What You Can't Miss at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show
This year’s North American International Auto Show is filled with an eye-popping array of new cars, trucks and SUVs from production entries like the redesigned-for-2016 Chevrolet Volt and the oh-yes-they’re-going-to-build it Ford GT to cool concepts like Hyundai’s urban-family pickup, the Santa Cruz crossover utility and Buick’s curvaceous sedan, the Avenir concept.
More 2015 Detroit Auto Show Coverage
The show opens to the public on Saturday at Cobo Center in Detroit; click here for ticket info and show times. There will be plenty to take in at the show, but these must-see cars shouldn’t be missed. Check out the Cars.com editorial team’s list of Detroit favorites:
Buick Avenir Concept
Aaron Bragman, Detroit bureau chief
“There’s a lot of truly stylish new cars at this year’s show, but one that could be very significant that you shouldn’t miss is the Buick Avenir Concept. This is GM’s thought for a global Buick luxury flagship, and don’t be surprised if a lot of what you see here ends up on the next LaCrosse, or even as a new rear-wheel-drive flagship model.”
Ford GT
Joe Bruzek, road test editor
“Pictures have a hard time conveying just how extreme Ford went with the GT. It’s insanely long, sleek and has a shape more similar to a spacecraft you’d see in a sci-fi movie than anything designed to be on the road.”
“With aging parents and in-laws with limited mobility, I find myself evaluating vehicles for their ease of ingress and egress. The Toyota Sienna outfitted with Toyota Mobility’s Auto Access Seat caught my eye. It’s available on the Sienna LE and XLE trims.”
“It might not be the most exciting car at the show but my pick is Lincoln’s redesigned MKX; if it’s as well done as the brand’s new compact MKC crossover, then it should be a significant vehicle. The new MKX also celebrates the return of real buttons to the control panel – it wisely ditches the previous model’s glitchy touch-sensitive panels for actual buttons and knobs.”
“This year’s Detroit Auto Show was chock-full of supercars and high-performance sedans, but the Buick Avenir concept car stood out in spite of them. It’s a beautiful sedan with a lot of presence, and it shows off some interesting styling ideas. This car was one of the show’s nice surprises.”
“I was really underwhelmed with our long-term test Volt. The electric-vehicle range wasn’t great, it wasn’t nice to drive and the center stack of controls was the worst, most illogical and hard-to-use of any car I’ve ever driven. Period. But this new Volt looks a little more fully formed, as if Chevrolet saw where it came up short with the previous model and sweated the details this time around. It looks much better, both inside and out.”
“What you can’t miss: the rear fender openings on the Ford GT. They’re concept-car enormous, funneling air past the cabin’s teardrop shape and beneath a couple cross-members that trail the roofline to an enormous, adjustable tail spoiler.”
“Even with so many trucks at this year’s show I was surprised that a truck made my top list of things to see. The Hyundai Santa Cruz concept is one cool-looking truck. With the rebirth of the midsize truck segment maybe we’ll see this on the roads. “
“Perhaps it’s a bit egotistical for me to say but there is a Bentley Continental GT Convertible Speed — yes, that’s the full name — on the show floor in what can only be described as Cars.com Purple. OK, Bentley calls it Azure Purple but we’re going to adopt it as our unofficial company car.”
“Guangzhou Automotive Group is the new kid on the block and definitively isn’t shying away from funky innovation. Take a look at its gull-winged unmanned concept Witstar. If you get bored sitting behind the steering wheel on a long trip, turn your seat around backward, have a chat with backseat passengers and calm your driver(less) nerves by gazing upon a gurgling fish tank in the rear-seat armrest.”
“Don’t miss the 2017 F-150 Raptor and its all-new high-performance 3.5-liter EcoBoost that will stay exclusive to Raptor, 10-speed transmission that will roll out to rest of F-150 lineup and a new terrain management transfer case that has an on-road track setting. Wait what? On the second ring of must-sees is the all-new 2016 Nissan Titan XD, the modestly redesigned and reengineered 2016 Tacoma, the 2015 Ram 1500 Rebel and the Hyundai Santa Cruz concept.”
Cars.com photos by Evan Sears, David Thomas and Kristin Varela
