boston auto show

Amongst the scores of 2008 model cars at this week's New England Auto Show in Boston there was one vehicle that definitely stood out.

Globe Santa
Helping needy families share the spirit of the holiday season.
There are three ways you can give.

Make a secure credit card donation online: www.globesanta.org.

Send check or money order to
Globe Santa Fund Trust
c/o Citizens Bank
PO Box 845059
Boston, MA 02284-5059

You can drop off your donation at The Citi Performing Arts Center Box Office, 270 Tremont Street, Boston or at any performance of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" at the center.

more stories like thisIt was a big, boxy truck covered in light blue paint with pictures of snowflakes and other holiday symbols. It wasn't sleek like the Porsches or pristine like the Bentleys, but its purpose was very different.

It was Globe Santa's sleigh, and he and his helpers stopped by the auto show on three days at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center to help raise funds for the more than 20,000 families that will seek help from Globe Santa this Christmas.

As auto enthusiasts weaved their way between the new cars on display, they came across Globe Santa's truck. Some stopped with their children so they could have their picture taken with Globe Santa.

During the auto show on Thursday, 3-year-old Isabella Liotta sat for her first picture with Santa Claus when her family stopped by Santa's sleigh. Isabella was shy at first, hiding behind and wrapping her arms around her father's leg. But after being coaxed by her parents she managed to look at the camera.

Christine Rondeau, from Haverhill, took her 2-year-old son, Lukasz, to the auto show because of his fascination with cars and trucks. They received a surprise when they spotted Globe Santa at the event.

"He said he wanted to see Santa," said Rondeau of her son. She said Lukasz was asking Santa for Tonka trucks for Christmas.

The family also donated to Globe Santa's annual mission to make sure every family that writes him asking for help is not forgotten Christmas morning. Last year, with the help of his friends, like the Rondeaus, Globe Santa collected enough money to deliver presents to 54,077 children throughout Greater Boston.

And for some of Globe Santa's helpers at the auto show, his mission evoked personal memories.

"Growing up, my family didn't have a lot of money, but we always made a donation for Globe Santa," said Hank Morse, a radio show co-host for WROR-FM, who helped Globe Santa during the auto show. "My parents . . . figured there were always kids that didn't have anything."

Paul Kelly of Quincy stopped by Globe Santa's sleigh with his son and his son's friend for the same reason.

"Every kid should have something for Christmas," said Kelly, while he waited for his son's picture with Globe Santa to develop.

Over the past 50 years, Globe Santa has delivered gifts to nearly 2.5 million children who wouldn't otherwise find presents under their tree on Christmas morning. For each of the past 20 years, Globe Santa has raised more than $1 million. But this feat could not have been accomplished without the help of his many friends, who donate by mail, online, or stop by his sleigh at events such as the auto show.

Globe Santa and his helpers will be at the
BOSTON - The 51st New England International Auto Show opens today, about a month later than last year and at a new venue, and runs through Sunday.

While the new date puts it after the Los Angeles Auto Show instead of ahead of it as it was last year, spokesman Michael Geylin said the dates were purely a function of scheduling at the new venue, the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center on Summer Street.

"We have to go along with the schedule," he said. "In most cases, the shows have very little ability to effect date; we're at the mercy of the convention centers."

Geylin said a major feature of this year's show was "the brand new facility that's just gorgeous."

Indeed, the Convention Center offers more than double the space of the old facility, with 516,000 square feet compared with 250,000 square feet.

"We have 100-foot ceilings," he said, comparing them with most of the ceilings at the Bayside Expo Center that were 15 feet.

Geylin said the show will be considerably bigger and will include such exotics as Lamborghinis and Ferraris as well as a number of concept cars and brand new models ready for the showroom.

Overall, about 800 vehicles from 42 manufacturers will be at the show, including cars, vans, light trucks, crossovers and sport utilities covering some nine acres of show area.

For example, the Saab 9-3 Turbo-X will have its North American debut at the show, and Suzuki will be bringing two lifestyle concepts - the Wave and the Blizzard. Chrysler will be showing the Dodge Challenger, Chrysler Imperial and Jeep Trailhawk.

Other models being unveiled include the new Jaguar XF, Nissan GTR, 2009 Nissan Murano, MINI Clubman, Audi S5, BMW 128i and Lexus IS F.

There will be a number of events and promotions for adults and children, including a 27-foot-high CARS "moonbounce" for the kids, $25 gift certificates to Boston Harley being given out every hour with a grand prize of a Harley-Davidson Sportster courtesy of Bruce Rossmeyer's Boston Harley-Davidson and a King of the Track contest sponsored by the Boston Globe with winners getting tickets to participate in the Stockcar Racing Experience at the International Speedway at Loudon, N.H.

There will also be a drawing for a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan, courtesy of the New England Dodge Dealers.

Geylin said a major theme of the show would be green technology. "You will see that everywhere, at this show and every show," he said. "It's the way of the world."

He cited the new Chevrolet Malibu and the GMC Sierra hybrids that will be on display, in addition to the clean diesels from Mercedes-Benz and other German manufacturers.

"It's the overriding theme at all auto shows," he said.

And speaking of green, you can check out the pre-Smart car - a 1957 BMW Isetta 250, courtesy of Amica Insurance. The egg-shaped Isetta is considered one of the best microcars ever.

Other attractions include Rhode Island's Bob Tasca III, who will be available Saturday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. along with his NHRA Alcohol Funny Car, which is sponsored by AAA.

