• Jaguar C-XF at the Detroit Auto Show
• The Volvo XC60: Rugged meets coupe for a racy future
• Review of the Detroit North American International Auto Show 2008
• Preview of the North American International Auto Show 2009 - Cool cars in Detroit

By Le Vin Chin

Over 700,000 visitors helped Detroit’s North American International Auto Show celebrate its centenary last week, as it looked firmly forward to the future, to what we’ll all be driving in the next hundred years.  

As ever, automakers brought their biggest, fastest, sleekest, most efficient and best designed vehicles to the Cobo Center in Detroit for the 14-day show. An impressive muster of more than 750 vehicles from all over the world showcased cutting-edge design in the automobile world: high-technology engineering design both in the bodywork and in the engines, aesthetic design through the use of revolutionary new materials and stylings and intelligent, functional design to make vehicles more ergonomic to their users’ activities.

Despite the plethora of vehicles on display, some key trends could be discerned.

The rise of environmentally focused vehicles was spotlighted by the impressive and stylish General Motors’ concept Chevrolet Volt, which has a lithium-ion battery and can drive an average of 40 miles before a fossil fuel engine kicks in to generate replacement power or before you need to plug it into your standard 110-volt home outlet. As a concept car – a model not yet in commercial production that the automaker uses to express its vision for the future – the Volt could still take five to ten years to come to the consumer market. However, GM was not alone in presenting this vision: other hybrid gas-electric or pure electric concept cars were presented by Mercedes-Benz (the Smart ForTwo), Mazda (the Tribute HEV, which will be already become available in mid-2007), Toyota (the FT-HS) and Ford (the Airstream, the Mercury Mariner Hybrid and the Escape Hybrid). Still, the Volt was sufficiently ahead of the game to win the 2007 Detroit News Readers' Choice Award for Most Earth-Friendly vehicle.

In another high-technology field, Ford also announced a collaboration with Microsoft to offer in-car voice-activated control of music players and mobile phones with their “Sync” platform.

Silvery metallic-styled cars continued to dominate the styling mainstream, but now evolved into whole families of metallic effects. Highly reflective metallic finishes appeared on a few models, emphasizing the lines of their design, sometimes in combination with contrasting silver effects (mattes, textures, etc).  On other models, novel metallic shades – stunning liquid metal oranges and browns – were seen.  Three of the most impressive and sought-after concept cars in the show, the Jaguar C-XF (supposedly the inspiration for the upcoming commercially available Jaguar XF-type series), the Volvo XC60 and the Honda Acura Advanced Sports Car Concept sported these finishes.

Another color trend seemed to be the prevalence of very chromatic orange-reds. Indeed strong, chromatic (very often metallic) color was everywhere, in contrast to the pure silvers of recent years, especially among the Japanese and American automakers.

Revolutionary materials were on show everywhere. The aforementioned GM Chrysler Volt uses high-technology lightweight materials to increase the car’s energy efficiency, while other materials are recyclable, reducing environmental impact.  Audi had colored metallic textured carbon-fiber panels.  Toyota had carbon-fiber wheels.

Accents were used to bring sophistication to compact and mid-size family cars, bringing sharper design to affordable cars for the younger market.  Among others, Chrysler and GM really used styling and design to make interiors much more elegant and classy, with leather, soft-touch paint finishes, subtle lighting around cupholders and under dashes, and so on.  Mazda and Lexus have also been cited by commentators for their quality of design and distinctive styling.  

Good design was also very present in little clever problem-solving details which nonetheless greatly increase the comfort and usability of vehicles.  Chrysler’s Town & Country won the Detroit News Readers' Choice Award for Best Family Hauler at the show in part because of their swiveling middle-row seats and rear passenger table; easy-to-use interior gadgets with an “Why hasn’t anyone come up with that before?!” factor. Meanwhile, Denso presented their Driver Monitoring System, which monitors the driver’s blink rates - close your eyes and cold air blasts at you to wake you up again.  And Ford presented the simple yet incredibly useful TailGate Step – a retractable step to climb up – on their pickup trucks.

Crossover vehicles continued to be all the rage at Detroit this year. The Volvo XC-60 and the Chrysler Town & Country led a wide and strongly designed field which also included the Nissan Bevel and the Kia Kue. At the other end of the range, fantastic luxury was represented by the Mercedes-Benz Ocean Drive concept: an impossibly elegant four-door convertible swathed in suede and leather and complete with a champagne bottle holder in the back seat; the Lincoln MKR concept: combining classic looks and environmental friendliness with a powerful engine; and the Rolls Royce Phantom, winner of the “Most Luxurious” award.

The 2007 Detroit News Readers' Choice Award for Best of Show went to the amazing Chevy Camaro Convertible concept (for the second year in a row, last year’s concept also won)