Sen. Obama continued with a message of alternative energy development, an industry for which many experts say Southeast Michigan's workforce is ideal. "We're going to create alternative fuels for our plug-in hybrids," he said. "We are going to help the auto companies. If you are ready for change, we are going to create a brighter energy future right here in America."
[MLive]

While daily rental fleet sales have dropped, corporate and government fleet sales remain an important part of domestic automakers' business strategy. Chrysler spokesperson Stuart Schorr had this to say:

"Commercial and government fleet is good business. Daily rental fleet is less desirable but still not bad business if managed properly. Chrysler is committed to reducing sales to daily rental fleets and lowering our overall fleet sales."

We're wondering who may be the inadvertent winner in this American Revolution in sales reduction. Although we haven't yet seen numbers, the one automaker we've started to see more and more of in rental fleets across the country seems to be Kia and Hyundai. We know that even in the American automaker holy land of Detroit — Enterprise, Hertz and Dollar all now carry kimchi-flavored offerings. Anecdotal? Sure. Example of a larger trend? Possibly. [Automotive News (Sub. Req.)]

Herr Merkel sounds awfully familiar: "Tall, handsome German man meets with Cora Neel and the other board members about buying Hamilton Motors." And, as if you need more than a drama about the car biz based in the D, apparently Andie MacDowell is already on board. Poor Yorick: We thought that was your head we saw rolling down Jefferson.

THE PRINCE OF MOTOR CITY To be an auto tycoon... or not to be? That's the problem plaguing philosophy lecturer Billy Hamilton.

His father, the legendary William Hamilton III of Hamilton Motor Works, was just killed in a mysterious accident. And when Billy returns home for the funeral, he's shocked to discover that his father left him... everything. The factory. The assets. Detroit's fourth-biggest auto plant. All the power and wealth he can imagine. But Billy's not sure if he wants it. Because the situation back home has gotten strange indeed.

Company CFO and family friend Paul Riley is outraged that he wasn't given the keys to the kingdom. Billy's unfinished romance with Riley's spunky daughter Meg is heating up again. And Billy's mom and his Uncle Charlie seem to be consoling one another in much too cozy a fashion—do they know more about William's death than they're letting on?

But all this pales in comparison to the eerie goings-on around the plant. Billy's being haunted by a song... a moody Elvis song that was his father's favorite. He's getting mysterious, meaningful messages from complete strangers. At a dinner party, he chats with an empty seat next to him—which chats back. Finally, a ghost that could only be his father tells Billy in a croaking voice: "I want revenge."

An epic, Gothic, family melodrama with overtones of Hamlet, The Prince of Motor City injects corporate and familial intrigue with supernatural suspense. Produced by actor Hamish Linklater of The New Adventures of Old Christine, this riveting drama tells the story of a modern-day monarch with method in his madness... and vengeance in his heart.

The Detroit News has an in depth article stating show officials are considering selling the rights for the show to Chicago or just shopping it around to other cities. Perhaps talk like this is only meant to light a fire under Lansing's butt, but the idea of losing the NAIAS sure would be a boot to the neck for the local economy. [DetNews]

What are the foreign automakers doing? Hyundai has the Genesis Coupe, which promises great performance with a V6 at a lower cost. Subaru has come out with another capable Forester while Ford will soon be selling the seemingly contradictory Ford Flex and Transit Connect. It's "A New Day" at Chrysler. Or is it? Are the "Big 3" seeing what the market wants and delivering, or grasping at straws? Quo Vadimus? Where are we going?

So how are we going to know a J-Lop from a common schmo? Aside from you lucky few with "Save the Enzos" t-shirts and whatever psycho decides to put el Werto on a shirt or whatever, the easiest solution is to just go the AA way - name tags. We'll have 'em or you can bring your own cleverly sarcastic version. I'm going to head over to the all volunteer staffed theater (and thus only open part time) this evening and make sure we've got things straight for all you hooligans tomorrow. We'll probably have a "Jalopnik" section if we can swing it. Make sure you bring your $4 cause we're sure the nonprofit theater will appreciate the patronage. Not much else to say, we're looking forward to tomorrow and hope you guys are too.