There will also be an appearance on Sunday by former Red Sox pitcher Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd, plus the Roush Fenway #6 AAA NASCAR Cup Car with driver David Ragan signing autographs from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. today.

Space will also be allotted to Automotive Styling and Accessories plus new and classic motorcycles.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. today, tomorrow, Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $12 for adults, $6 for children ages 6-12 and free for children under 6. All admission prices include a $5 official Auto Show souvenir program. Cameras and video recorders are welcome.

Visa and Mastercard are accepted at the box office, which closes one hour prior to the end of the show each day.

BOSTON There is something for everyone at the New England International Auto Show, which runs through tomorrow afternoon.

Along with current models from all mainstream manufacturers, there are a number of developed concepts to marvel at and supercars to salivate over, including a Lotus Elise, a brace of Ferraris and a troika of Lamborghinis.

The show is housed in Boston's spectacular new Convention and Exhibition Center, whose cavernous glass and metal-framed space is bathed in natural light, a stark contrast to its low-ceilinged and dark former space, the Bayside Expo Center. Indeed, the space compares more than favorably with the glass-encased Jacob K. Javits' Convention Center in Manhattan, home to the New York Auto Show.

In Boston, some 800 vehicles from 42 manufacturers are on display. General Motors displays its good-looking 2010 Camaro prototype and the new Turbo X from its Swedish subsidiary, Saab. Brian Nesbitt, GM's vice president of design for North America, said he hoped the new Saab, which is modeled on the successful and distinctive 900 series, will boost sales of a marque that has lost its way in recent years.

"We would certainly like more [sales] volume," he said in an interview at the Saab stand on Tuesday, when the show was open to the media. Saying GM wanted to resurrect the brand, he noted that the car had become "invisible" from a design point of view.

Nesbitt returned from Europe in June after a three-year stint with GM's European design team — the company has 11 design studios worldwide — and said he was pleased with the favorable reaction that the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu has been receiving.

"It's a nice validation," he said, noting that it was the last car for which he directed the exterior design before moving to Europe.

The car has been compared to the iconic Honda Accord and Toyota Camry.

"It's a legitimate competitor to the Toyota brand," he said. "Something credible that should be considered."

With fuel economy and alternative fuels dominating the headlines, Nesbitt said "the design function participates in fuel economy through aerodynamics."

"It's exciting, a new set of variables," he said, referring to the electric Chevrolet Volt, which he quoted GM vice chairman Bob Lutz as saying will be on the market in 2010.

"We are developing the car and the batteries at the same time," he said.

He said GM is looking to combine function and elegance, and compared the Chevrolet marque to Target. "It's a discount store, but an upmarket discount store," he said, noting that design plays a crucial role in even the most mundane items. "Even my toilet plunger has a design," he said.

Among the eye-catching concept designs are Saab's Aero X, with its wraparound windshield and Corvette-like bulging fenders.

Other eye candy includes Suzuki's Wave, which is a pure beach fun boxy convertible with a pull-out freezer and barbecue in the rear, and the Suzuki Blizzard, a snow bunny of a wagon with a fold-out seat in the rear for putting on ski or snowboard boots.

"We let the designers have some fun," said Thom Haskell, Suzuki district sales manager, eastern region.

The concept Jeep Trailhawk and Chrysler Imperial — both of which have been shown before — have the high-beltline aggressive look that is increasingly popular in auto design, including the Camaro prototype. The Trailhawk is a Jeep on steroids, an SUV that is all but open to the elements and has distinctive headlights that are hooded by the fenders, giving the face of the vehicle aggressive eyebrows. Likewise, the Imperial looks like a Chrysler 300 on steroids.

The Dodge Challenger is gorgeous, a classy clean version of an iconic muscle car from the pre-OPEC days of the late 1960s, with four pipes, a red ID light across the rear and massive doors. The one at the show is a crisp orange, trimmed with black and with a black interior and fat wheels and tires.

Mini is introducing its Mini Cooper Clubman at the show, which is a four-door extended (9.6 inches) version of the new Mini whose two cargo doors open sideways like the old Mini Traveler, and which also boasts passenger-side suicide doors. Minis are made in Oxford, England, according to a spokeswoman, but the marque is owned by BMW, which unfortunately is not showing the 3-  and 5-series diesels that are making a big impression in Europe.

Rockets include Audi's $125,000 white, silver and black R8, with design echoes of the Bugatti Veyron, the Porsche 911 Turbo convertible, which reaches 60 mph in 3.8 seconds with a top speed of 193 mph ($136,000), and Nissan's elegant GTR supercar, which a spokesman said will be available next summer for $67,000 to $80,000.

Speaking of supercars, there are a couple of Ferarri F430 Spiders (a coupe and a roadster), a pretty Lotus Elise, Aston Martin's V8 Vantage and DB9 Volante and a couple of Lamborghini Gallardos (nearly $250,000) and a lime green and black Lamborghini Murcielago ($415,000!).

During a media lunch hosted by the New England Motor Press Association, awards were given out to Amar G. Bose, president of Bose Corp. and a former professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who still teaches a course in acoustics there. He made a presentation featuring his company's new suspension technology, which he said had cost $100 million and 27 years and was still under development.

Other awards were made to New England mega dealer Herb Chambers. Referring to the current economic climate that has slowed auto sales, he said, with characteristic optimism, that "next year will be a hard year if you believe it will be a hard year."

Tom and Ray Magliozzi, aka Click and Clack the Tappet brothers, the hosts of National Public Radio's show Car Talk, were also recipients of awards for their contribution to the industry, as was GM's Nesbitt, who was the keynote speaker.

For more information, on the auto show, check