Power under the hood, luxury inside at Detroit auto show

Members of the media look over the Ford F-150 pickup truck after its introduction at the International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, yesterday.

AFP/DetroitThe Detroit auto show opened with a renewed optimism yesterday as confident carmakers forecast more growth and unveiled powerful new trucks, sexy sports cars and an abundance of luxury. At least 50 new models from more than a dozen carmakers will be unveiled in the Motor City during two days of press previews. Manufacturers may struggle to capture the attention of the 5,000 journalists amidst back-to-back reveals and they have poured more than $200mn into dazzling displays. General Motors logged an early win after its Chevrolet brand swept the car and truck of the year awards with the Corvette Stingray sports car and the Chevy Silverado pickup truck. “Chevrolet is in the midst of the most aggressive product transformation in the brand’s more than 100-year history,” Chevy chief Alan Batey said. “The Corvette and Silverado truly embody the passion, commitment and focus that is driving us to deliver the most expressive designs, innovative technologies and engaging performance in every vehicle that wears the bowtie.” All eyes were on Ford, however, as it unveiled a new F-150 pickup, redesigned with a plethora of new technology and features and a drastically lower body weight to help boost fuel economy. Replacing steel with aluminum — which helped Ford slash the truck’s weight by 700 pounds (317 kilos) — is seen as a big risk, because truck buyers are so focused on strength, towing capacity and performance. The F-150 has been the best-selling vehicle in the US for 32 consecutive years and is a critical part of Ford’s portfolio. The number two US automaker insisted that the new model is the “the toughest, smartest and most capable F-150 ever.” “The all-new F-150 redefines the future of trucks,” said Mark Fields, Ford’s chief operating officer. Mercedes got a jump on its competitors by hiring Kelly Rowland of Destiny’s Child to serenade its sleek and luxurious new C class sedan at an elegant invite-only event at the Westin Hotel on Sunday. “In developing the new C-Class, we aimed for a car that simply lives up to our mantra: ‘The best or nothing,’” Mercedes chief Dieter Zetsche said in unveiling the German automaker’s top-selling vehicle. General Motors sought to steal some of Ford’s truck thunder by revealing its GMC Canyon, a mid-sized pickup truck, on Sunday at a revitalised industrial complex. But all eyes were on incoming chief executive officer Mary Barra, the first woman to be tapped to lead a major automaker.  Barra — who was previously in charge of global product development and has been hailed within the industry as a “car guy” — signaled that the accountants will not be allowed to dominate business plans. “At today’s GM, our products are the result of putting the customer at the centre of everything we do. That has fostered a bold new culture at our company, a culture that promotes innovation and encourages risk taking,” she said. “If we can delight our customers with something unexpected, we go for it.”  After years of painful restructuring and mass layoffs, the Detroit Three automakers are racking in massive profits as major product revamps allowed them to take advantage of resurgent demand. US auto sales have finally returned to the levels seen in the 14 years prior to the devastating 2008 crash, growing 7.6% to 15.6mn vehicles in 2013. They are forecast to keep growing this year, but at a slower pace. And nearly every automaker in the highly competitive market — which offers consumers a choice between 340 different models — has been able to profit from the growing sales. “This year we believe the industry will start entering a leveling-off period and continued sales growth will be more a result of economic gains rather than pent-up demand,” Toyota Motor North America chief Jim Lentz said on Sunday. “That’s good, because pent-up demand can carry you just so far.” Toyota’s planning forecast of 16mn vehicles is more conservative than some analysts, who see the market heading as high as 16.4mn in 2014, Lentz told the Society for Automotive Analysts.