The latest version of the Honda FCV Concept will make its debut at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show.
With U.S. auto sales booming, and forecasts for 2015 looking even better, optimism abounds as the industry gets ready to roll out its latest and greatest at the annual North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
As many as 45 all-new cars, trucks and crossovers are scheduled to make their debut in the Motor City, everything from plug-in hybrids to supercars – and even a hybrid supercar, the reborn Acura NSX that is one of the most eagerly awaited debuts on next week’s schedule.
“It’s not just about the count,” suggests Rod Alberts, the head of the Detroit Auto Dealers Association, which sponsors the well-attended annual event. “These are all significant vehicles” likely to have a big impact on a car market still recovering from its worst downturn in decades.
The show comes not only at a time of booming sales, but also at a moment when fuel prices have plunged to their lowest levels in years. And that’s reflected in the list of new products making their debut, which includes a number of high-performance vehicles and trucks.
Nissan offers a first look at a thinly disguised version of its 2016 Titan pickup.
Where Ford delivered the big news in pickups a year ago, however, it’s the Japanese who hope to dominate that segment at the 2015 NAIAS.
After a series of delays, Nissan will finally roll out a replacement for its slow-selling Titan pickup truck next week. The full-size model will face off against the domestic models – such as Ford’s newly redesigned F-150 – that dominate the market, but Nissan is expected to deliver a bigger, more capable Titan offering a new stump-pulling diesel engine that could find a niche in the resurgent pickup segment.
Toyota, meanwhile, will weigh in with its next-generation midsize Tacoma pickup, hoping to maintain its sales leadership as it comes under assault from two new offerings from General Motors.
Toyota is also promising to unveil two new high-performance models for its Lexus luxury division, including a 467-horsepower version of its mid-range GS model. Sports cars and other high performance vehicles will abound in the city that invented the muscle car. But many of them will carry Japanese and European badges, including the C450 AMG Sport part of an “affordable” new line of high-performance models from Mercedes-Benz.
(To see a quick guide to the 2015 Detroit Auto Show’s most important debuts, Click Here.)
At the other extreme, Chevrolet will plug into the 2015 Detroit Auto Show with an all-new version of the Chevrolet Volt. The first mass-market plug-in hybrid is expected to deliver more electric range, higher fuel economy in gas mode, and offer a roomier, more upscale interior.
While the plunge in fuel prices has hit hard the “green” segment of the U.S. market, manufacturers aren’t walking away from high-mileage and alternate fuel technologies. At a pre-show media briefing, General Motors CEO Mary Barra stressed that her company “remains committed” to adding more vehicles like Volt to its line-up – even if it is “responding to customer demand” by boosting truck production.
(Get an early look at some of the vehicles debuting in Detroit, such as the Toyota Tacoma, Chevy Volt, Nissan Titan, Acura NSX and Honda FCV.)
Honda will bring the final production version of its hydrogen-powered FCV sedan to Detroit’s Cobo Hall. And Hyundai will have two high-mileage versions of its midsize Sonata sedan, an updated hybrid and the company’s first plug-in hybrid.
(Click Here for details about Jeep surpassing the 1-million unit sales mark in 2014.)
One of the most intriguing introductions set for Detroit, however, is the 2016 Acura NSX. The original model, launched in 1990, showed that the Japanese could challenge even the most exotic European brands. The new two-seater could again redefine the performance car. The new NSX will pair a turbocharged V-6 with a three-motor hybrid system that is expected to yield Ferrari-like performance, and Toyota Prius fuel economy.
The broad mix of new products will draw at least 5,000 journalists to the 2015 North American International Auto Show’s two-day media preview. Show organizers, meanwhile, hope to see public attendance reach its highest levels since the start of the Great Recession. They’ve already gotten $5 million in preliminary ticket orders for the black tie charity gala that officially opens the show next Friday.
This preview first appeared on NBCnews.com