The show must go on — and it is at Cobo Hall. In case Detroit isn’t your #1 destination in January, we present the Gotryke Detroit Auto Show roundup of some of our favorite vehicles unveiled in Detroit at the 2010 North American International Auto Show.
#1 The Ford Focus
The five-door hatch back is the new American dream car. The 2012 production car will be in dealerships. There’s a four-door version, too, that has snazzy appeal. Ford reinvented the game.
#2. Audi E-Tron
The R4 stirs us and the E-tron hints of the rrr to come. It’s a zero-emissions electric powertrain, producing 204 hp and death-defying 1,955 lb-ft of torque that zooms 0 to 60 in 5.9 seconds, with a range of 155 miles. The Audi A8 made the Audi stand an eye catching stop for autoshow traffic.
3. Cadillac XTS Platinum concept
Cadillac has been working from the inside out for some time. The luxury marque attached to GM has a track record of making interiors’ a priority, and years of research play out on the thoughtfulness of the XTS.
4. Volkswagen Compact Coupe
Performance + Fuel Economy: = 2010 straight A report card. The Jetta pedigree has advanced to the next level.
5. BMW ActiveE concept
The 1 is BMW’s foray into design guided by efficiency for maximum proportions with electric car DNA. It zooms zero to 60 coming in 8.6 seconds. The range is about 100 miles and will be offered for lease in limited numbers in 2011.
6. Toyota FT-CH
A car for the WII generation, the FT-CH design is inspired by video games. The design is polarizing, but definitely a further exploration into what comes after Prius.
7. Honda CR-Z
Honda departs from Accord blandness into the Z-territory with a two-seater sporty hybrid.
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8. Chevy Aveo
The Aveo is GM’s small car sensation – fresh-faced and very different for Chevy styling.
9.Mini Beachcomber Concept
Just plain fresh. Mini could be the new big dog with innovative creations like these on the streets, should it become a reality.
10. Potential Car-in-the-making: BYD. Build Your Dreams – that’s the acronym behind this Chinese car company’s electric car that’s due out by the end of 2010. What makes this intriguing: If the company can deliver on it’s plans to tie the launch with the Chevy Volt.
It’s the week of the 2010 North American International Auto Show. The international media has already come and gone, after the unveiling of product smorgasbord over two days press reveals. The themes centered around a renewed commitment to a brighter, greener future.
For the public, the auto show buzz begins with tonight’s charity benefit, which is among the area’s largest fundraisers. Last year official numbers are at $2.6 million. At writing, local socialites are picking up their tuxes, gowns and spending today primping to make an impression. Then there are the parties like that of 944 Magazine Launch Party at the MGM Casino — a little glitz to add some flourish to the short, freezing January days.
After a week of car talk, here are a few initial impressions in the post- 21st century breakdown:
• Education has replaced entertainment for the auto show. Green innovation and technology aren’t intuitive. Tactile exhibits have replaced razzle dazzle with Electric Avenue and test tracks for green car demos. The Detroit Auto Show is becoming more like CES in Vegas. Perhaps they should consider a partnership with the Science Center to reinforce this commitment to futurism.
• Everything changes, but stays the same. The Detroit Auto Show began in 1907 and was organized the Detroit Auto Dealers Association. Many member continue to be active in the North American International Auto Show, officially renamed in 1989. Aligning with the another older organization the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, founded in 1919, was one step toward broadening the international scope of the show after foreign manufacturers began to show their cars over the years.
• The old and the new guard converge are converging. The old guard – rushing to press conference and sprinting to the newsroom has been all but replaced by a flurry of handheld devices, driven by the blogging economy, but the the technology gap is narrowing as people of all ages are becoming more savvy with their 3.0 skills.
• In light of the major losses of market share, the tone of executive speeches has shift from boastful to promising — but can they deliver in the new decade? The politicians were present and accounted for with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi bringing dozens, and the political undertones certainly were a reminder that the car business isn’t just about dollars and cents — its about the roads we take to the future.
