Detroit Auto Show: The most exciting rides
The future is on display at the Detroit Auto Show - or at least the very-near future
 "<b>Detroit Auto Show:</b> The most exciting rides")
The future is on display at the Detroit Auto Show - or at least the very-near future. Executives in natty suits (and the occasional sweater) are busy unwrapping a bevy of vehicles that will soon be in dealerships. Here are some of those exciting and eye-catching machines
FORD GT: THE SUPERCAR THAT STOLE THE SHOW
If you see one car at this year's Detroit Auto Show, make it the 2017 Ford GT. This is the supercar Ford hasn't made since its initial 2005 version. It's the one that can and will compete directly with the best European exotics, both on the track later this year and on the road next year. It's important because such halo cars are essential in creating an exciting, inspiring brand. They help develop and test new designs and technology. More important, they help people dream: Dreams sell expensive cars.
After one look at the front grill angled up at each end in a smart smirk, the tri-split rear spoiler, the quad tail pipes, and the ribs that run along the back arch of the roof, ponying up $400,000 when these cars go on sale next year will seem right on the mark. And unlike any of the show ponies we've seen since the GT's debut last year, Ford is showing the GT at Detroit in a brilliant beautiful white paint, rather than the customary racing blue.
The surprising thing about the GT is that it has "only" a V6 engine. This engine, however, is a 3.5-litre V6 that gets 650 horsepower and was created directly from Ford's previous Daytona-winning sports racer. It is also set on a laser-quick rear-wheel-drive and double-clutch transmission; with that kind of power and tuning, you're not going to miss anything from behind the wheel.
FORD GT: THE SUPERCAR THAT STOLE THE SHOW
If you see one car at this year's Detroit Auto Show, make it the 2017 Ford GT. This is the supercar Ford hasn't made since its initial 2005 version. It's the one that can and will compete directly with the best European exotics, both on the track later this year and on the road next year. It's important because such halo cars are essential in creating an exciting, inspiring brand. They help develop and test new designs and technology. More important, they help people dream: Dreams sell expensive cars.
After one look at the front grill angled up at each end in a smart smirk, the tri-split rear spoiler, the quad tail pipes, and the ribs that run along the back arch of the roof, ponying up $400,000 when these cars go on sale next year will seem right on the mark. And unlike any of the show ponies we've seen since the GT's debut last year, Ford is showing the GT at Detroit in a brilliant beautiful white paint, rather than the customary racing blue.
The surprising thing about the GT is that it has "only" a V6 engine. This engine, however, is a 3.5-litre V6 that gets 650 horsepower and was created directly from Ford's previous Daytona-winning sports racer. It is also set on a laser-quick rear-wheel-drive and double-clutch transmission; with that kind of power and tuning, you're not going to miss anything from behind the wheel.
HONDA RIDGELINE
Honda, the brand that trounces Detroit with sedans and SUVs, is finally taking on Ford and General Motors in the truck game. Sure, Honda has made the Ridgeline pickup since 2005, but it's pretty much made the same Ridgeline pickup since 2005. Now the company is promising a thorough overhaul and a midsize vehicle that will be far easier to park than an F-150 or a Silverado. Will truck buyers trust a Honda? If the Ridgeline is anything like the wildly successful CRV or Accord, the answer is "yes".
Anyone who believes product planning in the auto industry is an exact science should take a good, long look at the current GMC Acadia. Despite being parked squarely in one of the car world's hottest segments, it is one of the oddest-looking vehicles on the road - as if a giant stretched a standard SUV by the ends. GMC, smartly, is squeezing the Acadia a bit for next year. The new version will ride on a smaller platform. In Detroit, they call this a midsize crossover. On Wall Street, they call it a money tree.
Honda, the brand that trounces Detroit with sedans and SUVs, is finally taking on Ford and General Motors in the truck game. Sure, Honda has made the Ridgeline pickup since 2005, but it's pretty much made the same Ridgeline pickup since 2005. Now the company is promising a thorough overhaul and a midsize vehicle that will be far easier to park than an F-150 or a Silverado. Will truck buyers trust a Honda? If the Ridgeline is anything like the wildly successful CRV or Accord, the answer is "yes".
Anyone who believes product planning in the auto industry is an exact science should take a good, long look at the current GMC Acadia. Despite being parked squarely in one of the car world's hottest segments, it is one of the oddest-looking vehicles on the road - as if a giant stretched a standard SUV by the ends. GMC, smartly, is squeezing the Acadia a bit for next year. The new version will ride on a smaller platform. In Detroit, they call this a midsize crossover. On Wall Street, they call it a money tree.
