The Detroit Auto Show, officially known as the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), comes around every year in early January. So the timing is right for a review of 2010 and a crystal-ball look at 2011. Without telegraphing what follows, I think it’s fair to report that for most automakers 2010 turned out better than expected and that there was universal optimism from pretty much everyone at the show regarding the potential for an even better 2011.
With assistance once again from photographer Joe Tori, join us in a quick review of Media Daze at Detroit.
The Chevrolet Volt and the Ford Explorer received top honors as Car and Truck of the Year, respectively.
My wife and I were up in the Camden, Maine neighborhood a few weekends ago and had the good fortune to be on the Maine coast on the same weekend that the Owl’s Head Museum hosted their Wings and Wheels extravaganza. The Owls Head Museum sits out on a point near Rockland. It includes a beautiful enclosed facility with a nice selection of landmark cars sitting along side reproductions of some of the earliest flying machines and airplanes. The grounds include a large show area where auto enthusiasts displayed their classic and collector cars and an airstrip which sits adjacent to a civil airport with hangers. If you find yourself along mid-coast Maine, I highly recommend a visit.
On this day, in addition to the museum itself, there was an air show and car show. While my little digital camera only captured specs in the sky, this shot is of a classic Curtis bi-plane being started by hand. This fellow, while apparantly in very good shape, was worn down pretty badly trying to start this plane. It did eventually start and the pilot proceeded to put it through its paces, which included numerous flips, rolls, stalls and low passes over the air-strip, all which thrilled the gathered crowd.
There was a pretty nice selection of privately-owned classic cars on hand including this 1949 Ford Convertible, with which my wife fell in love. It’s 239 cubic inch V8 produced 100 horsepower. About 51,000 were sold but not many remain. This one was in fine restored condition but sadly…not for sale. Sorry Honey!
Also on hand was a Blackhawk helicopter. Spectators were allowed to climb around inside and get a sense for what it might be like to ride one of these aircrafts into battle. I have to admit that I have even more respect for our service men and women after examining this well-built but very vulnerable machine and realizing that it is one of the primary methods of carrying troops in and out of war zones.
The museum itself is a great take regardless of whether or not they are having a special event. It includes some spectacular reproductions of historic early aircraft like this Wright Brothers’ Wright Flyer, complete with Orville piloting the historic first flight dated December 17, 1903. The Wright Brothers’ fundamental breakthrough was their invention of three axis control, which enabled the pilot to steer the aircraft effectively and to maintain its equilibrium.This method became standard and remains standard on fixed-wing aircraft to this day.
There were also a few less noteworthy vehicles such as this 1938 Eliot Cricket III built by Samuel Eliot. It features a stainless steel body and steering via a control stick similar to that used in early aircraft. You would push the stick left or right to steer and forward to stop. The Cricket was powered by a 130 horsepower Franklin four-cylinder engine, more than enough power for this very small car. Eliot, who was an inventor, is also responsible for Boston’s first parking garage, built in 1933 on the corner of State Street and India Street.
Of course, the most famous automobile on display along with a reproduction of the first powered aircraft is a replica of the first patented automobile, the Benz, which sits majestically at the entrance to the museum. Built by Carl Benz of Germany in 1885 and patented in 1886, this vehicle is recognized as the first to use an internal combustion engine to power itself. The single cylinder engine burned gasoline ignited by a spark plug, one of the first to use an electrical spark, and produced just 3/4 horsepower. Steering was done by a hand-lever and pointer.
These are just a few of the many motor vehicles and aircraft on display at the Owl’s Head Museum so if you ever find yourself along the mid-Maine coast near Camden and Rockland, take some time to visit this interesting museum. You’ll have fun and learn quite a few things, too!
Under normal circumstances, this is where I recap one of the Larz Anderson Lawn Events, reporting the winners of each category. That just would not do this past Sunday justice. This was one of those days that reminds us why the car is so important to us. Reminds us that, while many cars have turned into rolling appliances, and less and less people know how to drive a stick shift each year, those that still care have a place to go and revel in what they cherish most about automobiles. (more…)
Recently, Mazda invited a bunch of enthusiasts to their technical center in Irvine, California to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the MX-5 Miata. Yup, the Miata is 20 years old . . .
