Jens breaks down the best and worst from the New York Auto Show.

Spending half of my time in New York City, I have a special affinity towards the New York Auto Show. Porsche’s head of PR tells me, “It’s not a ‘B-show’ anymore. Indeed, spending time on the floor yields as many good stories as the Detroit or Los Angeles auto shows. And it’s fun to go there. The city is appealing, and the trip from Europe is short. So, here are my best and worst of the show.

Best:

Mercedes-Benz: The oldest auto brand in the world scored a triple victory at the ‘World Car Awards.’ The new C-Class is ‘World Car of the Year’ – the new European-market Volkswagen Passat being a distant second. The S-Class Coupe received the ‘World Luxury Car’ trophy, while the Mercedes-AMG GT is ‘World Performance Car.’ The hat-trick proves that Mercedes-Benz is on the right track – thanks to a focus not only on engineering, but also on design (who would have thought?).

Bentley: VW’s upper-luxury subsidiary had no stand on the New York show floor, but they invited customers and journalists over to a studio in Soho – where they presented the sensational Geneva sports car concept, EXP10 Speed Six. It’s almost certain to be built, with V6 and V8 engines, and based on the Porsche-developed Modular Standard architecture, which underpins several future Bentley models and the next-gen Porsche Panamera. Besides the cars, Bentley chief designer Luc Donckerwolke provided a conversation topic by calling out Lincoln for blatant plagiarism – which I’m glad he did.

Mitsubishi: Mitsubishi is paying dearly for the strategic errors of the past 20 years – and the focus on electric mobility may yet turn out to be the gravest. But the company is rediscovering the importance of emotion. The name associated with a new focus on sportiness and styling is Tsunehiro Kunimoto. The star designer, who spent almost 30 years with Nissan and Infiniti, has developed a new brand signature that the facelifted Outlander only hints at. The design and technology concepts I was shown during an interview at the show are highly promising. And Mitsubishi may even launch a large sedan once more.

Cadillac: The CT6 is a crucial step to re-establish Cadillac in the international luxury segment – with a car like that, for the first time in decades, could serve as a benchmark. This includes the light-weight body as well as the interior – with innovative elements, such as the inductive phone charging system and the rear monitors that rise from the seatbacks. The exterior remains slightly conservative – with a beautiful re-interpretation of the Cadillac face.

Worst:

Lincoln: Ford’s upscale division has long given up on the luxury market – instead of challenging Cadillac, they’re competing with Buick, and they’re not very successful at it. New York was supposed to mark a new beginning. But to achieve that, they would have needed better than a front-wheel drive concept sedan, with styling derivative not of their own rich history but of a current model Bentley (and not its best either). It was the talk of the show, and not in a good way. At least it deflected attention from the blatant Audi Q5 rip-off that is the Lincoln MKC.

Audi: At its launch in Geneva, Audi received instant criticism for the evolutionary redesign of its R8 supercar – which was considered timid and too close to the original. In fact, at the New York Auto Show, we couldn’t even tell the difference. Or was that the old model that Audi displayed in New York – one full month after the launch of the new car in Europe?

Jaguar: With his rich portfolio of the last two decades, Ian Callum has earned himself a reputation as one of the giants of auto design. That’s why I expected a bit more from the second-generation XF rather than a careful evolution of stylistic themes established with the previous XF and the smaller XE. The interior actually seems to be a step backwards. Technologically, of course, the XF is a true marvel.

Exotics: Carmakers can’t leave everything to the dealers at an international auto show, otherwise they end up with a catastrophe like the uninspired corner that displayed two Lamborghinis, one Bugatti and one Koenigsegg – all lined up next to each other. The staff left both Lambos with a raised front end – a position that saves the spoiler from hitting curbs, but doesn’t do justice to the aggressive lines of either supercar. Awkward!