It's day two of the North American International Auto Show pressstravaganza, and our man Montgomery is up with the angels, beating all those hung-over scribes to the showroom floor for a sneak peak of the new Corvette ZR1. Surprisingly, the vehicle code-named the Blue Devil– named after GM CEO Rick Wagoner's beloved alma mater's Blue Devils basketball team–  is now slate gray. With blue brake calipers. Enjoy Bill's shots as we prepare our assault on the suits who put this kind of stuff, and the less palatable fare, on your plate. Click through to hear our man express suitable podcasted reverence.

Click here for TTAC sneak peak at the Corvette ZR1

[Reported by William C. Montgomery]

Just-auto [sub] reports that Ford's Jaguar and Land Rover brands may have found their proverbial feet prior to sale. The eds say Landie will rack-up a $1.2bn profit in 2007, while Jag reduced its losses to around $100m "thanks to cost-cutting and concentrating on fewer, more profitable sales." Obviously, reducing losses isn't the same as making money, and Just-auto stays shtum on the number from which the $100m has been deducted. All we know is that the two brands combined lost FoMoCo $500m last year, apparently. Ford has refused to break-out the numbers for the various parts of its European misadventure since high-living former Bimmer exec Wolgang Rietzle formed the Premium Automotive Group at Dearborn's behest. So who's spinning the spin, leaking the info? Perhaps Tata Motors, who'd like the markets to think they're picking-up Landie and Jag for a $3b "bargain." Or Ford, to keep Tata on board. In any case, the clouds of European and American fuel economy standards hang heavy over both. Dead cat bounce?

How anyone convinced GM CEO Rick Wagoner to invest in an experimental process to turn crop wastes, wood chips, scrap plastic, rubber and garbage into ethanol is a mystery shrouded in corporate secrecy. Fortunately for GM PR, the New York Times somehow managed to find an expert willing to give Wagoner's mob props for picking some cash out of the fire to spend on Coskata: an unproven company with an unproven process attempting to service an unproven market. "Lee Schipper, a visiting scholar at the transportation center of the University of California, Berkeley, said that a new method to make ethanol 'presents them with a way of wiggling the industry out of fuel economy standards.'" Yes, OK, but why buy a high tech firm that's only been in biz since 2006, and isn't even considered an industry leader? Or, for that, matter why spend precious R&D dollars on ANY E85 company? Why not just build the vehicles that burn the stuff? Lest we forget, Wagoner can't even convince Wal-Mart to offer E85 pumps, never mind find a new way to produce the fuel. Well, they say con men are easy targets…

The heat is on the Chevrolet Volt's yes/no/yes/no/maybe 2010 timeline. Bloomberg reports that Toyota has reversed course, set aside their publicly declared antipathy to lithium-ion batteries and announced their intention to have a plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) by, coincidentally enough, the Volt's 2010 deadline. "The company will provide a significant number of plug-in hybrids to global fleet customers," Bloomberg revealed. "With a large percentage coming to the U.S., President Katsuaki Watanabe said at the Detroit auto show yesterday, without elaborating. The cars will help Toyota meet new U.S. fuel-economy rules early, he said." Uh, isn't that second bit considered elaboration? Still, point taken. While GM execs Luzt and Wagoner have been shooting their mouths off about the Volt in a consistently contradictory fashion, Watanabe simply says "we're going to do it" and then, if past history is a guide, does it. "You combine Toyota's experience with nickel metal, the lithium expertise for Panasonic and lithium research from Toyota, definitely they are the strongest player,'' said Menahem Anderman, president of the Advanced Automotive Batteries consulting firm.

Our [non Dodge] intrepid reporters at the North American International Auto Show– Mssrs. Montgomery and Mehta– are calling it a day. It's been a historic moment for The Truth About Cars; Frank and I are proud of our electronic collaboration. We didn't offer the breadth of coverage that other, better equipped and more experienced members of the media swarm have produced. And our technology could use a bit of an upgrade. But it's been a Hell of a start, well in keeping with TTAC's tone and no-holds-barred traditions. Tomorrow is the big day, when our warmed-up journalists mobilize their mojo, and TTAC's MIA big gun commentators return to their cubicles, loaded for bear. I certainly hope you'll join us for the festivities. Meanwhile, if you want to see today's scalps, click on the links below. Thanks for being there.

