The good people of the Midwest Automotive Media Association absolutely refuse to have yours truly as a member. I’m not a “general-purpose auto journalist”, whatever that means. Based on the people who do make the cut, I think “general-purpose auto journalist” means “polyester-and-denim-encrusted lard-butt who would PAX dead last in a regional autocross.” Despite this heart-breaking snub, I continue to attend their self-congratulatory annual breakfast at the Chicago Auto Show. The complimentary bacon is outstanding.

The mantra of the MAMA breakfast, repeated by each of the first three or four speakers every year, is this: “The Chicago Auto Show sells cars.” Presumably this is in opposition to the Los Angeles Auto Show, which sells tofu, the Tokyo Auto Show, which sells the panties of schoolgirls from a vending machine, and the Detroit Auto Show, which sells rape. I think it’s a convenient way to distract attention from the inconvenient truth that most manufacturers don’t bother to display new product at the show. With that said, it’s worth noting that the dirty business of actually selling cars was very relevant to the new products on offer. Let’s discuss.

Continue reading Chicago 2010: And the brands played on.

I didn’t attend the Detroit Auto Show this year. From what my friends, fellow Speed:Sport:Lifers and other publications told me, it was bleak. Far bleaker than the media reported, even though, at the time, I was kind of surprised by the general nasty tone of much of the coverage. It’s hard to bitch about the car industry, because we want it to survive, because we generally like our jobs.

Locally, there was very little good news in the week preceding the Chicago Auto Show. The Chicago Transportation Agency was forced to cut buses and trains. McCormick Place, the convention center that hosts the auto show, is losing other trade shows at an alarming rate. A lot of colleagues couldn’t make it to town because of a blizzard. Also, I was told there was an earthquake in Chicago the morning of the media preview, but even that was a failure: it apparently wasn’t even potent enough to disrupt my sleep. Doomsday headlines abounded and the prospects for the show weren’t particularly good. But I’d heard there were Fiat 500s in town, so I put on a dress and made an appearance.

Continue reading Chicago Auto Show 2010: What a concept!

*Logo Courtesy of NAIAS

“So you’re a journalist?” The question snaps me out of my hung-over trance. The landscape around Detroit Metro Airport isn’t terribly fascinating, but even the bleakest horizon is a welcome anchor for my primary senses while the parking shuttle trundles along as only domestic passenger vans are want to do.

I didn’t catch his name; my inquisitive chauffeur offered me a lift across DTW to the North terminal after passing me half a dozen times as I waited for the terminal-to-terminal shuttle—a brotherly gesture punctuating an otherwise inhospitable morning.

I don’t answer immediately. I prefer not to introduce myself as such, but I put the brakes on that particular train of thought before it blows a whistle that will further stoke the three-alarm Jack-and-Captain number that is still beating my nerve endings like bongo drums. Too deep. Too early.

“Nah, I’m a blogger,” I finally deliver in my most refined turn-that-freaking-sun-off-so-we-can-all-go-back-to-bed grunt. “I write for a Web site.”

“A blogger?” he responds as he pulls the shuttle into its  stall and hops out to retrieve my bag. “What’s the difference?”

I hand him a fiver I’d plucked from my back pocket on my way to meet him behind the van.

“Journalists don’t tip. Thanks for the lift; I appreciate it.”

Continue reading Lord Byron — NAIAS 2010. What’s it to ya?

Photos by Zerin Dube & Carl Modesette

We’re back from the 2010 North American International Auto Show and have our photo galleries setup for you.  While the show is entirely too big to photograph EVERY vehicle there, we captured all the new product that the manufacturers showed off.  We hope you enjoy the photos!

2010 NAIAS photo gallery after the jump…

Continue reading S:S:L Event Coverage – 2010 NAIAS Mega Photo Gallery

Photos by Zerin Dube and Carl Modesette

Full Gallery links are coming!

