Auto Know: Showsational!

If you just have to have it, the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Mich., is usually the place to find it.

In the town that earns its Motor City name every day of the week, the new-car show must always go on and a pretty decent show it was this year (open to the public Jan. 19-27), despite some whiffs of doom and gloom that could be expected in what was a slightly slower year for industry sales.

Unlike November’s Los Angeles, Calif., green and laid-back car show, the big-daddy Detroit event offered lots of hustle and hubris, along with plenty of promises from the manufacturers that greener vehicles would eventually come on stream.

There was a serious display of good old-fashioned hard sell mixed in with lots of glitzy concepts, both Detroit hallmarks.

It would take several pages to cover everything from this year’s press preview days that took place in advance of the show, but here’s our highlights of the best, the different, and the just plain weird that makes the Detroit show — the first official auto show of 2008 — a must see.

Best new-vehicle launch

Without question, Chrysler’s Texas Longhorn cattle drive down Washington Boulevard, right outside the Cobo Hall show venue in downtown Detroit, was this year’s big attention grabber. “Steering” the event were genuine cowboys who managed to prevent the utter destruction of the event’s co-star, a sharp-looking 2009 Dodge Ram pickup, that ran with the bulls. That’s one tough truck. Chrysler’s chief pitchman Bob Nardelli had a difficult time holding the attention of several thousand auto writers in attendance, especially when a few of the rowdier steers began to misbehave. The whole show was great fun and a great attention getter for Dodge, although running with rams instead of cattle might have made more sense.

Best press kit

Dodge wins this one, too. The usual press kit comes in a folder, but hats off to Dodge, which served up the 2009 Ram’s info in a brown canvass satchel that resembled western saddle bags. Also included was a separate 20-page booklet covering such cowboy lore as how to build a campfire, how to write a cowboy ballad and everything you need to know about Beef Jerky. Yes, somewhere in there was information about the revamped truck, whose optional 5.7-liter “Hemi” V8 gets a boost to 380 horsepower from 345.

Best star appearance

The auto industry didn’t hire on many headliners from the sports or entertainment industries to lend a hand with its new-vehicle reveals this year, which was a disappointment for star gazers. Kia had an impressive group of retired basketball stars to help announce its association with the NBA, while Mercedes-Benz created lots of wow with Sex and the City star Kim Cattrall. But the top spot must go to Audi, which brought out musician Bryan Adams to perform one of his old hits with just his six-string guitar for accompaniment and sharing the stage with a 2009 Audi TTS coupe. Very nice.

Best-looking concept with absolutely no hope of making it

Although not new to the show car circuit (its initial appearance was three months ago at the Japan Motor Show), the absolutely stunning Mazda Taiki’s initial North American showing was a huge crowd pleaser. The rear-drive two-seater features an all-glass canopy and bodywork that literally flows over the rear wheels. Power is supplied by the next generation of Mazda’s Renesis rotary engine. Mazda consistently produces great concept designs and the Taiki (Japanese for “atmosphere”) is among the most imaginative.

Best real-world concept

with a real chance at life

This one was a tough call, given the high quality of models that will likely see full production in a few years. But if you had to pick a winner, it would have to be the stunning Cadillac CTS coupe concept that seemingly came out of nowhere to knock off everyone’s socks. Second place goes to the impressive Chrysler ecoVoyager, one of a trio of concepts trotted out by the corporation, while the unique Toyota A-BAT (Advance Breakthrough Aerodynamic Truck), with its gas/electric hybrid powerplant and versatile cargo bed, rates a respectable third.

Detroit oddity award

Tucked away near the back of the hall was the Suzuki display, dominated by yet another Tokyo Motor Show set of wheels, the X-Head concept. This tall, compact pickup comes with a tiny 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine, six-speed manual transmission, waterproof interior and a toolbox that can be removed from a hidden storage compartment located along the side of the pickup bed. This one’s strange enough that it just might work.

Car names that rule

The Chinese automakers that came to Detroit this year win the name game going away. Among the contenders this year are the King Kong, China Dragon coupe, Hifun sedan and the electric-battery-powered Strip of Cloud, Book of Songs and Detroit Fish models. It sure beats the alpha-numeric soup we’ve been stuck with for the past number of years.

Best of show

The Jeep Renegade concept seemed to best capture the essence of imaginative design, forward-thinking technology and wishful-thinking spirit that every auto-show vehicle should display. Combining strong visual elements of a sporty off-road roadster, the Renegade 4x4 carries out its mission using a single-piece composite (plastic) body with the color already mixed in to eliminate the use of paint solvents. The powerplant consists of a 200-watt (268 horsepower) electric motor that runs off of an advanced lithium-ion battery pack. The system is helped out by a 1.5-liter three-cylinder extra-clean BLUETEC diesel engine that extends the 40-mile range of the electric motor to 400 miles.