Straightline
Detroit Auto Show
October 3, 2008
The question isn't why, but rather why did it take so long to come to this decision. To me it's a no-brainer. More and more folks want to keep their luxury as they downsize from larger vehicles. The evidence is everywhere. All the premium brands are putting more emphasis on smaller vehicles. Heck, even mainstream automakers are gussying up some of their smaller offerings. The time is now for luxury small cars.
The car will first debut in Europe in 2010, and then likely make its way over here. It will be based on the all-new Prius that will announced this winter, at the Detroit auto show, I believe.
Full story here.
September 30, 2008
The 'new' new Mini has been on the street for some time now, all except for the drop-top version, that is. That model is scheduled to debut at the upcoming Detroit auto show in January.
Well guess what folks? Official looking images have been leaked, and they are now up on the Net. Surprised? I didn't think so.
Also not much of a surprise is that the car hasn't changed much visually from the Gen-I new Mini. Yeah, it's got all the other new-new Mini upgrades, plus a few special items unique to this model. So if you loved the old-new Mini drop-top, you will love this new-new Mini drop-top as well. The car will go on sale next Spring.
Full story here.
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- Posted by: Bob Holland September 30, 2008, 6:36 AM
- Categories: All Auto Shows, Convertibles, Detroit Auto Show, MINI
September 9, 2008
Ummm... Not sure about this illustration. It's soooo far from what we've come to expect from Nissan. It has none of the current Nissan truck styling cues, especially from the front. Plus for a HD truck, it's not very macho looking. Then again, that's not a primary concern as commercial customers are more interested in what the vehicle can do, and for how little in terms of $$$.
At any rate, Nissan is reportedly going to show a heavy-duty pickup, a full-size van, and a smaller van at the upcoming Detroit Auto Show.
Full story here.
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- Posted by: Bob Holland September 9, 2008, 8:24 AM
- Categories: All Auto Shows, Detroit Auto Show, Nissan, Trucks
August 13, 2008
We got a pretty good look at the 2010 Cadillac SRX just a few months ago, but these latest spy shots from Michigan show even more detail. The Cadillac styling cues up front are unmistakable while the profile mimics the Provoq concept as we expected. The rear end gets a pair of tall, vertical taillights and a relatively small window. Look for the official debut of the 2010 Cadillac SRX at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show.
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- Posted by: Ed Hellwig August 13, 2008, 9:17 AM
- Categories: Cadillac, Detroit Auto Show, SUVs, Spy Photos
July 30, 2008
The folks over at NextAutos.com have posted some spy images of the all-new next-generation Toyota Prius, which is rumored to debut at the Detroit auto show in January.
The images show that the overall profile will remain much as it currently is. However, the car is reportedly larger and more powerful--and more fuel-efficient. It's also expected that there may be other body styles, perhaps a wagon and convertible.
Sounds like a win-win for hybrid fans.
Full story here.
July 15, 2008
The above composite image is from two Japanese publications. The illustration on the left appeared several months ago and the image on the right recently showed up
here.
My take, based on these illustrations, and from what I've heard, I think we're fairly close here. Both these images show a common stying direction even though some of the details differ. I expect the car to debut this winter, perhaps at the Detroit auto show, and will go on sale here next spring.
Interesting to note that in the story with the latest image, it's mentioned that there will be a hybrid version. It's expected that a CVT will show up replacing the current 4EAT; not sure if it will replace the 5EAT found on turbos and H6 models, however.
July 10, 2008
The future of Cobo Hall is beginning to look as overcast as the image above. This past year Porsche dropped out of the NAIAS, next year Suzuki will be passing on it, and now there's word of another luxury car brand that's considering on not showing up.
So what brand is it? More important: what's going on here? Don't know, and don't know, but clearly Cobo Hall (and Detroit) have a problem on their hands here. One of those problems is that people come to this show to ooh, ah and dream--but they don't buy. Now that may sound strange, but that's what Manny Lopez of The Detroit News says.
Full story here.
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- Posted by: Bob Holland July 10, 2008, 6:33 AM
- Categories: All Auto Shows, Detroit Auto Show, Porsche, Suzuki
July 7, 2008
Reuters is reporting that that high-end trim models of the next-gen Toyota Prius (note that above image is a guesstimate) will have solar panels. These solar panels will be used to power accessories such as air conditioning, etc. The vehicle will debut next year, probably at the Detroit Auto Show.
Full story here.
