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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Etc. , Dodge , Ford , Hyundai , Mercedes-Benz , Nissan , Volkswagen Click either image for a high-res gallery of the NACOTY and TOTY nominees Now that the motoring world has announced the International COTY and TOTY contenders, the finalists for North American Car and Truck of the Year have been revealed. The six chosen chariots consist of some of the same nameplates, but whereas the international body tapped the Dodge Challenger , Ford Flex and Nissan GT-R for the car honors, the 50 N.A. automotive journalists have elected the Ford Flex , Hyundai Genesis and Volkswagen Jetta TDI as finalists for the 2009 NACOTY. So the Challenger makes the International list but not the North American one? Baffling. The Nissan GT-R didn't make the N.A. cut, but it could be argued that the Flex and Genesis are more important to their respective companies, and the Jetta, well, it's green and all. The Jetta TDI did appear on the separate Earth, Wind & Power list...
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Etc. The North American International Auto Show is by far the largest auto show in North America, but the small, aging facility that houses the new car party is prompting automakers to ditch the event all-together. In response to news that Suzuki has joined Porsche in bowing out of the 2009 show, the city of Detroit is rushing a $90M plan to increase floor space by 80,000 sq. ft. The move is seen as a stop-gap measure, with other more grand plans still on the way at a later date. With far superior facilities in New York, Chicago, and LA, Detroit may not have long to act. For people in the Detroit area, the Cobo expansion has been a hot topic of conversation, but one that typically doesn't get beyond the talking stage. If area executives continue to try to one-up each other, argue and get nothing done, more automakers are likely to bow out in the future. [Source: Detroit News ] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Detroit Auto Show , Sedans/Saloons , Etc. , Green , Crossovers/CUVs , Cadillac , Chevrolet , Honda , Saturn Click image for a gallery of the Saturn Flextreme At its annual dealer meeting in San Francisco, what's described as having been a "passing remark" seems to be generating some buzz. Automotive News reports that a GM spokesperson said that the Chevy Volt's underlying technology could make its way into offerings from the automaker's other brands. While the report describes an excited dealer's reaction, the idea of shared E-Flex itself is hardly surprising. For instance, we've seen E-Flex concepts for Saturn/ Opel (Flextreme) and Cadillac ( Provoq ) already, and sharing the tech makes sense when you consider that consumer interest will probably be high whenever the Volt is ultimately produced, and spreading the wealth gives GM multiple avenues (and price points) at which it can cash in on the investment. The General already shares...
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Trucks/Pickups , Etc. , Marketing/Advertising , Lifestyle Some crowds are worried about speed, some about interior volume, some about the number of cupholders. The pickup truck crowd has a tendency to be concerned with size, so the automakers give them what they want. And in this case, it's bigger and bigger logos. Kicking Tires took the real estate measurements of the logos on half-ton pickups at the Detroit Auto Show (and a Hummer, just for good... measure), and ranked them from smallest to the most grandiose. The logo on the new Dodge Ram is 250% larger than before, and it only came in fifth. Click the link to find out who's got the biggest, and let the bragging begin. [Source: Kicking Tires] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Detroit Auto Show , Convertibles , Coupes , Sports/GTs , Etc. , Crossovers/CUVs , Supercars , Buick , Cadillac , Chevrolet , GMC , HUMMER , Saturn , Celebrities Last Saturday night before the Press Days began for the 2008 edition of the Detroit Auto Show, the 2nd annual GM Style event took place in a huge tent set up in a parking lot near the Renaissance Center headquarters of General Motors. Like last year's event, this runway show featured cars and fashions, but the feel of it was a bit different this year. This time last year, GM had yet to make its big design comeback breakthrough, for instance. Also, the cars were almost secondary to the celebrities last January. This time around, a year after the CTS, Malibu and Volt debuted in the days following the first GM Style event, the red carpet was gone and the fashions were worn by anonymous models, with musical accompaniment from Mary J Blige, Maroon 5 and Kid Rock. For 2008, the cars were the real stars...
