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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.

Mini Clubman Concept throws open all six of its doors for Geneva

Coming in just over 10 inches longer and 6.5 inches wider than the 2013 Mini Clubman, the new Mini Clubman Concept that you see above is set to debut at the Geneva Motor Show next week. Let's get the maximum mini jokes out of the way right off the bat... Done? Okay, moving along.
Adrian van Hooydonk, Head of BMW Group Design, says that this Clubman Concept "shows how the Mini Clubman could be taken a step further: more interior space, a greater sense of high-end quality and yet still clever, bold and distinctive." And that extra interior space will be accessible through four real doors, eschewing the single-sided barn door approach of the current Clubman. Well, mostly - there's still the side-by-side barn door philosophy at the back instead of a more traditional upward-opening hatch. In fact, spy shots and early rumors pegged this more conventionally doored Mini as a new model selling under a new name, possibly Traveller. However, it appears that Mini will stick with the brand equity it has established with Clubman instead.
As you can see in the small image gallery above, the Clubman Concept is instantly recognizable as a Mini, though a somewhat more refined overall package than past efforts. The front headlamps still have a bit of a surprised look to them, but we think this concept's overall fascia, and its unique bright finishes, might be more successful than the latest Cooper's. At the rear, there are a set of rather large taillights dominating the view, and we note that the prevalence of air intakes and scoops at parent BMW have moved on down to the Mini line. We'll have to reserve final judgment until we see the Clubman Concept in person.

Ford Expedition, F-150 Limited and Cadillac V Series | Autoblog Podcast #583

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski and Assistant Editor Zac Palmer. First, they talk about the cars they've been driving, including the Ford Expedition, Ford F-150 Limited and the Mini Cooper JCW Knights Edition. Then they discuss the news, including Ian Callum stepping down from Jaguar, Cadillac's V cars and the latest in the saga between FCA and Renault. Autoblog Podcast #583 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving: Ford Expedition Ford F-150 Limited Mini Cooper JCW Knights Edition Ian Callum resigns from Jaguar Cadillac V FCA backs down from Renault merger talks Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: