2006 Porsche Cayman S

Porsche's all-new 2006 Cayman S was basically a coupe version of the Boxster S, but it had a more powerful horizontally-opposed aluminum 3.4-liter six-cylinder engine producing 295 horsepower.

2006 Porsche Boxster

Introduced in 1997, Porsche's entry-level roadster was the mid-engined, real-wheel drive Boxster, available in 2006 with the smallest of Porsche's horizontally-opposed aluminum six-cylinder engines: the 204-horsepower 2.7-liter, or the 280-horsepower 3.2-iter version in the Boxster S.

2006 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet

Porsche's 2006 911 Carrera Cabriolet was just one variation of Porsche's flagship sports car. The 911 Carrera was powered by a base 3.6-liter engine or a 3.8-liter in the 911 Carrera S, and was available with all-wheel drive in the 911 Carrera 4 and 4S.

Bentley Continental GT

The Continental GT is the coupe version of the Continental Flying Spur sedan. It has the same powertrain as the sedan: a 552-horsepower 6.0-liter turbocharged W12 engine with a 6-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. The Continental GT is a little lighter and sleeker than the Continental Flying Spur, so it can go from 0-60 miles per hour in 4.7 seconds and reach a top speed of 198 miles per hour.

Bentley Continental Flying Spur

The 2006 Continental Flying Spur was Bentley's flagship sedan. It was powered by a 552-horsepower 6.0-liter turbocharged W12 engine with a 6-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive.

Despite a curb weight of over 5,000 pounds, this powertrain could accelerate the Continental Flying Spur to 60 miles per hour in 4.9 seconds, and reach a top speed of 195 miles per hour.

Lobby Displays at the 2006 Portland International Auto Show

These assorted vehicles were displayed in the lobby of the Oregon Convention Center during the 2006 Portland International Auto Show in Portland, Oregon. 

This pair of Chevrolet Camaros were representing the Portland Police Bureau. The unmarked one in the background even had standard-issue Oregon license plates for extra stealth.

Here is a customized version of Chrysler's Hemi-powered, rear-wheel drive sedan, the 300, made to resemble a Bentley. It was even placed with the Bentleys out in the lobby. Pretty convincing.

Here is another customized Daimler-Chrysler product from the lobby, a Dodge Magnum.

This Lotus Elise was representing Dream Cars Northwest, Inc., a Portland company that rents luxury and exotic cars.

This customized Willys Jeep was in the lobby and may have been the oldest vehicle in the show. Its exact year is hard to determine, both due to the customizing and the fact that Jeeps do not change much from year to year, but it appears to be a CJ-3B.

This model of Jeep was introduced in 1953 and was built into the late 1960s.

Also on display in the lobby was this preview of NASCAR driver Dale Jarrett's next #88 car: a Ford Fusion, replacing the Taurus.

2006 Mini Cooper

The BMW-owned Mini Cooper wasn't really new in 2006, but it was still somewhat interesting. The base engine was a Brazilian-made 115-horsepower 1.6-liter single overhead cam inline 4-cylindere engine; on the small side, but so was the car, so it worked out. Standard features for this small car included ABS and front, side and side-curtain air bags.

For those after more power for their Mini Cooper hatchback or convertible, there's the Mini Cooper S, powered by a supercharged version of the Mini engine producing 168 horsepower.

The Mini Cooper is also available in convertible form, which is even more interesting, especially for a car whose base model is a hatchback. The convertible's power top includes a built-in sunroof and a glass rear window, as well as a $4,500.00 premium over the standard Mini.

2006 Scion tC

The Scion brand was intended to give Toyota access to younger buyers. The Scion line's initial offerings were boxy vehicles, but the tC coupe was fairly sleek and looked like it could compete with the Honda Civic. This customized tC featured an incredible paint job that I couldn't resist photographing.

