#NAIAS I started to write this at 9:30 p.m. Monday evening in my lovely hotel room in downtown Detroit (which nevertheless overlooks a parking lot and a strip club) following 11 non-stop hours of roaming Cobo Center and the 2010 Detroit Auto Show. By my final video, I was barely making any sense. "Hyundai Blue Will Concept" became something like "Honda Blue Whale Convent."
So let's keep this simple. Here's some pictures and related thoughts based on Day 1 of the show and my very first trip to the Detroit Auto Show.
Day 1:
Ford definitely won the Day 1 award for showmanship. The company halved the adjacent Cobo Arena and then raised the floor by 12 feet allowing for the new 2012 Focus to rise onto the stage. That stage was in fact used as the bottom half of a giant display screen seen in the first picture (left) dwarfing Ford CEO Alan Mulally. As for the Focus itself, it truly looks exceptional. Even the sedan looks great, which can be tough for a sedan based on a hatchback (see Fiesta sedan). The interior in particular looks special, and the idea of a DSG-type transmission sure seems like a huge leap forward from the four-speed auto in our dumpy old Focus coupe long-termer.
Ford Focus at Detroit Auto Show Video
Of all the cars I saw introduced Monday, the VW NCC concept clearly had the most enthused media scrum afterward. For good reason, too, it looks awesome. If they put the GTI powertrain in this, then they may have a buyer right here. I also enjoyed the VW dancing dudes better than other dancing dudes I saw today. Actually, they were the only dancing dudes I saw.
Volkswagen NCC Concept Coupe Video
The Honda CR-Z looked kinda cool, but really, I think it looks as much like an original Insight than it does a CRX. It's based on the current Insight, which definitely doesn't indicate a fun-to-drive nature, but the Insight is based on the Fit, so maybe it actually does. I don't know, the jury's still out for me.
Honda CR-Z Video on Inside Line
They were serving "Bailout Blend" coffee in the media lounge. Somewhere a Chrysler executive was pulling his collar, saying "eeee" and walking sheepishly away.
And speaking of bailout, um guys, the car's that way. At the Chevy press conference, the men (and woman in orange) suits are more interesting than the cars themselves. But while these photographers were more interesting in The Bob and GM CEO Ed Whitacre, they missed the Chevy Aveo RS concept, which actually looks really cool. It's apparently based on the Europe's sporty Opel Corsa, so what you see here is a serious Ford Fiesta competitor. Which is an improvement over the current Aveo, which is seriously abysmal.
So that's all I've got for this evening. I'll have more oddball sights and thoughts from the auto show tomorrow in Thoughts from the Curb.
Check out more 2010 Detroit Auto Show coverage at Straightline and check out more me with the Detroit Auto Show Day 1 Highlights Video.
James Riswick, Automotive Editor
By dougtheeng
on January 13, 2010
06:43 AM
I don't think I'd buy and A8 from that shady looking car salesman...
By estreka
on January 14, 2010
09:25 AM
Is that the valet or my chauffeur?