Here's Green Car Observer's take: Next-Generation Prius Hybrid to Get Solar Panels to Power Air Conditioning
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- Posted by: Bob Holland July 7, 2008, 5:40 AM
- Categories: Auto Shows, Detroit Auto Show, Hybrids, Toyota
June 26, 2008
Citing that they weren't allocated enough floor space at the upcoming Detroit auto show, Suzuki has announced that they would skip this show for 2009.
Jeff Holland, a Suzuki spokesman, said that Suzuki's plans for more active displays couldn't be accommodated. Suzuki plans to introduce three new products in the next 18 months, and other cities better fit their marketing needs, Holland said. "It's recognizing that we can't be everywhere and recognizing that opportunities are better in shows in other parts of the country," said David Boldt, product public relations manager for Suzuki...
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- Posted by: Bob Holland June 26, 2008, 7:04 AM
- Categories: All Auto Shows, Detroit Auto Show, Suzuki
May 5, 2008
Nissan is reportedly going to show their light commercial vehicle (or vehicles), otherwise known as LCV(s), at the next Detroit auto show in January. As has been reported, Nissan plans on introducing three LCVs in the United States within the next few years. One is expected to be a van, quite possibly based on their Primastar van (pictured), which is sold in many other markets worldwide. If so, it's most direct competitor here would the the Dodge/Freightliner Sprinter vans, which have proven so popular with delivery services and tradesmen...
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- Posted by: Bob Holland May 5, 2008, 6:06 AM
- Categories: All Auto Shows, Detroit Auto Show, Nissan, Trucks
May 2, 2008
Recently Straightline confirmed that the next Titan and Dodge Ram are going to be kiss'n cousins. Now we have some more info on that model, as well as some new info on the yet-to-be-seen HD Nissan pickup.
As to the Titan, the doors and roof panels will be shared by the Titan. Other exterior body panels will be unique...
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- Posted by: Bob Holland May 2, 2008, 10:44 AM
- Categories: All Auto Shows, Detroit Auto Show, Dodge, Nissan, Trucks
March 7, 2008
It looks like it won’t be long before the 2010 Cadillac CTC hits the road. These shots taken recently in Michigan reveal some very production looking bodywork. From the detailed grille to the quarterpanel vents, this looks more like an early prototype than a test mule. As we reported months ago, the 2010 Cadillac CTS coupe will go into production in the spring of 2009...
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February 25, 2008
Desperate times call for desperate measures...
Or so the saying goes; Maybach, an automaker arguably on the ropes, is pulling out all the stops as they've given a production okay for the Landaulet. A concept study was recently shown at the Detroit auto show.
So will this save the brand?..
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February 20, 2008
It sounds like we may be seeing some off-road-ready vehicles using hybrid power sometime in the future. At the recent NAIAS Jeep showed a hybrid Renegade (above) and Land Rover displayed their urban cruiser LR-X, both using hybrid power. In addition, the U.S. Army is developing a new diesel-electric ‘Alternative Mobility Vehicle’...
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- Posted by: Bob Holland February 20, 2008, 7:14 AM
- Categories: All Auto Shows, Detroit Auto Show, Diesels, Green Tech, Hybrids, Jeep, Land Rover, SUVs, Trends, Trucks
January 21, 2008
The hoopla is now past, and we can now digest all the "new and wonderful" stuff automakers threw at us last week. Is it all as great as they, the automakers, would lead you to believe? Well, AutoObserver has done much of the work here for you with their reflections of the show.
Actually, there are two editorials from AO on this—and they don't agree on everything...
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- Posted by: Bob Holland January 21, 2008, 8:46 AM
- Categories: All Auto Shows, Detroit Auto Show
January 19, 2008
You can add the Chinese to the list of countries with weird concepts, and even weirder names. I present you with the Detroit Fish. I guess because it was shown in Detroit and it's an amphibious people carrier. It can be seen at the Detroit (of course) Auto Show...
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- Posted by: Bob Holland January 19, 2008, 5:00 AM
- Categories: All Auto Shows, Detroit Auto Show
January 18, 2008
The Toyota FJ Cruiser Trail Teams Edition sort of slipped under the radar of most reporters at Detroit, as there wasn't a big deal made of it. Either that or most probably figured it was just another specially-prepped show car.
It's basically a designer edition hardcore off-roader—an oxymoron if ever there was one! How it differs from your basic FJ, is as follows:
First off, it comes with a white roof and body with black trim pieces...
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- Posted by: Bob Holland January 18, 2008, 5:00 AM
- Categories: All Auto Shows, Detroit Auto Show, SUVs, Toyota
January 17, 2008
If you happen to be in the neighborhood of Cobo Hall, you might want to stop in and see all the new cars, trucks and concepts at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show.
