North American International Auto Show in Detroit Review

When you think of Detroit one of the first words that should come in mind is cars.  We do love the automobile.  It not only provides a livelihood for so many of us, but also entertainment. We Michiganians can spend hours just looking at cars. The North American International Auto Show is proof of our adoration.

From the moment we walked into Cobo Hall the excitement was tangible.  Cars, cars, everywhere and just as the title indicates not just the Big Three, but cars from all over the world. Cars we had never even heard of.

There were cars cut in half sideways so that you could see how the seats were made, how the airbags worked, how thick the metal was.

There were cars separated from their chassis to enable you to see the inner workings of the car.

There were engines sitting beside cars so you could get a close up look.

There were shiny cars, sparkling cars, cars in unique colors.

I have to confess, we are a Ford family.  My father-in-law and brother-in-law worked for Ford. In fact my father-in-law was a Shaper.  His job was to build full sized concept cars out of wood, before they could be made out of steel.

We have owned a lot of Fords over the course of our marriage and every time I have to trade one in it is a sad day for me.  Last year we traded in our Ford Freestyle (a great car) and a Ford Taurus.  We really wanted one of the vehicles to have a third row, so when we visit Tésa and her family in Cleveland we could all ride together. We found our answer in the Ford Flex.

I went back to a Taurus.  I have had so many people stop and ask me what kind of car it was and comment on how much they like the looks of it.  The reason I returned to the Taurus was the crash assessment.  I could not bear the thought of having my grandchildren in the car, having an accident and something happen to them, because I went with a vehicle with lower safety standards.

Ford has once again stepped up.  In fact the 2013 Ford Fusion was named Autoweek Editor’s Choice for Best in Show.  It is a beautiful car.

The auto show gave us an opportunity to look over the cars being released in the coming year and concept cars. I had to wipe the drool off Randy’s face when he saw the Mustang.

The new ones look a lot like the ’69 Mach One we owned.  Unfortunately, I had to remind him that it was too fast for him and even though he crashed it way back when in his younger days, there was still no way he was getting another one.

However, I did tell Randy that if he really loved me, he would be buying me a Bentley.

I could just picture myself behind the wheel cruising down the highway.  Of course, he laughed.

If you are in the market for a new car anytime in the coming year, my recommendation is to visit the North American International Auto Show.  The ability to see so many cars in one venue is a real plus.  All within the warmth of one building.  It cant’t get better than that!