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2010 North American International Auto Show
Yes, electricity’s coming but power and luxury ain’t dead––YET! While all the buzz at the Detroit Auto Show centered on the number of viably production-oriented electric cars, those of us who prefer our transpo with a heaping helping of luxury and performance found much to smile about.
Highlights
Audi’s 2011 A8 promises to be something to really look forward to. The new big Audi is even larger than the car it replaces, but still lighter than everything else in its class, thanks to aluminum construction. The new A8 is also a technological tour de force featuring Audi’s new generation MMI system, brake energy regeneration and an updated iteration of Audi’s vaunted Quattro all-wheel drive.
Coupling the CTS-V’s 556 horsepower engine with an absolutely fetching coupe profile, the 2011 CTS-V coupe is poised to incinerate BMW M3s, and Audi S5s. Cadillac is back, and while the cars are as luxurious as they ever were, the company’s new watchwords are “high” and “performance”. Delivering all that power to the rear wheels just as God intended, the CTS-V coupe’s tag line ought to be, “Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em.”
One of the most eagerly anticipated cars in the ultra-luxury class is the new Bentley Mulsanne. While it was shown at both Pebble Beach and the L.A. Auto Show, we like it so much we had to mention it again. Seen here with the COO of Bentley Motors, Christophe Georges, the new flagship Bentley will offer amazing performance, absolutely hedonistic levels of luxury, and presence few other cars can match.
Mercedes-Benz rolled out the convertible version of the E-Class coupe introduced last year. Featuring a remarkable innovation called “AirCap”, the system includes a wind deflector mounted to the top of the windshield as well as draft stops inside the cabin. Deployed at the push of a button without fiddling or installation, suddenly the ubiquitous windblocker is obsolete.
The only electric car at the show that both fit our criteria and is built by a company that has already introduced a fully electric production car was the San Francisco Bay Area's own Tesla Model S. The long promised follow-up to the Tesla Roadster sports car, the Model S seats seven, has a top speed of 130 mph, accelerates to 60 in under six seconds and (when driven conservatively) can go up to 300 miles on a single charge.
We’ve seen the future and it will be.
