This was my first year at the LA Auto Show, and to be perfectly honest, the economy cast a chilly shadow over the whole scene. Most years, the media is scrambling from press conference to press conference trying to keep up with all the new concepts and debuts, but most of the stuff on the floor in La La Land had dropped in Frankfurt, or even before, so manufacturers simply didn't have a lot of fresh meat to toss to out.

That said, there was still some killer stuff on display. While Audi had dropped its electric e-tron concept back in Frankfurt, the example on the floor here was painted a gorgeous, visible-from-space orange, which had everyone scrambling to get pics, and I absolutely loved, loved, loved Honda's P-Nut concept. And don't even get me started on the AMG SLS.

Mercedes' new baby is an absolute stunner, and I can't even imagine how those lines will look when it's out in the wild, stalking driving appliances. I was also pumped to see the 2011 Fiesta — Ford has a mega hit on its hands here — the CTS Coupe's production sheet metal, and Porsche's new Boxster Spyder.

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