Even though Detroit is hurting, the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) is still a big deal in the industry. The historically Big Three did fairly well in 2011, particularly Chrysler, which increased sales some 26% more than 2010. I hated Chrysler's product line at last year's Baltimore show, but their Imported From Detroit campaign included several redesigned models. I read one article that attributed Chrysler's comeback to a patriotic fervor stimulated by the 2011 Superbowl advertisement featuring Eminem. That would be ironic, because since June, Fiat owns about 58% of Chrysler Group, LLC.

General Motors (GM) and Ford Motor Company (FoMoCo) improved from 2010, too, up 13% and 9% respectively. GM missed their 10,000 Volt sales target by about 2,300, and has suffered from bad PR due to reports of battery fires in heavily-damaged, undriveable cars, but essentially the car costs too much. GM plans to decide by mid-2012 whether to scale back on production.

At the NAIAS, FoMoCo tried to make a big splash with their new Fusion line, featuring five separate powerplants: A base 2.5-liter 4 cylinder, a turbo 1.6-liter 4, a turbo 2.0-liter 4, a hybrid engine promising 47/44 MPG, and the Energi plug-in hybrid engine promising the equivalent of 100 MPGe, which would be 13 MPGe better than the new plug-in Prius, and 8 MPGe better than the 2012 Volt.

The new Fusion appears to be a roomy, stylish car with body lines that rival the Hyundai Sonata Blue Drive Hybrid (which I loved last year). If the price is reasonable, it could be a Volt-killer and serious competitor to the Prius. I hope they have one at the Baltimore Auto Show.



Ford is also taking reservations for a fully electric Focus BEV. Both the Fusion Energi PHEV and the Focus BEV are scheduled to be displayed at the DC Auto Show, so maybe I'll have to take the MARC to DC.