The editors of IL have created a visitor's guide highlighting the cars that you won't want to miss.
Read the Detroit Visitor's Guide on Inside Line.
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
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- Posted by: Donna Derosa January 17, 2008, 6:03 PM
- Categories: Detroit Auto Show
January 16, 2008
If you are in the Detroit area and will be attending the show the week of January 21, join Edmunds/Inside Line editors for a walking tour of the show. Kick some tires with us, hear what we think of the headliner vehicles on the floor, tell us what you think, and ask any questions you have. Come on along on one of these informal strolling chats around the new production and concept cars at the Detroit show.
Look for the Edmunds/Inside Line booth in Cobo Center's entry hallway, right at the Jou Louis statue, and sign up for a walking tour...
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- Posted by: Bob Holland January 16, 2008, 7:46 AM
- Categories: All Auto Shows, Detroit Auto Show
January 15, 2008
If XM Radio has its way, this is what the display screen will look like while you're listening to XM in your car:
This type of layout will start showing up as a factory-installed option within the next few months -- I'm guessing Acura, maybe the new TSX? The pictured setup is really cool because it graphically displays each channel and what's playing on that channel right now. XM says they're already sending the logos and all data needed to run this kind of interface. It's now up to the automakers to adopt it...
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- Posted by: Brian Moody January 15, 2008, 2:18 PM
- Categories: Car Tech, Detroit Auto Show
This is a working prototype of Panasonic's new 16-inch in-car video screen. It can split and play two video sources or play one source in a variety of aspect ratios. This demo vehicle is a Saturn Outlook but look for it to show up in other all-new vehicles Panasonic already provides video screens for -- Chevrolet, Nissan, Honda, Lexus and Toyota. In fact, the Nissan Quest will soon be getting an entertainment system branded as Panasonic...
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- Posted by: Brian Moody January 15, 2008, 1:58 PM
- Categories: Car Tech, Detroit Auto Show, Honda, Nissan, Saturn, Toyota
From the creators of the Matrix trilogy comes a live-action version of Speed Racer. To promote the upcoming movie, Warner Bros. showed this life-size Mach 5 replica. Look for the movie to be out by May...
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- Posted by: Brian Moody January 15, 2008, 1:51 PM
- Categories: Detroit Auto Show
Chinese automakers copy Western models? Says who?
This one I can understand a little more -- doesn't everyone want a scaled-down replica of the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile?
- Brian Moody, Road Test Editor
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- Posted by: Brian Moody January 15, 2008, 1:37 PM
- Categories: Detroit Auto Show
January 14, 2008
Shockingly enough, Mazda did not want to spend much time today talking about the 2009 RX-8. Details on its new front fascia were left unsaid, and the new R3 sport package that adds Bilstein shocks, Recaro seats and urethane-filled suspension crossmembers was barely mentioned. So when a Mazda official told us after the press conference that the car was also 45 pounds lighter than before we were skeptical. Turns out the optional 19-inch wheels that come with the R3 package are actually lighter than the stock 18s. And apparently those Recaro seats are much lighter than stock. Combined with the new shorter rear end gear, this RX-8 might actually feel new from behind the wheel. That would have been worth talking about. -- Ed Hellwig, Lead Senior Editor, Inside Line
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- Posted by: Ed Hellwig January 14, 2008, 8:18 PM
- Categories: Detroit Auto Show, Mazda, Sports Cars
The blond and photogenic Franz Von Holzhausen, Mazda's North American design chief, had the pleasure of "driving" the Mazda Furai concept onto the stage during the press conference today in Detroit. (For most of the show, the Furai sat uncovered, but the company whisked it out of sight just before its official debut.)
Von Holzhausen revved the mid-mounted, three-rotor 20B rotary engine before disembarking, commenting, "It sounds good, doesn't it?"
Indeed. As we reported in our full article on the Furai, this concept sports car is built on a racecar chassis from the American Le Mans Series. It's fully driveable, and the engine develops some 450 horsepower.
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- Posted by: Erin Riches January 14, 2008, 3:11 PM
- Categories: Coupes, Detroit Auto Show, Mazda, Motorsports
A ticket to the 2008 Detroit Auto Show: $12
A 2009 Chevy Corvette ZR: $100,000.
Looking at a naked ZR1 standing on end at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show: Priceless.
This is cool. What a way to see the most powerful Corvette ever made...
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- Posted by: Scott Oldham January 14, 2008, 2:54 PM
- Categories: Chevrolet, Detroit Auto Show
The concept of a hybrid that looks like a version of the Maserati Gran Turismo appeals a great deal to us.