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Etc. , Hatchbacks , Scion , Toys Click image to see the Five Axis Scion xD Toy Crane in action Those of you who attend your local auto show every year know that the Scion booth is always loaded with free swag for showgoers. This year, in addition to the free goodies at the desk (knit beanies, a DJ mix CD), we noticed a line of hacks behind what looks like an xD tuned by Five Axis . A closer look reveals why people are lining up: that's no regular xD, it's a toy crane! The car is literally filled with plush tC, xD, and xB replicas. Best of all, it's free and the claw is modified so that you have to be profoundly untalented to not come out a winner every time. Check out the gallery below to see how free toys happen over at the Scion booth. The photos run in order, so start with number 1 and click through. Gallery: Detroit 2008: Scion xD Toy Crane Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Etc. click above for a high-res gallery of fresh faces from Detroit Detroit upheld the tradition of auto shows employing numerous pretty faces to keep the journalists focused on the right product at the right time. It seems the Italian marques are the ones using this tactic most egregiously (Lamborghini also hired a guy in a bull costume for good measure), but almost every manufacturer had at least one model on hand. Like Los Angeles , Detroit also had a few celebrities in attendance to make the press conferences more entertaining. We also saw a few presidential candidates as well, but their faces are anything but fresh. Enough of the talk, you want to see the pictures. Click away to enjoy some of the faces we've seen in Detroit. Gallery: 2008 Detroit: Fresh faces from Motor City Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Motorsports , Etc. , Mitsubishi Click the image above for a gallery of high-res shots. During Mitsubishi's press conference on Sunday, it paid particular attention to the marque's motorsport heritage with a video montage/quiz game on how Ralliart has fared in the last quarter century of rallying and road racing. That's no surprise, considering the introduction of the Lancer Ralliart , but Mitsu also brought a few of the vehicles that shaped its racing legacy and proudly displayed them on the show floor. The first vehicle that caught our eye was the Group A Starion Turbo (above) that barely got a wash before being put away wet after its last race in 1988. The Starion racked up over a dozen wins in Japan and throughout the world during its four-year campaign, but beyond its on-track successes, the weights still taped onto the wheels and the rear-mounted radiator had us geeking out between photos. The 1981 rally-prepped Lancer (2nd generation, above...
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Sports/GTs , Etc. , Videos , Bentley click above to view more images of Bentley's artisans at work We love Bentleys because of their exquisite sheetmetal and meticulously crafted interiors, but few understand the incredible amount of work it takes to make a Bentley a world class GT. We were able to spend a few minutes with a couple of Bentley artisans at the Detroit Auto Show, and they explained how the storied automaker creates some of its impressive interior components. Needless to say, we were amazed with what we saw. It takes over three hours just to create one steering wheel, for instance, and the wood interior finishes come straight from our own forests in the USA. You can watch videos of both a steering wheel and some wood veneer being painstakingly crafted after the jump and view some of their handiwork in the gallery below. Gallery: Detroit 2008: Bentley Factory Artisans Continue reading Detroit 2008: Bentley factory artisans demonstrate their...
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Etc. , Government/Legal Click image for a gallery of politicos at the Detroit Auto Show Last night, on the eve of the Michigan presidential primary, the NAIAS show floor played host to some political VIPs on hand for photo ops with the Detroit automakers' new concept and production vehicles. Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, who's stumping for John McCain, stopped by Ford, as did Mitt Romney, who was apparently given a tour the new F-150 by the mulletted one himself, Mark Fields. Over at Chrysler, we snagged Mike Huckabee as he was given a rundown on its trio of EV concepts by Jim Press. John McCain also stopped by, but we didn't catch the Arizona senator out on the show floor. Naturally, green and alternative fuel technologies were of primary interest to the candidates, and Mike Huckabee even went so far as to don a green necktie for the occasion. As far as we know, none of the presidential hopefuls stopped by to check out the Bio Fuel Ferrari...
