0136hrs Over at Volkswagen’s 2014 Detroit motor show preview event, Hilton Holloway has learned that engineering work has started on the much-anticipated Volkswagen Crossblue SUV. The vehicle, which you can read about here, is due to launch in the USA in 2016.
0133hrs More on the new Mercedes-Benz C-class from Dieter Zetsche: “The new C-class offers the most choices in the segment. It is the most individual and multi-faceted C-class ever, from the selection of individual front faces to the wide range of efficient engines. We will offer the first plug-in hybrid in this segment that can cover most peoples’ daily commutes on battery-electric power. Our customers also get the most choice in terms of suspension, because the new C-class gets our Airmatic technology. We believe our customers will appreciate the enhanced ride. The new C-class makes good use of new lightweight materials. We cut its weight by up to 100kg compared to the previous model.”
0131hrs Dieter Zetsche: “The Mercedes-Benz C-class is our highest volume car in the world and the US is its biggest market. In developing the new C-class, we aimed for a car that simply lived up to our mantra ‘the best or nothing’.
0120hrs Mercedes-Benz boss Dieter Zetsche: “Our sales success in 2013 was driven by our new products. First and foremost, 2013 was the year of the S-class. In fact the S-class went so well that we decided to extend it with additional brands of our flagships – the S63 AMG at last year’s Frankfurt motor show and, for those who aim even higher, the S65 AMG at Los Angeles.”
0102hrs So the first major reveal of the 2014 Detroit motor show has occurred. Mercedes-Benz chief Dieter Zetsche was on hand to introduce the stunning new Mercedes-Benz C-class, together with R&B singer Kelly Rowland, of course.
0044hrs Steve Cannon, head of Mercedes-Benz USA, explains how the CLA model is bringing in new, younger customers: “We’re seeing new customers in the dealerships and the average age of a CLA buyer is ten years younger than a C-class buyer.” He says the high-tech S-class has brought a touch of Apple Store cool to the Mercedes showrooms in the USA.
0039hrs At Mercedes’ pre-show reception, company chief Dieter Zetsche is reflecting on the company’s sales performance: “We have climbed the automotive sales charts. Last year Mercedes sales in the US were up 14 per cent compared to 2012 and almost one in every five luxury vehicles sold in the US is a Mercedes.”
0010hrs At 0030hrs (UK)/1930hrs (Detroit) Mercedes-Benz will be hosting its pre-show reception. Autocar’s Mark Tisshaw is attending the event and autocar.co.uk will bring you the highlights as they happen.
0005hrs Our team on the Detroit motor show floor includes Jim Holder (Autocar’s editor), Mark Tisshaw (senior editor news and features), Steve Cropley (editor in chief), Hilton Holloway (associate editor), Andrew Frankel (senior contributing writer), Stuart Price (photographer), Greg Kable (European editor), Richard Bremner (senior contributing editor) and special correspondent Marc Noordeloos.
Monday 13 January 2014 0000hrs (UK)/1900hrs (Detroit) This is Autocar’s Detroit motor show live blog. As the wraps come off the new cars later today, our reporters will be keeping you updated on all the breaking news from the first major motor show of the year.
2337hrs Our correspondent Marc Noordeloos also reports that Land Rover is planning to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Great Divide expedition in the USA in August 2014. The original trek, which highlighted the capabilities of the 1990 Range Rover, was a nine-day off-road odyssey through the wilds of Colorado. A retread of the same route sounds like enormous fun…
2331hrs It sounds as if US-based Jaguar enthusiasts could have to wait a little longer to drive Jaguar’s planned BMW 3-series rival. “The new small Jaguar saloon will arrive in USA after global 2015 launch due to all-wheel drive being key to success there,” notes Marc on Twitter.
