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After years of skirmishing in the basement of the Cobo Center, the Chinese automakers will finally set up a base on the main floor of the upcoming Detroit Auto Show . Why were the two Chinese companies, BYD Auto and Brilliance Auto , honored with the presence among the big boys upstairs? It isn't because they're selling more cars in the US, because they still don't sell any here. The Chinese automakers are benefiting from the mass exodus of automakers from the Detroit show who are bailing to save money during the Carpocalypse . We suspect the organizers thought it would be a nice gesture since China currently holds around $600 billion in US debt. The two companies will get a total of 11,000 square feet vacated by Mitsubishi. Though we hate to see any automaker flee Detroit, there are a few reasons to look forward to a larger Chinese presence. Below is our list of the five best moments of Chinese automakers at the Detroit Auto Show. 5. Travis Exploits The Book Of Songs We have...
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The Detroit News is reporting group vice president and general manager for Toyota of the Americas, Bob Carter, has confirmed the 2010 Toyota Prius will be debuting at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show and will be joined by a uniquely styled and appointed version for Lexus. The Prius was set to move upmarket relative to its former iterations, but with a Lexus version now on the way, Toyota's own marketplace may be getting crowded. But the bigger story is how this news makes things far more interesting for January's Detroit Auto Show. galleryPost('ToyotaPriusSpy', 6, '2010 Toyota Prius Out Testing'); Jalopnik Snap Jugdement : Considering we'll be seeing two all-new dedicated hybrids from Toyota, the formal debut of the 2010 Honda hybrid , who knows what from Nissan , and with the first fully-formed Chevy Volt revealed just a couple months earlier, the 2009 Detroit Auto Show is setting up to be a serious, next-gen hybrid battle royal. More interesting to us, contrary to...
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newVideoPlayer("Furai_Running.flv", 475, 376,""); You thought you had seen the last of the 2008 Mazda Furai concept didn't you? We certainly had enough coverage on the lusty concept that didn't make Popular Mechanics' Top 10 New Cars of Detroit list. What with the teaser photos , track video , live reveal shots , and super sneaky close ups - but no, we're not done yet. How about video of the ethanol powered Nagare-gasm running on the floor of the Detroit Auto Show? Would you like that? Yeah, we thought you would.
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The Cobo Center, home to the Detroit Auto Show, provides approximately $600 million annually to the local economies, with much of that money coming from the show itself. With that in mind, state and local officials are working on a plan to spend $595 million to expand and renovate the center. This change would include adding an additional 120,000 square feet, which would create room for even more automakers (C'mon Tata, show us your Nanos ). We're supportive of the idea, if only to create space for more surprise Chinese test drives and booth babes . [AP via MLive ]
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newVideoPlayer("MaserQP.flv", 475, 376,""); In Italian, Collezione Cento means "Collection of One Hundred," and we're guessing you're not one of the hundred getting the Maserati Quattroporte Collezione Cento . And just in case you didn't get the picture, Maserati reminded us in a press conference they could give less than a shit about the "mass wealthy" (head over to SpeedSportLife for a report on the ridiculousness). In this video, our favorite Maserati press person runs through the features: tufted leather, mother of pearl, full internet connectivity, touchscreens, wireless keyboard and anti-poverty repellent. Why are the pretty ones always so expensive? galleryPost('centocd', 3, 'Poor Do Not Touch');
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Since the motoring press is not going to get to get our hands on either the 2009 Dodge Ram or the 2009 Ford F-150 for a while we thought we'd jump the gun and do a comparison based of things we've seen and things they've told us. galleryPost('tobykeith', 3, 'Toby Keith F-150');galleryPost('2009DodgeRam1500ExtL', 3, 'Steer Humping Ram'); Best Reveal While we don't want to hate anymore on Toby Keith and his Ford Truck Man-liness, we have to give Dodge and their team for putting together such a steer humping good time . Hundreds of Longhorn cattle will trump jingoistic country music any day. ADVANTAGE DODGE RAM Most Unnecessary Press Shot We think we heard from Ford PR people at least 1,000 times that you could load a flatscreen television in the back of the F-150 with it's folding seats and roomier cabin. And while that might be a good selling point we get the fucking picture. But just in case we didn't they actually sneaked a press...
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The Detroit Auto Show was an absolute hootenanny of reveals, confirmed rumors, shattered expectations, and free tea sets. Of course, we handed out grades to automakers. And you, dear readers? Which ones did you think flunked? Which soared? And which aimed squarely for the mediocre middle? Don't hold back. Spare the rod and spoil the child.
