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Detroit Auto Show 2017: the biggest cars, concepts, and news

Every January, the auto industry gathers in Detroit for the (terribly named) North American International Auto Show. It falls just after CES and reminds us that, for all the futuristic tech we saw in Las Vegas, car companies are mostly concerned about selling cars today.This year is no different. We have a handful of concepts that could become cars in a matter of years, not decades, but the bulk of the show is new SUVs, crossovers, and sedans that you'll be able to buy within a few months. We're in Detroit covering our favorite new cars and important stories from the show that will affect the auto industry for the next year, at least until next January when we'll do it all over again.

  • Andrew J. Hawkins

    Jan 18, 2017

    Andrew J. Hawkins

    Why car companies are trying to imitate Uber and Lyft

    North American International Auto Show Features Latest Car Models
    Mark Fields, President and CEO of Ford, speaks about Chariot transit service.
    Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images

    Car companies want to sell as many cars as possible. This is an indisputable fact. But lately they’ve been trying to speak the language of a post-ownership future. They see Uber and Lyft and the trend of more people moving to cities and abandoning their cars, and they’re anxious. They know there is a problem with too many cars on the road and too much traffic and pollution. So they decided to lean into the “mobility” trend and see where it takes them. Ford spun off its own LLC. General Motors launched a car-sharing company. Nearly everyone started overusing terms like “transportation as a service” and “smart cities” without really explaining what they meant or how this is a sustainable business.

    At both CES in Las Vegas and the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this year, this trend was on full display. In Detroit, Ford eschewed the traditional new car reveal in favor of a TED-style talk about smart cities and the future of transportation. Walter Isaacson of the Steve Jobs-biography-fame moderated a totally scripted panel discussion with Ford chairman Bill Ford and CEO Mark Fields, in which they discussed the company’s new business ethos of reducing commuting times and producing “zero waste.” (How do I know it was scripted? I was sitting right by the teleprompter.)

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  • Sean O'Kane

    Jan 15, 2017

    Sean O'Kane

    The 2017 Detroit Auto Show in pictures

    The North American International Auto Show opened to the public this weekend at the Cobo Center in Detroit, Michigan. And while it immediately follows the Consumer Electronics Show, which has increasingly become a place for car companies to flaunt their wildest dreams of the future, Detroit remains a show about cars you’re most likely to be driving in the next few years.

    Sure, there are concepts among the more than 750 cars at this year’s show, like the Nissan Vmotion 2.0 and the autonomous, electric Volkswagen ID Buzz. But for all its pointy edges and its suicide doors, the Nissan looks pedestrian in comparison to the Jetsons vehicles of CES. Volkswagen’s bus concept was far out, but it was was tacked on to the end of a 25-minute presentation about the company’s push into the SUV market.

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  • Jacob Kastrenakes

    Jan 13, 2017

    Jacob Kastrenakes

    Why carmakers want to keep Apple and Google at arm's length

    Apple CarPlay in a Buick Enclave

    The splashiest auto news coming out of CES and the North American International Auto Show has been about new models, self-driving tech, and wild concepts. But in a quieter series of moves, automakers also continued to strengthen their control over what it is we're able to do inside our cars, particularly when it comes to the apps that run on infotainment systems.

    Though carmakers have generally embraced Apple's CarPlay and Google's Android Auto, many are hoping to establish an alternative app system that will be almost entirely under their purview. Automakers bill it as a move to create a seamless experience for their customers, but others in the industry see it as a way to cut Apple and Google out of the equation, so that vehicle manufacturers can continue to sell new services to customers.

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  • Sean O'Kane

    Jan 13, 2017

    Sean O'Kane

    The Lexus UX Concept looks like it will chew you up and spit you out

    Lexus announced the UX Concept SUV at the Paris Motor Show, but the Detroit Auto Show was the first chance for many in the United States to see it up close. And if you’re going to the show, you should make time to see it, because it’s one of the most outlandish cars on display.

