Day 2: Star Power Exemplifies Industry Transformation

Nissan vMotion electric car stole the show on Tuesday

Day Two of NAIAS saw dozens of icons take the stage and shed light on the future path of the auto industry. From Akio Toyoda and Carlos Ghosn laying out their views on how the industry will develop, to world premieres that will redefine the automotive landscape, NAIAS was the place to be for thousands of journalists seeking the latest and greatest automotive innovations.

Here are the highlights from Monday’s press conferences:

North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year: Chevrolet Bolt EV, Honda Ridgeline and Chrysler Pacifica won the annual awards in their respective categories after evaluations of dozens of vehicles by a panel of journalists.

Adient: The spinoff venture from Johnson Controls’ seating business unveiled its vision for what the interior of an autonomous and electric vehicle will look like, unveiling a prototype interior—the AI17—that features some very comfortable innovations.

VDA: The German Association of the Automotive Industry reported that the growth of German OEMs in the U.S. light truck segment was 13 percent, nearly double that of the 7 percent seen in the segment as a whole.

Schaeffler: The diversified German auto supplier is pursuing four important areas for automotive growth: eco-friendly drives, urban mobility, interurban mobility and management of various sources of energy.

Chevrolet: GM’s mass-market brand unveiled the world debut of the 2018 Traverse.

Audi: The brand is adding to its line with four new vehicles as it stretches consecutive monthly growth in sales in the U.S. market to 72 months: the all-new 2018 A4 and S5 Cabriolet, the all-new Audi SQ5 and the Audi Q8 Concept.

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]Lexus: A longer, wider, lower, lighter 2018 Lexus LS 500 glided on stage in a sleek metallic grey, revealing a new level of athletic luxury for the flagship brand in its world premiere 28 years after at the first Lexus LS debuted in Detroit.

Ford: The company started its press conference with news of a new F-150, but the biggest applause came with the announcement that the automaker is bringing back its once-abandoned Ranger midsize truck in 2019 and the Bronco SUV in 2020.

Mercedes-Benz: Executives rolled the all-new E-Class Coupe onto the stage. They also celebrated the 50th anniversary of the AMG performance sub-brand by showing the new AMG GT C-Edition 50. Mercedes-Benz also showed the Concept EQ prototype for future EVs.

Volkswagen: Taking aim at the midsize SUV market in the U.S., Volkswagen introduced the sporty, 2018 Atlas R-Line SUV – a first entry in the segment for the brand. Volkswagen also took the wraps off the classic Microbus-styled I.D. BUZZ concept.

BMW: The company officially took the wraps off its all-new 5, heralding the best-selling line of vehicles for the automaker in the U.S. The 5-Series is the seventh generation produced by BMW.

Nissan: Nissan unveiled its Vmotion 2.0 concept car and design language as well as the Rogue Sport crossover vehicle. And as a keynote in AutoMobili-D, CEO Carlos Ghosn talked about current and future mobility, including autonomous, electric and connected vehicles.

Honda: The company unveiled the fifth generation of its popular Odyssey minivan, the first in the marque’s lineup to use a new 10-speed automatic transmission, also to be built in the U.S.

Toyota: The company introduced the eighth generation of the wildly popular Toyota Camry, the best-selling car in America for the last 15 years. It represents a completely new strategy to the way the company designs, engineers, and packages its vehicles.

Volvo: The company introduced a real family from Sweden on stage that will drive one of the 100 cars to be involved in the company’s biggest autonomous testing program yet.

Kia: Kia rolled out the world premiere of its Stinger GT, a rear-wheel drive, 8-speed sport sedan that is fueled by two engine options and can hit 62 mph in 5.1 seconds with a top speed of 160 mph.

Infiniti: Infiniti took the wraps off its QX50 Concept vehicle, using 2017 NAIAS as a stage for what the luxury automaker says exemplifies its vision for a next-generation mid-sized premium crossover.

IndyCar showed up with their ugly duckling Dallara simulator. What is that hunk of ugly bodywork in front of the rear wheels?

GAC: China’s GAC Motor is back after two years and now is on the main floor of the show. GAC made the worldwide premiere of three vehicles.

GM Urban Mobility and Maven: Maven, GM’s ride-sharing service, is already exceeding expectations in the growing number of markets in which it is operating, with plans for continuing expansion in a predominantly millennial market, the company said.

Magna International: The major global auto supplier revealed a new, ultralight door architecture that will provide a savings of 42.5 percent in mass over a current production door. It was developed in cooperation with Fiat Chrysler Automotive US, Grupo Antolin and the U.S. Department of Energy.