Every winter, before moving to Michigan, our Cadillac owners club flew or drove in from all over the country to attend the auto show in Chicago or Detroit. Unlike the Chicago show, the crowds at NAIAS are smaller, traffic is light, parking is cheap, food is equally superb, and the show floor is easy to walk.

Unfortunately LA, Chicago, New York, and CES have become more significant as Detroit’s population declined during the recession. Yes, it remains a major event for the auto industry, a place where top executives, designers, and engineers convene to reveal a few the world’s most important automobiles and technologies, but it no longer matters to consumers.

If you’re a journalist or have any involvement in the business, NAIAS is practically mandatory. Otherwise, with the noteworthy absence of Jaguar, Mazda, Mini, Land Rover, and Tesla, the show has lost its luster among consumers. Volvo and Mitsubishi (Mitsu arguably doesn’t matter) were only passively present with a couple cars parked in the hallway, nothing on the main floor.

The internet also diminishes the impact of big, organized events as products are revealed sooner in more exclusive venues. Chevrolet unveiled the Silverado at a media event in Fort Worth, dramatically air dropping its new pickup from a helicopter.

Fast Tube by Casper

This seems to coincide with the way we now watch television, absorbing content through binge watching sessions at our own convenience rather than collectively gathering in front of our screens at scheduled times to catch new episodes.

We’re unlikely to ever again see an event as masterfully orchestrated as the reveal of the Grand Cherokee in 1992. UAW Local 7 president Aaron Taylor drove the red Laredo directly off the assembly line, climbed up the steps of Cobo Hall, and smashed through the glass entrance.

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This year, through my involvement with BetterThanStock.com, I received a media pass. With the exception of Sunday, which only allowed access to Ford, some Porsches, and various exotics (brought in by local collectors and dealers), we were given complete and unhindered access throughout the week to every car, truck, and SUV on display.

For journalists, only a few vehicles were locked. I indulged in a Rolls Royce Phantom with my friend Bryce, running our hands over the leather and plush carpeting, fiddling with knobs and switches while exploring the infotainment system in depth. Without a line of people waiting to sit inside, we had a chance to sample everything in detail without interruption from models, presenters, or the unwashed masses. Rotating platforms were mostly turned off so journalists could climb up and capture photos up close.

We parked ourselves in the topless Rolls Royce Dawn, the Rolls Phantom, several Jaguars, a Ferrari 318, a Ferrari FF, several Lamborghinis, and got up close with a Bugatti Chiron. I practiced climbing in and out of the BMW i8, a car for people with long legs, apparently.

Fast Tube by Casper

We quickly discovered that manufacturers talk to journalists in greater depth and detail about powertrains, new features, and new technologies. Instead of boring us with marketing blather reserved for the general public, brand representatives tried winning us over with performance data, technical achievements, and production details.

Infiniti flew in chefs from California while FCA handed out pastries and coffee. Amazon made an appearance promoting The Grand Tour, serving beer and snacks from an indoor bar. A few other brands passed out chocolates and hors d’oeuvres while Nissan’s Leaf booth gave away adorable mini-frappuccinos. And of course I grabbed a free pen, tote bag, or fidget spinner anywhere that I could.

Here’s my take on the most noteworthy bits of NAIAS 2018.

Sunday

We got there on a cold Sunday morning, January 14. After parking under Cobo Hall we gathered our tripods, stands, cameras, batteries, lights, and other gear and made the cold march to elevator. At a booth we handed over our ID and picked up media passes, granting us access to everything but the main show floor.

Apparently there was some confusion over what our pink passes would allow access to. Others who traveled from abroad were vocally upset upon discovering that they were only permitted to enter the media lounge, the small collection of exotics, the Automobili-D automation/electrification booths downstairs, and the Ford section later in the afternoon. The rest of the floor would be closed until Monday morning.

Great. And of course the carelessly slapped together web site didn’t make any of this clear. It’s no wonder NAIAS is losing its status as a top-tier event.

We made plans to come back later in the week but since we were there we took the opportunity to explore a bit, starting with a room full of spectacular exotics.

A representative from Porsche drove his personal Panamera hybrid up from Georgia and parked it in the display area. He gave a speech I mostly ignored as I ran my eyes across over the Panamera’s clean, humpless styling. What was once the ugliest thing you could buy for six figures became a design masterpiece with only a few minor changes. It makes you wonder how the original Panamera made it out the door.