    From the side or the rear, the UX Concept looks like a smooth, almost bubbly crossover SUV. Then you start to see it for what it really is: a lavender colored Transformer of a car. For every one of the UX Concept’s curves, it has dozens more sharp angles, all tucked into the headlights, the silly interior, the wheels, or the massive front grille.

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  • Jan 13, 2017

    Verge Staff

    The most important car companies of 2017

    Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

    In the first two weeks of 2017 The Verge has seen 145 displays of automotive-related technology at CES and over 750 show cars up close at the North American International Auto Show. As the dust settles on the two most important auto industry trade shows, we see clear standouts in the competitive race to connectivity, battery powers, and ultimately, the autonomous cars that will drive our future.

    General Motors

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  • Sean O'Kane

    Jan 11, 2017

    Sean O'Kane

    The worst and weirdest cars at the Detroit Auto Show

    Rinspeed’s Oasis concept
    Rinspeed’s Oasis concept

    Here at The Verge, we like to cover cars from a slightly different angle. Also at The Verge, we like to focus on the weird side of internet culture (and just culture) under the banner of TL;DR.

    Lucky for us, car shows, like any big press event, are inherently weird. And things are getting increasingly bizarre as the industry continues to push (or claim it’s pushing) toward an electric, autonomous, and ride-sharing future — things that were all on display at the 2017 Detroit Auto Show.

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  • Andrew J. Hawkins

    Jan 10, 2017

    Andrew J. Hawkins

    Why Volkswagen keeps making microbus throwbacks it never intends to sell

    Volkswagen unveiled another new microbus concept in Detroit — a total blast from the past that probably won’t have much of a future.

    The I.D. Buzz is an all-electric, fully autonomous vehicle meant to harken back to Volkswagen’s glory days of peace signs, bellbottoms, and flower power. If the company actually builds it, the Buzz wouldn’t be the fastest electric vehicle out there, with a top speed of only 99 miles per hour. Nor would it be the most powerful or longest ranging EV, with a 200-kilowatt electric motor and a charging range of only 270 miles.

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  • Sean O'Kane

    Jan 10, 2017

    Sean O'Kane

    The most beautiful car at the Detroit Auto Show is covered in dirt and dead bugs

    The floor of the Detroit Auto Show is littered with beautiful new cars. There’s the wild and angular Nissan Vmotion 2.0, the futuristic Volkswagen I.D. Buzz concept, and the new Kia Stinger, a car that I had an immediate personal affinity for when it was unveiled.

    But the most beautiful car here is not new. In fact, it’s not only two years old, it’s also awful dirty and, in some places, even broken.

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  • Jordan Golson

    Jan 10, 2017

    Jordan Golson

    The Ford GT has a digital instrument cluster to help you drive better at 200 mph

    Ford

    Driving at 200 mph is tricky. There’s so much happening, so quickly, that the driver needs a superhuman ability to focus on what matters and throw away everything else. To help with that task, Ford developed a digital “glass-cockpit” instrument cluster for the Ford GT supercar that changes based on drive mode to show only the most relevant data for the task at hand. In other words, it turned the instrument cluster into a digital screen.

    Ford also plans to bring the GT’s digital instrument cluster to its other cars. The company says in a press release that it will come “to other future Ford vehicles” as well, though Ford is certainly not the first company to launch an all-digital instrument cluster.

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  • Tamara Warren

    Jan 9, 2017

    Tamara Warren

    The Kia Stinger is breaking the Detroit auto show rules

    For every auto show rule there is an exception. This year at the North American International Auto Show, the outlier is the Kia Stinger, a rear-wheel drive sports sedan. In a show that skimps on splash and sizzle, Kia is taking aim at the German car market and the svelte BMW 4 Series of the world. It’s an intentional strategy by the South Korean automaker to stand out from the pack. Kia is banking on infusing razzle dazzle to its more pedestrian product lineup. And it wants the US market to know its here to tango.