2329hrs Meanwhile, our special correspondent Marc Noordeloos is picking up some snippets at Jaguar’s pre-show shindig this evening. He’s unearthed some insight into those stunning 2013 Jag sales figures we highlighted back at 1950hrs. “New V6 and all-wheel drive were key to sales increase,” Marc tweets. “Jag is fastest growing brand in USA, Germany and India.”
2323hrs So what will Toyota show the world at its Detroit motor show unveiling tomorrow. Autocar’s editor Jim Holder has a hunch on Twitter: “Whispers abound of a baby Toyota sports car concept at #NAIAS. Would be a show-stopper if so.”
2310hrs Since the first international Detroit motor show in 1989, a total of 1365 new car debuts have been made at the event. Among them have been 734 production cars and 631 concepts.
2303hrs The invitation-only Gallery event at the MGM Grand Hotel in Detroit brings together über-rich guests with high-end luxury car manufacturers. This year’s event, which attracted several hundred guests on Saturday, showcased 27 luxury and performance vehicles from the likes of Aston Martin, Bentley, Ferrari, Jaguar, Lamborghini, Land Rover, Maserati, McLaren, Porsche and Rolls‐Royce. A new addition for 2014 was a fashion show… obviously. Anyway, we’ve added some pictures from the event to our picture gallery, above.
2227hrs Volkswagen has already partially revealed two of its Detroit show stars. The VW Beetle Dune concept has been shown off in a design sketch and is described as “practically a production vehicle”. Slightly more sensible, but potentially more significant, is the VW Passat BlueMotion Concept. It features VW’s 1.4-litre petrol power plant and is being shown off at the show to gauge US consumers’ reactions to a large saloon with a small engine.
2155hrs In the US the midsize pickup market is fairly modest. That hasn’t prevented General Motors from pitching in to do battle with the Nissan Frontier and the Toyota Tacoma with two similar vehicles: the Chevrolet Colorado revealed at last year’s Los Angeles motor show and the new GMC Canyon, to be shown off at the Detroit motor show.
2129hrs Audi’s Allroad Shooting Brake concept looks set to be one of the stars of this year’s Detroit motor show. Images of the vehicle have sparked a sense of déjà vu in Hilton Holloway, who reckons he’s seen the car at a motor show before.
2104hrs Porsche will unveil a new open-top 911 Targa at the Detroit motor show tomorrow. We’ve already spied test mules of the model.
2028hrs SRT has laid an early claim to the unofficial ‘most attention-grabbing paint scheme’ award at the Detroit motor show. The Street and Race Technologies brand will unveil this lurid green Viper Grand Touring model tomorrow.
2020hrs Every manufacturer will be hoping and praying that their teleprompters work correctly during tomorrow’s presentations. Non-working equipment in front of a live audience can lead to unpredictable on-stage behaviour, as our friends at Stuff magazine reported on from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week.
2018hrs As you can see in the picture gallery above this gallery, right now in the Cobo Centre the ground crews of each manufacturer are putting the final pieces of the presentations in place, laying the cabling for the audio-visual equipment, polishing the show cars to a fine sheen and – crucially – making sure everything works.
1950hrs Impressive news from Jaguar Land Rover on the eve of the Detroit motor show. The British company recorded its best-ever global sales in 2013. A total of 425,006 vehicles were sold, which represented an increase of 19 per cent over 2012. Land Rover sold 348,338 vehicles, with Jaguar pitching in with 76,668, a massive 42 per cent rise over the previous year.
1944hrs In the second of our series of blogs from the Detroit motor show, special correspondent Marc Noordeloos assesses Hyundai’s position in the US car market and contrasts it with Europe.
1939hrs Hilton Holloway has used the medium of Twitter to report that he’s safely arrived in Detroit. The weather? “Very bright, about zero. Quite nice, really”, tweets Autocar’s associate editor.