I was Editor in Chief of R&T at the time the car was introduced, and we named that first 1990 Miata as one of the five “World’s Best Cars.” And the accolades have never stopped. (more…)
More exciting auto news on the good, the bad and the ugly that showed up at Detroit. Images once again from Fotog Joe Tori who takes no credit for the “uglies.” All he does is shoot ‘em as they come. And make them picture perfect.
A clean sweep for Ford in the North American Car and Truck of the year awards with the Ford Fusion Hybrid and Transit Connect taking top honors. Both are green versions of conventional internal combustion models. The city-size Transit van will be offered in two full electric ranges (Sorry, no gas stoves offered.) sometime during the second half of 2010. The entry-level model will have 60-mile range on its lithium ion batteries and an optional 100-miler will also be available.
A MAXI MINI? What else would you call the Beachcomber concept with 4-doors, 4-seats and 4-wheel drive shown at Detroit? Unless, of course, you called it a Countryman crossover, a production model which goes on sale in the US in 2011.
So is the GMC Granite concept concrete evidence that GM is going after Scion buyers? The diminutive Granite is low, wide and aggressive. But it features impressive utility in the configuration of doors and seats. It’s powered by a 1.4-liter 4-cylinder mit turbo and teamed to a 6-speed auto trans. Will it make it to production? “No comment” from the General. Yes, says the Carmudgeon. And who you gonna believe?????????
Who can you trust if you can’t trust GM’s Vice Chairman Bob Lutz? Lutz calls the Aveo RS concept a “car guy’s Chevy.” The five-door hatchback is longer and wider and has more space than the current Aveo. It also has 19-inch wheels designed to appeal to car guys and gals. At the Detroit show the RS had a 138-bhp, turbo, 1.4-liter, 4-banger under the hood, same engine that will be offered in the 2011 Chevy Cruze small car. But Lutz says he’s looking for a bit more juice. We’d second that motion if he hopes for emotion.
Will the IQ score highly with young buyers or will they say Scionara, baby. That’s the $64,000 question waiting to be answered as Toyota prepares to beef up the Scion lineup in the coming months. The Scion IC is tiny, barely 10 feet long and seats three. But look for all the iPod, MP3, etc., ect., connectivity that is “gotta have” for youthful drivers these days.
Hocus Focus. Finally, Americans will get a version of the Euro Focus. The current car is on an older platform not shared with the Mazda3 and Volvo S40 and V50 models as it is everywhere else on this planet. But . . . this new and much improved Focus is a 2012 model that won’t go on sale until early 2011. Quality, fuel economy and other improvements will move this new model up the value and price scale resulting in improved revenue according to Ford. And for Ford’s bean counters, that’s something that should not be discounted.
Cobo Hall in Deeetroit is “the happening” this week with the auto show and tell. Here are some good ones . . . with photos from Joe “the pro” Tori who has been wigging around the halls for the past two days.
The luscious Caddy CTS-V Coupe. Unmistakably a Cadillac and one with more than a styling edge. Does 556 supercharged horses from a 6.2-liter V8 sharpen all your corners?
Fiat 500: The quintessential cinquecento. This classy and sassy retro is half the size of the Caddy next door. But it's great fun to drive and who could ask for more?
Ford Fiesta. This one is cause for celebration. A "big" car relative to the Fiat 500 but it's smaller than the Ford Focus, making it a subcompact. The styling is huggable and Ford's viral You-and-Me Tube Secret Agent pre-intro marketing campaign has created lots of buzz and awareness.
Mazda 2 is one number less than 3. The Mazda 3 is a compact. This one is the smaller subcompact sibling. It's next to the Fiesta because they share a platform. Can't decide which to buy? Try 'em both..
This column is long overdue . . . but hopefully not overdone. It results from a growing frustration with current automotive design trends and culminates in two days spent viewing the latest wares (though most of them are tedious and wearing) exhibited at the NY Auto Show. And it piques with an article in the NY Times penned by a Times critic/reviewer on Buick. Buick has been attempting to resurrect its long lost past for a couple of decades now. (more…)
When I was at Road & Track magazine, I wrote a column called Miscellaneous Ramblings. That column subsequently disappeared from the pages of the magazine, but I am still around writing Miscellaneous Rumblings for WwheelsTV.tv
Er, let’s see. What’s been going on in the auto biz these past few months? (more…)
