No panic in Detroit
US show provides hints of an industrial upturn | By Andrew Frankel
This year’s Detroit Motor Show was not only its usual eclectic, important self, but also managed to strike a chord of optimism – something the show has lacked since the dark days of 2008.
Ford came with a new F-150 pick up truck. Before you scoff, bear in mind Ford will sell almost as many in America as it will every conventional car it makes combined. At the other end of the scale, Chevrolet produced the new, supercharged 6.2-litre Z06 Corvette that produces what it described as “at least 625bhp”.
But if the show had a star, Toyota produced it.
Its FT-1 sports car is only a concept for now, but if its purpose was to judge the public’s reaction before deciding whether or not to build it, expect it in showrooms soon. Marketing guff aside, Toyota wasn’t saying much about the car. I can tell you it has a two-plus-not-much seating layout, a high output petrol engine at one end (with no hybridisation) and driven wheels at the other. It is also almost shockingly beautiful. I found myself returning to it time and again, hoping the crowds around it would subside so I could get a better look. They never did.
Probably the most important new car that you’ll definitely be able to buy soon was the Mercedes-Benz C-class. This is the model that has fought battles for supremacy in the compact quality saloon market for 20 years… and has an unbroken record of losing. This time, however, Mercedes is sure it has the measure of its rival. If the look of the car and quality of the interior were enough to make a judgment, I’d say the company was right. But we’ve been here before only for the BMW’s dynamics to drive the C-class clean off the road, so we will need to wait for a month or so to see if Mercedes has finally been able to elevate the C-class’s active qualities to the same high standards its passive assets have enjoyed for years.
As for BMW, it launched its new M3 and M4 sports saloon and coupé with their 425bhp 3-litre straight six engines. These will be the first 3-series M-cars to use forced induction and time will tell whether their extra power, torque and fuel efficiency makes up for more than will inevitably be lost in throttle response, sound and rev-range.
Over at Audi there was an interesting Shooting Brake concept that revealed not only some of the style of the TT that will be launched in Geneva next month, but also the fact that Audi is thinking of using the TT as more than a mere model. It will spawn a new range including coupé and convertible, as per the current car, and a crossover SUV – a genre whose worldwide popularity is now so great that no major manufacturer can afford to ignore it.