I finally got a chance to see a Bugatti Chiron in person. I thought for a moment it may have been a model or replica because it was much smaller than expected. With sixteen cylinders, a dozen or so radiators, and bulbous Airbus styling it seemed, after seeing it on television and in videos, that it should have been about the size of a Buick Park Avenue.

But no, it’s actually four inches shorter than a Corolla.

We spent the majority of our time in the display area sitting inside the Rolls Royce Phantom. Every knob, lever, or switch felt hefty and important, as if opening and closing the air vents was as momentous and as significant as declaring war on a foreign country. I suppose if you’re directing the air flow of a $420,000 car, your decisions likely carry that kind of weight.

My fingers disappeared into the plush carpets while overhead lights were elegantly frosted. The Phantom logo on the passenger side dashboard features floating letters protected by a glass case, similar to a display at a jewelery store.

The Starlight Headliner option ($15000) places fiber optic strands in the headliner to simulate twinkling stars at night. Buyers can request astronomically accurate constellations or the design of their choosing, done by hand in a process that takes a minimum of nine hours to complete. Insane.

The Jaguar F-type convertible was more practical than expected with reasonably useful trunk space and supportive but comfortable touring seats. We also sampled the roomy Ferrari FF, the 812 Superfast, a few Lamborghinis, and I finally saw the homely Bentley Bentayga in person. The Bentayga is hideous.

Oddly, after climbing into several half million dollar cars, it wasn’t until we sat in a Cadillac CTS-V that we were asked to step out.

In the hallway we had a chat with the folks from Karma, the new Chinese-owned company that builds the Revero, formerly known as the Fisker Karma. Build quality is a noteworthy improvement with more even panel gaps, a much improved interior with nicer materials and more consistent stitching, vastly improved infotainment, and more range and output from the plug-in hybrid GM powertrain. They say the performance improvements were mostly through software. The car retains the jeweled glass case in the center console, a strange exhaust that comes out the bottom of the front fender, and Henrik Fisker’s dramatic styling.

I asked about distribution and production; they claim that because the company is owned by a billionaire unconcerned with volume, they’re mostly building them to order. Interesting.

We headed downstairs to take a look at Automobili-D, a showcase for electrification and automation technologies. We met a rep from a Swedish company building fully automated, fully electric delivery trucks. That was neat.

We also spoke with reps from Urb-E, manufacturers of folding electric bicycles small enough to store in the trunk of a Miata or carry with you on the bus or train. Clever solution for urban dwellers reliant on mass transit but tired of walking. It even doubles as a shopping cart.

Out in the atrium, the US Secretary of Transportation, Elaine Chao, gave a speech on the DOT’s commitment to automotive technology with safety as its highest priority.

Nearby, Nissan showcased its only noteworthy product: adorably sized frappuccinos.

Although Volvo won North American Utility of the Year with its beautiful XC60, it had no official presence at the show. Alongside Mitsubishi, Volvo parked a couple locked cars in the hallway with no presenters or special displays.

Starving and thirsty, the three of us reconvened in the afternoon, putting our gear back in the truck and boarding the People Mover to head to Greektown.

The staircase from the People Mover to Greektown smelled like piss, but what else would you expect from mass transit in Detroit?

If you’ve never been to Wahlburgers, I strongly recommend it. Service is excellent, the burgers are tall and juicy, fries and tots are crisp and salty, and the house beer is pleasingly smooth.

We returned to Cobo Hall in time for Ford to reveal the new Ranger, a [rather large] midsize pickup powered by the 2.3L Ecoboost I4, competing directly with the Chevy Colorado and the aging Toyota Tacoma. A high-powered beefed up Raptor version is expected to debut.

Much of the attention at Ford surrounded Bullitt, the Mustang from the 1968 film of the same name that was recently found in Mexico. Ford brought the car to the show in its well worn, mostly unrestored form. If you’ve never seen the movie, the legendary Steve McQueen pilots the Mustang in a chase through the streets of San Francisco, taking flight, drifting through corners, and evading traffic. Of course, a stunt driver did most of the work, but some of it was by McQueen himself.

Debuting for 2019, the 50th anniversary Bullitt is a green (or black) 475-hp beast powered by the Coyote 5.0, a six-speed cue ball shifter, and the GT350’s intake manifold. As Hyundai proved with the Genesis coupe, just about anyone can make a sporty car, but few have the legendary history of the Mustang.

Oh hey, it’s Bill Ford.

This simulator for the Ford Ranger allows you to drive off-road, virtually.

I picked up a souvenir and headed out. That concludes day one.

Click for day two.

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