2009 Honda Pilot

BMW ActiveHybrid

BMW Advanced Diesel

BMW Hydrogen7

BMW M3

BMW M6

BMW X6

Ford

Ford Explorer America Concept

Ford F-150

Ford Flex

Ford Mustang

Ford Verve Concept

Honda Accord

Lexus

Lexus LF-A Roadster

Lexus LX570

Mazda

MINI Clubman

MINI Cooper

MINI Cooper S

Nissan GT-R

smart fortwo

Subaru Forester

Toyota Corolla XRS

Schmoozing with Automotive News [sub] at the North American International Auto Show, GM Marketing Maven Mark LeNeve has declared that the automaker is "willing to boost incentive spending in 2008" to move the metal. But then "We've broken that cycle of incentive spending." Of course, "you still have to be competitive." To which GM CEO Rick Wagoner quickly added "On the flip side, I don't see us needing to be leading that parade." So… GM's willing to boost incentive spending to keep from losing market share in '08, but they don't think they'll have to, unless they do, and if they do, they'll be reacting to other automakers' incentive spending rather than starting an "incentive war," which they will fight to win even if they didn't start it. Gotcha. Even less realistically, LaNeve promised to limit GM's daily rental fleet sales to 15 percent of GM's total. Unless…

Chevrolet's much-hyped hybrid Volt depends entirely on cutting edge lithium-ion batteries– which is kinda weird as the car has one of the shortest development times in modern automotive history. Any delay in battery testing and development and GM's 2010 launch date will pass quicker than bad curry. Kudos to Autobloggreen for staying on top of the Volt's progress– not to mention understanding battery technology enough to ask the Volt folk intelligent questions. In fact, the discussion is so damn intelligent I'm depending on Wired to interpret the answers. And the high tech industry mag says GM hasn't received the latest A123 batteries it was "supposed to be testing last month." Uh oh. On the positive side, perhaps, "Denise Gray, the company's director of energy storage systems, uses the phrase 'so far, so good' four times while discussing the test results." Fingers crossed? "GM still has to strike a balance between power, energy storage and performance during extremely hot or cold weather." Not to mention "normal" weather. While the Volt is the one part of GM that seems to operating with what industry analyst Mary-Ann Keller called for many moons ago– a sense or urgency– there's a long, long way between final prototype and working production model. And an even wider gap between initial production model and successful product. Just look at the first Toyota Prius. Or, if you really want a clear picture of the mountain the Volt has to climb, the next Prius.  

With Chrysler and Ford letting the last of the great rear wheel-drive American sedans slowly sink into a cesspit of mediocrity, Hyundai has stepped once more into the breach, dear Kim. The Korean automaker has unveiled the Genesis, saying that the BMW 5-Series, Mercedes C-Class and Lexus IS are nice cars and all, but Hyundai's rear wheel-drive sedan will be a hit because people are SOL poor nowadays they can't afford that fancy foreign shit [paraphrasing]. The Genesis, you see, puts luxury in the grasp of people "who deserve more" (as opposed to all those guilt-ridden people who feel they deserve less– but still manage to eat a lot of fattening food). You want more? The Genesis' creators (God?) benchmarked the Mercedes S-Class for interior space. It's got a more rigid chassis and superior (complex) 5-link suspension than the 5-series and E-class. Which is all well and good, but the Genesis has an invisible touch. While "real" luxury cars grab hold of your heart, the Genesis is like that lover you can't remember because, well, you just can't. 

[Reported by Sajeev Mehta]

If you want proof that brand perception is based on a single focused concept, consider the fact that Honda makes America's most fuel efficient fleet of vehicles, without a single V8 amongst them. Meanwhile Toyota builds the gas-friendly (in the sense of using a lot) Toyota Sequoia, Land Cruiser and Tundra and Lexus LS460– and gets all the green credit for the Prius. At Honda's Detroit Auto Show expense account ho'-down, the "other" Japanese automaker seemed to demonstrate a growing realization that they need a foot in each camp: mean and green. First, they re-introduced the California-bound hydrogen-powered FCX Clarity, and kicked the lightweight "sports hybrid concept" CRZ with "clean performance" and plenty o' gas-electric torque into the spotlight. And then Honda unveiled the new eight-passenger 2009 Pilot Prototype, complete with a beefy "ACE" crash management structure. The Prototype features the kind of ugly, prison wall front end styling that makes fuel economy-minded aerodynamicists unemployable. Although Honda equipped the beast with 6-4-3 cylinder deactivation, the fact that they're selling its "real offroad and towing" capability tells you something. Could we live to see a Honda V8 in an Acura RL or Honda Pilot? Stranger things have happened. 

[Reported by Sajeev Mehta] 

"I always feel safe in my Smart ForTwo." Famous last words? They were spoken by Smart's USA Prez as he exited the Mercedes-Benz stage at the North American International Auto Show. His copilot was none other than Daimler's Doktor Z. Ex-Chrysler exec Dieter Zetsche and ex-Mitsubishi suit David Schembri created quite an impression: two well-manicured businessmen sitting in a cartoonish red car that neither would be caught driving if they weren't running the company that builds said clown car. Then again, maybe the ForTwo isn't as foolish as it looks. Daimler– and by that I mean a suitable underling rather than a Gulfstream-riding exec– drove three of them from L.A. to Detroit. The company claims the diesel Smart clocked-in at 59.8 mpg while the gassers delivered 49 mpg. Whether or not they drafted a corporate 18-wheeler for the transcontinental trek is unknown. Oh, at the conference, someone said something about improved mileage Mercedes. 