“Imagine a world,” the soft-spoken, rather anonymous man from Toyota said, “where you wake up to find that every car has disappeared.” His meandering, rather confused speech, which touched on everything from fuel cells to “Super Mario 3″, was simply a roundabout way to introduce a junior Prius. Nevertheless, the concept of a world without cars was clearly on everyone’s mind this week.

The twin spectres of an energized Brussels and a pressure-sensitive Obama administration made NAIAS 2010 the least product-oriented Detroit show in recent memory. It’s worth noting that, although the auto industry was suffering near-unprecedented turmoil last year, there was enough product in the pipeline to keep things interesting. What we are seeing now is the aftershock of the financial earthquake. The three performance-oriented introductions — CTS-V Coupe, Mustang 5.0, and Regal GS — were permitted to sink beneath the waves of endless battery-powered concepts and we-swear-this-hybrid-badge-is-legit pretenders like the Volkswagen NCC. The companies which are receiving government aid clearly feel compelled to pander to the panjandrums’ demand for alternative powerplants, while the ones which aren’t are afraid to display even a smidgen of exuberance. Ford went so far as to schedule an enthusiast-media intro for the fabulous new five-liter ‘Stang weeks before the actual show, presumably to avoid having to reveal a four-hundred-and-twelve-horse car before the oh-so-judgmental eyes of the mainstream press.

Take the GMC Granite — please. Is anybody asking for a pint-sized GMC? Are consumers interested in a vehicle which stretches GMC’s already ill-defined brand-image that far? If there are any such consumers, they are likely sitting behind a desk in Washington, D.C. Perhaps the men at the Renaissance Center are afraid that GMC will not be permitted to operate freely unless the requisite three thousand pounds of compact flesh are publicly sacrificed. Across the aisle, the impressive Cadillac XTS Platinum was self-consciously described as a plug-in. Does anyone seriously believe that the next full-sized Cadillac will be delivered as a plug-in? This is Soviet-era thinking, dressing up the unacceptably luxurious in state-approved low-power togs and hoping for the best.

Continue reading NAIAS 2010: Shhh…We’re Building Cars

Forget everything you know about the Aveo name and how bad it was, as Chevy has pulled the sheets off the Aveo RS Concept which will debut next week at the Detroit Auto Show.  This new Aveo RS Concept is a slightly over-the-top look of what’s to come for the Aveo badge in the near future.  

We’re told that while the Aveo RS Concept won’t be destined for production, about 80% of what you see will make it to dealer showrooms, including the very nicely done interior, and agressive body lines.  This concept version of the Aveo is powered by the same 138 horsepower 1.4-liter inline-4 Ecotec engine which will make its way into the Chevrolet Cruze.  The new Aveo will be slightly smaller than the Cruze, but larger than the new Spark which is also expected to bow at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show. 

While this is just a concept, we’re already impressed with what GM is doing with future product, and can’t wait to see the new Aveo go head to head with Ford’s new Fiesta.  Rumor has it that the Fiesta ST will be hitting our shores in the not too distant future, in which case an Aveo RS  would make perfect sense.  We can only hope. 

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GM is continuing their streak of hot rod new models with the unveiling of the Buick Regal GS which will make its world debut at the 2010 North American International Auto Show next week.  Sized just below the LaCrosse sedan, the Regal is roughly the size of the Lexus IS, BMW 3-series and Audi A4. 

Though being called just a show car right now, every bit of the Regal GS would be easy to put into production since it is largely a carryover of the high performance European Opel Insignia OPC.  One big differentiation between the Buick and the Opel is that the Regal GS is powered by a turbocharged Ecotec 2.0L four-cylinder which makes 255 horsepower rather than the 325 horsepower 2.8L turbocharged V6 found in the Insignia.   The engine is mated to a six-speed manual transmission which transmits power to all four wheels via a Haldex AWD system. 

For more in-depth details, hit the jump.  We’ll have full coverage and photos from Cobo Hall starting on Monday January 11th.

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Continue reading 2010 NAIAS Preview – Buick Regal GS Show Car