As I walk into the Pennsylvania Convention Center entrance at 12th and Arch, a familiar feeling washes over me. I know where I'm headed. I know what I want to see. I was here for the 2002 show, although, last year, I was somewhat disappointed. Actually, I was very disappointed. It seems to me that the automotive powers-that-be don't readily shed their light upon the people of Philadelphia. Nevertheless, I'm here this year for a few reasons; the Cadillac XLR, the Porsche Cayenne, the Mercedes Maybach, and the Nissan 350Z. Let's see what they have in store for us this time around.

The Cadillac XLR Roadster

Cadillac is making a comeback. The CTS replaced the blunder known as the Catera in Cadillac's line-up and looks like it's going to sell much better the Catera ever did. The beloved Eldorado, like the Catera, has bowed out as well. Caddy's new "edgy" look is here to stay, for at least the next several years. The XLR will be built in the same plant along with the next generation Corvette. This fact really hints at what kind of a car this is: a sports car masquerading as a luxury convertible. With a V8 that pumps 315 hp into the pavement through the rear wheels, this certainly will be a Caddy that zigs. The XLR has run-flat tires mounted on 18-inch wheels, hits 60 mph in 5.85 seconds, runs the quarter mile in 14.25 seconds, and does .90 lateral g's. This sounds like a European car. Did I forget to mention that it’s a hardtop convertible? A la Mercedes SL - a major competitor, by the way - this hard top preserves the car's distinctively edgy lines and is completely out of sight when down. One other point of interest is the XLR's keyless access system. This standard device unlocks your doors for you when you step within a meter of the vehicle. Then, once you get in and put your foot on the brake pedal, you can start the car without even taking the key out of your pocket. That's pretty slick, if you ask me. It will be interesting to see how much or how little of the Mercedes SL's sales a Cadillac of this caliber will take away. In June of this year, this baby will be on the streets undercutting the Mercedes SL for somewhere between $70,000 and $80,000.

The Porsche Cayenne

I like Porsches. I am not obsessed with them and I don't own one, but everyone knows that Porsche is the definitive sports car. With the history and race-inspired design, the high-speed Autobahn cruisers this brand produces are the stuff of legends. These cars are built to be driven and to be raced. The closest thing to an SUV they've ever made was the 959 they ran in the Dakar rally quite successfully, but that was a while ago and the 959 didn't have much trunk space. To their credit, they've been doing the all-wheel-drive thing for some time now, and the Porsche system is really quite good.

However, Porsche is one of the last - if not the very last - automotive manufacturer to jump on the SUV bandwagon. In this effort, Porsche has decided to produce the on- and off-road worthy Cayenne. There is no doubt that massive research went into the production of this vehicle. The technology is certainly noteworthy. The guy at the show didn't tell me much about it, "Go to the Web site. You'll find everything you could possibly want to know there." Whatever, thanks a lot, man, let me take a poster now and go look at the Ferraris. Anyway, this thing is available in two trim levels; the Cayenne S and the Cayenne Turbo. This is not an inline four-cylinder, nor even a boxer six; this is a big whopping 4.5-liter V8. Porsche expects to sell 25,000 of them, with about 5,000 of them being the turbocharged version. The S and the Turbo are base-priced at $55,900 and $88,900, respectively. Now before I go into this, let me explain that the following information may frighten you. This is indeed still an SUV you're reading about, and my data comes straight from Porsche literature.

Ready? Here we go: this beast tips the scales at 4949 lbs.; the turbo weighs 5192 lbs. The S gets up to 60 mph in 7.2 seconds, which is decent for a big vehicle. The Turbo does it in 5.6. Yes, 5.6 seconds to 60. In an SUV. In an SUV that weighs 5192 lbs., not counting the driver, passengers and cargo. It does that with 450 hp, while the S has a piddly 340. In case you weren't paying attention, that puts the turbo Cayenne in the same league as the 911 (even though a 911 weighs about 2000 lbs. less). How is this possible, you ask? Well, this was made possible by the sehr intelligente Doktoren im Deutschland who decided to bolt two turbochargers onto a quadruple overhead cam V8 with Variocam valve timing.

