At the beginning of every year, the auto show I most look forward to rolls around, NAIAS. The North American International Auto Show has long been a favorite of mine, and when I lived in Michigan, I’d go every year. Unfortunately, I don’t live anywhere near the show this year, so I’ll be reporting from the sidelines. Equally unfortunate, Hooniverse does not have any representation at the show this year. As we’ve been doing for a couple of years now, when we don’t have anyone at the show to represent our interests here in the Hooniverse, we all pitch in with our opinions.
We have new car launches in the form of Ford’s GT, Ford’s Mustang GT350R, Ford’s new Raptor (Ford is pretty much killing it in Detroit this year!), Nissan’s new Titan diesel, Toyota’s new Tacoma, Porsche’s Targa 4GTS, Porsche’s Cayenne Turbo S, Acura’s NSX, Alfa’s 4C Spider, Merc’s C450 AMG Sport, Merc’s GLE, Chevy’s new Volt, Buick’s new Opel Astra Cabriolet Cascada convertible. Jaguar also debuted their new SUV, in name only. There are also some pretty tempting concept pieces, with Buick bringing the Avenir, Infiniti dropping the Q60 Concept, and Chevy shocking everyone (not really) with the new Bolt EV.
Photographs are either manufacturer supplied, or politely swiped from the hands of our friends at Autoblog and Autoweek.

Ford GT –

NAIAS is in Ford’s backyard, and they absolutely stole the show with the launch of their new GT ‘Supercar’. It looks a little bit like Ford has been hanging out with some folks in Sant’agata and getting them to pen a few lines between glasses of vino, but that’s not a bad thing, by any stretch of the imagination. This new Ford GT is a gorgeous automobile, and looks absolutely ready to rock and roll. It is interesting that this one is powered by a 600 horsepower twin-turbo V6 similar to the one found in Chip Ganassi’s Daytona Prototype racers in the United SportsCar Championship this year. It’s also interesting to note that Mr. Ganassi’s team will be taking this car to LeMans next year (on the 50th anniversary of the GT’s first victory at that circuit), so maybe that’s more than coincidental.
– Bradley Brownell
Amazing. The styling is perfect; modern, angry, functional, with a hint of history. The fact that’s a V6 shouldn’t surprise anyone, Ford had to use the EcoBoost in it as it will sell other EcoBoost-powered cars and the cost of turning one of Mustang’s V8 into an EcoBoost model would probably be prohibitive. I wonder how it will be priced. Given its estimate of 600hp it would be interesting to see it go against the Acura NSX, and eventually the mid-engine Corvette (if it ever happens) and obviously the Ferrari 458 or its replacement, which now needs to happen very soon.
– Kamil Kaluski

Ford Mustang GT350R –

Soon, the Ford Mustang will have more models than the Porsche 911. This track toy looks great and I believe it will be awesome, but I reserve my judgement until I drive it. It sure as heck looks great in pictures and on paper. I still haven’t seen a Ford interior that I loved. The new infotainment systems is suppose to be hugely improved over the Ford MyTouch, I mean it couldn’t get any worse. Hopefully none of the grills and vents is fake.
– Kamil Kaluski
This car is my personal favorite from the show. As great as the GT is, the GT350R is the one I’d most want to own. It’s Ford’s bitch slap right in the face of Chevy’s Camaro Z28. Oh, you have the gimmicky ‘flow-tie’ and optional air conditioning? We’ve got carbon fiber wheels, mother-effers! Take your Pirelli Trofeo-R tires and eat our Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 dust, son! How do you like them apples?
It’s got similar power to the Z28, it’s lost a whole lot of weight over the standard GT, and just look at that aero. It’s aggressive in a Detroit-Lions-fan-hopped-up-on-methamphetamines kind of way. It’s limited production, but it will be street legal. If you’ve got the capital, you can subscribe to Ford’s own brand of insanity by daily driving one of these. We are living in the golden age of cars, people!
– Bradley Brownell 
I dig it. It’s a more hardcore version of what used to be the most hardcore Mustang [soon to be] offered. I like that it focuses on weight savings and I like that they went as far as giving it carbon fiber wheels. Although I find it funny that they give it carbon wheels but not carbon brakes.
– Greg Kachadurian
Love the spec sheet and stance. Hate the wing and the fact that they’re more at risk of being collected by climate controlled garages than ARMCO barriers.
– Tim Odell

