The Buick Encore crossover is due out late this year. (General Motors)
DETROIT — As the recession dragged on, the Detroit auto show began to feel like boot camp for automakers, dealers and even the press: something to be doggedly endured, not enjoyed.
But the industry that has emerged from that economic trial is showing renewed fitness.
The relief and sense of accomplishment was palpable at this year's North American International Auto Show, which opened to the public Jan. 14, as automakers rolled out an impressive wave of spit-shined recruits for showrooms.
The BMW 335i is due out in February with a V-6 engine. (BMW)
The Toyota NS4 concept previews the company's new design. (Toyota)
"Everyone is on their game now," says Jim O'Sullivan, a third-generation Detroiter who started at Ford in 1976 and is now the chief executive of Mazda North American Operations. "There's just nothing weak at this show."
The industry's momentum was apparent at Ford, whose handsomely redesigned Fusion sedan includes gasoline, hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions, the latter promising the electric equivalent of more than 100 mpg. In fact, visitors to the show, which runs through Sunday, might trip over all the cords to the plug-ins on display.
An array of stylish, feature-laden small and midsize cars and crossovers are also on display. Instead of the Hummers it once promoted, General Motors offered the Buick Encore, which is actually smaller than many compact crossovers.
Cadillac introduced the ATS to compete with the BMW 3 Series, whose new generation also made its debut here. Dodge, which built macho pickups for decades, offered the Dart, a compact based on an Alfa Romeo platform from the Fiat garage. Audi brought back the Allroad wagon, now based on the A4.
The new-model eye candy included the latest Mercedes SL convertible, a concept version of the coming Acura NSX sports car and a design study for a 2-plus-2 coupe from Lexus, the LF-LC. An unexpected splash came from Lincoln, whose remade MKZ sedan, arguably the show's most overlooked design, signaled that Ford Motor is at last serious about reviving its luxury brand.
Here are some highlights among the roughly 40 new production and concept models in Detroit:
Acura ILX
Acura's perky little sedan effectively disguises its Honda Civic roots while keeping the base price well below $30,000. Due to go on sale in April, its option list will include Acura's first hybrid powertrain, a performance version of the Civic Hybrid's 1.5-liter gas engine with an electric assist.
Acura NSX concept
Enthusiasts who've dreamed of the return of the Japanese supercar fighter will get their wish in 2015. The show-stopping NSX is a midengine V-6 hybrid concept; Acura said a production version would be built in Marysville, Ohio.
BMW 3 Series
Four cylinders in the 3 Series is the big story at BMW, with a standard 245-horsepower, 2-liter engine in the redesigned 328i supplying a class-beating 36 mpg on the highway. The upscale 335i version keeps its 300-horsepower turbo in-line 6. Buyers will see this 3 Series sedan in late February, joined by all-wheel-drive and ActiveHybrid versions in the fall.
Buick Encore
On the size-XL heels of the Enclave, this pint-size crossover arrives late in 2012. Powered by the 1.4-liter turbo 4 from the Chevrolet Cruze, it offers a choice of front- or all-wheel drive.
Cadillac ATS
Cadillac unveiled its compact sport sedan last week at the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit. Resembling a small-scale CTS, the ATS, bound for showrooms in late summer, is a modern BMW fighter with three available engines and a choice of rear or all-wheel drive.
Chevrolet Code 130R and Tru 140S concepts
This pair of youth-focused design studies included the Tru 140S, a slinky four-cylinder "affordable exotic" based on the Chevy Cruze. The compact Code 130R, looking like a BMW 1 Series crossed with a Motown muscle car, offered rear drive and a decidedly unmuscular 150-horsepower four-cylinder.
Dodge Dart
Reviving a name from its past, Dodge will aim its Dart at the heart of the affordable compact market beginning in the second quarter of 2012. Based on the platform of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta, and starting at $15,995 excluding delivery, the sleek sedan will offer three engines, including a powerful 184-horse turbo 4.
