[Auto]A Heartbeat From Motown: The Detroit Fair Premieres

[SougarLord]

 

Perhaps due to the concept of the show in the United States, the firms make noise with their premieres in Detroit (open to the public from January 18 to 26).

The strongest bet, by size, is the new Ford F-150, which wants to defend its position as the best-selling vehicle in the United States. The pick-up has led that classification for more than 30 years, but it does not want to remain stagnant, so it is betting on a radical change: it will be built in aluminum, which will make it lose 300 kilos, according to Ford.

 

The other national brands are also made available to the American dream and to the large segments: General Motors shows the new Corvette Sportversion Z06 with 630 horses and wants to reach the mass public with a middle-class pick-up that will carry the names of Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon. Chrysler, for its part, renews its compact Limousine 200.

 

The North American firms do not oppose much more to the Fords F-150, leaving the smaller models to the European construction companies, although the importers present in Detroit models to conquer the whole world: from the brand new generation of the Mercedes C-Class to the Targa version of the Porsche 911 and the BMW M3 and M4 sports models with 431 horsepower and a six-cylinder engine.

And there are also interesting prototypes. The most daring "showcar" is from Toyota: the FT-1 sports car has a face divided by a kind of aquiline nose, a wide rear and promises a speed of 300 km / h. With the study Toyota anticipates a possible successor to the Supra. Much more modest is Kia's GT4 Stinger sports prototype, reminiscent of the Porsche Cayman format.

 

A pleasant surprise is the Volvo Concept XC Coupé: the show car shows that a pickup doesn't always have to be big and flashy. It's a preview of the next XC90, which will hit the market in early 2015.

 

Very harmonious as a whole is the Audi four-wheel drive Shooting Brake concept, a successful mix of sports car, combi and SUV. Next to it, the Volkswagen Beetle Dune looks very conventional. It stands out for its "offroad" optics, but above all because, unlike other prototypes, it will soon be produced in series, according to Volkswagen.

 

Fascinating pick-ups and muscle cars from the United States, interesting import models from Europe and a spectacular prototype from Asia. In principle Detroit has everything for everyone. You just have to look hard for eco-friendly models, as fuel-saving vehicles are rare. Hybrid engines are also rare, and electric ones are even weirder to see.

 

"It seems as if electric mobility has suffered a blackout in Detroit," says a visitor to the Show, surprised to see how the United States turns its back on the environment.