2011 Detroit: Worst in Show

By John LeBlanc DETROIT – As recently as 2008, the annual Detroit auto show offered a plethora of goodies for car lovers that it took three media days to cover it all. The fact the 2011 show’s offerings were able to be presented in one day, gives you an indication of the lack of excitement at this year’s event. While other writers (mainly my esteemed U.S. colleagues) will go on about the show’s Best in Show This, and Most Exciting in Show That, there were plenty of snoozers in the Motor City this year. Alphabetically, I present the worse:

2011 Chrysler 200 Super S Concept

Chrysler is doing its darndest to disassociate itself with its midsize sedan formerly-known-as Sebring. For 2011, it gets a new name (200), new interior (not from Hasbro), V6 engine (not a boat anchor), and toned-down exterior styling (sort of.) But to think that someone would spend thousands of dollars on Mopar aftermarket parts pimping their own car, as per this 200 Super S Concept, seems like a bit of a stretch. Noticing how tall in the saddle the production Seb-, er, 200 sits, the Super S has been lowered. And to distinguish the Super S from the majority of 200s that will end up at your local Hertz rental lot, there are cutout fake hood vents, a mesh grille and fog lamp bezels with light bar appliqué. One can put lipstick on a pig. But putting on matte paint and low-profile rims on a Chrysler 200, well, it just doesn’t seem right.

2012 Chrysler 300C

The last 300C will go down in history as a seminal car in Chrysler’s design history. The redesigned for 2012 version that debuted here in Detroit, um, will not. The 2012 car is still based on the rear-wheel drive platform derived from the 1996 to 2002 Mercedes-Benz E-Class. This time around, though, Chrysler designers went for “refinement”, both inside and out. The trouble is, the 300C’s new front end styling (especially the grille) isn’t as distinctive. And its sides have been smoothed over. Dodge CEO and Chrysler head pen, Ralph Gilles, spoke about lowering the car’s beltline so that you could see out of it easier. What? So now we’re compromising design for practicality? Not a good thing for a model known for its Gangsta mentality and popularity as a rap video prop. And really—please!—who bought one of the 2004-2011 300s for its refinement and subtlety? Now, unless you’re looking for a poor man’s Audi A8, the 2012 300C simply bends too well into the background.

Honda Civic Concepts

In case you missed the news, Honda doesn’t sell its Civic in its home market of Japan anymore. Apparently the car has grown so much over the decades that’s it’s now considered a midsize car, and midsize cars aren’t very popular in Japan these days. But midsize sedans still rock in the good ol’ U.S. of A. And the Civic Sedan and Coupe Concepts that preview what the 2012 models will look like when they go on sale in Canada this April, are trying very hard to like the midsize Accord. Its obvious Honda is using the same platform as the exiting model. The 2012 Civic’s wheelbase is the same. And the sedan’s greenhouse is almost identical, save for a triangular black piece of plastic that now covers the small A-pillar window in the 2011 version. Plus, Honda says they’ll continue with a similar engine lineup (base and Si version), and it looks like the five-door model that Civic fans have been barking for is still a version that Honda USA refuses to sign off on. Bottom-line: We waited five years for this?

2011 Jeep Wrangler Call of Duty: Black Ops Edition

Fundamentally, there’s nothing wrong with the extra bits and pieces of the latest special edition Wrangler. Working with Activision Publishing, Inc., the company that distributes the video game Call of Duty, the already-upgraded-for-2011 Wrangler Call of Duty: Black Ops Edition gets mineral gray wheels, 32-inch off-road tires, the requisite decals, and lots more good stuff from the Mopar catalog—apparently enough of an upgrade to survive a war zone. Based on the Wrangler's Rubicon trim, the Call of Duty edition  costs US $30,625 for the two-door model and $33,500 for the four-door Unlimited. So far, the special edition hasn’t shown up in Canada. But that extra cost  highlights the biggest problem with this Jeep: Who’s going to buy it? The basement dwellers that play the video game? Most aren’t old enough to drive, or couldn’t scratch enough cash together to buy a base Wrangler. And trust me, if you’re old enough, and gainfully employed enough, to afford this new maxed-out Jeep, why would you parade around your obsession as a virtual soldier?

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG E-Cell Concept

The idea that high performance cars could also be “green” seems  like the proverbial cake-and-eat-it-too propositions. Car companies say, “What’s not to love about the combination of style, performance and zero-emission driving?” But the reality is, these low-volume cars are a passing fad, all about corporate image, not saving the planet or reducing corporate fuel economy fleet averages. And here in Detroit, Mercedes-Benz jumped on the “green” super car bandwagon with its SLS AMG E-Cell Concept. Sure. ‘Benz claims the electric SLS will churn out 525 hp and 649 lb-ft of torque from its four synchronous electric motors, and that it can do the 0-60 mph in a mere 3.7 seconds. But really, if you want to be environmentally friendly, why not just take the bus?

Mini Paceman Concept

When is too much of a good thing? That’s the question BMW’s Mini brand may be getting close to answering with its Pacemen Concept, a car that’s heading for production. Just to recap: Since the introduction of the original, two-door hatchback Mini Cooper in 2002, the brand has launched the three-door hatchback Clubman and the one-size up, compact four-door hatchback Countryman (with available AWD, no less.) Also in the cards are the Cooper-based two-seaters: the Coupe, that will go on sale in the fall, probably as a 2012 model year; and the Roadster, that will come six months later as a 2012 or 2013 model. And now the Mini Paceman. Essentially a two-door hatch version of the Countryman, which, now encroaches on sports compact territory, right in the wheelhouse of Volkswagen’s iconic GTI, but with premium pricing. Too many Minis? Might be…

Venturi America

Ignoring the historical failings of Renault, Peugeot, and Citroen in the U.S. market, France’s Venturi showed up here in Detroit with its aptly-named America, an electric dune buggy. Unveiled in Paris last year, the Venturi America delivers 300 hp from an electric motor that powers the rear wheels.  A massive  54-kWh lithium-ion polymer battery pack boasts of 300 kms of EV driving range. Venturi was founded in 1984. However, 2011 marks the company's first appearance at the Motor City shindig. The fact its America is French (as in France) and purely electric, pretty much makes it unsellable in the U.S.—bonne chance, mon ami!

2012 Volkswagen Passat

As per the new 2011 Jetta, the “Americanization of VW” continues with the new U.S.-made Passat. And don’t say you weren’t warned: VW’s Camry-fighting sedan ain’t pretty if you’re a fan of high-brow, German engineering. Der neue Passat (designed specifically for the Chinese and American markets) looks like a supersized version of the just released Jetta. It looks like VW managed to take US$7,000 out of the Passat’s starting price, compared to the outgoing European-made model, by not only going to the Xerox machine with the Jetta’s design plans, and hitting the enlarge button, but also removing plenty of small details German car fans will miss. For instance: the bottom of the Passat’s interior front dash is hard (not soft) plastic; the trunk lid hinges are of the single- instead of space-saving multi-hinge design; the engine hood makes due with a prop, instead of a gas-filled strut; the wagon body style is gone; and there’s no 2.0-litre turbocharged engine option. Now big and cheap, instead of small and sophisticated, the Passat seems like a match made in heaven perfect for our XL and recession-beaten friends south of the border. For me? Not so much…

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