[reported by William C. Montgomery]

Back in the day, VW decided to match Mercedes model-for-model. This strategy led to the ill-fated, brand-busting, $60k-and-up Phaeton. Judging from the new VW Passat CC unveiled at The Detroit Auto Show, VW CEO Martin Winterkorn is determined to get right back on that [dead] horse. The CC is a CLS clone, with the distinction of offering less visibility and more chance of rear passenger decapitation than the Mercedes version. At VeeDub's axles of white power stand (eye searingly white with blue lighting a la Apple), Winterkorn said the CC was part of the German automaker's "fireworks of great new cars" master plan to sell 800k cars in the U.S. Huh? That's a significant climb-down from VW's publicly stated goal of shifting one million units stateside by 2018. Ironically enough, VW gave us reason not to be optimistic re: it's not-so-great-anymore expectations. An introductory film revealed that Americans want three things from a car: reliability, durability and "fine design." Herr Winterkorn better hope that two out of three ain't bad. 

[reported by Sajeev Mehta] 

I know: you want to know what these options are. Well so do we. 'Cause Ford's jeffe de las Américas Mark Fields faced down the journalistic corps at the Detroit Auto Show and provided our man with no details whatsoever on his employer's plans for the once prolific Special Vehicles Team. In fact, one of those options could be to abandon SVT altogether; it would only be a short hop from the Ford tuning division's current limbo dance. This is especially true now that Ford has re-labeled their twin-turbo "Turbo Force" V6 engine as an "Eco-Boost," and decided to shoehorn the new powerplant into everything they make. So, could those "options" include an Eco-Boost– er, Twin Force V8? Given Ford's current North American market share spiral, and the need to allocate money to building some better mainstream products, I reckon SVT will restrict itself to lucrative suspensions and style mods. As well it might.

[reported by Sajeev Mehta] 

At the unveiling of the Verve concept car, one of Ford CEO Alan Mulally's minions stepped up to the microphone at the Detroit Auto Show and [dare I say boldly] declared that "Europe is our future." When pressed on the which cars when part of this meta-point, Big Al stretched the boundaries of the word "vague" to near-breaking point. "We plan to import cars from Europe at some time in the future." Meanwhile, the Honda Civic-like (with European Blue Oval design cues) Verve looks ready for production– though shod with red wall tires straight from the Hot Wheels School of Design. Ford also hinted there could be a three-door version, if you know, there is. Let's hope the car's acceleration matches the speed at which the FoMoCo's flackmeister went over the Verve's salient features. 

Click here for TTAC's pictures of the Ford Verve Concept  

[reported by Sajeev Mehta] 

At a press conference at the Detroit Auto Show, Ford's presidente de las Américas Mark Fields has rechristened Ford's former cash cow a "Smart Utility Vehicle." In other words, the new Ford Explorer will be a unit-body vehicle with "best in class" towing. Yes, well, the D3 chassis upon which the Explorer will sit on is something of a loser, having failed to ignite sales for the Ford Taurus, Taurus X, Five Hundred; Mercury Sable and Volvo S80 (the Swede with the more expensive aluminum springy bits underneath). On the positive side, the Explorer will get the new Twin-Force– sorry, "Eco-Boost" twin-turbo, which looks like one Hell of a motor. The changes to the Explorer are designed to stem the model's rapid and stratospheric fall from grace; down 23.1 percent this year alone. But the introduction of a new cuter ute also represents a gamble that the Explorer's non-real-SUV fans (a.k.a. concrete cowboys) haven't already left for greener pastures. Not to mention all the "real" truck fans who won't touch the new model with a ten foot pole. Besides, how many crossovers does Ford actually need? 

 Click here for more TTAC pictures of the Explorer America

[Reported by Sajeev Mehta] 

While we await various concept and slatedforproductionmobiles at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show, Toyota has taken another giant leap away from "now you see it, now do you recognize it?" auto show hype. Ahead of tomorrow's official debut of the new Venza crossover, Kentucky's Herald-Leader reports that workers at ToMoCo's Georgetown factory have amassed experience screwing the beastie together. In fact, the Camry factory's been involved in the machine's genesis right from the git-go. "Since April 2006, two dozen workers at Toyota's sprawling Georgetown manufacturing plant have spent their days walled off from their colleagues. In key-carded rooms, they ran computer simulations, phoned Toyota's top designers and coordinated a project that will soon touch thousands of their brethren. They have built the Venza." This kind of pre-prod prep is nothing new. But the paper describes the computer-assisted anal retentive lengths (ew) to which ToMoCo will go to get a vehicle right before it hits the streets. "Haddix and his team members used computer software to track how each of the more than 2,000 parts would be shaped and installed. When the group simulated installation of a part under the hood, they found that the tool couldn't quite fit and struck the vehicle. The hood angle had to be raised. Another part's installation would have scratched the instrument panel." Who ARE these guys?