As I log in for the day’s recap, the last of the media are unwinding from the annual product assault that is part of the Detroit Auto Show. If they’re still lingering at the Volkswagen party at the Guardian Building vibing to the sounds of ex-pat Clark Warner, I hope they’re not driving far, because it all starts again bright and early tomorrow morning.
Covering an auto show hurts. Perhaps it has something to do with the misleading carpet at Cobo Hall that rests upon hard concrete, but after a day of vehicle debuts, everything hurts starting with sore feet, down to the crick in the back of throat from too much talking. The glaring difference from years past is the lack of glitz. No more heady haze, trying to keep all those opulent product debuts sorted. Though this isn’t a banner year for the adorned concept car there’s still a lot to reflect on in much more cerebral terms. Here are a few of the day’s highlights:
• GM employees exiting the building, still carrying their signs under their arms, “Game Changer.”
• Our upcoming wacky conversation with BMW Design Director Chris Bangle.
•Designer Ralph Gilles’s sleek Chrysler 200C EV sedan.
• The camaraderie among journalists and car company people happy to come together in honor of an industry and still collecting a pay check.
• The delicious decadence of Bentley GTC Speed, and the hint of big beautiful saloon on the horizon. The sinewy Z4 Roadster was cause for ooh and ahh.
• Carroll Shelby marking birthday 89 with another bad-ass Ford Shelby GT 500.
The Detroit Auto Show, the official North American International Auto Show hub-bub is in full swing. I arrived in GoTryke’s native digs today to attempt to comment with some degree of insightful coverage in this very curious time in automotive history. Plenty of material to choose from the pre-show display this evening — a clear indicator of just how much things have done a 360 in the last year.
The first conversation I had during my 2008 coverage was at the GM Tech Center in Warren with fashion designer Kevan Hall pulling garments for the swanky GM Style show. This year, my first conversation was with a UAW rep at the International Car of the Year Awards. He was not optimistic about what 2009 has in store for the auto industry, predicting tougher times ahead. It’s official: Marketing budgets have given away to full-fledged politics as the industry struggles to make it through this rough patch. From across town, I made the trek on unsalted snowy suburban freeways to the epicenter where the awards were held at the MGM ballroom, honoring the eloquent Warren Brown, who reminded me, “Remember it’s always about people, the people you love.” Brown is the kind of journalist we need more of in the car industry. (Kudos to the Dodge Ram and Nissan GT-R for top honors, and the Volkswagen TDI the green sleeper.)
While product is at the epicenter of auto show this year, much of the news will be in the buzz and in the somber tones of press conferences. Luckily, there are still some cars to look at on display and the sleek Mercedes McLarenStirling Moss (limited edition 75) infused a bit of much needed car enthusiasm before getting down to practical business at their reveal at the Cadillac Book Building for the 2010 E-Class unveiling. Dieter Zetsche, who is recast from his Chrysler duties as the big cheese at Mercedes-Benz laid out Mercedes’ greener than ever agenda, drawing parallels to the Obama administration, and then showing the BlueZero F-Cell, a fuel cell vehicle that uses electric drive, which will be produced in limited numbers later this year. Hmm. Interesting times, and the show hasn’t even officially begun.
While most of the news at the North American International Auto Show will be economic, political and generally bleak by nature, a few savory street cars promise to offer a little old-fashioned oomff. Behold one – the Bentley Continental GTC. I’ve had the privilege to test the GTC out on Rockie Mountain roads outside of Aspen with Chief Engineer Ulrich Eichhorn, who is the man that showed me how to properly appreciate and ingest a stocked W-12 engine bearing Bentley GTC. An experience behind the wheel I won’t soon forget. Hard to believe there’s a new model looming with even more substance — 600hp, 553 lb-ft. of torque, a top speed of 200mph and a 0-60 time of 4.5 seconds.
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