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2013 Hyundai Santa Fe XL (2013 Canadian International Auto Show)

You can find my Wheels Special Section article on new crossover vehicles to look for at the 2013 Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto here.

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Alfa Romeo 8C Spider (R) and 8C Competizione (L)

You can find my Wheels article about the most exclusive production car present at eh 2013 Canadian International Auto Show (Toronto) here.

At the time, my information said that the Spider - the white car seen above - would be at the show, however a still-stunning Coupe, in the same red seen above, was on hand instead.

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2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, in a rare (for my blog) rear view shot. Much more interesting than the front.

You can find my Wheels article on the most interesting cars to be seen at this year's Canadian International Auto Show (Toronto) here.

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1903 Ford Model A - The oldest known Ford in existence

During the Detroit Auto Show itself, Wheels' Blog was second ranked in Google searches of the show only to the show's official site itself. Now that the buzz has died down and the media days are over, it's a little harder to find: you can find it here.

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2013 Toyota Tundra CrewMax

You can read about what I and my fellow Wheels journalists found interesting and impressive at this year's North American International Auto Show in Detroit here.

As you may have guessed, Toyota's Space Shuttle-towing Tundra truck was among the more interesting things (beyond the obvious choices of cool concepts and new sports cars) to be found on the show floor. Toyota has set up a mini site elaborating on the whole story that can be found here.

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Honda Urban SUV Concept - 2013 North American International Auto Show, Detroit

You can read my Wheels coverage of the new crossovers and production-ready concept crossovers introduced at the 2013 North American International Auto Show in Detroit here.

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Audi Q3 Vail

You can read my Wheels coverage of the latest crossovers to be introduced in Detroit at the 2012 North American International Auto Show here.

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Press Conference; BMW Stand, Frankfurt Motor Show 2011

You can find my Wheels coverage of the latest high-end exotic and sports concepts from the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show here.

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2012 Ford C-MAX

You can find my Wheels coverage of the "people-movers" (vans, larger crossovers, and SUVs) at this year's Detroit Auto Show here.

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GMC Sierra All-Terrain HD Concept

You can find my Wheels coverage of the "conventional" (non-hybrid, EV, or alternative fuel) concept vehicles at this year's Detroit Auto Show here.

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You can read my Wheels article on the Chevy Camaro SS that I drove to Detroit for the 2010 North American International Auto Show here, and my choice of which vehicle at the show I (and my colleagues) would drive home in here.

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My coverage of this year's North American International Auto Show in Detroit for Wheels can be found here and here. (2011 Lincoln MKX and Hyundai Blue Will Concept pictured)

2010 Detroit Auto Show - Day Two

The light at the end of this tunnel is Winsdor, Ontario, Canada.

Day Two of the Detroit Auto Show was previously not the last day of the show. With less to say and fewer manufacturers saying it, this year there were only two days.

The final day is basically the wrap-up, with a few important presentations in the morning from the big players, and then press conferences from the secondary players, like the tire, electronics, and component producers that are really important only to those in production.

Day Two this year started typically, but also had presentations from the two Chinese manufacturers and a group of small, privately-owned electric-vehicle makers. BYD's promised the world - US availability of an electric crossover with previously unheard-of range and recharging capability. CT&T introduced an electric roadster and two other electric vehicles, while promising to revolutionize transportation, with costs of ownership that changed at least once during the span of their glitch-laden presentation.

While overall more optimistic than the few years before, it is clear that Detroit's glory days are in the past - both as a hub of the automotive world, and as an auto show - and it remains to be seen whether or not it will ever reclaim all or any of its former importance.

Despite the positive spin given to this year's North American Internaional Auto Show, "better" still doesn't mean "good". Let's see what happens in the next 12 months...

2010 Detroit Auto Show - Day One

As far as I'm concerned, the big news this year is the relative lack of actual news. Many of the reveals were either anticipated, leaked, or simply rehashes of vehicles that we've already seen in some form or another; even the massively cool Buick Regal GS Concept, which is simply a powerful turbocharged four-cylinder version of the existing (turbo V6) Opel Insignia OPC that it is heavily based upon.

Chrysler in particular had primarily content and trim changes to announce - the Chrysler-badged Lancia Delta "Concept" seen above is pretty much the single most substantial item, an Italian model apparently hoping to "reignite the American Dream". The other noteworthy vehicle on the Chrysler show floor is a battery-electric version of the will-it-be-a-Fiat-or-will-it-be-a-Chrysler 500. The company's display area did provide such unusual sights as a ceiling-mounted Ram pickup and a Grand Caravan parked next to a Maserati.

Unlike the past couple of years, there were no bag inspections, sniffer dogs, or twenty-question security officers to gain access to the display halls. Getting in to the Ford presentations in the attached Cobo Arena still required a process just short of body cavity searches.

The expected proliferation of hybrid and electric vehicle concepts continued unabated. I'm waiting for the industry to finally realize/recognize that hydrogen internal combustion is the best mid-term solution in terms of maturity and cost of the technology and its implementation, and the use of exotic and costly materials (like lithium for batteries and the rare earth magnets used in high-efficiency electric motors). In my mind, hybrids and electrics are an answer, not the answer.

Lots of otherwise vacant floor space in the Cobo Hall basement is being used for a further expansion of last year's indoor hybrid/electric test track. I wonder how green the eventual composting of most of the plants and (massively smelly) mulch that is used in the several thousand square feet of fancy landscaping really is.

The Chinese once again have a presence, though Geely is conspicuously absent. BYD seems the only serious Chinese attendee (with three vehicles on their stand today - two of which were identical F3 DM plug-in hybrid models, the third a concept all-electric E6 crossover). Tomorrow's press conference may flesh that lineup out a bit. It will be interesting to see if the eventual production vehicles that result come anywhere close to BYD's present range claims.

The C T & T (China) booth next door has plenty of vehicles, many of which are comical-looking versions of their two low-speed electric models, the C Zone (a fancy golf cart) and the E Zone (intended for places like gated communities or parks). A sports car and a concept amphibious 4 seater are to be shown tomorrow. In a throwback to times not so long past, C T & T also had three rather provocatively-attired representatives on stage with their vehicles - a policewoman for their E Zone patrol car, a postal worker (who I promise you looked like no postal worker I've ever encountered) for their E Zone delivery van, and a black PVC-clad dominatrix (for lack of a better description) whose role was decidedly less clear. Ironically, however un-PC, it's "mission accomplished" for C T & T - look at how much print they got here! I'm just waiting for some automaker to have the guts to put male models around one of their female-oriented models (like a V6 Mustang Convertible, for instance).

Speaking of Ford, it won both Car and Truck of the Year awards for the Fusion and Transit Connect respectively. I'd have expected the Chevy Equinox to take T.o.t.Y., even if I do really like the T.C.

Stay tuned for more North American International Auto Show to come...