Editors at Auto Week perused the offerings at the 2011 North American International Auto Show and named their top picks.
Executive Editor of Auto Week, Roger Hart, said the show had more than two dozen new models on display, and most had one thing in common:
"There were no fancy, pie-in-the-sky, dreamlike concept cars. Nearly everything billed as a concept looked as if you could buy one tomorrow at your local dealership and drive it home."
Here are their picks:
BEST IN SHOW: Porsche 918 RSR Concept
"Porsche marked its return to the Detroit auto show in a big way with the 918 RSR concept, and—like the 918 Spyder concept revealed last year in Geneva—it was the undisputed star of the show," said AutoWeek editor Wes Raynal.
BEST CONCEPT: Ford Vertrek
"Ford has been so focused on serious stuff such as small cars and fine-tuning production models that it hasn’t had a lot of time to craft concepts capable of turning heads at auto shows,” said Hart. “Enter the Vertrek. It blends European styling with the practical needs of Americans. The best part is that Ford design boss J Mays says this concept is very close to the look of the next Escape."
MOST SIGNIFICANT: Chrysler 300
"It's hard to overstate the significance of one car to one company, but the 300 is critical to Chrysler’s very survival,” said Hart. “To us, that's pretty significant. That the car can be had with Hemi power also makes the 300 a car AutoWeek readers will crave."
MOST FUN: BMW 1-series M Coupe
"Sometimes a concept wins our Most Fun award, and sometimes it's a vehicle that gets the driver in us excited,” said Hart. "In this case, it's clearly the latter—we can’t wait to drive this car!"
