1967 El Camino on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Thanks for keeping us on our toes, Detroit Auto Show [w/poll]

Here at Autoblog, we love unexpected debuts at auto shows – and judging by our Detroit Auto Show comments and traffic, you do, too. Surprise reveals have been fewer and farther between in recent years with so many ways for vehicles to be teased or leak out, but this week's show has been a revelation. More to the point, it's been a series of revelations, with automakers from around the globe successfully delivering a brace of concept and production surprises. It's made our jobs a lot more exciting and challenging this week, and even though it's actually more work to react and run-and-gun when the sheet is pulled on a surprise reveal than it is to publish an already-written embargoed story, we've had more fun covering this show for you than any domestic show in memory. We hope you've enjoyed the surprises along with us. To that end, borrowing the words of an unnamed automaker PR flack, we'd like to thank the following automakers for enduring "mountain of antacids" and that "creeping sense of paranoia" necessary to keeping ones' wares totally under wraps until the sheets are pulled off the sheetmetal: Buick Avenir concept Chevrolet Bolt concept Ford GT concept Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R Ford F-150 SVT Raptor Hyundai HCD-15 Santa Cruz concept And while we're at it, we'd like to throw in an shout-out to Detroit's substantially revised and revitalized Cobo Center, and in particular, the redone Michelin media center, which is arguably the single best accommodations for writing show stories that we've encountered on the entire international circuit. Well done, everyone. Thank you, and keep the surprises coming. Auto News Detroit Auto Show Buick Chevrolet Ford Hyundai Volvo 2015 Detroit Auto Show

2015 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Custom Sport Quick Spin

Coincidentally, the week we had the 2015 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Custom Sport a friend asked, "What would you buy if you could only have one vehicle for everything?" After a week's driving and trailer hauling, very close to first choice would be an American pickup. They're all so good now, you can't lose. And as we found in the Chevy you can go anywhere and haul anything, and you pay no penalty for capability until you try to find an open space on the street to park. Nicely equipped versions like the Custom Sport aren't cheap, but if you need a truck and you like the look of this one, it is really good. Driving Notes The cabin is big and inviting, and everything in it is big and inviting. The materials are nice enough to look and feel swanky but not so lavish that you're afraid to get them dirty. The seats are sized for adult male bears but they don't swallow you up. The sunroof is big enough to be an observatory. It's also quiet. The only time it gets mildly unruly is when you call for power and the engine has to downshift a few gears, otherwise you don't hear the exhaust unless you roll down the window. It looks like it was designed with a T-square. I quite like it, the body-colored bumpers toning things down, the 20-inch wheels doing a much better job of filling those ample arches than the standard 17-inchers. The truck is built for people who take their work and all their gadgets with them. The front console has three USB ports, two 12-volt cigarette lighter ports, and a three-prong 110-volt outlet. The giant cubby at the base of the console has an insert to hold a clipboard or a small tablet. The abyss under the center armrest has one more 12V cigarette lighter, two more USB ports, an SD card reader, and another specialized holder for something the size of a small tablet. There's a WiFi hotspot so the streaming never has to stop. The Chevrolet navigation was trouble-free as usual, and you can input destinations on a QWERTY touchscreen keyboard. Every nav system should be so solid. The Silverado has some of the best feature implementations we've encountered in any vehicle. The lane departure warning and park assist systems don't vibrate the steering wheel, they vibrate the seat. The left, right, and middle of the seat bottom will pulse as necessary, an intuitive, peripheral way to deliver a message that doesn't interrupt your primary focus. The rear-view camera is no longer offset, it's centered.

2018 Woodward Dream Cruise: What to know and where to go

If there's anything that proves Detroit's motor-oil-in-the-veins, gearhead bonafides, it's the annual Woodward Dream Cruise, which will bring an anticipated 1.5 million or so people from near and far, plus tens of thousands of classic and custom and just plain weird cars, to a 16-mile portion of Woodward Avenue on Saturday for the 24th year. Loved by gearheads, collectors and the merely curious, who see it as the Motor City's version of Mardi Gras, and loathed by others, who deride it as the world's largest traffic jam, the Dream Cruise is nothing if not an explosion for the senses. What will you see there? Well, as Autoblog Managing Editor Greg Rasa put it last year, "There are historic cars. And works of art. Some are worth vast sums of money, and some are rat rods and rust buckets. And some are bizarre creations that make you ask, 'What were they thinking?'" A few things are certain: You will see many incredible automobiles. There will be plenty of T-shirts and other merch, official and not-so-much. It will be crowded, and probably hot. The Cruise will officially go from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., though of course cruisers have been out already for weeks. And there are plenty of attractions, both on and off the pavement of Woodward. Tony Michaels, the Dream Cruise's executive director, said the event is special for the Detroit region. "Together we celebrate the automobile and what it has meant to us," he told Autoblog. "To see the these fantastic vehicles and the proud owners says so much about who we are and our pride. "People should take it in to see history running 16 miles down Woodward Avenue and to be a part of the greatest automobile event in America." Ford is once again serving as the Dream Cruise presenting sponsor and will hold the 20th anniversary of the Mustang Alley at the corner of Nine Mile and Woodward in Ferndale, where it expects as many as 1,000 Mustangs to line up. It will also show off its lineage of trucks at 13 Mile, along with several performance vehicles at Duggan's Irish Pub at 31501 Woodward in Royal Oak. The company on Thursday unveiled the 2018 Mustang Cobra Jet drag car to celebrate the nameplate's 50th anniversary. Just 68 examples are planned of the $130,000 limited-edition model Other Ford activities include: Sales of tickets for a raffle of a one-off Kona Blue Mustang Bullitt, starting at the media clubhouse at 2 p.m. Friday. The raffle itself takes place in November and will support juvenile diabetes research.