Okay, so doors open at 7 pm and the movie starts at 8 pm. Redford isn't the nicest town in Detroit — not terribly dangerous, but on the skeevy side. Rest assured though as the parking lots as seen below are guarded. You'll be treated to some really cool old-timey Chinese themed movie theater kitsch, so bring your camera if you're into that kind of thing. We'll be there early, but we haven't really figured out how we should identify ourselves as a group. Perhaps you all can come with something good, we'll run a reminder on Friday with some kind of scarlet letter to point out the nerdliness.

Best Reveal
While we don't want to hate anymore on Toby Keith and his Ford Truck Man-liness, we have to give Dodge and their team for putting together such a steer humping good time. Hundreds of Longhorn cattle will trump jingoistic country music any day.

ADVANTAGE DODGE RAM

Most Unnecessary Press Shot
We think we heard from Ford PR people at least 1,000 times that you could load a flatscreen television in the back of the F-150 with it's folding seats and roomier cabin. And while that might be a good selling point we get the fucking picture. But just in case we didn't they actually sneaked a press shot of the F-150 with a flatscreen television box inside of it. If that comes with the review vehicle we're keeping it.

ADVANTAGE FORD F-150

Best Feature
There's nothing more we hate than having to go back into a cooler to get our beverage or sub sandwich. That's why we're glad Dodge put a storage area with a drain hole (for ice) on the floor of the rear passenger space. Anyone want a beer? You're out of luck, all we have is the fancy herb lemonade from Smart.

ADVANTAGE DODGE RAM

Best Gigantic Grille
You have to give it to the F-150, though the Ram's grille continues to grow in size, there's nothing that quite matches up to the F-150 in sheer shiny chromeness. And not only can you have the chrome, you can have the chicken-wire grille, full on mesh and the new Platinum Edition's weird electric shaver to mach 3 look.

ADVANTAGE FORD F-150

Best Power

Ford won't release power numbers, towing numbers or MPG numbers. To hell with that.

ADVANTAGE DODGE RAM

WINNER

So far, inconclusive. Look for a real head-to-head comparison when the cars are actually drivable.

The Detroit Auto Show was an absolute hootenanny of reveals, confirmed rumors, shattered expectations, and free tea sets. Of course, we handed out grades to automakers. And you, dear readers? Which ones did you think flunked? Which soared? And which aimed squarely for the mediocre middle? Don't hold back. Spare the rod and spoil the child.

The organization decided the best way to serve the duty and keep operational firetrucks ready for emergencies at the same time would be to set out to purchase and refurbish a classic pumper truck. Seagraves were the predecessor the the later dominant Mack offerings, but at the time the Detroit Fire Department owned about 80% of the Safety Sedans ever made. The example we see here was one of the early Seagraves in the DFD fleet of 87 total.The original chassis has been replaced with a modern one from Mack, and Chrysler was generous enough to contribute a new Detroit Diesel power plant. Nearly four years of labor and dedication have gone into getting the truck to this point and the craftsmanship is unbelieveable. We're sure when it's finished, the hours of hard work from countless volunteers will be well worth the effort. If you'd like to contribute the effort or just want to know a bit more, you can go directly the Detroit Firemens Fund website.

Unlike the pictures we saw earlier, the doors and the rear hatch roof were now removed on the vehicle I checked out, which made the HX look even more familiar and justified my relentless drilling of the designers about Halo.

I fully expected Rojas and Jablonski to quickly deny any kind of link—but the llevel of denial was stunning. Not only did Rojas quickly shoot down even the slightest bit of speculation, he was adamant, repeatedly stating the he neither owns an Xbox nor plays Halo. Jablonski echoed these denials. On a normal day that would be a fine, except a few days prior GM's director of exterior design for the HX, Carl Zipfel, admitted that "We all play [Halo]."

