Mercedes Benz At The 2008 NAIAS

The hottest and talk of the town auto show generated a worldwide impact courtesy of the stunning concept cars and the newest production vehicles from various world-renowned automakers in Detroit. The 2008 North American International Auto Show featured a vast array of vehicle technologies, breakthroughs and most of all, awesome cars! The show is indeed exceptional, and there are no room for dirty mud flaps by the way.

Among the leading European carmakers that were present during the show is the world-famous Mercedes Benz brand. The company’s display room was highlighted by the world debut of the new generation SLK roadster that was presented by one of the four lead stars of the hit TV series and soon to be in theaters, Sex and the City lead star Kim Cattrall. Mercedes Benz also launched the BLUETEC offensive with SUVs in the R, M and GL Class.

"I love the GLK's powerful design, not to mention its incredibly spacious trunk, its exceptional comfort and the fact that it's a Mercedes," comments Kim Cattrall.

"After all, I am one of the few people who have already had the opportunity to gather a generous amount of hands-on experience with the future GLK," says Kim Cattrall as she chats with Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Management Board of Daimler Benz AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars.

"The forthcoming GLK is the right vehicle at the right time. Firstly, it possesses a highly individual design that is a clear departure from the segment norm. Secondly, it brings together the strengths of our full-size models within an entry-luxury format that also has benefits in terms of fuel consumption," says Dieter Zetsche.

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Awesome Concept Cars At NAIAS

Where do you find the hottest cars? – Where else but motor shows!

And with the opening of this year’s North American International Auto Show, lots of hot cars will be showcased to aficionados delight. And do you think something will be hotter than concept cars? I don’t think so.

At the NAIAS, a number of auto journalists were invited. There, they examined vehicles that won’t be available in the market for quite a time. They are called concept cars - those are the consequences of designers’ wildest imagination.

Beside the fact that concept cars are much-awaited, automakers see to it that they showcase cutting-edge products to lure more shoppers. The future is hard to predict so rich imagination and availability of good materials are necessary to create a compelling concept car.

"Here we can identify consumer interest, what they think, what we'll be doing in the future, what will work and what won't work," said Chrysler President Jim Press.

Chrysler's EcoVoyager, a hydrogen fuel-cell concept car, boasts a futuristic interior that may never hit the showroom floor. But while the vehicles themselves rarely go into production, some ideas in their designs will appear in cars you can buy, according to CTV.ca.

A good example would be "a lot of the crossover Sport Utility Vehicles, like our Chrysler 300," said Press. To note, the CUV is manufactured in Brampton, Ont. It also won the Car of the Year title at the auto show 3 years back.

A stunning concept was Mazda’s Taiki, which is inspired by the flow of the air design philosophy. The car boasts of dramatic lines and curves to emphasize the styling used. "It's one of the most beautiful cars I've ever seen," said a motor show attendee.

Less domineering than the Taiki in appearance was the A-Bat from Toyota. But under the hood, the the automaker’s pool of designers proved that a hybrid engine could run a rugged all-wheel drive pickup. Chevy, meanwhile, flaunted its controversial hybrid plug-in dubbed Volt. The Volt is an all-electric performance vehicle.

Nissan, on the other hand, has opted to up the ante of family minivan by wiping its boring stigma. "Minivans have been around a long time, but people don't want to drive them -- they have to drive them," said Nissan Designer Richard Pavatich. He tried to make the minivan more enjoyable by giving each seat its own individual entertainment system, and the centre seats even spin around. "We made a sport exterior for wherever you want to go," he noted.

Very true, the motor show releases steams. NAIAS might be in need of an AC condenser to make the ambiance colder by several degrees.

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