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Detroit — The Detroit auto show is finally back after a long hiatus. But it’s now more Detroit Fair than auto show.
Walk over to the totally revamped Huntington Place exhibition center Sept. 17-25 and you'll find animals (Rams, Mustangs, Broncos), games (VR, simulators, raffles), food (elephant ears, corn dogs, pizza), thrill rides (Bronco Mountain, Camp Jeep, Lightning launches) and flying machines.
Even the weather has changed, with pleasant, carnival-like, 80-degree temps so attendees can walk outside and enjoy the day. Or the giant duck (another animal).
Of course, automobiles are still the centerpiece of the fair — er, auto show. But they are presented on acres of carpet like an oversized dealer lobby — not surrounded by the multimillion-dollar mega-stages of yore that looked right out of a Broadway theater. The Detroit Three automakers dominate the show floor with Ford sandwiched between the General Motors' brands in the South Hall and Stellantis brands to the north. Gone are sprawling stages from BMW, Volkswagen, even Mercedes that once rocked the South Hall with bold autonomous cars and $100,000 AMG SUVs.
A more compact show is in their place so that mom and dad can easily shop for their next family car. But when the kids get antsy — Dad, can we see something other than cars?! — the parents can follow the neon green footsteps across the hall to the Dinosaur Expedition and time-travel back to the Late Jurassic.
I used to write about the Top 10 cars at the Detroit auto show. But in recognition of a show transformed, here are the Top 10 attractions.
1) The Concepts. Detroit auto shows have seen some wild concepts over the years, and '22 is no different. Electric vehicle platforms and the electronics revolution have given designers new tools to play with. Check out the sleek Buick Wildcat. Or the wicked Dodge Charger Daytona Banshee, which will shriek as loud as a V-8 Hellcat thanks to its Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust.
Or check out the bling-tastic Lincoln Star Concept. It features a see-through frunk that turns opaque when you load it with cargo. It has a slide-out work desk in the front seat — a drink chiller in back. And it one-ups Rolls Royce — replacing the umbrella in each rear door with a “digital briefcase” compartment so can charge your laptop while accessing its files on the Star’s multiple screens.
2) Camp Jeep. Jump in a Gladiator pickup or Wrangler Rubicon on the show floor and a driver will demonstrate the dirt kickers’ diverse off-road skills. The highlight (pun intended) is a climb to the top of a rollercoaster-like hill where you get Huntington Place’s best views.
3) Ram pull. Next to Jeep is the Ram ride where you can luxuriate in the pickup’s palatial interior while the truck clean-and-jerks a 7,000-pound cement wall off the show floor. Dad will be pulled kickin’ and screamin’ out of this ride. The Ram 2500 Limited, for example, has a 850-torque diesel, camera mirror, multiple camera angles, and a console screen the size of the Henry Ford IMAX theater.
4) Corvette Z06. The Biden Administration wants the industry to go electric, but someone forgot to tell Joe Biden. The president is the owner of a ’67 ’Vette and his favorite car when he toured the show floor Sept. 14 was the new, V8-powered, 670-horsepower Corvette Z06 that’ll sing like an F-15 on afterburners when you put your foot into it. It made all the evening newscasts. It’s painted orange so you don’t miss it.
5) Rubber duckie. Painted yellow and unmissable is a 61-foot inflatable duck in front of the convention center. You can see it from space. It honors the Jeepster tradition of getting “ducked.” If a Jeep owner likes another Jeep, they put a duck on it. Sign up for Jeep’s $100,000 raffle and you’ll get a tiny rubber duck, too.
6) Dinosaur Expedition. Rivaling the duck in size are the Brontosauruses in Matt Flynn’s Dinosaur Expedition. Just follow the green footprints in the lobby and they will lead you to the Ballroom, which has been transformed into a dino playground. Take a dinosaur ride, listen to dino stories, buy dinosaur toys. It's dino-mite.
7) The Mustang. The ’Vette isn’t the only car resisting the electric trend. The new, 2024 Mustang is in the house. It’s muscular, it’s menacing, it’s got a V-8 . . . but the surprise is a 21st-century interior with huge digital screens run by Unreal Engine 3D. That’s right, the same gaming company that designs your kids’ Fortnite video game.
8) Chrysler 300C. The 300C is heading for the exits after 17 years, but not before 2,200 copies of this final edition model are made (they’ve already sold out). With its slab sides, big grille and Hemi V-8, this is the ultimate gangster getaway car.
9) Aircraft. Since you’re no longer freezing in January, the Detroit show wants to invite you outside and scan the skies. There you’ll find the Drone Show with 300-400 drones celebrating Opening Day of the show's public run at 9 p.m. Saturday. Inside you’ll find the biggest commercial drone you’ve ever seen: the six-engine ASX that will deliver people — or packages.
10) Lap the Detroit GP. Also outside, get in line for a lap around the Detroit Grand Prix’s new 10-turn, 1.7-mile course as the race returns to city streets next June for the first time in 30 years. The track winds north 'round the RenCen, skirts the waterfront, then shoots back west along Jefferson Avenue. At press time, a show spokesman said that VW and Chevy would be giving rides.
We hope the Chevys are Corvette Z06s.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.