Detroit Auto Show 2013

I'll be recounting my trip in reverse order, though I hardly think anyone cares too much about that. On Monday we flew to Detroit and rented a BEAUTIFUL 2013 Chevy Malibu LTZ. First off, great car. Good power, soft shifts (6-speed auto), nice interior, and good connectivity.

Botched launch, great car

So we rode into Detroit on Tuesday headed for the Cobo Center. The event was only open to press or VIPs. Why they let in the riff-raff  like us I'll never know (thank you Delta skymiles and American Express!).

The GM Ren Cen. Their HQ. The blue bits can change colors!

A BIG highlight, even before we entered the show, was that I got to meet and shake hands with Bob Lutz. The  man is a legend, and has made rounds with the likes of Ford, Chrysler, BMW, and GM. The Dodge Viper is his brainchild, and he helped champion the rise of Chrysler in the 90s and GM in the most recent decade. This man is a hero of mine, and I got to meet him.

This is Lutz from his days at Opel in Europe, back in the 60's. Opel engineers claimed the car wouldn't rollover during a J-turn, which was a big problem for them at the time. So, when the engineers were off to lunch, "Maximum" Bob Lutz took the little Opel and performed the J-test, rolling the car over. The engineers came back to find Lutz smoking a cigar on the overturned vehicle.

One other big thing before we entered the show was seeing the Nissan Deltawing racecar.

Incredible car. So light, and a tiny motor, but it was returning faster lap times than any other car at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. That is, until Toyota decided to knock it out of the race.

Once we entered the show the new models were polished up and ready for our viewing. We met by the Ford booth first.

2013 Ford Escape. It didn't want its rear hatch to be opened, and it made that very clear to me.

2013 Ford Focus ST. I would genuinely own this car. The best handling front-wheel-drive car of our time.

Another Escape. In Europe these are called the Ford Kuga.

Ford Taurus. Big thing.

Ford Fiesta. Small thing. But it just looked like it wanted to come home with me!

2013 Ford Fusion. You'd be hard-pressed to find a better looking midsized car.

New NASCAR Sprint Cup Ford Fusion

NASCAR Nationwide series Mustang

Ford C-Max Energi. Nearly 100MPGe expected. It's too tall.

Ford Transit Connect Wagon. THIS is what New York cab drivers should use.

Shelby GT500 looks upon you with apathy.

It knows it's a sexy car

6-speed stick, and racing seats

The only Ford pickup there that interested me. Old Ford F-1.

Ford Explorer Interceptor. My local PD already has one of these.

Interior looks better than the Crown Victoria

Ford Taurus Interceptor. Be afraid.

Plenty of cop tech

Why'd they cut up a Ford F150 pickup?

Oooh, suspension

Live axle and leaf springs.

 Small Jaunt to Lincoln proved disapointing

Their make it or break it car, the MKC

Fusion taillamps, Q7 hatch...

... and VW-esque headlamps on an Escape frame. I don't think this will do well...

MKZ has a nice rear though.

Friendly nose, too

But where have all the buttons gone?

Best new car introduced this year, hands down.

Ford Atlas concept... Just an F150 in drag

And finally, a Taurus SHO to finish Ford off.

We next went to Infiniti, and beyond... to Nissan.

Yep. That Infiniti. Moving on....

Renault/Infiniti/Red Bull F1 car

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Nissan Versa Note hatchback

No, it won't grow if you try to water it.

Nissan Sentra. This car is RUINED by Nissan's CVT transmission.

Turning over a new Leaf EV

Look, a Datsun!

Too bad Mr. Bolt signed his name into this gold beaty

370Z sports coupe.

The press was assembled around a Murano concept. Yuck.

 Then... onward to Chevy!

Panoramic of the Chevy booths

But wait!

Kia wants to show you this ugly Optima!

Uhhhh.... no. And aren't yellow calipers Porsche's thing?

 *shudder* Okay, onto Chevrolet...

Chevy Traverse update for 2013

Malibu wants to play with its big brother!

A nice, simple, quality cabin

Chevy Spark EV. 130hp in a tiny, lightweight car.

Why do they keep cutting good cars into pieces like this?

Chevy Sonic RS, coming soon

And now...

The star of the show... the new Stingray!

Press assembled around the biggest reveal of the show

It looks like it wants to kill me just the right amount to make me love it.

Good profile

Silly Corvette, get off that wall! You're not a spyder! You're hardly a targa roof!

Much better human body capacity than the Ford Fusion Energi. I'm very pleased with this.

Four taillamps, four exhaust pipes

SEVEN speed manual, and a very attractive interior

Stingray!

Better profile

H-O-T HOT!

A different view of the interior. It has an analog speedometer, but digital screen that can be adjusted to view any gauge you want.