Ford C-Max hybrid and C-Max Energi
Ford's first stand-alone hybrid nameplates, the C-Max Hybrid and C-Max Energi, are gas-electric and plug-in versions of a compact Focus-based people hauler. On sale this fall, the C-Max Hybrid will deliver about 45 mpg in combined city and highway driving; Ford expects the plug-in Energi to drive more than 15 miles on battery power alone and beat the Chevy Volt's federally rated mileage equivalent of 93 mpg.
Ford Fusion
Ford's redesigned family sedan decisively addresses the blind spot of the current squarish model with sleek styling — even if that meant shamelessly cribbing design cues from Ford's former Aston Martin and Jaguar brands. Gasoline and hybrid Fusions go on sale in summer, with the hybrid targeting a class-best 47/45 mpg in city and on the highway. The Energi plug-in hybrid follows this fall, with all three models seeking to drive Fusion up the sales charts alongside the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry.
Honda Accord Coupe
A concept in name only, the Accord is a virtual dead ringer for the showroom coupe that will arrive this fall, together with a new sedan. The Accord will introduce Honda's first direct-injection four-cylinder engine, upgraded to 181 horsepower. An optional 3.5-liter V-6 will soldier on, and a plug-in hybrid version rounds out a lineup that Honda will pit against challengers like the Hyundai Sonata and Volkswagen Passat.
Lexus LF-LC concept
Lexus' 2-plus-2 sport coupe sparked teenage fantasies with its intergalactic styling, though the car has a real purpose, signaling the future evolution of Lexus design. The front-engine, rear-drive hybrid could be toned down and modified for production in coming years.
Lincoln MKZ concept
While it may keep its nondescript alphanumeric name, the Ford Fusion-based MKZ will look to shake its anonymous personality with a more distinctive design and luxurious cabin. Including an especially graceful rear three-quarter view, the concept model offers a strong hint of what the 2013 production model will look like.
Maserati Kubang concept
A Jeep Grand Cherokee platform wrapped in an Italian suit, the Kubang crossover goes into production next year in a Chrysler assembly plant in Detroit. It will get a Ferrari-designed V-8 engine and Maserati-engineered steering, brakes and suspension, but lose the clunky Kubang name, to be replaced by something Italian.
Mercedes-Benz SL550
Slimmed down by hundreds of pounds, the aluminum-intensive SL550 convertible takes flight this spring, in time for one-upmanship in the Hamptons. Starting at $105,875, the SL features a twin-turbo 4.6-liter V-8 with 429 horsepower and a monstrous 516 pound-feet of torque.
Nissan Pathfinder
Bulging and swooping like its deluxe Infiniti JX cousin, the seven-passenger Pathfinder SUV returns to a car-based structure when a 2013 production model goes on sale this fall. An improved V-6 engine will lift economy by nearly 25 percent, Nissan claims.
Scion FR-S
Call it Son of Celica: The FR-S is a welcome bit of mischief from Toyota, a spunky, affordable, rear-drive sport coupe with a 200-horsepower boxer 4. The Scion's near-identical sister car, the Subaru BRZ, will also reach dealers in the spring.
Toyota NS4
Setting its time machine to 2015, Toyota says the swoopy NS4 previews the company's new design direction in coming years. In other words, it looks nothing like the dishwater Corolla or Camry. The concept model highlights Toyota's new global midsize platform and a more-efficient plug-in hybrid system that is being developed.
Volkswagen E-Bugster
A chopped-roof rival to the new Mini Coupe, VW's two-seat, all-electric Beetle features a 114-horsepower motor and a claimed range of more than 100 miles.
The number of new-models introduced at the 2012 Detroit auto show suggest a growing recovery from a downturn that felled many brands entirely and caused other automakers to scale back new-model development or delay production plans. As consumers return to showrooms in coming years — many by necessity, with the median age of the U.S. car near record highs — they'll be tempted by an explosion of new models.
Subtracting models lost when brands like Pontiac were shuttered, the industry's net gain in new models was just four in 2010 and 13 in 2011, according to LMC Automotive, a research firm. Looking ahead, LMC projects a turnaround in which consumers will see net gains of 47 new or redesigned models in 2012, 66 in 2013 and 47 more in 2014.
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