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Trucks/Pickups , Etc. , Chrysler , Dodge click image for a gallery of the Rampede staging area Before this Sunday's " Rampede " at the Detroit Auto Show kicked off, we moseyed over to the staging area and hung out with our friends from the animal kingdom. You've got to love the sight of a longhorn steer... with a monorail in the background. A large crowd lined the fences as the big critters milled around and drew smiles. Of course, an accidental poke from one of those horns would wipe away that smile pretty quickly, so alertness was still called for. It's not that the cattle were aggressive. They were calmer than some domesticated dogs we know. It's just that their heads were well clear of the fencing that lined their route, and as you can see, they're called longhorns for a reason. Fortunately, as you all know by know the show went off without a hitch, and neither Rams nor cattle were harmed in the making of the video we've...
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Etc. , Audi , Buick , Chrysler , GM , Honda , Mercedes Benz , Volvo Road and Travel Magazine crowned the winners of its 2008 International Car Of The Year at 12th annual NAIAS-eve ceremony last night. Honda's newly-ginormous Accord took the coronation on the car side, while Chrysler's revamped Town and Country used its slick new features to win the truck category. RTM's judges are a veritable who's who of heavy-hitting auto journos, including Ann Job, David E. Davis, Jr., Denise McCluggage and Autoblog's own John McElroy . The pundit firepower lends real credence to the selections, even if you don't agree 100%. Results were sorted by JD Power and Associates, and General Motors had the most vehicles named to the overall list. GM was also presented with the first Earth Angel award, honoring the environmentally-friendly efforts of the automaker. The full list of winners is included in RTM's press release, posted after the jump. ...
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Etc. , Supercars , Chevrolet click above for more high-res images of the Corvette ZR1 at GM Style For the second year in a row, General Motors kicked off the North American International Auto Show festivities with its celeb-studded GM Style Event. The show this year featured music from Mary J Blige, Maroon 5 and Detroit-area native Kid Rock. The star of the show, however, was the new Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 . The 620hp+ sports car was the finale of the runway fashion show that featured an assortment of GM production and concept cars. We'll have more on the rest of the GM Style Event later, but for now, just enjoy the ZR1. Gallery: Detroit 2008: Corvette ZR1 at GM Style Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , SUVs , Etc. , Kia We've already seen some undisguised pictures of Kia's handsome new midsize SUV, but the vehicle just launched officially in Korea as the Mohave. Official launch means official pictures, and that's what we have here, a ton of really beautiful images of what we'll soon know as the Borrego. Not that Borrego, this one sports a full frame, seating places for seven, and the choice of Kia's strong-like-bull V6 or their first V8. The wisdom of introducing a new body-on-frame SUV at this point, especially in light of the coming new CAFE rules, might be questionable, but the vehicle itself is handsome and it's hard to deny the inherent value that Kia bakes into its cars. We'll check the Borrego out in person when it makes it's US debut at the Detroit Auto Show. In the meantime, Carscoop unearthed a lot of great pictures to tide us over. [Source: Kia via Carscoop] Gallery: Kia Borrego offical shots Read | Permalink...
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Etc. , GM In a two part interview with Forbes magazine during the run-up to that NAIAS, Bob Lutz had a great deal to say about all things GM. The first part centered on CAFE and the costs of energy efficiency, the Volt, and what Mr. Bob would rather have lead consumer choice in the mileage debate. Hint: instead of politicians making laws, his suggestion rhymes with "tas gax." He also says the Volt "probably won't be a flawless launch." The second part focuses global sales, the truck market collapse, and design, with Bob claiming that "Everything we're doing is to meet this new standard of [being the] absolute winner in its class in exterior design and interior design. When we put the vehicles against the competition in the clinics, they must win by a wide margin on exterior appeal as well as reach." But don't take our word for it. Bobus Maximus is always better in his own words, so click the link to check them out...
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