Ford Raptor SVT –

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and Ford didn’t, they improved it. The new Raptor is the same as the old Raptor and no one will complain about that. V6 EcoBoost shouldn’t be a surprise but the 10-speed automatic transmission should be. Lighter and more powerful is always good. Hopefully the tow rating will go up slightly from the first Raptor.
– Kamil Kaluski
The fact that Ford has trademarked the name ‘EcoBeast’ for this thing makes me giddy as a schoolboy.
– Bradley Brownell
I like it. Not as much as I like the old one though, and I’m not entirely sure why. It might have something to do with the fact that a truck designed to race through the desert at 100 mph is suddenly supposed to be fuel efficient.
– Greg Kachadurian
Like the GT, this truck is here to sell Ecoboost. The good news is by the time I can afford one, we’ll have learned how good an idea a twin-turbo direct-injected V6 pickup with a 10-speed automatic is (or isn’t).
– Tim Odell

Nissan Titan –

It’s about time! I think it looks pretty good but I feel like they were a bit safe with this design. There’s nothing super crazy or over-the-top about it, but I guess that’s the point of a work truck.
– Greg Kachadurian
Hey, what’s a 2009 Ford F150 doing at the Nissan booth? Oh, I see…
– Bradley Brownell
Brad forgot that the cab’s all Dodge from the A-pillar back. Speaking of which, given the random hints of Nissan-Dodge co-development over the last decade, I’m curious how many different times this truck was developed/re-developed and what of those versions made it out the door. I love the idea of a “heavy half” trucks and non-giant diesels proliferating into the aftermarket for me to eventually swap into a Jeep or something.
– Tim Odell

Toyota Tacoma –

This update needed to happen a few years ago. That said, the biggest thing that needed improvement on the Tacoma was the interior, which felt like it was out of a ’91 Corolla. The engine was dated, too, and the new V6 powerplant (no numbers yet) should make the truck seem more modern. I wonder is that new engine will trickle down to the 4Runner, with which the old Tacoma shared an engine with.
– Kamil Kaluski
It’s got a standard GoPro mount on the interior mirror. What a great selling point! I’ll never have to use a silly suction cup again!
– Bradley Brownell
This thing was long overdue and I’m glad to see it get some love from corporate. That being said, I agree with those that say it isn’t their best design. I think it tries too hard to look tough.
– Greg Kachadurian
“Give me a tough truck from The Future!”
“Sigh…ok boss”
…whence, Toyota’s current truck styling. I think we’re all trying to figure out how complete this redesign is; still, as long as they kept the six-speed stick, TRD rear locker and didn’t screw up anything major they’ll still be gold(en dust) standard against which all compact/midsizers are compared.
– Tim Odell

Acura NSX –

It may take Honda/Acura a while to develop this car, but I do believe that they want to do it right. In this production vehicle they made one huge change – they turned the engine ninety degrees, and it is now positioned longitudinally in the chassis. This is likely to have an effect on every component of the vehicle. Oh, and the engine all new, too. The cars  looks good overall, but not nearly as lust worthy as the Ford GT. I don’t think that this time the NSX will be as huge of a hit as the original was, even if they sell more units, because the bar has been raised so high by so many cars, from the Audi R8 to the McLaren, Corvette, Porsches, and even Aston Martin. Also, where’s T-roof?
– Kamil Kaluski

Porsche Targa 4GTS –

Porsche Cayenne Turbo S –

Alfa Romeo 4C Spider –

I have no complaints about this car. None. 10/10: would drive until it broke.
– Greg Kachadurian
Once Greg went broke, I’d buy it from him and set about going broke myself. No regrets. This car is the physical embodiment of #YOLO.
– Bradley Brownell

Mercedes-Benz C450 AMG Sport –

Because bridging gaps in product lines is popular now, meet Benz’s ultimate bridge gapper.
– Greg Kachadurian
And people claim Porsche has too many models in their lineup…
– Bradley Brownell

