Best Cars of the 2019 Detroit Auto Show

DETROIT — Even with few European automakers present, the final January North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) had a sizable yield of first-rate introductions — more than a dozen if you count cars also shown the previous week at CES 2019. Highlights this year included the new Ram HD (heavy duty) pickup truck, the sixth-generation Ford Explorer, and the 700-hp Mustang Cobra. It wasn’t exclusively Team USA cars. Toyota unveiled the 2020 Toyota Supra sports car, a joint venture with BMW, which did not show off the BMW Z4 on account of BMW was not exhibiting.

Detroit’s auto show hit bumpy roads the last decade, which is an appropriate metaphor given the state of Michigan highways. This is the last year NAIAS will hold its preferred January slot. Undone by the defection of most European automakers and some of the Asians, not to mention bitterly cold weather many years, NAIAS moves in 2020 to June and a format that includes more outside events for the public days. Meanwhile, here are our 10 favorite introductions.

The Toyota half of the Toyota Supra/BMW Z4 joint effort debuted in Detroit. The styling belongs to Toyota, while the inline-six drivetrain is BMW's. The partnership, as with the Mazda Miata-Fiat 124 meetup, makes low-volume cars possible. Toyota purists are ticked. Get used to it, fanboys. It's not Toyota's take on the fire-breathing Nissan GT-R, but it's better than no car at all.

This is the sixth-generation Ford Explorer: same size (199 inches, three rows of seating) as the 5G model and sales are back up past quarter-million a year. The Explorer ST (pictured) is a 400-hp screamer. Ford Co-Pilot 360 adds meaningful safety assists, but the best tech starts three trim levels up. For more, see ET's separate Explorer coverage.

Monday morning, the Ram 1500 mainstream pickup won the North American Car and Truck of the Year Award. Hours later, Ram launched the HD pickups, Ram 2500 and (photo) 3500, with more load-hauling while retaining the signature portrait LCD and an amazing array of cockpit upgrades and trims. With sibling Chrysler essentially out of the sedan business, Ram is vital to FCA profits here.

The heart and soul of the 2020 Mustang Shelby GT is the 700-plus horsepower V8. Every part is beefy. The supercharger module nestled between is massive and requires two hands to lift; ditto the front brake rotors of about 35 pounds each. Performance will be world-class, with a distinctly American flair.

Infiniti's QX Inspiration concept was a bashful debutante. It got to the edge of the stage but no farther when the curtain rose; Infiniti blamed damaged in transit. Regardless, the automaker says the all-wheel-drive QX "introduces a new Infiniti form language for the electrified era."

A decade ago, Chinese automakers were in the indoor concourse outside Detroit's Cobo Hall booths, then inside in the far corners, and now an equal player. The GAC Entranze is a concept seven-passenger crossover. The company already has a full line of sedans, wagons, and SUVs. It is a future force to be reckoned with.

The 80th Anniversary Coach Door Lincoln Continental is so quintessentially American. The highlight is the coach door configuration, where the rear door is rear-hinged, and if you step out while the car is moving, you understand why they're universally called suicide doors. Only 80 will be made.

The 2020 Kia Telluride is bolder and several inches larger than Kia Sorento. The exterior is trucklike. But the interior is cushy and upscale. The front-drive platform with a 291-hp V6 is the same as the well-received Hyundai Palisade, but with an optional air suspension. It's on sale in May.

With a reasonable lineup of SUVs, VW is also pumping life into the soft sedan market with sporty offerings. At Detroit: the coupe-like 2020 Passat midsize sedan with sharp handling, standard pedestrian detection and automatic emergency braking, and a six-year warranty.

The Lexus LC Convertible is a concept that looks ready to go to production. The pearl white paint is matched by white leather with yellow stitching. The alloys are 22 inches, and thus better suited to LA than potholed Detroit or New York. Here, chief designer Tadao Mori walks off with one of the show's EyesOn Design Awards.

The show went off in spite of concerns of snow (it didn’t), a TSA airport-screener sickout and missed flights in or out (in Atlanta, Dallas and elsewhere but not Detroit), and infrastructure failures (a downtown water main break Saturday led to low water pressure and advisories to boil drinking water). The majority of European brands were missing: Audi, BMW, Bentley, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Porsche, and Rolls-Royce. Fiat and Volkswagen did take part, as did the majority of Asian automakers.

Along with light attendance by the media, the dearth of new car intros upset the 10-day auto show tradition of two nearly full days of press conferences followed by an industry/dealers day, a charity gala, and then 10-12 days for the public. There were still two days of press conferences Monday-Tuesday but the last automaker new car announcement, by China’s GAC, went off at 1:40 pm Monday. That left the rest of Monday plus Tuesday for announcements by Michelin that it was again sponsoring the IMSA sports car/sedan racing series, a Ford-VW update on its alliance (it’s on), and various keynotes and design awards.

North American Car, Truck, and Crossover of the Year

This was also the last time the January Detroit show was the site of the North American Car and Truck of the Year (NACTOY) awards, arguably the most significant automotive awards focused on the US/North American market. For 2019 the winners were:

Car. Genesis G70 by a significant margin over the Honda Insight and Volvo S60/V60.

Utility. Hyundai Kona/Kona EV over the Jaguar I-Pace and Acura RDX.

Truck. Ram 1500 over the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500.

The award for crossovers/SUVs was added in 2017. It’s the third time since 2010 that an automaker has won two awards, Genesis being an offshoot of Hyundai. The Chevrolet Corvette Stingray and Silverado won in 2014, the Ford Fusion Hybrid and Ford Transit Connect in 2010.

The NACTOY awards, chosen by a panel of 50-60 auto writers and broadcasters from multiple publications and websites, date to 1994. NACTOY is examining its affiliation for 2020 and later when Detroit moves to June. Auto-related shows early in the year include CES, already a huge event, followed by two mid-majors: Washington, normally in late January but in April this year, which also brands itself a public-policy show; and Chicago, in early February, with its McCormick Place the best auto-show exhibition hall of any US venue and a huge public days turnout. The New York show takes place halfway through the new model year, starting the week before Easter.

Continue reading

Review: The Oculus Quest 2 Could Be the Tipping Point for VR Mass Adoption

The Oculus Quest 2 is now available, and it's an improvement over the original in every way that matters. And yet, it's $100 less expensive than the last release. Having spent some time with the Quest 2, I believe we might look back on it as the headset that finally made VR accessible to mainstream consumers.

SpaceX Launches ‘Better Than Nothing’ Starlink Beta

Those lucky few who have gotten invitations to try the service will have to pay a hefty up-front cost, and the speeds aren't amazing. Still, it's a new generation of satellite internet.

Protect Your Online Privacy With the 5 Best VPNs

Investing in a VPN is a smart choice right now, but the options are vast. To help narrow things down a bit, we've rounded up five of our very favorite consumer services.

Starlink Beta Speed Tests Put Traditional Satellite Internet to Shame

According to data from Ookla Speedtest and analyzed by our colleagues at PCMag, Starlink is living up to its lofty speed claims.