While the tech involved in this questionable act is impressive, I must point out that the exterior styling of the vehicle is not. When photographing this massive transportation device, I tried to find a flattering angle, or even one that would make it appear even slightly handsome to the lens, but I could not. At the very least, I can say that I do see some family resemblance, though less than I'd like. Whatever it looks like, it's still two and a half tons of metal, plastic, and glass with a top speed of over 150 mph, so when these things go on sale — which should be soon — watch out.

The Maybach from Mercedes

Where the hell is it? Man, I'll bet you patrons who attend the New York show will get to see it. This is exactly the kind of thing that disappoints me about the Philly show. Other no-shows included: the new Mustang, which I've read is a ground up redesign; the Bentley Coupe, which is supposed to be a muscular, animal-like touring coupe the size of a rather large sedan; the Rolls-Royce Phantom, which is all new and just big, shiny, and expensive; the Volkswagen Phaeton, which is another all new, full sized luxury sedan (a first for VW); the production version of the Chrysler Crossfire, since all we got to see was the concept car that started touring the show circuit in '01, even though the production version of the car, which doesn't look as good, was featured in the March 2002 issue of Automobile; and some other models. Man. Anyway, while I was looking for the Maybach, I came across the current SL (new in 2001), which is quite pretty. I took shots of the SL500, but also there was the SL55 AMG, which hits 60 in 4.5 seconds — about one and a half seconds faster than the 500 does. Both cars are powered by V8s and make the old SL look like a dinosaur. The new CLK, which was just recently introduced, was also there. There are three variants right now; the CLK320, making 215 hp with six cylinders; the CLK500 making 302 with eight, and the CLK55 AMG which makes 60 more hp with its slightly bigger V8. The slowest of the bunch does 0–60 mph in 7.4 seconds, while its bigger brothers do it in 5.7(the 500) and 5 flat. There are two convertible versions of the CLK as well, but they are of the older body style. The older-bodied cars are quite good looking and always look substantial. However, the redesign makes them look so chunky that it's almost a shame they updated the CLK's styling at all. The new version convertibles (which may be hardtops) are on the way, while the coupes are already on the streets.

The Nissan 350Z

This car's been available for purchase for a while now. I've seen them on the road and through showroom windows as I've driven by dealerships, but I really wanted to get up-close and personal with the car. It's the newest iteration of the Z car from Nissan, dating back to the Datsun 240Z. The 240 revolutionized the sports car market. The previously most recent, and long-feared last, of the Z-series was the 300ZX. In its twin turbo guise, it was one helluva car. This car's a V6, too, like the 300 was, but no turbo variant is yet available. Talk is floating around about a convertible version, though. This six is a 3.5 liter engine good for 287 hp and you can stick with standard 17- inch wheels, or go for the optional 18's. You also have your choice of a 5-speed automatic or a 6-speed manual tranny. Though both its exterior and interior styling may take just a bit of getting used to, it's apparent that much thought went into the 350's design, and there is value in that - not to mention its approximate $30,000 price tag. Looks like Nissan's upped the ante; this car is going to take off.

The New Beetle Convertible

Believe it or not, the New Beetle isn't being snatched up as quickly as it used to be. This new influx of model choice may be just the thing VW needs to bolster sales. The roof is a soft top and overhangs the trunk a bit when it’s folded down. When it's up, it remains strikingly faithful to its hard-topped alter ego. Perhaps the best aspect of the new convertible is that there's no unsightly B-pillar roll bar like there was in the Cabrio that it replaces. Unfortunately, we can expect it to be even slower than its solid-topped sibling. At least it looks fun.

The Hummer H2

Monstrous, out of this world — hey, this license plate is right! Many of us have seen the H2 roaming the streets of Philly. In fact, I think there's a student on campus that owns one. True or not, you must have noticed this car's colossal proportions and recognized it as kin to the original Hummer. Contrary to many people's beliefs, the H1 is still available for purchase. The H2 did not replace the H1; it merely augmented Hummer's product line. With the original Hummer's price tag being in excess of $100,000, purchasing the H2 at about half that may be a sound decision for those seeking a hulking, massive vehicle for use in urban and suburban settings, though I do hear it can go off-road as well.