Mercedes-Benz GLE –

Merc showed up in Detroit with a new weird crossover sedan ‘coupe’ thing, and it comes in two flavors for the time being, GLE450 AMG Sport, and GLE63 AMG. I guess they’re trying to capture some of the nonexistent market share from BMW’s X6 M?
– Bradley Brownell 
*Sigh*
– Greg Kachadurian
I just realized that, if you pronounce it, “GLE 63 AMG” ryhmes.
– Tim Odell

Chevrolet Volt –

I think I agree with those that say they like the first Volt better. Where as the last one looked edgy and modern, this one looks a bit… casual and boring. It’s not ugly but I can’t say I’m a fan of the looks. That’s not enough to change the fact that it as one of the best Eco cars you can buy, though.
– Greg Kachadurian
A bit of an Opel mixed with Acura beak grille, to me. Still, orders of magnitude better looking than most EV/PHEV/hybrids. This car covers 90% of 90% of the driving populace’s needs. Sadly, it seems the Volt is a car that doesn’t appeal to fans of domestic brands because it’s too overtly green and fails to appeal to green car buyers because it’s domestic. Hopefully some day we can just appreciate it for its spec sheet.
– Tim Odell

Buick Cascada Convertible –

The Opel Astra didn’t do much to save Saturn. Does it have any hope for Buick?
– Bradley Brownell
What’s an Opel doing in Detroit?
– Greg Kachadurian
Pictured in its future natural habitat: driven betwwen 5 and 10 under the limit crossing Bixby Bridge on Hwy 1.
– Tim Odell

Jaguar F-Pace –

That name though… I really hope this doesn’t start a trend where Jaguar renames all of their cars F-%something%.
– Greg Kachadurian
The name “F-Pace” sort of grates me the wrong way, and I don’t know why. Does Jag really need an SUV? Well, if it worked for Porsche…
– Bradley Brownell
Better than P-Face, I suppose.
– Tim Odell

Buick Avenir Concept –

If the Cascada does help Buick stick around, I really hope they build this. This is the prettiest thing to ever wear a Buick tri-shield, and if it’s as good on the inside as it is on the outside, they’ll have a winner. It’ll be hard to convince luxury buyers to pick this over an A8 or an S-class, but hey, if Hyundai can do it…
– Bradley Brownell
I’ve completely forgotten about Buick for a while, then they show us this. The last time I forgot about Buick completely was the first time they fully overhauled themselves. This could be good until I forget about them again.
– Greg Kachadurian

Infiniti Q60 Concept –

I know it’s just a concept so far, but I’m not completely convinced with this. Maybe when they tone it down a little bit for production I’ll like it more.
– Greg Kachadurian
I usually like concepts that are over the top and weird, but this one is just weird for the sake of weird. The illuminated grille badge? Could there be anything more unnecessary? I don’t mind the styling of the base car, and I think with a more traditional front spoiler, some larger side view mirrors, and some door handles, it might just look like a car that belongs on a dealership showroom floor. Regardless of styling, it’s got a twin turbo V6 under the hood, it can’t be that bad, can it?
I’ve ranted and raved before about Infiniti’s new naming scheme, and I still hate it. If someone says Q50 to me, I have no idea what kind of car they are talking about. I can only think about the first generation Q45, that weird shaped car they made from 1990 to 1993. Yeah, you know the one. I still think this is why Sebastian Vettel switched to Ferrari, he just didn’t want to try to explain what the difference between a Q70 and a Q50 was anymore.
– Bradley Brownell
BMW has (had?) flame surfacing, Mazda is going for some vision of being wind-blown, Lexus makes you want to GET TO DA CHOPPAH!, but Infiniti’s direction totally does it for me. It’s organic and sinewy; reminds me of how comic book characters’ muscles are drawn.
– Tim Odell

Chevrolet Bolt EV Concept –

– Greg Kachadurian
All jokes aside, whenever this actually becomes available, I would completely consider buying one. A 200 mile range for under 30 grand? I live in Reno, which is about to become a Tesla town, and I’d drive the hell out of this, just to be different. Well, different from Teslas, but pretty much the same as BMW i3s.
– Bradley Brownell
If you block out the upper bar of the grille’s hexagon, it looks like it’s got a big goofy (or is that evil?) grin.
– Tim Odell