New Vehicle Reviews (Page 62)

Concept cars have traditionally been far-out sculptures, exercises in futuristic thinking at the Detroit Auto Show, complete with radical interiors. This year, the spectrum has been expanded to include the tuner look, but with radical paint accents over sculpture.

The first day of the 2011 NAIAS press coverage at the Detroit Auto Show was kicked off early with the Car and Truck of the Year Awards. Aside from Chevy Volt and the Ford Explorer winning the coveted event, the day revealed more and more products, a host of interviews and events and reveals.

The first day of the 2011 NAIAS press coverage has already begun. Aside from the never-before-seen products and a host of interviews, events and reveals, there are technical elements that make those products.

In years past, the general public was not given the same access that the media has had at auto shows. This year, that has changed; at least with GM, where the company has made web casts available for on-demand replay.

While GM reengages to get the social-media lead back from Ford with a team of bloggers from its new agency, Big Fuel, a host of media representatives and reporters will be on hand to witness first hand all the 2011 NAIAS news events. They, too, will use social media venues like Twitter and Facebook as never before in auto show history.

The 2011 Chevrolet Cruze effectively replaces the Chevy Cobalt and the Cavalier before it, so the new C-segment sedan has big sales shoes to fill and a fairly bad reputation to battle.