Written by We went to the auto show for two reasons, one I wanted to see the new technology they were including in new cars, and secondly my dad wanted to see the new 800 Horsepower Shelby Mustang, the Chevy Malibu and the Chevy Colorado. I saw many things that made me happy, unfortunately my dad did not get to see everything he wanted, and it’s not like he had a long list. We saw the Chevy Malibu, however no Colorado’s were brought and we never did find the Shelby Mustang. The Mustang was there, we didn’t get a map until we left the show. We couldn’t find a stand or a person who had a map until we were leaving.
Ford has an awesome display just like they did last year. You end up spending more time in the Ford section, because there is more to do. They had interactive activities for attendees to participate in. There were QR Codes on all vehicles so that you could scan with your phone and it would take you to a special site for that vehicle. Ford had a two minute movie that we waited an hour in line to see. They put 15 people in what looks like a merry go round but with car seats, then the lift you up to the ceiling to watch this movie. It was all about how they see cars working in the future. Ford also had Focus ST Simulator you can drive. To get an idea of what these look like you can watch these two video clips. The last one is mine, sadly….I am still learning.
Ford is redesigning the Fusion for 2013. There won’t be any more 6 cylinder engines, as they any many auto makers are making more fuel efficient or “green” cars.
They also asked us for feedback at some of the displays. They wanted to know which we would rather have, park assist or park out. I chose Park Out, which will help you get out of a parking spot. Could’ve used this feature on more than one occasion after parking in downtown Royal Oak!
They also offer the Ford Sync System which includes: Hands-Free Calling, 911 Assist, SYNC AppLink© , 411 Business Search, Audible Text Messaging, Turn-by-turn Directions, Internet Connectivity, News, Sports, and Weather. It has also added the MyKey feature to the Sync system to help parents with teen drivers. It allows the parents to control the maximum speed, volume of the audio, seat belt reminders, low fuel reminders, parking assistance and the BLIS system (Blind Spot Information System) which tells the teen about objects in their blind spots. For more information on that system, please see this link: http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=29172
Since we didn’t get to see the Ford Shelby Mustang, this is for you dad!
We then headed over to the GM area. It was massive, in my opinion too massive. It was like walking through a parking lot, just that the cars were shinier and it was 30 degrees outside. GM didn’t have enough interactive displays to make you learn about their cars. I didn’t want to look at 5 trucks all the same model with maybe one or two features that were different, I consider that boring.
The only interactive display I saw was you could make a button….yeah a button. It was near the new Spark that they plan to debut in the United States in 2013. It comes in an array of interesting colors, like Techno Pink, Denim and Lemonade. It’s a real cute car as you can tell by the photo below. Will a lot of men be driving this car? I think not. Being a woman, I liked it.
This is the Techno Pink version. For more info on the Spark, please see this link: http://www.chevrolet.com/spark-mini-car/
They also had an intriguing concept car. The EnV. It looks like an AMC Pacer and a golf cart got together and had a baby. See for yourself:
We then moved on to see the Chrysler display. They didn’t have interactive displays like Ford either. The are reintroducing the Dodge Dart. It looks pretty awesome.
I also saw something that they should be promoting more. I pay attention to new car features however I was completely unaware that Chrysler offered it. It’s Chrysler’s competitor product of GM’s OnStar and Ford’s Sync systems, called UConnect. It gives the driver instructions on how to use some features, it provides GPS, Voice Commands for making phone calls, changing your radio station. UConnect also gives allows you to connect your music devices to your car speaker system. You can pause and replay something up to 30 minutes of programming on Siruis XM, you can also tag songs and have it alert you when your favorite artists are playing on a different station! There is also Wifi built into it, so now you can email, posts pictures and watch video’s while you are in your car. However, I suggest you do those while the car is parked!!! For more information you can visit their website at : http://www.driveuconnect.com/
Here is a video on it from the 2009 Auto Show!
Lastly, one of my favorite cars that was not an American made car was from Volkswagon. It is a concept Volkwagon Beetle eBugster, their all electric car. It’s a two seater, with a more aerodynamic design. It has a built in tablet PC, led lights, a sweet looking dashboard and really cool fog lights! Here is a picture of it below, and I was able to find a video on it as well.
