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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.

First Cadillac ELR rolls off the line

Gearing up for the Belle Isle Grand Prix this weekend, General Motors invited some of the Chevrolet and Cadillac racecar drivers out to its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant. While there, the racers - including IndyCar Driver and Chevrolet Volt owner, Simona De Silvestro - witnessed the very first 2014 Cadillac ELR to roll off the assembly line.
These vehicles are not destined for customers, however, but instead pre-production units will be used by engineers for testing purposes. Actual production of ELR consumer models is expected to commence closer to the end of this year. As a refresher, this range-extended electric Cadillac shares much of its powertrain with the Volt but will have a sportier coupe design inspired by the Converj Concept. De Silvestro manged to snap a few images of here own, which you can see in the gallery below.

2015 Cadillac ATS Coupe priced from $37,995*

Cadillac has released pricing details on its new-for-2014 ATS Coupe. The new model, which will be available with buyer's choice of a 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder or a 3.6-liter V6 (the ATS Sedan's base 2.5 won't be making the trip) can be had with optional all-wheel-drive in place of the standard rear-wheel setup, while customers can also snag a six-speed manual or six-speed auto.
Prices start at $37,995, which represents a $2,900 premium over the 2014 ATS Sedan (pricing on the 2015 four-door isn't available yet) with the same 2.0-liter engine. Still, the ATS Coupe starts at just over $2,500 less than a base BMW 428i, which is also less powerful and offers less standard equipment. The Caddy is also less costly than the Mercedes-Benz C250 Coupe, although only by about $200. It's even cheaper than the Audi A5, which starts at $38,105, but that model includes all-wheel drive as standard. It should be noted that these prices are without their respective destination charges (*$995 for the Caddy, $925 each for the BMW and the Mercedes and $895 for the Audi).
Unfortunately, Cadillac hasn't released any additional pricing information beyond what we have here, so we can't tell you how much things like all-wheel drive, an automatic transmission or the 321-horsepower V6 will cost. That makes it difficult to figure out just how reasonable the ATS Coupe will be relative to its challengers, but so far, the value equation looks to be in the car's favor. When those full details roll in, though, you know where to look. Scroll down for the official press release from Cadillac.