Highbeams!

Oh wait, even the SEMA Sonic is more interested in the Corvette

I don't quite get how this thing still looks so friendly

Chevy Volt, one of Bob Lutz's doings

Chevy Cruze RS

VERY nice interior. Who would ever think a 6-speed manual and an interior this good would ever be found in a compact car?

New Impala

Headlight halos!

Parking lights!

Brand new Silverado

Comes in blue, too!

And another shade of red

Name those engine parts!

 Then onto other GM marques

New GMC Sierra pickup

Blocky like a modern truck

Buick Encore

This thing is aimed squarely for people like me, owners of Pontiac Vibes. Many features carryover, but I don't like it.

Buick Enclave with a good refresh

Buick Verano. Compact Buick.

GM also brought along some Chevy cars that we don't get in America

Chevy Sail, from China

Chevy Trax, Canada, Mexico, etc. Chevy version of the Encore.

Chevy Orlando MPV. I'd like to see what one is really like.

Uh. Something else. I like the blue in the headlights.

Chrysler brought along a few offerings, most of them interesting

MOPAR Charger

MOPAR blurry Challenger

MOPAR carbon Fibre Dart

Next stars, the SRT Vipers!

SRT race car

This car looks like it hates me

This one though looks very happy.

Eh, looks better coming than going. Actually, that's debatable.

Chrysler 300C

Now onto the Cadillac of cars.... Cadillac!

A dream car of mine... Cadillac CTS-V Sportwagon!

Caddy's Art and Science design language just flourished on this car.

New Cadillac ELR

It's a two-door luxury version of the Chevy Volt, and I like it

 And now for the rest...

Volvo. Moving on...

Tesla brought their electric sedan and crossover concept...

Another angry car, this time from Tesla. The Model S.

Tesla Model X. With gullwing rear doors.

Bentley Mulsanne

With a $364,000 MSRP tag, this is a great way to tell the poor how much their poverty disgusts you.

Now onto something more sensible... the BMW 3-series touring. Good space, RWD, straight-six.

And BMW's newest machine, the 3-series coupe 4-series!

The M6 Gran Sport looks... good. Very low.

Also, the senior of the concepts, the BMW i8 roadster

Onto Volkswagen's newest offering, a diesel hybrid crossover based on the Golf

Ferrari. I really hope that there isn't a Fiero hidden underneath.

Look, more Volkswagens!

Maserati. They were so disgusted by our lack of money, they were roped off, with glass railings.

Another Viper

Scion FR-S sports car

Paddle shifters for the slushbox

Lens flare! I really want one of these. Rear wheel drive, lightweight, 200hp boxer engine, and the best driving car of our time.

Whoa, sorry to make such a rapid jump from an exciting sports car to this. The new Toyota Rav4 EV. Made by Tesla in a factory that used to make the Pontiac Vibe.

Another car cutaway

This one is less of a loss, being a Rav4.

Back to Caddy, with the CTS-V racer

... and the CIEL concept

Jaaaaaaaag....

Jag XJ-L

XJ-R. Great car, with a demonic noise.

Mercedes SLS AMG

The allegedly most powerful natural aspirated V8... in the world

Even being eighteen I had trouble entering and exiting this car

Mercedes G-wagon. They took their offroader (probably near $20,000), added chrome, LED lights, and a plush (er) interior, and jacked the price up to $136,000 before options. Why? Because profit.

Only interesting Honda at the show. EV-ster concept,controllable via two sticks.

Subaru! I really likes the silver XV Crosstrek.

I would actually own this car

Mazdaspeed3. This little, subdued hatchback hides a secret. 264hp out the front wheels through a 6-speed gearbox. This car will snap your neck, steal your girlfriend, and kill you, all while leaving a Mustang owner is shock.

CX-5 Mazda crossover. This one will NOT steal your girlfriend. However, she may enjoy it as a vehicle.

The new Mazda6 is beautiful, and a very nice fit inside.

Oh yeah... big Silverado-derived pickup

Now here's the kicker... Bob Lutz was here for this company, Via. Via takes GM trucks, and turns them into hybrids with similar design as the Chevy Volt. They claim 800hp, and 100MPGe. In other words, it's electric, and it rocks.

We finished the show with the actual James Bond Aston Martin DB5, customized by Q. Probably the most expensive thing at the show. 

Overall, the show was fantastic, and I really enjoyed it. The newest arrivals were great, and the older ones were still looking good! As an experience, Detriot wasn't that bad. The city may have looked like the city equivalent to my high school, but... well... they have lots of cleaning and fixing to do before they're back to 80%.

As for me personally, Detroit couldn't let me escape without some authenticity....

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Thanks Detroit. See you again next year.... Possibly in a rental car with steel wheels...