And obviously it appeals a great deal to Henrik Fisker. The former BMW and Aston Martin designer launched off on his own to produce modified versions of BMW and Mercedes-Benz vehicles a few years ago. Fisker has since seen the light and has conceived of the Karma, a hybrid sport-luxury coupe...
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- Posted by: Daniel Pund January 14, 2008, 2:32 PM
- Categories: Detroit Auto Show
For my money, this is the coolest car at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show. It's a 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 Spyder Touring and I found it in the Louis Vuitton Classic Concours booth. According to the signage, the car is the 2007-2008 LVCC winner and it won best of show at the Meadow Brook Concours d'Elegance in the Detroit area.
Bodied by Carlo Bianchi Anderloni from a design by Vittorio Jano, the Alfa is now owned by Ray Scherr of Westlake Village, California...
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- Posted by: Scott Oldham January 14, 2008, 2:32 PM
- Categories: Alfa Romeo, Detroit Auto Show
Now the party can begin. -- Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief
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- Posted by: Scott Oldham January 14, 2008, 2:25 PM
- Categories: Detroit Auto Show
Geely Automobile is ambitious. The Chinese company produced 2 million cars in 2006 and aims to produce 20 million cars in 2015. It's not quite ready to sell in the U.S. but the company says it is inevitable...
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- Posted by: Jay Kavanagh January 14, 2008, 2:17 PM
- Categories: Detroit Auto Show, Geely, Sedans
"Saturn is a green brand for General Motors and we use the Green Line brand to promote that," Troy Clark, Saturn division president, told the sweaty crowd packed around GM's main stage at Cobo Hall. "I think 2008 will be the year when we double down and raise the bidding."
The 2009 Saturn Vue Green Line Two-Mode Hybrid constitutes the majority of the company's chips in this game of chance (that presumably involves only Toyota and Ford). It's a major enhancement upon the standard Vue Green Line Hybrid, which has a four-cylinder engine and a very small electric motor that provides minimal motive force. Instead, the two-mode starts out with a direct-injected version of GM's 3.6-liter V6 and combines that with a pair of 55-kilowatt electric motors housed in its automatic transmission (presumably some type of CVT).
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- Posted by: Erin Riches January 14, 2008, 1:57 PM
- Categories: Detroit Auto Show, Green Tech, SUVs, Saturn
Chrysler apparently used up its full allotment of fun yesterday when it herded a bunch of longhorns in front of Cobo Hall. And so we were greeted today by possibly the most lifeless press conference we've seen from Chrysler in a good long time. Even Chrysler didn't seem excited about the three concept cars it showed today. None of them have even the remotest shot at production...
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- Posted by: Daniel Pund January 14, 2008, 1:12 PM
- Categories: Chrysler, Detroit Auto Show, Dodge, Jeep
So we have told you everything about the 2009 CTS-V. So what was Bob Lutz going to talk about at the official press conference?
Well, how about this bit of bravado: We believe it to be the fastest four-door sedan in the world.
Wow. We chatted after the conference with a GM guy we know and said, "You know an M5 will do the quarter in 12.7 seconds, right?..
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- Posted by: Daniel Pund January 14, 2008, 10:57 AM
- Categories: Cadillac, Detroit Auto Show
Biofuel, indeed. --Daniel Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit
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- Posted by: Daniel Pund January 14, 2008, 10:28 AM
- Categories: Detroit Auto Show, Ferrari
Toyota threw some fertilizer -- perhaps steer droppings -- on the toy truck that occupied this turntable yesterday and presto! It grew into the full-size A-BAT by this morning.
Toyota made no mention at all of the A-BAT concept during its press conference this morning. Fortunately, you can read all about the A-BAT here...
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- Posted by: Jay Kavanagh January 14, 2008, 10:01 AM
- Categories: Detroit Auto Show, Toyota, Trucks
Sure, it was strange seeing Bob Lutz and Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick bustin' a move to Kid Rock. And surely it was a bit surreal to see a herd of longhorn steer trying (in vain) to procreate on the streets of Detroit.
But we maintain that the weirdest thing we've seen at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show is VW Group Overlord and all-around German-industry sultan, Dr. Ferdinand Piech without a security detail...
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- Posted by: Daniel Pund January 14, 2008, 9:27 AM
- Categories: Cadillac, Detroit Auto Show, General Motors, Volkswagen
The 2009 Toyota Venza made its world debut this morning and is, according to boss Bob Carter, "something new; something different.... a crossover sedan. It is most definitely a car."
It is most definitely a station wagon.
Toyota reps made a point to emphasize that the Venza was not truck-based nor truckish nor trucklike in any way...
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