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Why the 2015 Detroit Auto Show will be the best since The Crisis

The Detroit Auto Show clearly has its swagger back, and the 2015 edition will be a veritable feast for the enthusiast senses. We're talking serious performance, and it will be exhibited in a variety of forms. Sports cars. Supercars. Muscle-bound luxury cars. They're all set for splashy debuts in January in the Motor City. It's another signpost that companies have recovered from the global economic crisis that gripped the industry from 2008-09. For a while, automakers played it safe at Detroit and other shows. Environmentally friendly cars were important, especially for General Motors and Chrysler that were living on loans from Uncle Sam. Ford, Toyota and other companies generally focused on their best-selling or core models. With a few notable exceptions, recent auto shows have been a bit more buttoned-down than in the past. Boring probably isn't the right word, but austerity has been reality. That's changing. Car companies are making money. Sales are up. Aside from the many nagging recalls – and they are notable – the industry now has the time and energy to make performance cars a priority. That will be offered in hard evidence in Detroit. A year from now when we look back at this auto show, we'll sum it up with one word: Horsepower. But make no mistake, this isn't frivolous. Sports and luxury cars are expensive. They're profitable. They boost images and highlight strengths. With that in mind, here are five significant performance-oriented reveals to watch for when the show kicks off in less than two weeks. 2016 Acura NSX Acura's reborn NSX is a strong bet to earn plenty of votes for our Editors' Choice awards. It's one of the most anticipated – and strung-out – reveals of the year. Think back: we actually saw an NSX concept at the 2012 Detroit show, and Acura has spent the last three years teasing the car in a variety of ways. The slow burn, however, means we know a lot about the NSX. It's will use a mid-mounted twin-turbo hybrid powertrain and run with all-wheel drive. It will also wear an innovative zirconium e-coat paint, a new paint process that Honda says is more environmentally friendly. Honda has also said it will build the new NSX in Ohio, where a large part of the car's development work has been done. The original NSX was produced from 1990-2005 and helped establish Acura's performance credentials in the United States. It was a landmark car and a shot across the bow of Ferrari, Lamborghini and others.

Off-road Cadillac Escalade adds some extra bush country capability

So, you're a dyed-in-the-wool General Motors fan, but like the notion of a machine like the Hennessey Velociraptor. We have good news for you. Behold the Aria Coachworks XPLORE Cadillac Escalade. For a modest fee, Aria will outfit your Escalade with a custom suspension, BF Goodrich all-terrain tires wrapped around aluminum wheels, a Warn winch and a special exhaust. There's even a snorkel option for those of you with aspirations toward deep water crossings. Consider yourself warned, however: unlike other GMT900 SUVs, the Cadillac only has an all-wheel drive system, not the more rugged four-wheel drive setup of the Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon). Outside, the luxury SUV gets matte paint, black chrome trim, XPLORE power running boards and a roof rack system.
The interior also receives a few fun changes as well, but we're more interested in the fact that buyers can snag a power roof top tent. You know, in case you need to camp out at Best Buy for the PS4. There's also a matching camp trailer and, our personal favorite, a matching BMW GS motorcycle. Bikes not your bag of tricks? That's fine. Aria will also sell you a matched Airstream trailer or Old Town wooden canoes. As much as we want to hate this, we love the notion of bashing through the woods in a $100,000 Cadillac battlewagon with our GS in tow. Check the press release below for more information.

2015 Cadillac Escalade is exactly what you expect [w/video]

Leading up to the debut of the 2015 Cadillac Escalade, we were told that the new luxo-SUV would be "much less ostentatious" and that we could expect greater differentiation from its Chevy Tahoe/Suburban and GMC Yukon siblings. And while those things may be true to some extent, after digesting the full raft of Escalade information and photography, we can say that this new 2015 model is exactly what we were expecting all along.
No, there isn't a single part of the new Escalade package makes us go "wow" or "ooh," but it still looks like a solid, nicely updated offering that will surely attract the same sort of baller status when it hits the road. For starters, the new front end has been completely redesigned, where cleaner, tauter lines work with the full-LED headlamps and running lamps to create a face that, while familiar, falls right in line with the rest of Cadillac's lineup. Around the sides, the shape is exactly the same as the rest of the SUV's platform mates, with better-fitting body panels and a handsome, upright design. Of course, 20-inch wheels are standard, and hifalutin' 22-inch rollers are available (in chrome, we assume). Things get really interesting around back, where full-LED taillamps extend from the bumper all the way up to the top of the tailgate, and - like the Tahoe/Suburban/Yukon - the rear window wiper has been integrated into the top of the hatch for a cleaner look. It all looks pretty modern and good, but doesn't really tone down the otherwise flashiness of the Escalade package.
Like its predecessor, the new Escalade will be available in standard- and extended-wheelbase formats (bring on the EXT!). Only one engine is available: GM's 6.2-liter EcoTec3 V8, good for 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque, mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. Both two- and four-wheel drive configurations will be offered, and the new Escalade should be a bit better to drive than the previous model, with a new coil-over front suspension and five-link rear setup, a wider track, variable-assist electric power steering and Cadillac's Magnetic Ride Control system with Tour and Sport modes.