NEXT GEN CARS AT CES

This is the first January in my lifetime that downtown Detroit hasn't been a buzz hosting the North American International Auto Show.  The glamor of auto shows has faded over the years as car manufacturers marketing has evolved and other other events have competed for consumers attention. The pandemic combined with the local dealership association, DADA, that hosts Detroit's auto show plans to revitalize this iconic even put the January event in deep freeze. While the show may re-emerge as a Summer or Fall event in the future, the grey winter skies of January make the month a lot gloomier without the shine of the auto show bringing Auto Show crowds to the Motor City.

January isn't totally devoid of automotive news though. Motorheads will appreciate the techy industry highlights that have been coming out of this year's CES technology conference.  A number of players in the automotive industry have been showcasing the next generation of cars at the Consumer Electronics Show. I've enjoyed the inside look at how the automotive industry is evolving while participating in CES 2021 and it has filled some of the void this car guy has felt with the absence of the Detroit Auto Show.

Headlining CES this year was a keynote presentation by General Motors Chairman & CEO Mary Barra. She highlighted how GM is moving forward with the next gen of cars by introducing a new tech industry inspired logo and discussing how the company is evolving from gasoline powered engines to an electrified future. Bara noted that currently electric powered cars and trucks make up only 3% of global vehicles but GM will invest 25 billion dollars now through 2025 in creating battery powered transportation. She believes the world is at an inflection point of an all electric future for the automotive industry.

GM provided an overview of a battery platform developed in partnership with LG that is adaptable for uses in a variety of consumer and commercial vehicle configurations ranging from cars to suvs to trucks. This battery technology will allow GM battery fueled vehicles to travel 450 miles on a full charge. They also noted that these batteries are quick charging and that a vehicle would be able to traverse 90 miles on just a 10 minute charge. As part of the GM investment into electrification, the car maker will be working to ensure that charging stations will be accessible to their customers as gas stations so that drivers can continue to enjoy the freedom of the open road like they do now. We will need to stay tuned for more updates but the next four years looks to be an exciting time in the evolution of cars and trucks.

GM also made a super announcement about an upgrade coming to its vehicle lineup. After debuting in Cadillac models the super cruise hands free driving system will be available in 22 models across all the GM brands. This adaptive cruise control uses real-time precise positioning, cameras, sensors and LiDAR map data to help navigate a car without the need for hands-on control of a steering wheel. My wife and I tend to purchase Buick and GMC vehicles so I'm intrigued that this feature is being expanded beyond luxury brands. 

GM even brought some sci-fi to CES introducing its version of the Jetsons' "flying car" as a Cadillac. The Cadillac VTOL (Vertical Take Off / Landing) that it envisions one day will have people from rooftop to rooftop at the reasonable speed of 56 miles per hour. Why sit in traffic when you can go over it?!

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) made a final hurrah before the company merges with Peugeot to create Stellantis, which will become the world's fourth largest automotive manufacturer. FCA created a virtual auto show floor at CES featuring mostly Jeep vehicles as well as a couple of Fiat cars, Ram trucks and a Dodge suv. Videos showed you around the interior and exterior of the vehicles plus there was an augmented reality simulation of going off-roading in a Jeep. I enjoyed roaming around this virtual auto show display at CES.

Mercedes-Benz showed off a futuristic concept car. The Vision Vision AVTR looks like it could be a prop for a TRON movie or an animal from AVATAR. Its open sides and unique angles make this vehicle standout from anything that is driving on the road now. It also introduced a new concept for electric power using renewable plant-based materials to construct the batteries that fuel it instead of mined metals and minerals the automotive industry is relying on now for its next generation of cars. This was a car designed to make people geek out over it!

BMW promoted its new heads up displays. GPS map apps on phones have replaced old school paper maps and now these new LED dashboard displays will allow people to be more informed than ever before when it comes to knowing where they are going while safely viewing driving directions within their line of sight.

