DETROIT – Michigan is covered by ice, but the American car market is in turmoil and celebrates its successes at the North American Auto Show in Detroit, which will be held in the coming days unter a renewed sparkle of lights and numbers.
Uncle Sam fact is back behind the wheel and is breaking all the limits: 16.5 million cars sold, as we have not seen since 2006, and 11 million units on home soil, which had not happened since 2005. In five years the American industry has deleted the epochal crisis, which had taken over the ravine of the 10 million units sold in 2009 and the financial disaster, thanks to a massive bailout of the state that has already made history. It was Barack Obama’s visit to the Ford plant in Wayne to remember last Wednesday the figures: we have spent $ 85 billion, maintained over a million jobs and in these five years they have created 400 thousand others.
Plus all the money provided by the Taxpayer are and returned to the Big Three have returned to profit, even Chrysler that someone had advised the president to die. Instead, under the leadership of Sergio Marchionne, the FCA has gained in the US 16.1% to over 2 million units and bringing Jeep over a million globally. And just by the brand offroad could come the first surprise of the salon with a pick-up, a speech at Auburn Hills had opened in 2005 with the Gladiator concept and immediately closed the fall of the first drops of the crisis.
And if the Ford F-150 remains firmly model more than 750 thousand units sold, the Nissan Titan and Toyota Tacoma are ready to renew the challenge in a market that, with gasoline dropped to $ 2 gallon – should read 44 euro cents per liter! – Is again veering toward the truck and car size “American”. For them it is ready for the new Audi Q7, lighter than 325 kg, 26% more efficient and stronger version of an original plug-in hybrid diesel that promises to do nearly 60 km per liter of diesel. Volkswagen also announced a concept SUV with a sporty style, specifically for the American market, still stingy with satisfaction for the constructor of Wolfsburg that, given the initial data, would become the World No. 1.
And while the BMW 6 Series renews in all its variants (Coupe, Convertible and Gran Coupe 4 doors) receives the first real gauntlet for the X6 and could not get that from Stuttgart. GLE is the Mercedes Coupe, will have V6 engines from 258 hp to 367 hp, to begin with, and the stand of Cobo Center will have the company of C350 Hybrid Plug-in, the F 015 concept already seen at CES in Las Vegas and the CLA Shooting Brake. And the game played at high wheels will join soon the Jaguar that Detroit will announce the name of its first crossover.
And with gasoline that costs less of sodas, is likely to overshadow the presentation of the new Chevrolet Volt, the extended-range electric that promises to be even more electricity and at all European. The other side of a coin always heavier when you switch to the pump is the return of the sports car. The most striking is that of Ford, two steps from home, presents the brand new Ford Performance that promises 12 sports models Global 2020 including the heir of the legendary GT40, the car that dominated from 1966 to 1969 the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
And given that in 2016 we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first victory at Le Sarthe, some are already dreaming of reviewing the Blue Oval with signs of the battle in the Loire, with the same goal of then: beat Ferrari and maybe even the Porsche that Detroit has a couple of variants for its models. Another house to have won four editions in Le Mans is the Alfa Romeo, finally back in the US with the 4C, standard-bearer in Detroit with the Spyder version and the other great return is that of Honda NSX (in the US under the brand Acura ), but this time is a hybrid all-wheel drive with three electric motors: one with the V6 central and two for the front wheels.
The performance will marry the reasons of ‘environment and savings, and we can, without batteries, the new Mini John Cooper Works which with its 2-liter, 231 hp should be stronger than before (246 km / h, 0-100 km / h in 6.3 s. ), but consumes 20% less. You must watch your back also the various M5, RS6 and E63 AMG. The biggest threat comes from the Cadillac CTS-V: 6.2 V8 supercharged by nearly 650 hp to over 320 km / h and a 0-100 km / h in under 4 seconds. The brand new Lexus GS F has “only” a 5-liter V8 and 473 hp, but we will not see in Italy, as well as the new Hyundai Genesis Coupe. Soon however we can admire the Infiniti Q60, the Japanese challenge to the BMW 3 Series and the Audi A5, which at the NAIAS is presented as a concept, but with forms already put on ice, the jargon of the designers and not that of the American Midwest where icy American muscle car warmer than ever.
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