Anyone that has met me, and some who have not, know that I am a "car guy" a
ka a "gearhead." I look at, read about, work on, sell parts for, and, sometimes , lust after cars. I think it all began wheen I was 9 or 10 years old and it has not yet abated. My main passion is what used to be called "sports cars", especially of the English persuasion. But anything with wheels and an engine of some sort is fair game. Hot rods, customs, race cars, dragsters etc. are all "in the mix" for me.
ka a "gearhead." I look at, read about, work on, sell parts for, and, sometimes , lust after cars. I think it all began wheen I was 9 or 10 years old and it has not yet abated. My main passion is what used to be called "sports cars", especially of the English persuasion. But anything with wheels and an engine of some sort is fair game. Hot rods, customs, race cars, dragsters etc. are all "in the mix" for me.It is therefore unsurprising that I went to the North American Internationa
l Auto Show in Detroit this past weekend. It was (in relative terms) a pretty austere event this year. The displays were less ostentatious than previous years. "Elaborate" meant that the turntable holding the automobile was elevated and tilted. There were no waterfalls, no cars turning on spits like roast chickens at the deli. The bywords were "efficiency" and "economy", unless you were talking about cars in the "if you have to ask, you can't afford it" range. The Bentley pictured here is one of "those."
l Auto Show in Detroit this past weekend. It was (in relative terms) a pretty austere event this year. The displays were less ostentatious than previous years. "Elaborate" meant that the turntable holding the automobile was elevated and tilted. There were no waterfalls, no cars turning on spits like roast chickens at the deli. The bywords were "efficiency" and "economy", unless you were talking about cars in the "if you have to ask, you can't afford it" range. The Bentley pictured here is one of "those."But there were still "concept cars", those flights of fancy where stylists, de
signers and engineers start with a clean pad and say "what if" and "why not?" But instead of futuristic behemoths with built in golf carts or dual leather recliners in back (both seen at previous shows!) they presented hybrids, or fully electric cars, or fuel cell powered vehicles. Some were practical, some whimsical, but all were presented as alternatives. This is not a bad thing. It reflects the direction in which the automotive industry is moving, like it or not. "Green", "low carbon footprint" and renewable / recycled" are the buzzwords.
signers and engineers start with a clean pad and say "what if" and "why not?" But instead of futuristic behemoths with built in golf carts or dual leather recliners in back (both seen at previous shows!) they presented hybrids, or fully electric cars, or fuel cell powered vehicles. Some were practical, some whimsical, but all were presented as alternatives. This is not a bad thing. It reflects the direction in which the automotive industry is moving, like it or not. "Green", "low carbon footprint" and renewable / recycled" are the buzzwords. This does not exclude terms like "high performance", it merely redefines them. Things like direct injection, dual scroll turbos and variable valve timing are in, dual quads, high lift cams and huge displacements are out. These new features help the newest cars to achieve, almost, the objective of the old joke: "We have done so much with so little for so long, we can now do anything with nothing at all."
This sophisticated engineering is what keeps me excited about the future of the industry. If the future holds the promise of light,highly manuverable cars with better than average performance and acceleration (just about the classic definition of "sports car") rather than indistinct boring little "pod cars" puttering (or humming) along an automated freeway, differentiated only by color and occupant, then I am all for it.
