Screw Las Vegas, this is Dee-troit, baby

By John LeBlanc

Janaury 15, 2003 - It was cold, the designs were bold, and we wondered where the concepts from Saab, Volvo, Chrysler, Mercedes, Acura, and Lexus were sold (That was brutal. - Ed.).

Unfortunately, another year of various permutations of station wagons from manufacturers who weren't sure of their masculinity who got stuck in the closet with all of these "crossovers". Like Audi's take on the Touareg/Cayenne platform, the Pikes Peak; BMW's geometrically-challenged X3; ItalDesign's Maserati Kubang (yes, the same company that brought you the Ghibli); Buick hopeful Rendezvous replacement the Centieme; Ford's Freestyle FX; Infiniti's Triant; and a couple of "Outbacked" sedans in Dodge's Avenger, and Lincoln's Navicross.

Among all the free shrimp and glossy brochures at Cobo Hall we managed to take notice of a few actual cars...

The Stars...



Rolls Royce Phantom
The same company that has resurrected other British cultural icons such as the Mini and the Range Rover, has also successfully returned Rolls to the imposing rolling piece of architecture that the less ostentatious of us have been intimidated by for years. BMW will go on ad infinitum about the details and proportion studies from the Rolls of old, but the bottom line is the car just looks right and suddenly makes the Merc, er, Maybach look like its trying too hard. The irony has not gone unnoticed that to design this land yacht the designers holed themselves up in an abandoned downtown London bank.



Chevrolet SS
Gee, a big, honking vee-eight hooked up to a sporty, low-slung rear-drive chassis with the convenience of four doors? This is the first non-Corvette Bow-tie product in years that gives us a woody. Styling hints more of the C6 Vette than the next Impala, but who cares, as this certainly makes up for that new Malibu thingy Chevy had on display. Didn't they can the Impala designer? Check out AutoWeek's Detroit show issue as we're not the only ones who thought the SS looks a lot like Mazda's new RX-8.



Aston Martin AM8 Vantage
When Jaguar was investigating their own Boxster rival, this small Aston was to share a mid-engine layout. Well thankfully that didn't come to pass, as this AM8 has its 4.3-liter vee-eight exactly where God and the Queen had intended--under its long hood. Ford is promising Porsche 911 pricing and has decried plastic from the AM8's interior. Well-done chaps!



Ford Mustang GT
Oooh baby! So this is what Mays and his Living Legends studio has been saving up for. The T-Bird and the Forty-Nine were, you know, okay, in a bee-bopping, cruise-night, kinda way. But this? J, we know you don't like us calling your designs "retro", but this is the kind of time travel that would make HG Wells himself proud. If Ford can deliver on the promise of refined suspensions and upgraded interiors, this pony may be worth a ride.



Dodge Magnum SRT-8
Looking like a slammed Durango, a non-supercharged Hemi vee-eight will be in the production version early next year mated to last generation E-Class transmission and suspension bits forming the basis for the insipid LH replacements. This cab-backwards-styling addresses the aggressive looks that folks are looking for in SUVs, but on a more dynamic platform.



Pontiac G6
Compared to recent offerings from the General's Excrement Division, this Grand Ma replacement looks down right naked. Can't complain about the lithe proportions though. This borders on the four-door sports car theme that Mazda's RX-8 and Chevy's SS concept are perpetrating. Keep 'em comin' Bob!



Mercury Messenger
Are we the only ones thinking Hot Wheels when this was rolled out on the stage? And its not that Mercury hasn't had a cool car since the Vietnam War, but the very non-aerodynamic details hearken back to the days when designers wouldn't know a wind tunnel from a hair dryer.

Been there, seen that...



Nissan Maxima/Cadillac Imaj
We're always whining that most manufacturers don't have the guts to actually put into production what they tease us with on the car show runways. Well no complaints directed towards Nissan here, it's just that they decided to put into production someone else's show car. We hear Simon Cox's people are talking to Nissan's people. Film at 11...



Caddy Sixteen/Chrysler Chronos
It's no coincidence that Cadillac's sudden outpouring of press garnering show cars aligns with the arrival of Mr. Lutz. Bob knows fully well that these car show queens have as much chance as going into production as all of those Chrysler show cars from the '90s. We love the coffin hood though.



Ford 427/Infiniti M45
We criticized the M45 last year for looking like a Crown Vic, and now Ford counters with a Crown Vic replacement that looks like an M45. What's next? A Focus look-alike Sentra replacement? The next Taurus mimicking the Maxima that actually stole the styling form Cadillac's...ah, forget it...

What the...?



Mitsu Endeavor
When we first saw the grainy spy shots of the Endeavor last fall, we figured that Mitsubishi was borrowing the Grand Cherokee platform from bedmate Chrysler, but with their own styling. Now that we know Mitsubishi created their own platform, can someone please tell them it's okay to take the cladding off?



Hyundai OLV
Like we said, what the...?

- John LeBlanc, Publisher, straight-six.com