All eyes on the Civic
Honda, Volvo favoured to take home top car, truck awards respectively at prestigious Motor City show
The upcoming North American International Auto Show, known as the Detroit auto show to everyone except the organizers, may not be the biggest wheels-related event in the world.
But it remains the single most important show because “Detroit” still means “Motor City.”
Media preview days on Monday and Tuesday will be followed by days open to PR and advertising types and evening charity events. The doors will open to the general public Jan. 16.
Here’s a preview of what to expect, along with perhaps a few storm clouds that have gathered on the horizon.
North American Car of the Year
Kenzie: The winners of the North American Car and Truck of the Year competition will kick things off Monday morning, which is the first press day.
In alphabetical order, the three car finalists are the Chevrolet Malibu, the Honda Civic and the Mazda MX-5 (still called the Miata in the U.S.).
Unusually, all three cars received support on my first-round ballot. I say unusually because everyone is usually out of step except me. In the final round of voting, I again went with the Malibu, Civic and MX-5, in that order.
But my guess, having chatted with other jurors, is that the Civic will win.
North American Truck of the Year
Kenzie: The three North American Truck of the Year finalists are, in alpha- betical order, the Honda Pilot, the Nissan Titan and the Volvo XC90.
Two of these three trucks received my support on the first round ballot, in which my first pick was the Volvo, followed by the Nissan. I had the Hyundai Tucson and the Kia Sorento tied for my third pick, in place of the Pilot.
On the final ballot amongst the three finalists, I went with the XC90, the Titan and then the Pilot. And again chatting with other jurors, I’d be stunned if the Volvo didn’t garner the top prize.
Infiniti Q60
Cacho: The Japanese automaker will unveil the production version of the Q60 sport coupe. We last saw this two-door car in the form of a concept making the rounds at auto shows. You may have seen it at the Toronto show earlier this year.
Similar in profile to BMW’s 6 Series or Audi’s A5, the concept car’s front featured a wide-mouthed grill while the back was shaped off with squinting tail lights. It’ll likely be built with a twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6.
When it does finally appear in showrooms as a 2017 model, it’ll slot into Infiniti’s lineup above the Q50 and below the larger Q70.
Chatting with other jurors, Jim Kenzie says he’d be stunned if the Volvo XC90 didn’t win truck of the year
Volvo S90 Cacho: We’ll finally get to see the production version of Volvos’ flagship sedan when the company shows off in Detroit.
Behind the elegant curves sits a semi-autonomous system called Pilot Assist. It’s designed to automatically steer for you at speeds of up to 130 km/h. Not like you’ll be going that fast on the 401, of course, but it’s nice to know this car can keep you in line. And because it’s a Volvo, you know it’ll be safe. The Swedes’ City Safety technology will now detect large animals, such as moose, and apply the brakes before the driver reacts. I’m not sure how many moose you’ll encounter in the city, however. Mercedes-Benz E-Class Cacho: Only official interior photos of the new E-Class have been shared ahead of the production model’s big reveal in Detroit. One reason for that is because there’s a lot going on in the cabin.
In what will be an automotive first, drivers of this new Benz will be able to swipe to the right and double tap while they’re behind the wheel of the mid-size luxury car. Touch controls on the steering wheel that will replace traditional switches and buttons you actually had to press.
The new E-Class also features Active Lane Change Assist, which will automatically change lanes for you on the highway whenever you signal left or right at speeds of up to 180 km/h. I guess this means there’s no excuse for not activating the flicker. Kenzie: The E-Class is both the commercial and image heart of Mercedes-Benz. The new generation, based on the same modular architec- ture as the most recent C-Class, continues that tradition.
I have sat in a mildly camouflaged prototype of the car. The Internet is full of very accurate spy photos; it will present no surprises externally, being pretty much what you’d expect.
Inside, you get more room, especially in the rear seat, plus significantly upgraded materials and a sleek modern design with perhaps the biggest touchscreen this side of a Tesla.
Technically, the new E features a multitude of powertrains plus many advances to the Pandora’s box that autonomous driving will surely be. Lincoln Continental Kenzie: Lincoln is struggling to catch up with historical archrival Cadillac. The Continental luxury sedan is the latest arrow out of its quiver.
The new Conti features Lincoln’s latest “signature” grille which replaces the former signature grille, and has drawn comparisons to those of Bentley and Jaguar. Imitation, flattery — you get the point. The Conti will be based on a front-drive architecture, but four-wheel drive will also be offered.
Luxury in the form of 30-way adjustable seats and a spectacular Revel sound system will be the hallmark, rather than outright performance — Cadillac’s V-Series will face no immediate threat from its Dearborn, Mich.-based competitor. Chevrolet Cruze Hatchback Kenzie: Despite Americans’ continuing refusal to buy hatchbacks unless they’re way too tall and way too heavy (i.e., SUVs), Chevrolet is going to try again with a hatchback version of the new Cruze sedan. Personally, I’m delighted because hatchbacks make almost as much sense as wagons, which are an even tougher sell in the U.S. Canadians have always been smarter than Americans, and Ford (Focus), Hyundai (Elantra), Kia (Forte) and Mazda (Mazda3) have had some hatchback success Stateside. Let’s hope Chevrolet has spotted an early market trend here. Who is not going? Kenzie: What will be revealed at the Detroit show may not be as interesting as the companies not going there at all.
Jaguar/Land Rover, Tesla, Mini and Bentley are all no-shows (you should pardon the expression). The reason- ing is that either their product launch cycles don’t coincide with the Detroit event’s timing or they didn’t want to show their existing product lines.
And in Bentley’s case, they’d just rather spend their marketing dollars elsewhere. That said, Aston Martin is back for the first time since 2009, which should make Mark Richardson happy.
Do these absentees hint that perhaps the auto show as we know it is facing extinction? After all, nearly every debutante has already been unveiled, either officially or via spy pictures. Where’s the drama, where’s the news, if everything is old-hat by the time the covers come off?
Time will tell.