Show more Photos
 

Related Content

• » Dodge's strange new Journey
• » 300C Touring / Commander / Dodge Caliber / Grand C...
• » Dodge Nitro 2.8 CRD SXT Auto
• » Photos : Dodge

2008 Detroit Auto Show preview

Most years, the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) - simply 'Detroit show' if you find that a tongue-twister - would be up and running by now, but the 2008 event is running a little later than usual, the doors opening to the public at the Cobo Conference and Exhibition Center on Saturday January 19, and staying open until Sunday January 27.

Typically, the Detroit show is one of the most important of the year; after all, it's home ground for automotive giants General Motors and Ford, though virtually every significant manufacturer will be present at the show. Attracting over 700,000 visitors in 2007 the Detroit show is a barometer to the industry as a whole, its significance worldwide immeasurable. Here's what we're expecting to be some of 2008's highlights.

Ford and GM slug it out, as ever

America's big two will be doing their best to convince their home market customers that they should be flocking to their showrooms. GM is smarting from recently having been officially overtaken as the world's second biggest manufacturer by Japanese upstart Toyota, but it's countering with some very significant new models and concepts, but it is Ford that takes the lead with the new F150 pick-up, America's best-selling vehicle getting a conservative overhaul to keep it up-to-date against its GM and overseas' rivals. A new Explorer America concept will show fuel saving features from the blue oval, though worthy as these are, it's likely to be the GM stands that attract greater attention at the show.

GM's Cadillac Escalade will be shown with hybrid technology, but it's more likely that the high-performance version of the CTS-V will be the bigger draw than the fuel-saving SUV. It's expected to boast in excess of 500bhp. Impressive as that might sound, it's the Corvette stand that will have the power-junkies salivating. The new ZR1 features a supercharged 6.2-litre V8 engine, which will deliver 620bhp, Corvette so proud of the ZR1's engine there is a viewing area in the carbon-fibre bonnet to allow you to see it. This monstrous 'Vette should put the frighteners up competition costing many times more.

Perhaps one of the show's biggest stars will be on the Chevrolet stand, though, the Camaro, which has been rolled out as a concept more times now than we can remember, will finally be shown in production guise. Not that you'd really spot the differences between it and the concept - no bad thing, either, as it looks absolutely fantastic. Even with Ford giving its Mustang the Bullitt treatment it's unlikely that muscle car fans will have eyes for anything but the sensational Camaro.

Off-roaders still big business

Despite growing intolerance of SUVs in some sectors there's still a lot of life left in the genre. Most manufacturers at Detroit will be showing some new production SUV or concept. BMW busts out of the more usual practical SUV paradigm with its X6 Sports Activity Coupé. This rakish four-seater coupé-like SUV might not please the environmentalists, but we're rather taken by it. It promises to drive superbly, too. As does Mercedes' GLK Freeside. Officially a 'Vision' model - Mercedes-speak for concept - the C-Class based production GLK model will look little different when it arrives in left-hand drive only form in a few months time.

Jeep is downsizing with its Renegade concept, which it describes as a fun two-seater in the B-segment. Giving it some environmental respectability is a diesel Bluetec powertrain backed up with a lithium-ion battery pack. Economy is said to be in the 100mpg range, which should please the green-doomsayers. What won't is another Hummer, though the environmentalists might like the irony that the open-topped and sided concept will at least mean its occupants will fry in the heat supposedly caused by their emissions. Kia will be fighting for a slice of the larger SUV market, with its new Borrego, Subaru is showing its new Forester, Honda a concept version of its Pilot and Land Rover will be officially unveiling its super-cool LRX two-door concept under the show lights in Detroit.

Sports cars mix with the SUVs and muscle cars

Both Mitsubishi and Mazda will be showing new sports cars concepts to wow attendees at the Cobo Center. Mazda is showing its wild Furai - 'sound of the wind' - concept at the show. It's based on a Courage C65 race car chassis that Mazda campaigned in the ALMS (American Le Mans Series) a couple of years back, this 450bhp rotary-engined ethanol-powered machine more of a showcase than a serious hint at any future production model. It'll be sharing floor space with its RX-8 relative, the unusual four-door coupé being debuted as a freshened up model for 2008.

Mitsubishi is also showing a concept beside a new production model, the Concept-RA borrowing a lot of its transmission hardware from the Evo X that will be shown alongside it, though the Concept-RA is unusual in that it's a turbodiesel. Few American visitors will be able to comprehend that the sleek coupé on the stand is powered by a 2.2-litre turbodiesel engine with 201bhp. It's not the only diesel that's debuting at the show either, as BMW is expected to show X5s and a 3 Series model with turbodiesel engines. Rumours also persist that Audi will show a concept R8 with a V12 TDi unit. We're not entirely convinced that'll happen, but will be happy to be proved wrong.

Other rumours come from Ferrari. The Italian firm's show stands, 430 Scuderia aside, have been relatively short of new metal recently, and there's talk that Ferrari will be bringing 'something interesting' to the North American show. We're not sure what that is yet, but we can't wait to find out.

Green is good

Diesels won't be the only 'alternative' fuels on display in Detroit. There are plenty of bio-ethanol cars being shown, the crop-derived fuel seen as a means of reducing America's dependence on foreign oil. Hybrids will be plentiful, but perhaps the most interesting is the collaboration between Henrik Fisker's coachbuilding operation and Quantum technologies. It's promising a production-ready plug-in hybrid that would retail at around $100,000 and sell as many as 15,000 a year. Described as 'eco-chic' it's clear that Fisker and Quantum have spotted a gap in the market for a high-end, environmentally conscious machine for wealthy buyers wanting a cool, green machine.

Kyle Fortune

Send by Messenger

Email this article

 Print