When I go to auto shows a highlight for me is checking out race cars on display. So I appreciated seeing the Indy Autonomous Car Challenge Race Car on display at CES. Universities from colleges in eleven different countries are competing to see who can win a race where the winner earns a million dollar prize. The race takes place at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on October 23, 2021 involving actual Indy cars that can reach speeds of 200 miles per hour. 

There is a catch to this competition ... the race cars can't be steered by humans in the vehicles or by remote control.  Each entrant must maneuver the track competing in the race controlled by artificial intelligence. This competition is all about designing an autonomous driving system that has robotic cars driving around the speedway. This race is going to be very interesting!

Audi also introduced an all electric powered car called the RS e-Tron GT. This car looks sharp! Plus its performance stats make it seem as the car will run as good as it looks. If these stats are true to fact than this car will ride just as fine as any internal combustion luxury GT-style car on the market today.

Luxury brand Lotus even made an appearance at CES to announce they were designing their first ever all electric powered sports car. They didn't share a picture but it is not like I'll ever be able to buy one of these so not that big of a deal. There announcement though further points out that battery powered vehicles are really gaining a lot of traction right now. It will be exciting to see how these announcements are updated at CES during the next few years. I foresee that we will be seeing a lot of change in how we picture cars and trucks through the remainder of this decade.

So that is my roundup of next gen cars at CES. What is your favorite industry announcement or vehicle on display at CES 2021? While I was impressed by the Audi RS e-Tron what really excited me was that hands free driving is moving beyond luxury brands and into mainstream vehicles more quickly than I expected. Autonomous driving is going to be here before we know it, but until then I'm thrilled that  super cruise hands free driving will probably be in the next car I get.

JEEPS OF FORD EXHIBITION

One of the most iconic vehicles of all time has to be the jeeps that propelled the American military through conflicts from World War II through Vietnam. When I think of a jeep the first things that come to mind are these military vehicles depicted in TV episodes of The Rat Patrol, George C. Scott rolling through Europe in one during PATTON, wounded soldiers being transported on them during the opening sequence of M.A.S.H., as well as real life family pictures of my grandfather working on them in a motor pool during the Battle of the Bulge.

The next thing that comes to mind is the favorite car I ever owned. A boxy Jeep Cherokee that was the first "new car" I ever owned bought when I finally has some financial stability in my late 20s. Jeeps may have been replaced on the battlefield by Humvees and other military motorized vehicles but they are now one of the most successful brands in the civilian automotive industry.

While the Jeep name is currently trademarked and the brand is owned by Chrysler when it comes to the sports utility vehicles being built for consumers today, Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford played a big part in producing the vehicles for the United States military. The Michigan Military Technical & Historical Society is presenting a temporary exhibit at its Eastepointe museum this Winter highlighting the JEEPS OF FORD. On display will be 3 examples of Ford built jeeps, including a 1941 Ford GP prototype which on short-term loan to the museum. Thee will also be a number of Ford jeep related items from the museum's permanent collection to view. Stop in to discover this often-overlooked aspect of the “Truck, ¼ Ton, 4X4” story from Michigan's Arsenal of Democracy history.

Going into World War II if you can believe it the U.S. Army was still utilizing horses and mules for its ground transportation needs along with some heavy-duty trucks supplied during World War I from the Dodge Brothers Motor Company. The Defense Department contracted with auto manufacturer Willy (the precursor to Chrysler's ownership of the brand by way of American Motors Corporation) and Ford to create prototype vehicles to determine which would be mass produced for use by the Army.

Willy's MA was selected over the Ford GP (general purpose vehicle) though the production model used in World War II utilized design elements from both prototypes. In fact, the pressed-metal grille that has become engrained with Jeep's brand image was actually a design feature in the Ford prototype that was incorporated into the final design by the Army. In fact, Jeep may have been slang originating from the GP in the Ford prototype name.

