• by Karl Greenberg , January 12, 2010

The Detroit Auto Show had some surprises this year -- not the least of which was a more optimistic mood, with an overall theme of hope and recovery in terms of how much better the economic outlook is than last year, according to Charlie Vogelheim, a 20-year veteran of the auto biz, former editor of Kelley Blue Book and current executive editor of IntelliChoice.

"From a product standpoint, it was surprisingly about electrification and alternative fuel," he says. The one exception was Cadillac, which started its press conference with a video of a car peeling out with a growling engine sound. Cadillac showed a CTS-V coupe under the brand's V-Series performance sub-brand and said it will introduce Platinum, another sub-brand representing its highest-end versions of its vehicles.

"I would say Cadillac was the only one focusing on muscle," says Vogelheim. "I turned to colleagues and said, 'This is the first burnout, right?' Certainly, there were performance vehicles on Audi, Mercedes and VW stands, but they were under the guise of luxury."

Ford stole the show with its Focus intro, using a set that featured as a centerpiece a giant "power on" icon similar to those found on computers and phones. It also introduced the next iteration of Sync, called MyFord Touch. "They talked about the car as a sort of personal headquarters," said Vogelheim, who added that the global-platform sensibility Ford has adopted as part of its One Ford program includes European nomenclature for vehicle segments, (b- and c-segment cars, versus compact and subcompact).

Another culture shock was Chrysler's relative absence from the show and the very obvious leverage of its owner, Fiat. Chrysler's stand was adorned with Lamborghinis, Maseratis and Ferraris.

Meanwhile, European automakers talked up diesel, with VW, Audi and Mercedes all promoting their clean-diesel technologies.