The best thing about the 2012 Detroit Auto Show is that it's full of
new cars. Yes, that sounds obvious, but go stick with me for a moment.For years, you'd come here and all the unveilings would be of bloated
4x4s and pickups. They were designed to get you to the end of the world
or carry a ton of lumber, but they were marketed and used for Bubba and
Billy-Bob to go bowling. And it made visiting Europeans feel like total
outsiders.
Best UK Used Cars Then came an era of bankruptcy and near-economic meltdown. The
American industry was deep in a panic and tried like mad to distract us
with feckless half-baked lentil-powered alternative-energy concepts
that'd never see the light (honourable exception, Chevy Volt).But this year it was proper cars everywhere you looked. Not just the marvellous Acura (Honda) NSX and rather lush Lexus LS-LC, or those nifty little Chevy coupe concepts. But real cars that makes the Detroit show, and Detroit's car makers, look globally relevant.
There were a whole bag of Mondeo-sized saloons, one of which is the
new Mondeo itself. The Dodge Dart, which we won't get but will probably
be more than OK. (It'll spawn a Fiat which we will eventually get.)
The Cadillac ATS (above), and a lovely concept version of its Lincoln rival, the MKZ (below). There's an interesting contrast here. Cadillac
has gone the BMW route and built a bespoke rear-drive platform.
Cadillac people say that's the only way to be taken seriously as a
prestige maker. Whereas the Lincoln is a poshed-up (really beautifully
poshed-up) Mondeo, with front-drive or AWD.
Ford people say Cadillac is being arrogantly over-optimistic and will
never get the RWD investment back. GM people say Lincoln, by using a
Ford platform, isn't showing commitment.I think either could work and either could fail. What matters is the
quality of execution of the cars, and the marketing and the dealers.
Never mind what we petrolheads think about, it doesn't really matter
which wheels are driven. Out there in the real world, the Audi A4 does
just fine against the BMW 3-series.
We'll skate over the Acura (posh Honda) ILX, a saloon in the same
size class, billed as ‘entry-level luxury' for people who can't afford a
BMW. Hmmm, wasn't that what Rover and Saab were aiming for? Look what
happened to them.
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