Teamspeed gets an eyeful of special metal at the 2017 Houston Auto Show.
We were fortunate enough to make the trip to the 2017 Houston Auto Show in a brand-new BMW 530i (look for our review of it on 5Series.net in the next weeks). As attractive and comfortable as it was, we stopped thinking about it when we saw the cars on the floor of the NRG Center.
The night before the media day, there was a 007-style, black-tie preview gala. Instead of drinking vodka martinis, we decided to take a look at the cars around us. Of course, Aston Martin was there with the Vanquish, V12 Vantage S, and the stopper of shows, the new DB11. Daytime, nighttime, formal wear or blue jeans, it doesn’t matter — that beautifully sculpted car is an absolute stunner.
The McLaren 570S was another British attention-getter, especially in its eye-catching mix of white and carbon fiber.
Over at the Lotus section, a pair of Evora 400s showed that yellow is not so mellow and that it is, in fact, easy being green.
It may be getting up there in age, but the Maserati GranTurismo Convertible is still a looker, particularly when it’s coated in red, and wearing a set of black wheels like the one we saw.
Nissan showed up with an array of new vehicles, including a 2017 GT-R in an eye-pleasing shade of orange.
Perhaps our favorite sight at the Houston Auto Show was the 2017 Mercedes-Benz G550 4X4². Its giant wheels made it look as if it were a huge toy. Its carbon fiber fender flares brought supercars to mind. Its white paint made us daydream about charging through a mud bog.
You can see all of these and more at the Houston Auto Show until Sunday, April 9.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
