As tends to be the case in this post-ish-pandemic world of auto shows, the North American International Auto Show was a strange one. It was at least mostly indoors and thus not at the mercy of Mother Nature. And unlike that first Chicago Show following the initial pandemic shutdown, this one was all assembled before the media arrived. Even with a much thinner show floor, the Detroit Auto Show still gave us a number of noteworthy reveals.
Now, full disclosure, the rules for our Detroit picks were made a little more flexible, since some of these vehicles were revealed a little before the week of the show. But we still focused on vehicles that were making their show debut, and were actually present on the floor. Sadly, that means we had to leave out the Jeep Recon and Wagoneer S electric SUV concepts
5. 2023 Jeep Wrangler Willys 4xe
This was an easy one. While there’s nothing so remarkable about the Willys that it makes this package a must-buy, it’s nice to see another model available with the 4xe powertrain. Just one question, though: Where was the Recon? – Byron Hurd
4. 2024 Chevy Blazer EV
As a fan of the K5 and S-10 Blazer generations, I was a bit bemused when the current-gen crossover came out … until I drove it and realized how good it actually is. Now that there’s a Blazer EV
3. 2023 Chrysler 300C
In a poignant press conference with the Spirit of Detroit statue in the background, Chrysler sent its flagship 300 out properly with a 6.4-liter Hemi V8. Stellantis design chief Ralph Gilles articulated the car’s successes — its many awards and sterling reviews from its early days — and the cover came off with a veritable 300C
2. 2024 Chevy Equinox EV
While it may not be the most glamorous car on the floor at Detroit, the Equinox EV is probably the most important. It’s an EV with an impressively low starting price around $30,000, but that isn’t a tiny hatchback. It offers impressive range between 250 and 300 miles. And amazingly, it even looks good, particularly in the cheery blue and white paint scheme on the display model. This is a real look at the mainstream future of EVs, and it’s looking good. – News Editor Joel Stocksdale
Best in Show: 2024 Ford Mustang
The new Mustang hits all of the high notes for the car’s large and passionate fan base. A V8? Check. Familiar styling? Check. A manual transmission? Check. This is all good. I personally liked the more retro interior in the outgoing car, but this new digital one will hold up better as the decade rolls on. Plus, using a clever appearance setting you can make the gauges look like the ones from Fox-body era
Honorable Mention: A duck, dinosaurs and a president (oh my!)
We can’t not shout out the other notable things at the show this year. The building-sized inflatable duck outside the convention center is literally impossible to miss. It’s like the event is under attack by the cutest kaiju. The reality of the situation is that the show is actually under siege by all variety of large (if not building-size) plastic dinosaurs. A bunch of raptors (or raptor-looking creatures) have set up shop in a sitting area behind the Ford Bronco
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