DETROIT – “The soul of our company is sitting right here tonight in the seat of this new Corvette,” said Mark Reuss, president of General Motors North America.
It was the unveiling Sunday night of Chevrolet’s seventh-generation 2014 Vette, 60 years to the month of the launch of the iconic sports car in 1953.
Twelve hundred persons filed in out of the rain to the old Russell Industrial Center in Detroit on the eve of the North American International Auto Show.
The new Vette carries a sleeker style, a revived Stingray model name and a 450-horsepower, 6.2-liter V-8 engine with 450 lbs.-ft. of torque.
Among notables making their way through a “strolling dinner” as part of the Corvette splendor was Bob Lutz, former top car guy for General Motors. Lutz looks fine and fit, and told me he’ll turn 81 next month.
So, in a strolling mode, let me take readers through the two-day Press Preview Monday and Tuesday at the big car show in Detroit’s Cobo Center.
It was 3 below zero early Sunday morning when I drove a 2013 Dodge Durango to Canopy Parking near DIA. A woman on the shuttle bus to the airport asked if I was going somewhere warmer. “Yes, Detroit,” I said, a winter rarity that Denver was colder than the Michigan city.
The Cadillac ATS and Ram 1500 truck, in the spotlight as the show opened Monday morning, were named winners of the Car and Truck of the Year.
The ATS, a compact luxury sport sedan, was my review of last weekend. Competing with the BMW 3 series, Mercedes-Benz C Class and Audi A4, the ATS is a nighttime showpiece with an LED light strip outlining attractive HID headlamps.
The Ram, boasting an excellent ride and powered by a 5.7-liter Hemi V-8, was my drive in late September over Guanella Pass. With an optional 3.6-liter V-6 engine, the Ram claims highway fuel mileage of 25.
Few passed through the Ford display, at the entrance to the display space, without taking a good look at the 1948 pickup, the company’s first F-series model. Lowered from the roof of the adjacent Joe Louis Arena was an Atlas concept pickup, scheduled to become the next-generation F-150. Lincoln looked good with its MKC small luxury SUV, sized similar to a Ford Escape though “all original,” company officials said. Former Ford executive Octavio Navarro was in the area to greet me, though he said his allegiance is now with Mazda.
Not to be outdone by the Ram and F-150, GM staked out space for its 2014 Silverado and Sierra models. Cadillac introduced its ELR, an extended-range electric hybrid and luxurious version of the Chevrolet Volt.
Acura scored with, not only its NSX sports car concept, but its orange walnut biscotti and coffee and soft leather chairs for brief respite from walking the aisles.
Tim Jackson and Don Hicks of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association were spotted in the Porsche area, along with Paul C. Taylor of the National Automobile Dealers Association. Hicks pointed out to me the roomier, more spacious interior in the new Cayman.
Interestingly, amid all the hoopla for the Chevy Corvette and Cadillac ATS and concepts, the Buick display area seemed very quiet. The same could be said for Volvo’s space. Neither showed much new this year. Buick does have a new small SUV, the Encore, for which shipments to dealers began this week.
As the small crossover field gains entries, Honda hinted at participation with an Urban SUV concept, 9 inches shorter than the popular CR-V.
An aggressive look with Toyota’s Corolla Furia concept featured raked windshield, sloping roof and sinister grille.
Seen on my Delta plane ride home was John Medved, longtime Denver dealer, who was in Detroit for not only the car show, but a meeting of the National Dealer Council for Chevrolet. He was excited about Cadillac’s win with the new ATS.
The show will be open to the public through Sunday, Jan. 27.
Saturday Drive can also be viewed online at DenverPost.com/budwells. Bud Wells can be reached via e-mail at bwells@denverpost.com.