Eco-Fueler American Roadster CNG

Probably the most unusual product at the 2006 Portland International Auto Show, the American RoadsterTM by Eco-Fueler was a three-wheeled roadster that ran on compressed natural gas (CNG) and was built in Eugene, Oregon. It was to be fueled at home using a home fueling appliance that connected to the natural gas utility. Running on 130-octane CNG, which cost between 25 and 98 cents per gallon, the American Roadster had a 0-60 time of 4.9 seconds and got 70 miles per gallon. It was designed with an estimated life expectancy of 300,000 miles, and was essentially non-polluting as the emissions from CNG are carbon dioxide and water.

All this technology is great, but you might expect it to come at a high cost: not so. The American Roadster retailed for $18,500, including the home fueling appliance and a removable hardtop, and was also eligible for a $4,000 Federal Tax Credit.

2006 Jaguar S-Type 3.0

 

The 2006 Jaguar S-Type 3.0 came standard with a 3.0-liter 235-horsepower V6 engine as shown. Also available was a 4.2-liter V8 engine, with 294 horsepower in the S-Type 4.2, or supercharged to 390 horsepower in the S-Type R.

The S-Type was apparently Jaguar's focus at the 2006 Portland International Auto Show, as it had a large brochure dedicated to it, thicker and with far more information than the standard Jaguar brochure.

2006 Jaguar XJ8

The 2006 XJ8 shown here is the base model of Jaguar's traditional large aluminum-bodied sedan. All XJ sedans were powered by a 4.2-liter aluminum-alloy DOHC V8 engine, rated at 300 horsepower in the XJ8 and the long-wheelbase XJ8L and Vanden Plas. The V8 was supercharged to 400 horsepower for the Super V8 and high-performance XJR.

All XJ sedans came standard with such luxury features as a 6-speed automatic transmission, self-leveling air suspension, automatic, xenon, power-wash headlights, rain-sensing windshield wipers, and self-dimming, heated, power door mirrors.

2006 Jaguar XK Convertible

The sporty2006 Jaguar XK was available as a coupe, or as the convertible shown here. Both were powered by a 300-horsepower 4.2-liter V8 engine and came standard with a 6-speed automatic, paddle-shift transmission, keyless entry & start, radar-based adaptive cruise control, a 7-inch touchscreen to control features like the dual-zone automatic climate control, DVD-based navigation system, and 160-watt Alpine audio system with AM/FM stereo, 6-disk in-dash CD player, mp3 and Windows Media Player capability.

#42 Havoline Simulator

This NASCAR simulator of Jamie McMurray's #42 Dodge Charger is hooked of to a video game to offer the "experience" of driving a race car. Spectators could watch the "action" on the television in the background. The simulator was at the show courtesy of Chevron/Texaco and Tarr Oil Company.

Datsun 2000 Roadster

This Datsun 2000 owned by Tim Scott was one of about 10 lightweight race cars produced by the Japanese manufacturer for road courses. This car won the 1970 Canadian National Championship. Its 850-pound chassis is made of this steel and aluminum to save weight. The engine is built to 1960s era specifications and is coupled to an extra-close ratio gearbox. The paint scheme on the roadster is the scheme used by the Datsun factory team.

Austin Healey Sprite

This classic British roadster spent most of its life as a street car. The current owner, Dave Franks, purchased it - rusty, dirty and barely running - out of storage in 1999 and began the task of converting it to a race car. Today the Sprite is vintage correct, with 1275 cc engine, close ratio gearbox and Weber carb. It is raced regularly in the Oregon Region SCCA Vintage Class at Portland International Raceway.

1957 Chevrolet Drag Car

Looks can be deceiving. Although it appears stock from the outside, this 1957 Chevrolet drag car owned by Pete Hodges is powered by a 540 cubic inch Merlin engine, coupled to a high-performance transmission and a Ford rear end. It is a combination show-and-go car. It took first place at the 2005 Portland Roadster Show, but also covers the quarter mile in 11.10 seconds.