LEXUS LC
Lexus has been tight-lipped about its plans for Detroit, but it has promised to bring a vehicle that will steal the show. That kind of swagger typically means a sports car. Meanwhile, Lexus designers have been hard at work on a big, sexy grand-touring coupe. The camouflaged version that has been snapped by car paparazzi is equal parts Batmobile and Bentley. Lexus hasn't really had a halo car since the last LFA screamed off the production line in 2012. That all changed this week.
Lincoln is no longer a punch line in Detroit. With its new MKC crossover and its Black Label concierge service, the battered veteran has shown it can still make some big plays. Now it's hoping to bring life back to its mainstay luxury sedan. The Continental concept Lincoln showed in New York last year was an absolute stunner. Half of the car world said: "This thing is just for Chinese plutocrats." The other half said: "Who cares?" The production model that will be unveiled this week is expected to be just as stunning.
Lexus has been tight-lipped about its plans for Detroit, but it has promised to bring a vehicle that will steal the show. That kind of swagger typically means a sports car. Meanwhile, Lexus designers have been hard at work on a big, sexy grand-touring coupe. The camouflaged version that has been snapped by car paparazzi is equal parts Batmobile and Bentley. Lexus hasn't really had a halo car since the last LFA screamed off the production line in 2012. That all changed this week.
Lincoln is no longer a punch line in Detroit. With its new MKC crossover and its Black Label concierge service, the battered veteran has shown it can still make some big plays. Now it's hoping to bring life back to its mainstay luxury sedan. The Continental concept Lincoln showed in New York last year was an absolute stunner. Half of the car world said: "This thing is just for Chinese plutocrats." The other half said: "Who cares?" The production model that will be unveiled this week is expected to be just as stunning.
FORD FUSION
Ford's most recent Fusion, unveiled in 2012, was an unabashed hit. It looked like an Aston Martin and cemented the company as a leader in the intensely competitive midsize sedan class. But keeping up with Toyota's Camry isn't easy and the Fusion is due for a major overhaul. Some 275,000 Americans bought one of these cars last year, more than all but two other Ford models. Ford can afford to miss with this one, thanks to the success of its trucks, but a dud would be a fiscal drag.
Volvo is confidently zooming back to the future. With a slick new SUV in the XC90, the brand captured some of the boxy mojo it had in the 1980s and posted a 24 per cent spike in US sales last year. Now, Volvo is trying to spread some of that Swedish love to a new flagship sedan. The S90 will be the first car in the US with semiautonomous steering as standard equipment, unless someone beats Volvo to the punch in the next few months. It will also be the first sedan in the country on which headlights shaped like the hammer of Thor come standard. So there's that.
Ford's most recent Fusion, unveiled in 2012, was an unabashed hit. It looked like an Aston Martin and cemented the company as a leader in the intensely competitive midsize sedan class. But keeping up with Toyota's Camry isn't easy and the Fusion is due for a major overhaul. Some 275,000 Americans bought one of these cars last year, more than all but two other Ford models. Ford can afford to miss with this one, thanks to the success of its trucks, but a dud would be a fiscal drag.
Volvo is confidently zooming back to the future. With a slick new SUV in the XC90, the brand captured some of the boxy mojo it had in the 1980s and posted a 24 per cent spike in US sales last year. Now, Volvo is trying to spread some of that Swedish love to a new flagship sedan. The S90 will be the first car in the US with semiautonomous steering as standard equipment, unless someone beats Volvo to the punch in the next few months. It will also be the first sedan in the country on which headlights shaped like the hammer of Thor come standard. So there's that.
MERCEDES E-CLASS
If Mercedes was a casino, the E-Class sedan would be its blackjack tables. It is the hub around which the whole business is built, from the lower-level C-Class to the stately S-Class. As the luxury race heats up, Mercedes is pulling more of its fancy fittings down to the middle of its product lineup. The new E-Class will be stocked with much of the tech wizardry normally found on far more expensive Benzes, including dashboard controls that respond to a wave of the fingers. US versions will also get a four-cylinder engine for the first time.
If Mercedes was a casino, the E-Class sedan would be its blackjack tables. It is the hub around which the whole business is built, from the lower-level C-Class to the stately S-Class. As the luxury race heats up, Mercedes is pulling more of its fancy fittings down to the middle of its product lineup. The new E-Class will be stocked with much of the tech wizardry normally found on far more expensive Benzes, including dashboard controls that respond to a wave of the fingers. US versions will also get a four-cylinder engine for the first time.