While the bells and whistles of the North American International Auto Show brings out the kid in you, it’s all about serious business. Auto manufactures highlight well-equipped, affordable vehicles every year to generate sales. You can sit into just about every car, look under the hood and yes you can kick the tires. Ultimately they want to generate excitement and get you ready for your next car or truck. Listed here are a few stand outs of this years show:
Corvette Stingray
The Stingray brand has not been in production since 1976. That will all change now as this American sport car is coming back to hit the road in a very serious competitive manner. The combination of metal, plastic, rubber and glass has never looked so sleek and powerful. It boasts a new aluminum 6.2-liter V8, 450 horsepower and 450 kb-ft of torque. It is also the most fuel efficient Corvette ever delivering 30 mpg.
Jeep Grand Cherokee
In 1987 Chrysler bought the Jeep brand from AMC/Renault. Since then it is constantly one of the top nameplates in the industry. Always a crowd pleaser, Jeep introduced the Concept Jeep Wrangler Dragon at the Detroit Auto Show. You can’t get that one just yet, but you can get the always reliable Grand Cherokee. The latest model has a new diesel engine that gives your 730 miles on one tank of fuel!
Audi RS7
The Audi nameplate hasn’t been one of notoriety of the past few shows, but that all changed this year. The new 4-door is one sure-fire sports sedan. It has a 553-hp twin-turbo V8 and can climb from 0-60 in 3.9 seconds. The Monday morning office commute has never been so much fun.
Ram 1500
Sometime you just need a truck to get the job done. Motor Trend’s 2014 Truck Of The Year does not disappoint. It’s a combination of power and luxury. The 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 has been updated this model year with variable valve timing that increases engine performance and fuel efficiency. The height of the truck can also be altered from 2.0 to 0.6 inches, which improves the aerodynamics of the vehicle.
Volkswagen Crossblue Concept
As the NAIAS crowd fully expected another round of Beetles, the Crossblue was a surprise hit! People lined up to sit in it and talk to the reps about this new SUV European beauty. It hasn’t been official announced as a production vehicle, but ing indication that Volkswagen is getting into the very competitive SUV market, this crossover will sure to please. Lookout Herbie, there’e new Volkswagen coming to town!