Last week Auto Finance News was on hand to cover the New York International Auto Show. Thoughout the next couple of weeks, we'll be sharing some of the new products and interesting issues presented at the show via our photos page. We hope you'll enjoy them and offer your opinions.

First up is BMW's new 6-series coupe. The redesigned hardtop 6 broke cover in mid-march and was on display at both New York and at Auto Shanghai. This is not the only new vehicle to debut at these two shows in concert.

The Shanghai show, which alternates annually with the Beijing Auto show, has grown exponentially as China's car market has expanded. This year, Shanghai and New York happened to fall on the exact same dates, and that split attention between the shows for both the Automotive Media and for the manufacturers, who in some cases had to chose carefully which cars to bring where - particularly in the case of one-off concepts. Concept cars that manufacturers thought would play better in Asia were directed to Shanghai - like the Mazda Shinari and Buick Envision, while others that were more specific to North America - such as the Mazda Minagi (likely to become the production Mazda CX-5) and Saab Phoenix were in New York.

Although New York was more lush than last year's humbling show and 2009's very somber mood, the Shanghai show did siphon off some of the more outlandish concept cars, things which visitors like and which give OEM's the chance to show off.

At least one manufacturer, Mercedes, prepared ahead of time and built two of their Concept A-class hatchbacks. This stunning small car, which is very unlike other Mercedes products (and almost totally different than the original A-class), turned many heads despite being parked right next to the brand-new SLK roadster and the new C-class Coupe.

Back to BMW: The 650i Convertible has been getting the lion's share of attention in the past month - because it will probably be the volume leader and because it will hit dealers a few months ahead of the coupe. The big 6 convertible has been making the rounds since February. Both open and closed versions of the 6 will be powered by either a 3-liter straight six borrowed from the 5 and 7 series, or by the 402-hp 4.4 liter twin-screw, twin-turbo V8, which also sees duty in other BMW models but is massaged here for a little more oomph.

The styling is less bold this time around, and truth be told, that's a mixed blessing. Many people sharply criticized the tenure of Designer Chris Bangle at BMW, whose style was deeply infused into the last 6-series (which debuted in 2003) and into most BMW's over the last decade in varying degrees of radical. Although opinion was sharply divided at the time, the old 6 aged well. The new one has a good deal more Toyota Solara to it, which may or may not be an improvement depending on your perspective. At a starting price of about $90,000, those who like it will probably really like it.

The 650i Coupe should hit dealers in September.

Photographer: Alex Kwanten.