Kennedy Special Roadster

The Kennedy Special was built in 1960 by Don Collins in Portland, Oregon for Bud Kennedy. The Kennedy Roadster represents the state-of-the-art of street/drag racing from the 1960s. It was featured in both Hot Rod and Car & Driver magazines as typical of the quality of the work done by craftsmen of the era. It was restored in 1996 by Scott and Sandy Perrott. It had recently turned heads in England, when it was among the American cars invited to compete at the prestigious Festival of Speed at Goodwood.

Thorgiersen Special

Like many vintage race cars, this 1960s era H-modified ended up gutted, neglected, rusted and in need of total restoration. The chassis, thin-wall steel tube, was hand-built by the owner/driver, who worked as a welder in the Navy shipyard on Vancouver Island. He used a Lotus 23 as the inspiration for the car. The body is aluminum and fiberglass; the engine is from a Fiat 850. It has an extensive racing history in Canada and the Pacific Northwest. Owned by Jerry F. Boone, restoration was expected to be complete later in the year.

Oregon Plating Special

The Oregon Plating Special was one of a small number of new cars built by grant King Racing for the 1974 season. The car was built from two previously crashed chassis and its handling was a problem from the beginning, causing it to end the night in the wall as often as not. It was stored for more years than it was raced, and was changes a number of times by a host of owners. At one time it was a successful USAC Super Modified, and it qualified for the 1986 Phoenix Copper World Classic. The current owners, Tom Hanna and Marvin Price, bought the car - again in storage - in 2000 and it took about 2.5 years to restore it to racing condition.

USAC Champ Car

Local chassis builder Don "Duck" Collins built this stock-block, DeSoto-powered Champ Car in 1957 and it was raced by Indy car standout Art Pollard for McLure Plastics of Portland. It was campaigned through the 1968 season, when it qualified for every race. When the car was no longer competitive, Collins locked it away in a shed, where it stayed until he died. Owner Del McLure got the car and restored it to its 1957 specifications, including the original fuel-injected DeSoto Hemi engine.

Saab 96 Rally Car

This Saab 96 Rally Car owned by Fred Ankeny ran the rugged Acropolis Rally in Greece in 1970 and the next year ran the Shell 4000 Trans-Canada Rally. Known as the "Hog of Steel" and driven by driver/writer Satch Carlson, it was eventually retired to a field in Clackamas, Oregon, where it was later found up to its belly pan in mud. A complete restoration was undertaken and now the car is used on vintage rallies in the US and Canada.

 

Carrera Panamericana 1953 Ford

Frank McKinnon's 1953 Ford at the 2006 Portland International Auto Show spent much of its life as a show car. About five years earlier Car & Driver magazine converted it to run in the modern version of the Carrera Panamericana Mexican Road Race. The race restoration was performed with an eye to keeping the car period correct, using parts that were available when the Ford was factory fresh.

2006 Infiniti FX45

The all-wheel-drive 2006 Infiniti FX45 was powered by a 4.5-liter 320-horsepower V8 engine and came standard with a tinted power sunroof, a Bluetooth hands-free phone system, and automatic headlights & taillights. There was also an FX35, which was powered by a 280-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 engine, and offered most of the FX45's luxurious standard features as options. Both had attractive styling that was sleek for an SUV.

2006 Subaru Impreza WRX STi

Subaru's performance model is the Impreza WRX STi. A descendent of Subaru's World Rally Championship cars, the 2006 WRX STi was powered by a 300-horsepower 2.5-liter turbocharged engine and features a 6-speed manual transmission and a Driver Controlled Center Differential.

2006 Subaru B9 Tribeca

 

Though all Subarus have all-wheel drive, in 2006 the company's official SUV was the B9 Tribeca. Apparently, the company couldn't make up their mind on the name, so they gave it two names. It also has front-end styling that reminds me of the 1958 Edsel.

The B9 Tribeca was the largest Subaru at the time, with seating for up to seven, and was powered by a 250-horsepower V6 engine. For some reason, this otherwise stock vehicle was equipped with ground effect lights.