If you want to take a gander at this thing, it's clearly not a direct copy of the Warthog, but there are certain factors that one could draw assumptions from. The removable wheel fenders expose plenty of wheel-well action, which looks a lot like the Warthog. A completely covered and protected undercarriage and wheel wells is a necessity in Halo, to protect virtual combatants from imaginary barrages of assorted munitions. The Hummer designers must be anticipating that the HX will encounter similar action in the real world because the vehicle's protected undercarriage is a highly touted feature. The tailgate also opens for quick loading into the back with the folded down seats for when you have to quickly jump in and mount a gun turret. The roof of the HX is also removable, revealing a square top, which could be construed as similar to the Warthog's t-top.

So what's the final word? There isn't one. We've heard mentions of a link from insiders. We've heard speculation of a link across the Web. And even Rojas and Jablonski were quick to joke about the possibility of some kind of partnership with Bungie, makers of Halo, to get the Hummer HX into the game. While in-game advertising isn't something new, Bungie is not the kind of studio to participate in that, but on the other hand, Bungie's partial equity owner, Microsoft, would be more likely to join in.

It is safe to say that the Hummer HX is not a direct copy of the Warthog from Halo, but I can't get away from the fact that they share similar functionality, purposes, intentions—and that the designers were so adamant about their denials. Regardless, the fact of the matter is that neither the Warthog from Halo or the Hummer HX are actual production models. It's intriguing to see video games having a little bit of influence in the automotive industry, even if it is just with a conceptual design that will never see the light of day. Will we ever see GM hire away designers from the video game industry? Who knows?

Spence: That is seriously cute. Diesels are for dragons kinda like Sarah Silverman is for straight guys. She's kinda funny looking and probably a little psycho, but you still wanna [EXPLETIVE REDACTED] her.

Wow.

Detroit Auto Show: BMW Hearts Diesel

5.) Saab 9-4x BioPower: Stainless-steel ski rack. Sure, it looks fine, and having the titanium-carbon-fiber Rossignols on the roof is just too risky these days. But where will the douchebag couple who spends the eight hours to Vermont talking about their trip to St. Bart's sit? Think about it.

4.) Saturn Flextreme: Clamshell trunk. While shellfish and trunk space are both well liked, combining the two is a pipe dream that'll, unfortunately, never be fulfilled. Saturn designers deserve credit for out-of-the-mollusk thinking, though. Hiho!

3.) Lincoln MKT: Those massive gauge tubes were reportedly inspired by Swarovski crystal. While they do add an upmarket, Ice Pirates ambiance to the Lincoln, no corporate lawyer in Scarsdale who's ever had a knock-down-drag-out with his spouse in the living room would risk another crystal decanter to the face, under any circumstances.

2.) Maybach Landaulet: Rear-seat convertible top. When everything shakes out, the 2010s may be known as the decade robber barons returned to lord it over the faltering middle class. But will the new JP Morgans and Vanderbilts really want to be chauffeured al fresco? We're betting not. These days, the proles have guns and laser scopes.

1.) Mazda Furai: Itself.

BONUS: One Feature Missing from a Detroit Concept Car: Hummer HX. Notwithstanding its visual connection to the Halo 3 Warthog fighting vehicle, the Hummer HX concept could be a great success on the dystopian streets of post-revolutionary America. But the kids would demand a turret mount, a glaring omission from the concept. Keeping the Covenant from attacking humanoid refugee shelters would be impossible without it.

Can't believe you guys fell for that. If you remember correctly, Porsche thumbed it's nose at NAIAS last June. Bet you didn't even miss them with the epic awesomeness of the Audi R8 V12, the Mazda Furai, and the Cadillac CTS Coupe Concept.

Diesel, it's not your fault

Many years ago, you were created with the best intentions.
The weight of the world's needs were put on you.
And you served a purpose - you got people from point A to point B.

But you were loud. You were smoky.
And let's face it, you stunk.