1932hrs Anyway, back to the point (what there is of it). We’re sure most of you, like us, spent the festive period wondering what former General Motors boss Bob Lutz has been up to lately. The Detroit motor show has provided the answer, because the company he co-owns, VL Automotive, is unveiling a Fisker Karma-based convertible called the Destino. Which is, quite frankly, an awful name. Kudos to VL, though, for reportedly replacing the Fisker’s electric powertrain with a 6.2-litre supercharged V8.
1929hrs Are they called Twitter handles, or are handles reserved for Citizen’s Band (CB) radio? I’m thinking of Kris Kristofferson’s character in 1970s trucking movie Convoy, whose CB handle was Rubber Duck.
1927hrs If you’re an avid ‘Tweeter’, you can follow the team at the following handles: @mtisshaw, @jim_holder, @StvCr, @hiltonholloway, @andrew_frankel, @Stuart_Price, @MarcNoord and the magazine @autocar.
1921hrs Our team on the Detroit motor show floor includes Jim Holder (Autocar’s editor), Mark Tisshaw (senior editor news and features), Steve Cropley (editor in chief), Hilton Holloway (associate editor), Andrew Frankel (senior contributing writer), Stuart Price (photographer), Greg Kable (European editor), Richard Bremner (senior contributing editor) and special correspondent Marc Noordeloos.
1911hrs In addition to this regularly updated live blog, our show team will be independently blogging about what they’ve seen in Detroit and what’s impressed or dismayed them. Autocar editor Jim Holder is leading by example: he’s already written a blog pondering the difficult challenge that lays ahead for General Motors’ chief executive Mary Barra, who will face the world’s media having been installed as the motor company’s big boss late last year.
1904hrs As well as show unveilings and pictures, we’ll also be reporting on some of the behind-the-scenes goings-on and rumours that will undoubtedly spread around the Detroit motor show rapidly.
1900hrs (UK)/1400hrs (Detroit) This is Autocar’s Detroit motor show live blog. During the rest of Sunday and all of Monday, our reporters will be keeping you updated on all the breaking news from the first major motor show of the year.
1853hrs In fact, snapper Stuart has been out in the US since last week, when he shot our exclusive studio pictures of the bold new Lexus RC-F sports coupé, which you can view here.
1843hrs During the next day and a half we’ll be bringing you latest show images courtesy of our intrepid photographer, Stuart Price, who will be flitting between the vast floors of the Cobo Centre, where the show is held, and the Detroit motor show press room, where he’ll fire his images back to the UK. He’s already been pointing his lens at some of the show build-up, as you can see above this article.
1833hrs The conceptual Audi wasn’t alone: we’ve also seen images of the new Chevrolet Corvette ZO6 slip out before they were really supposed to.
1823hrs Of course, sometimes the motor show star cars unintentionally reach public consumption before their makers intended. The Audi Allroad Shooting Brake concept is one such vehicle that snuck onto the internet yesterday evening.
1814hrs Shuman could be right – the build-up to the show has been fairly busy as manufacturers have teased and tickled us with sneaky images of their Detroit motor show stars. Read our Detroit motor show preview here to learn about some of the key reveals.
1811hrs Indeed, as the Detroit motor show celebrates its 25th birthday, show chief Bob Shuman says this year’s event could be the best yet. Some 50 global vehicle unveilings are expected to be made on Detroit’s world stage. “It will be an absolute news feast for the journalists who cover the show from around the world,” he said.
1806hrs The Detroit motor show (or the North American International Auto Show to give the expo its full name) kicks off the year with some pretty significant new model unveilings. We’re anticipating major interest in some of the show debuts that we’ll be reporting on during the next 36 hours, not least from (deep breath) Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Ford, Infiniti, Kia, Lexus, Mercedes, Porsche, Subaru, Tesla, Toyota and Volvo.
1800hrs (UK)/1300hrs (Detroit) Welcome to Autocar’s Detroit motor show live blog. During the rest of Sunday and all of Monday, our reporters will be keeping you updated on all the breaking news from the first major motor show of the year.