The New Saab 9-3

The new 9-3 is out and has been on sale for about two months already. The representative I spoke to about it didn't know how many of them Saab expects to sell, or even how many they were planning on building. My guess is that at a base price of around $25,900, these cars will be doing zero-to-sold in something quick. They do seem to have a relatively high quality redesign, inside and out. The interior reminded me of a Volvo, and the exterior reminded me of an Opel, which makes me wonder how much control GM has over its Saab division. The familiar Saab shape has been ousted through the elimination of the hatchback body style. Yes, this 9-3 has a trunk. Accordingly, it looks more like the 9-5. There are two 9-3 models from which to choose: the 2.0t and the 2.0T. The lowercase t model has a 2-liter 175-hp turbocharged engine, while the uppercase T version denotes an increase of 35 hp. Each model is available in the following trim levels: Linear, Arc, and Vector. Bi-Xenon headlamps are available on all models.

The Chrysler Pacifica

It’s a new crossover vehicle from Chrysler. It's hard to gauge it by the photos, but think minivan/SUV/wagon and you've got the idea. It's nicely done, having plenty of interior space without necessitating the overwhelming stature of an SUV. It's really a great idea, but it seems like everyone's thought of it at the same time. Personally, I wouldn't mind it so much if everyone just changed gears into a smaller way of thinking. SUVs the size of cars instead of trucks would be a great idea.

The Jeep Willys Concept

I'm not sure of exactly how significant this car is in terms of future production, but it certainly exudes an air of fun. I have to admit that, even though I'm not into SUVs or Jeeps, I like its looks. Jeep's done something fun in the spirit of concept cars by creating this. The Willys Concept is based on Jeeps of yore and integrates some 21st century technology into it. The body is constructed mainly of carbon fiber and aluminum.

The Volvo XC90

What do you know? It's another new SUV! This time it's from Volvo. The interior is quite pleasing in this car. The styling screams Volvo but definitely looks of superior build quality. The model I saw was predominantly adorned with leather and featured sparingly and tastefully placed aluminum accents. Also, it has a third row of seats, bringing the total number of possible occupants to seven. The back two seats seem a bit cramped, though. Speaking of the back seats, if you need more baggage space, they fold down to suit your increased spatial needs in a remarkable fashion. The seat bottoms slide backward and out of sight, while the seat backs fold forward providing you with a significantly increased surface area for a cargo deck. You don't even have to remove the head rests. The XC90 is touted as the safest SUV in the world — and I believe it. There are safety features all over this thing. If you're interested in an SUV and want to make sure your kids survive to grow up and buy their own SUVs one day, buy this one - but be prepared to shell out a dollar amount in excess of $45,000.

The Lamborghini Murcielago

Automobili Lamborghini —do I really need to say any more? Just in case, I'll expand on the idea. Lamborghini's newest model (and replacement of the Diablo) is the Murcielago. If you haven't seen this car in person, I suggest you do. Its scale is something to behold. This car happens to be the first product of Audi's ownership of the Italian brand. This might explain its bold and arguably un-Italian exterior design, but it also explains the car's all wheel drive system. And fear not, it's still powered by an Italian V12 which rockets this exotic to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds. The base price for this baby is around $283,000.

Other cars to see at the show:

The Chevy SSR - priced at $41,900, is slated for production in June and is to be sold starting this fall.

The Subaru WRX and Baja - both at around $24,000; you might like what you see, but at the very least, check out the informative display Subaru has up about their boxer engine and all wheel drive system — it's pretty cool.

The Infiniti G35 starts around $30,000 and is similar to the Nissan 350Z, but more luxurious.

The BMW Z4 looks weird, but is fun to drive and is priced around $33,700.

The Ford Forty-Nine Concept is pretty sleek and is reminiscent of custom hot rods.

The Ford GT40 reminds me of an old race car. It's American, but it's right-hand drive. I don't know why. It's also the basis for a new Ford GT production car.

The Lexus Concept is the 'off-system" vehicle with huge wheels that was featured in 'Minority Report'.

The Aston Martin Vanquish is James Bond's car from 'Die Another Day'. It’s definitely worth checking out — along with the DB7 Vantage coupe and convertible, also at the show.

The Auto Show runs at the Pennsylvania Convention Center until Jan. 19. Admission is $10.