    Fluid lines, a long, elegant swoop of a hood, and tight rear quarters are integral to its racy physique. The Kia Stinger has two engines; the juicier option is the 3.3-liter V6 that makes 365 horsepower and clocks 0 to 60 miles per hour in 5.1 seconds. The Stinger is available in rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive. Driving enthusiasts will go crazy for the rear-wheel drive option, but in this Detroit wintery weather, all-wheel drive certainly has its appeal. Kia is only offering an 8-speed automatic transmission.

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  • Jordan Golson

    Jan 9, 2017

    Jordan Golson

    Nissan Vmotion 2.0 concept gives a jolt to boring sedans

    The Nissan Vmotion 2.0 isn't a typical concept car, full of amazing but ultimately meaningless specs and crazy power numbers. Instead, it's all about design. This is what Nissan says will be the design direction for its next generation of sedans, and it looks straight out of Minority Report or I, Robot.

    Design is what separates cars from one another, and gives an unspoken voice to the brand. The Ford Mustang is the Mustang because of the design, not because of what’s under the hood (though that helps) — and even if someone doesn’t particularly care about car design or what their car looks like, car design nonetheless carries significant importance. Lots of cars will get from point A to point B, but the car you drive tells the world something about you.

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  • Tamara Warren

    Jan 9, 2017

    Tamara Warren

    What to expect at the Detroit Auto Show

    North American International Auto Show Features Latest Car Models
    Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

    Detroit may be steeped in its automotive past, but the Motor City is not feeling all that nostalgic about its contributions to the car industry. In the past, the North American International Auto show has been defined by muscle cars, concepts that celebrated iconic brand history, and pure unadulterated horsepower. But as the week of vehicle debuts kicks off at Cobo Hall, the news is all about the practical present, and a nod toward the uncertain future.

    Sure there’s promise of a swanky super-connected Lexus LS flagship sedan, rumors of a Corvette, and parked outside of the show, the fastest Bentley ever, but absent from the press conference parade are the big-ticket sports cars and wild concept cars by domestic automakers. The press previews began Sunday afternoon and the show opens to the public on Saturday and runs through January 22nd. On the agenda is a lot of talk about the future, but the vehicles scheduled to be revealed are all about cashing in on what’s on the streets today.

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  • Jordan Golson

    Jan 8, 2017

    Jordan Golson

    An up-close look at Bentley’s 209-mph Continental Supersports

    If you have three friends and you all need to get somewhere really quickly, perhaps the Bentley Continental Supersports is the car for you. It’s the fastest accelerating Bentley ever, and the fastest four-seat car ever built. 0-60 mph in 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 209 mph is enough to snap anyone’s head back, all thanks to a massive six-liter twin-turbo W12 engine that puts out 700 horsepower and 750 lb-ft of torque. There’s a convertible version, too, though removing the roof slows things down slightly — it can do 0–60 in 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 205 mph.

    The Verge got a look at the car in an alley behind a Detroit art galley, a literal breath of fresh (frigid) air from the sterile environs of the show floor. It’s outrageous but dignified, full of angles and muscle and splitters. It’s ready to pounce but still oozing with Bentley-ness. It’s everything that a Grand Tourer should be: a long-distance cruiser with the oomph to outrun anyone you’re likely to run into, while still keeping you more comfortable than should be possible at triple-digit speeds.

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  • Google’s new self-driving minivans will be hitting the road at the end of January 2017

    Waymo, the self-driving car startup spun-off from Google late last year, will be deploying its fleet of self-driving Chrysler Pacifica minivans onto public roads for the first time later this month, the company announced at the North American International Auto Show today.

    The minivans will be hitting the roads in Mountain View, California and Phoenix, Arizona, where the company’s self-driving Lexus SUVs have already driven thousands of miles over the past few years. Also today, Waymo gave the public its first look at the self-driving Pacificas, which have been under wraps since the deal between Google and Fiat Chrysler was first announced back in May 2016.

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