Because Willys couldn't keep up with the war time demand on their own, the automotive manufacturer, granted the United States Government a non-exclusive license to select allow another company to also manufacture these vehicles. Ford was selected as the second supplier building Jeeps based upon Willys' final design specifications. During World War II approximately 360,000 Willy MA models were manufactured and 280,000 Ford GPW jeeps were built. The G stood for "government contract." The P for the vehicles' 80 inch wheelbase. And the W for the Willy specifications of the vehicle. Not only were both of these jeeps used by American forces during World War II but they were also provided to the Soviet Union in their front against the Nazis and the Chinese in their confrontations with the Japanese.

In the 1950's Ford was awarded the contract to revise the design of the aging World War II fleet of jeeps. They created the M151 that became known as "Mutts." American Motors Corporation (which was an evolution of Willys through mergers and acquisitions) was granted a secondary contract to also build these 1/4 ton 4x4 general purpose trucks based upon Ford's specifications. Because of AMC's trademark of the Willy Jeep grille being used in civilian vehicles the Mutts used a different design. Ford Mutts were in service by the military until they were phased out in the mid-1980s by Humvees which were designed and manufactured by AM General, a military contractor spun off from AMC that continues the Willy heritage within the country's defense industry.

So the history of the military jeep really is a tangled web isn't it? Gear heads and history geeks like this dad blogger are sure to appreciate the JEEPS OF FORD exhibition at the Michigan Military Technical and Historical Society Museum. Get a close up look at these iconic vehicles by stopping by for a visit. This volunteer driven museum located at 16600 Stephens Road, Eastpointe Michigan 48021 is open on weekends. Saturdays 10 am - 5pm + Sundays Noon to 4pm.

The 11,000 square foot museum maintains and preserves Michigan's "Arsenal of Democracy" heritage. Have fun participating in a scavenger hunt through the museum's military equipment, uniforms, weapons and vehicles that points out educational trivia meant to pique the interest of kids and kids-at-heart. This place isn't just for military enthusiasts!

See NASA astronaut space gear worn on the space shuttle. Watch a Cold War "duck and cover" Civil Defense television public service announcement. Learn about Rosie the Riveter and the role women played in building the airplanes, cannons and jeeps used in World War II. There is a lot to discover at the Michigan Military Technical and Historical Society Museum.

For more information about the museum and special events hosted by the Michigan Military Technical and Historical Society, go to mimths.org

Going Car Watching: Our Roadtrip to the Woodward Dream Cruise

This year is the 20th anniversary of the WOODWARD DREAM CRUISE, an annual event in Metro Detroit that is like a combining a parade, block party and carnival together to celebrate classic cars and the area's automotive heritage.  This Saturday event gets to be very congested with more than a million people clustering along Woodward Avenue for the day and we normally feel it is a little to hectic to take our young children to, but this year I decided to take the twins over to see the cars the Friday morning before the official event to check out what was going on before all the crowds arrived.  So we took a road trip just a few blocks down the street from our house to go car watching.

I have to say taking a wander along Woodward Avenue the morning before the event was great...we saw lots of classic cars without all of the crowds.  While many of the exhibitor displays were still being setup and not all of the cars were cruising around yet we still saw a lot of cool stuff and had some great experiences.  For example, Chevrolet had just unloaded a few of the cars that were used to portray the Autobots in the movie Transformers: Age of Extinction from a tractor trailer but hadn't set up the exhibit display for them yet.  The Chevy staffers let my son jump in the original car that had been used as the stunt vehicle in the movie to portray my son's favorite Transformer, BUMBLEBEE, and pretend to take it for a spin.

Chevy did have one of its exhibits all set up where we could look at some of their different race car engines and an Indy car.  While walking around this display my kids snagged some really nice car themed color books and Crayola crayons while I got my hands on a t-shirt compliments of Chevrolet.

We also saw a Monster Truck, a few dragsters on display, and some cars drag racing down the strip.

 

You don't always need to drive far away to have a fun and exciting road trip with your kids...sometimes the adventure can just be a few blocks away.  For more information about the Woodward Dream Cruise visit www.woodwarddreamcruise.com