No one was able to harness your power.
No one was able to make you truly fuel-efficient.
No one was able to reduce your emissions.

Until now.

Introducing BMW Advanced Diesel with BluePerformance.
Now you can go more than 500 miles on a single tank.
Now you can emit less CO2 than any other diesel in your class.
Now you're our most powerful, cleanest-burning six-cylinder diesel ever.

And now you're coming to America.
America's first diesel with a variable twin-turbo inline-six engine.
Finally, America will learn why over 60% of our sales in Europe are for diesel.

Diesel, welcome back.

The Top Five Favorite Press Meals At The Detroit Auto Show

1. Hot Dogs With Spud Webb & Bill Walton &mdash Kia

When Kia announced their 2009 Borrego the crowd of journalists was overwhelmed by vendors throwing at hot dogs and peanuts at the assembled press. The press was then led through a confusing presentation in which Bill Walton and Spud Webb started shooting (and missing) basketballs. What does this have to do with a Kia? We don't know either, but a hot dog is always a nice treat.

2. Pretzels & Beer &mdash VW

Though we like the Passat CC, we were a little underwhelmed by the presentation. Thankfully, VW had a well-appointed lounge above their stand complete with Heineken and freshly baked pretzels in which we were able to ponder our disappointment.

3. Bass, Crabcake Salad & Blueberry Cobbler &mdash Chrysler

As we mentioned, the food and beer flows at The Firehouse, where Dr. Z is our new Sam "Mayday" Malone. The crabcake salad was a nice change from the junk food and power bars we'd been downing all morning, and the blueberry cobbler was divine.

4. Tea & Espresso &mdash Infiniti

Though the Infiniti Infotainment System is fun to look at, it's the tea and espresso (InfiniTEA, get it?) that the company provided that made our morning just a little more enjoyable.

5. Lox Egg Croissants &mdash MB

The classiest egg McMuffin you'll ever see was at the Mercedes lounge, where in between gossip about Dr. Z and Kim Catrall's secret love nest in Pennsylvania you could chow down on mini croissants with egg, nova lox and a dash of fresh sage.

The back of the QX56 contains the brains of this demo vehicle. Understand that the Infotainment Vehicle is completely customized and built for demonstration of all of XM's next generation goods and won't be hitting an Infiniti dealership in this current state. Despite the mess of electronics and other goods, there is actually four different, independent computers powering everything inside the QX56. This ultimately could allow every screen inside of the vehicle to operate independently.

Easily, the most impressive feature is the XM NavWeather, NavInfo and NavTraffic. The NavWeather provides live weather updates on the fly. It divides up the map into a grid. Each square on the grid is approximately 4.3 square miles and provides its own independent weather information. Pair this up with Infiniti's navigation to provide accurate and completely customized driving forecasts.

NavTraffic provides up to the minute traffic information with the navigation. As with other traffic analyzers, roads are color-coded based based on pace of traffic; specific incidents are highlighted and can be opened to provide details. The Hyundai Genesis is one of the vehicles being shown off at the Detroit Auto Show and the first Hyundai that will be including NavTraffic. Many vehicles from Acura, Cadillac, Ferrari, Lexus, Infiniti, Nissan and Toyota also include XM NavTraffic.

NavInfo is a robust suite of information about everything from flight times and statuses, gas prices and more. It is also integrated into the navigation seamlessly.

XM's Parking Link is still a ways away from reality, but the idea is good. On the map, parking garages are highlighted and information is given based on available spaces. It can also display prices. XM also said that a street-level version of Parking Link is far off, but nonetheless under discussion.

Sports scores, stock prices and standard XM radio with a programming guide are also parts of the Infotainment Vehicle and the future technology available from XM.

No emissions targets or environmental impact limits have been set. While we would love to see racing reduce its impact on the world around us, thus furthering research into enabling passenger cars to do the same, we can't help but feel efforts like this merely pay lip service to being environmentally friendly in order to placate critics.