Detroit Auto show visit

[JackDodge]

I finally got down to Deeeetroit to the auto show. It was crowded as heck. The Ford Super Chief actually looks a lot better in person (heh) than it does in photographs. It's very comfy looking, especially for the passengers in the backseat who get a bar, twin widescreen plasma TVs and footstools. It's a real beast and I still think it's ugly but wow.

The Dodge ( ) section was amazing, if not for the vehicles but for the monstrous Dodge insignia that towered above everything else. It must have been close to touching the ceiling which is a good two stories high.

The Ford Mustang was stunning in it's utterly black perfection. That car doesn't have an ugly side. It's thoroughly beautiful. The GT looks like a genuine contender for the hot car contest. I'd pick it over a Ferrari any day. You couldn't even get close to the Ferraris, by the way, even though they didn't bring any of the truy hot models with them. The crowd was three or four deep all the way around that area.

The main attraction at the Toyota section was, of course, the new hybrid Camry. As I listened to the model telling us what it would do with things like the smart key, it all sounded like a repeat of what the Prius already does. They had one display of the Prius without its doors but the 2006 isn't that much different from the 2005 although the salesman said that there's a rear camera this year. They also had a complete 2006 Prius up on a raised floor that was close to the black Camry hybrid that was up on the main pedestal with the female model in a very nice white suit. I talked so much to the salesman at the doorless Prius that people started asking ME questions. Later, I talked with a couple about the Prius on the raised floor. He was going to buy a Prius but they couldn't come up with one in time so he went with a Buick. His wife was clearly interested in, if not smitten with, the Prius and drank in my every word. She loved all of the room in the back as I folded the seats down and removed the screen.

Over at the Honda section, I got to sit in the Civic Hybrid. It doesn't have a display screen, it's shifter looks identical to any shifter that sits in between the driver and the passenger. The key isn't smart, it's a regular key that you have to plug in and turn as you would with any run-of-the-mill, gas-only car. The mileage sticker said 49 city, 51 hwy as I recall.

My traitorous Prius salesman was sitting behind the Honda counter. Evidently, he switched over to the Honda dealership in Farmington.

Not exactly a thorough review of the entire show but those were the highlights of my little tour. Detroit looked awfully clean and nice. Must be because of the Superbowl coming up. Everyone was very peaceful and I didn't see any trouble, although I did see an awful lot of cops everywhere