Detroit Reloaded

[New_Mexico_Sunset_on_Rt66]

Detroit Reloaded
American carmakers showed off saucy remakes of classic muscle cars on day two of the Auto Show, while VW, BMW and Nissan set their sights on new markets.

WEB-EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARY
By Keith Naughton
Updated: 2:16 p.m. ET Jan. 10, 2006
Move over Hollywood. Detroit is the new home of the sequel. At least that's what it felt like at the Detroit Auto Show this week.


The remake of the Chevy Camaro was the King Kong of the Detroit show on Monday, day two of the press preview. Gawkers buzzed around it like biplanes long after it was unveiled by General Motors execs in the morning. Across crowded Cobo Hall, the reborn Dodge Challenger was also getting its fair share of attention, with a constant stream of camera crews giving the orange muscle car its close-up. Both cars are headed for a street-rod smack down with the hot-selling reinvention of the Ford Mustang. With all the testosterone pouring from those tailpipes, you would have thought it was 1970 again (and wouldn't Detroit love that?).

Of course, as Hollywood knows so painfully, not all sequels pan out, some just get panned. Detroit has learned that lesson, too. GM's tepid remake of the Pontiac GTO two years ago got about as much traction as "Herbie: Fully Loaded." And Ford's reincarnated T-Bird never lived up to its hype. But as the Mustang (and the Nissan 350Z before it) shows, a car company can make a lot of gold by mining its past. And with Detroit automakers desperate for a hit, there's nothing quite as tempting as the tried and true. "It's not for a lack of great ideas," GM Chief Designer Ed Welburn told me as he gave me a walk-around of his sharply dressed new Camaro. "This is something we own. And it's a road other brands can't travel down because they don't have a Camaro."

Welburn parked his vintage '69 Camaro in the design studio to inspire his stylists as they were sculpting the new model. But Welburn had pimped his ride with a bumblebee paint job, big rims and a modern beefy steering wheel. No surprise then, that the new Camaro has massive 23-inch wheels, a thick steering wheel and stick shift that looks like an aluminum baseball. Its scowling shark snout and pouncing muscular tail makes this car looks like it's ready to attack anyone who gets in the way. Welburn admitted it’s as much a homage to the early '60s Corvette Stingray (his favorite car of all time) as it is to the late '60s Camaro. Still, its sharp lines and creases give it a modern look that makes it more than just a retro rehash. "This car," says Peter DeLorenzo, publisher of AutoExtremist.com, "is best in show.".......


He calls out Toyota later in the article, where the subject of the 2007 Camry comes up:

"America's favorite automotive appliance, the Toyota Camry,"

<more>
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10791238/site/newsweek/

[LI CADILLAC]

WOW, Peter DeLorenzo has something nice to say about GM. Hell just froze over. I hope the production model looks exactly the same

[Quickening]

Wheres Toyota's response? O thats right..they suck at sports cars.

Maybe Lutz can pull a miracle and get this baby out before 09.

[Nocturn_Bird]

At least toyota can stay progressive...and I hate toyota.

[banzai79]

Inventing new wrappers for toasters on wheels is hardly 'progressive.'

[Infiniti Z350]

Originally Posted by banzai79

Inventing new wrappers for toasters on wheels is hardly 'progressive.'

Wow, that "toaster" crack is so original. Cars don't become best-sellers on reputation alone.

[kool_zx3]

Originally Posted by Quickening

Wheres Toyota's response? O thats right..they suck at sports cars.

Maybe Lutz can pull a miracle and get this baby out before 09.

Supra,mr2,celica.... do they ring a bell.

[Blue_Firestarter]

Originally Posted by kool_zx3

Supra,mr2,celica.... do they ring a bell.

They make how many of those now.. That's right.. They do suck at sports cars...

[Canuck]

LOL, the MR2 and Celica, what a great list of sports cars. The Supra was good but way overpriced, which killed it.
I wonder if Toyota, Nissan, will ever enter the muscle car market. An affordable V8 with RWD with a backseat made in Japan. Could a Japanese musclecar appear at autoshow?

[DuSpinnst]

Originally Posted by Infiniti Z350

Wow, that "toaster" crack is so original. Cars don't become best-sellers on reputation alone.

Just because it's not original (and because you don;t like it) doesn't make it any less valid as a point. You should be better with comebacks like, well those toasters sure are selling well. But you seem to be very bad at the art of arguing sarcastically.

[New_Mexico_Sunset_on_Rt66]

Originally Posted by Infiniti Z350

Cars don't become best-sellers on reputation alone.

And they can't stay that way based upon reputation alone, neither.

[parakleets]

Originally Posted by Canuck

LOL, the MR2 and Celica, what a great list of sports cars. The Supra was good but way overpriced, which killed it.
I wonder if Toyota, Nissan, will ever enter the muscle car market. An affordable V8 with RWD with a backseat made in Japan. Could a Japanese musclecar appear at autoshow?

It's not so affordable, but most of the world knows the delights of the Nissan Skyline GTR. We will be getting a version, in a year or so. This car is the definition of the "muscle car formula". It has a long hood, short deck, and RWD. The powerplant is a turbocharged V6, but the Buick Regal T-Type GNX was powered by a similar engine, and that was definitely a muscle car! I would like to see Honda or Toyota take on the last tradionally American class of car. Most likely, Hyundai will be the first Asian brand to bring affordable RWD, V8-power to America.

[DuSpinnst]

Originally Posted by parakleets

It's not so affordable, but most of the world knows the delights of the Nissan Skyline GTR. We will be getting a version, in a year or so. This car is the definition of the "muscle car formula". It has a long hood, short deck, and RWD. The powerplant is a turbocharged V6, but the Buick Regal T-Type GNX was powered by a similar engine, and that was definitely a muscle car! I would like to see Honda or Toyota take on the last tradionally American class of car. Most likely, Hyundai will be the first Asian brand to bring affordable RWD, V8-power to America.

Honda will not enter this market, it goes against their image of "green"

Toyota tried to make muscle cars or affordable sports cars and failed. I don't know why they chose to kill the Celica and bring out the tC, the tC is far more an inferior effort than the Celica was.

[New_Mexico_Sunset_on_Rt66]

Originally Posted by DuSpinnst

Honda will not enter this market, it goes against their image of "green"

Toyota tried to make muscle cars or affordable sports cars and failed. I don't know why they chose to kill the Celica and bring out the tC, the tC is far more an inferior effort than the Celica was.

I'm sure Toyota killed the Celica with every intention of bringing it back, similar to the Camaro. I'm sure we'll see a new Celeica in the next few years. The MR2 was/is nice. I wonder why it hasn't sold better? The Honda S2000 is also very appealing.

[NemesiSupra]

Originally Posted by Blue_Firestarter

They make how many of those now.. That's right.. They do suck at sports cars...

I hope you parants can keep an eye on you 24-7 once the Skyline hits America and mauls the Vett you might get suicidal.

They will need to put you on meds when the Supra returns.