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Tucked into a corner of the basement is a 1937 Seagrave Safety Sedan, known amongst fire truck junkies as the Detroit Safety Sedan and it represents one of the more interesting untold stories here at Detroit. When a firefighter falls in the line of duty, there is a longstanding tradition of using a firetruck as the funeral hearse to honor the family and the deceased. The tradition of the final ride has become difficult, as fire trucks have grown in size and height. Seeing the problem, the Detroit Fireman's Fund Association decided to set out to do something about it. galleryPost('seagrave', 12, 'Detroit Fire Department 1937 Seagrave Safety Sedan'); The organization decided the best way to serve the duty and keep operational firetrucks ready for emergencies at the same time would be to set out to purchase and refurbish a classic pumper truck. Seagraves were the predecessor the the later dominant Mack offerings, but at the time the Detroit Fire Department owned about 80...
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I had a chance to talk with David Rojas and Robert Jablonski, the exterior and interior designers of the Hummer HX Concept with one question on the table: What's the link between the HX and the Warthog from Halo? The answer wasn't as clear as I was hoping. I couldn't get either of the twentysomething designers to admit that the HX was inspired in any least bit by the Warthog from Halo, but I think I can still make a case, even though GM has already openly denied any kind of a link between the two. Unlike the pictures we saw earlier , the doors and the rear hatch roof were now removed on the vehicle I checked out, which made the HX look even more familiar and justified my relentless drilling of the designers about Halo. I fully expected Rojas and Jablonski to quickly deny any kind of link--but the l level of denial was stunning. Not only did Rojas quickly shoot down even the slightest bit of speculation, he was adamant, repeatedly stating the he neither owns an Xbox nor plays...
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newVideoPlayer("PassatCC.flv", 475, 376,""); The PR people at VeeDub were more than happy to give us a walk through of the black Volkswagen CC , which looks even better than the silver model. Though it's called the Passat CC, and will be likely thought of as a Passat, the current talk is that they'll drop the Passat moniker and offer it as the next step up for VW buyers that didn't go for Phaeton and would otherwise get an Audi or BMW. And we included a close up of the doors for those that asked.Who loves you? galleryPost('VWPassatCCLive', 6, 'VW Passat CC Live');
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We had a little too much fun yesterday, as you can see above. Though the last press day of the Detroit Auto Show is supposed to be a bit slower, no one got the memo. Our staff continued to burn off pretzels running through Cobo Hall chasing stories and, unsuccessfully, the cuter car models. We'd like to share with you stories of romantic conquest, but in lieu of that here are the stories that rocked Detroit yesterday. &mdash The Chinese Are Here: The folks from Tang Hua shared a Book of Songs with us that was actually a Recreation of Genitalia, as well as a Detroit Fish designed for our president's ranch. &mdash Funkmaster Flex: His Flexness played a visit to Detroit and surprised us by deciding to talk about the Tata Nano . &mdash American Le Mans Series: Corvette showed us their E85-powered Corvette race car . We fantasized about racing it around Iowa. &mdash The Chinese Take Hostages: The Chairman of BYD takes us on a surprise test-drive through Cobo thus proving...
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newVideoPlayer("SMARTfun.flv", 475, 376,""); British cheerleaders set the world record for most people crammed into a Smart car by cramming 14 lassies into the diminutive city car. Being the sporting gents we are, we decided to see how many burly Detroit Auto Show goers could fit, including Ben and our videographer Mark. The result? If you count them up we could only get five strapping young men inside (and it was hot as hell). Thanks to John and Mike from CreditSuisse for being good sports.
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Anyone want to buy a 2009 Corvette ZR1 ? The official website just went live. [ Chevy ]
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For better or worse, dragons have become something of a meme around here. Well, it looks like they're here to stay, with Spense delivering a comment in the BMW Hearts Diesel piece that seriously had the entire staff in fits here in the Cobo Hall press room. Check it out after the jump. Spence: That is seriously cute. Diesels are for dragons kinda like Sarah Silverman is for straight guys. She's kinda funny looking and probably a little psycho, but you still wanna [EXPLETIVE REDACTED] her. Wow. Detroit Auto Show: BMW Hearts Diesel
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Concept cars are notorious for rarely making it to the street. But what about the enticing features that designers include in their dreamy visions of our automotive future? We combed through the files we've amassed at the show this week and come up with five features that don't stand a chance in hell of ever escaping the shimmering incubator of the world's design studios. Count 'em down, after the jump. 5.) Saab 9-4x BioPower: Stainless-steel ski rack. Sure, it looks fine, and having the titanium-carbon-fiber Rossignols on the roof is just too risky these days. But where will the douchebag couple who spends the eight hours to Vermont talking about their trip to St. Bart's sit? Think about it. 4.) Saturn Flextreme: Clamshell trunk. While shellfish and trunk space are both well liked, combining the two is a pipe dream that'll, unfortunately, never be fulfilled. Saturn designers deserve credit for out-of-the-mollusk thinking, though. Hiho! 3.) Lincoln MKT: Those massive...
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