When the going gets tough, the tough get going - and this tough had to get away from the computer and all the "Democrats are DOOMED! chatter yesterday, so I headed on down to the NAIAS 2010 in Detroit to see what all the brouhaha was about. Good call. It was a lot of fun. I briefly thought about jumping through the hoops to get a media pass back in late December, but I decided that if I was going to do this, I wanted to go with the public to watch their reaction to the cars. Another good call. They did not disappoint. They packed the place yesterday, so much so it became hard to shoot at times.
Initial impressions - Ford is going to kick everyone's ass. It's easy to think that, given that they commanded nearly half of the floor space, but as far as variety of models, presentation of product, and value for your buck, they got it goin' on. For the second year in a row, Lincoln Mercury caught my eye in a very good way. I never gave them much thought before, but that's twice now that their product and excellent display turned my head. Ford rules the show this year, and they attracted a huge crowd of interested people.
GM. What to say about GM. First of all, I'm in love with the Volt. They give a great talk on the features of this car, and apparently you can run the thing from your hair dryer or something. As you know, one of the challenges facing electric hybrids is the infrastructure problems of exactly where to plug-in - and the Volt can charge on a standard household outlet for .80 cents a day. Sold. For short-range everyday city driving, it's definitely cost efficient, especially if gas climbs back up to the $4 gallon range. Add the aerodynamics, the excellent mpg when the gas kicks in, the sharp design and the fact that it leans towards a mid-size rather than some of the smaller offerings, and I think GM has a winner here. Price will be an issue, and they went out of their way not to divulge that information yet. Guesstimates are putting it at 40 g's, with a healthy tax credit to offset the initial cost. I want one.
Other than that, you can tell GM is half the company it used to be. No Saturns (which breaks my heart), Saabs, Hummers, Pontiacs, and suddenly the floor space allotted to them seemed too big. They also didn't put on the show that Ford does, probably because they just can't afford it right now. BUT, the Cruze looks interesting, the Silverados are nice, I never was much of a Buick fan but they seem OK, and of course Cadillac is still very sharp. I'm rooting for GM to pull it together and make a good comeback, and I think they are headed in the right direction.
Chrysler put on a nice display considering they didn't have a huge variety to work with - but they made it work somehow. A healthy crowd milled about their offerings. Audi was super sharp, as was Mercedes. VW was very good as well. Toyota/Lexus was alright, a little too plain in a way that I have a hard time putting my finger on. The Electric Avenue display was interesting - but too dark. I think with better lighting it might have been more successful.
If you can, get to the show before it closes. It's well worth the effort.