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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.

BMW 2 Series gets 3-cylinder Mini engine

BMW just keeps lopping off cylinders from its engines and sliding the ever-more-diminutive mills into its models. This spring, Europeans will get some of the automaker's smallest yet thanks to a new entry-level 2 Series that will share a powerplant with the Mini Cooper. The Bavarian company will also introduce a few other tweaks to the compact coupe across the pond. The 218i is the new 2 Series base model, and it shares its 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder with the latest family of Minis. The engine makes the same 134 horsepower and 162 pound-feet of torque, but BMW does have some tiny changes for it. First, the orientation is swapped to fit lengthwise under the hood and drive the rear wheels. Just as importantly, buyers can order it with an eight-speed automatic, rather than the six-speed in the Minis. BMW claims that the little engine gives the 218i a 50:50 weight distribution, and it takes around 8.8 seconds to reach 62 miles per hour with the standard six-speed manual – tack on another tenth for the automatic. Either way, top speed is still a perfectly respectable 132 mph. Those acceleration numbers, incidentally, are over a second slower than what the latest Cooper is quoted at. Beyond this new base model, BMW will bring a few other additions to the 2 Series for Europe. The 220d oil burner will be available with xDrive all-wheel drive, and the company will introduce several new equipment bundles called Advantage, Luxury Line, Sport Line and M Sport. Each will bundle various options and trims together to appeal to buyers. No word yet on whether the 218i will eventually make it to North America, but we aren't holding our breath. Scroll down to read BMW's lengthy release about all of the changes set for the 2 Series. The BMW 2 Series Coupe: New entry-level engines, new model variants, even greater individuality. Premiere of the BMW 218i Coupe with 3-cylinder petrol engine from the new BMW Group engine portfolio and the BMW 220d xDrive Coupe – new and varied range of equipment features for model variants Advantage, Sport Line, Luxury Line and M Sport. Munich. From March 2015, new entry-level engines, a further four-wheel drive model and additional equipment options will increase the diversity of features available for the BMW 2 Series Coupe. With the market launch of the new BMW 218i Coupe, a three-cylinder petrol engine from the BMW Group's latest engine family will be featured for the first time in the brand's sporty and elegant compact model.

BMW will electrify all brands and model lines, including Mini

BMW has announced that it plans to produce a fully electric version of the three-door hatchback Mini. The car will go into production in 2019, and the battery electric drivetrain will be produced at BMW's Bavarian facilities, then transported to Plant Oxford where it will join the cars. BMW says there will remain a diesel variant in addition to the petrol, plug-in hybrid, and EV versions of the Mini. No prototype shots have been released of the upcoming cars; the current one was unveiled in late 2013. The UK production location isn't the only place where BMW builds Minis, as the former Volvo/Mitsubishi/Smart NedCar plant in the Netherlands has been tooled to build some of the 360,000 Minis built yearly. According to the BBC, UK Business Secretary Greg Clark considers the choice to build EV Minis in Britain a "vote of confidence" despite Brexit, and that it would see battery technology development boosted in the UK. By the time the EV version starts production, UK will likely have already left the European Union. The electrification of the Mini is part of BMW Group's continuing addition of full-electric or plug-in versions to all its brands and model series. Of all the vehicles it will sell in 2025, 15-25 percent will be electrified in one way or the other. Similarly to Volvo, BMW sees flexible production to be in a key position in the future: The facilities would have to be able to build all versions at the same time, as markets fluctuate depending on incentives and infrastructure. If EVs sell strongly, the production process can quickly respond to the demand. An electric Mini underwent trials back in 2008, so the full-scale production vehicle would have over a decade's worth of engineering behind it. Green BMW MINI mini ev bmw group