Detroit Auto Show | The Verge

Detroit auto show canceled as FEMA prepares venue to be a field hospital for COVID-19

2020-03-29T10:35:58-04:00

The 2020 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit has been canceled as FEMA officials prepare to use its venue, the TCF Center, as a temporary field hospital for COVID-19, CNBC reports.

"Although we are disappointed, there is nothing more important to us than the health, safety and well-being of the citizens of Detroit and Michigan, and we will do what we can to support our community's fight against the coronavirus outbreak," Rod Alberts, executive director of the show, said in a statement announcing the decision.

As of Saturday Michigan had at least 4,650 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 111 deaths, according to the Det …

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Ford and Volkswagen form global alliance, will start by building trucks and vans

2019-01-15T09:02:15-05:00

Ford and the Volkswagen Group are combining forces in a global alliance, and they will start by making pickup trucks together, the two automakers announced on Tuesday. The companies will also build commercial vans together, and are exploring collaborations on autonomous and electric vehicles as well as new mobility services.

Neither company is taking an ownership stake in the other, which is the case in the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance. But the Ford and Volkswagen partnership will be overseen by a joint committee with an equal number of people representing each automaker. The medium-sized pickup truck will be built for both companies …

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Infiniti’s first all-electric car will be inspired by this flashy concept

2019-01-14T18:00:10-05:00

Infiniti showed up to last year's North American International Auto Show in Detroit with a wild, low-slung, futuristic sedan that looked straight out of a sci-fi movie villain's garage. The strangest thing about that car, though, was that the far-out concept wasn't electric. Instead of showcasing the future that parent company Nissan seems so set on, the luxury arm fitted its concept with a combustion engine, which wasn't exactly expected.

That changed at this year's show, because Infiniti debuted something called the QX Inspiration. The puffy SUV concept is all electric, and is meant to serve as a preview of what's to come with Infiniti's …

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It’s 2018, so where are the self-driving cars?

2025-01-29T09:45:17-05:00

Autonomous cars are supposed to be just around the corner, right? Well, not exactly. Every year, car companies flock to CES and the North American International Auto Show in Detroit to show off their cool self-driving car concepts. This year was no different, with a plethora of weird wheels from Mercedes, Toyota, Nissan, and others making their debut. And while cars are undoubtedly getting smarter and the technology is getting better and better, the day that you'll be able to buy a self-driving car, or even ride in one, is a lot further away than you probably think.

where are we in the world of autonomous vehicles?

It's 2018. Where are we in …

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Detroit Auto Show 2018: the cars, news, and excitement from NAIAS

2025-01-29T09:17:21-05:00

Every January, the auto industry gathers in Detroit for the (terribly named) North American International Auto Show. It falls just after CES and reminds us that, for all the futuristic tech we saw in Las Vegas, car companies are mostly concerned about selling cars today. This year is no different. We have a handful of concepts that could become cars in a matter of years, not decades, but the bulk of the show is new SUVs, crossovers, and sedans that you’ll be able to buy within a few months. We’re in Detroit covering our favorite new cars and important stories from the show that will affect the auto industry for the next year, at least until next January when we’ll do it all over again.

The 2018 Detroit Auto Show in pictures

2018-01-21T13:00:02-05:00

The Detroit Auto Show has a weirdly duplicitous vibe these days. The biggest companies that attend make sure to talk about things that make them sound future-focused, almost benevolent. They talk openly about autonomy, electrification, and even embracing other forms of transportation. But they do this while doling out product announcements that are very much about meeting the current demands of consumers who, enjoying low gas prices, want trucks and crossover SUVs.

Take Mercedes-Benz, which made the biggest splash of the show with the new G-Class. This mega-expensive off-road SUV is explicitly for the wealthy, and was treated by the company …

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Bill Ford says smart cities aren’t ‘just a science project’

2018-01-18T17:06:15-05:00

In many ways, Ford Motor Company's future is defined by its past. Bill Ford, the chairman of the company, and the great-grandson of its founder, announced plans to invest $11 billion in electrified cars at the North American International Auto Show. I spoke to Ford at the show, who expressed his enthusiasm over the company's shift in direction to a broader vision for transportation than the cars, SUVs, and trucks it currently sells.

I love the idea of the social justice component of smart cities, but how do you reconcile that with the present where there's such a mess with public transportation in so many areas, like New York where I live?

…

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Acura hides a slick Android-based interface in yet another SUV

2018-01-18T16:44:12-05:00

Acura RDX Prototype.

Another auto show, another luxury SUV you're probably going to look at if you're shopping in the $40,000-$50,000 range. This time, it's the turn of the 2019 Acura RDX Prototype, a thinly disguised version of a car that will go on sale in the second half of 2018 and shown for the first time at the Detroit Auto Show.

Acura has been rather lost in the woods lately. Even most of the less expensive Honda models have features such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, whereas the supercar NSX has screens that felt dated a decade ago. The new RDX promises more space and performance than the outgoing model that's a rival to the likes of the Audi Q5 an …

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Honda’s HoloLens demo was the first time I’ve found AR to be really useful

2018-01-18T15:27:59-05:00

Honda is offering a simple augmented reality demo at the Detroit Auto Show using Microsoft's HoloLens. It involves strapping on one of the headsets, walking around, and getting into the car, which takes between five to 10 minutes total. And it's probably the most useful augmented reality demo I've had yet.

The demo is really just a fancy new way to show off the specs and features of one of Honda's new cars. HoloLens isn't exactly comfortable. I also didn't have my contacts in, which meant I had to squint through the entire experience.

But I was taken aback by how accurately the headset placed the floating AR elements in and around the car. …

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The Lexus LF-1 Limitless concept is a futuristic rose gold stunner

2018-01-18T12:40:01-05:00

The Lexus LF-1 Limitless concept is gold, though in person it somehow doesn't feel obnoxious. The exterior features nips and tucks and curves, but it doesn't look overly ridiculous. The inside of the car is full of screens and gizmos, and yet it feels fairly realistic, almost familiar.

The UX Concept that Lexus brought to the Detroit Auto Show last year was all of these things that the LF-1 isn't. It was brash, outlandish, and overdone, a concept car so aggressively futuristic that it was hard to see what parts Lexus would be able to translate to any future production vehicles. It honestly felt a little goofy.

That's why the LF-1 is so ref …

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