring terms.