365 Brand New Days: Day 18 - Attend the North American International Auto Show

Date: January 24th, 2010

As American cities go, Detroit needs some work. The economy is not fantastic and, up until recently, a man who thought this was a good idea was running the place. But if there is one thing Detroit does amazingly well (besides being directly north of Canada), its cars. Detroit knows cars like Maine knows lobsters, DC knows politics and Lubbock knows shoveling. So when I found out the auto show was in town, it seemed silly not to check it out. Especially because I'd never been before.

The first thing we saw when we got there was a demonstration of a Ford SUV that can parallel park itself. I'm not kidding. It was a beautiful sight. Do you know what that means? I means that whoever figured this out was actually doing something useful. And here I thought math was for dummies. Stay in school, kids.

It was a lot of fun for me, mostly because it was such a departure from what I normally think about. I assumed, since I'm not much of a car person, that I'd probably just wander around bored for a little while. That wasn't the case. I found myself actually wondering about the features of some of the cars and what made any one model better than any other. I don't think I've thought about or talked about cars that much in my life. The best part is, I found the perfect car for me. Its nothing showy. Just a nice, practical, point-A-to-point-B model. You know the kind.

Pictured: Practicality

The show was not just for civilians, which I thought was really nice. There were actually new model fire engines, ambulances, dog-washing trucks, ice-cream trucks and all other manner of important business vehicles. In fact, they even had a great new idea for police cars that I just loved.

Officer, this car has earned you my respect.

We weren't entirely sure where to start. The thing about a big show like this is that the crowd and the exhibits can be a little overwhelming. It wasn't overwhelming in the "I need to go home and curl up in the fetal position" way so much as the kid's-first-trip-to-Disneyland way. Every time one thing looks cool, something else a few feet away looks cooler. Except the Scions. Those were still ugly as sin.

What were they thinking? I mean, really?

Of course, some companies took the show more seriously than others. There were some amazing concept cars on display from almost every company. Apparently a concept car doesn't have to be complete to be show-worthy. This is what I was told. I mention that because we saw cars missing side mirrors and little things like that, but that showed what the maker was going for just fine.

...but Acura totally just phoned it in...

...and Tesla didn't even wash their car.

It looks like they drove it across the country. Gross.

One of the things I loved was how gimmicky it got. The companies didn't hesitate to do whatever it took to get people to pay attention to their displays. A few companies went for classic style; like Mercedes Benz, who only presented cars in silver. Because, ya know, they're classy. Others had cool displays where you could look at fuel usage, pick out colors or press random buttons that caused shiny things to move. They know their audience well.

In context, this made total sense.

There were a ton of hybrid and electric cars on display. So far, the industry has not quite mastered the electric car situation. They're still a little hung up on who they think is going to drive an electric car. I mean, there were some traditional sedans, but not many. Let me show you what I'm talking about. How can I show you, you ask? Oh...

We gonna rock down to Electric Avenue

Seriously though. It was both exciting and depressing at the same time. The same people who managed to create a car battery that can run off a standard AC outlet in anyone's garage are the people who thought this would be a good idea:

Did they grow it or build it? We don't know.

And this:

Does this car make me look fat?

Alex and Justin were kind enough to come with me to the show so it wasn't just the wanderings of a random 20-something in a room full of cars. It was great to have some company. Especially because they both enjoyed the show a lot. It is a lot easier to enjoy something when you're with people who like it too.

This is what happens at auto shows. Didn't you know?

Alex is destructive.

Justin has superhuman strength. Look. He's not even flexing.

Overall it was a great experience and I learned a decent amount about cars. There were several displays explaining different companies' engine designs, fuel systems, and other car-related important technical details. I'd like to share a few of my important takeaways with you all.