底特律车展悲喜二重奏

工艺

    得意：凯迪拉克（Cadillac）ATS是一款基于全新的轻型底盘打造的后驱轿车，重量只有3,400磅，至少技术参数上可以与宝马（BMW）3系一争高下。

    失意：小型SUV别克（Buick）Encore采用了与雪佛兰Sonic相同的底盘，这也是一款失意之作。早些年别克为了降低产品价格也曾借用其它品牌的工艺，但反响都不佳。现在应该没人还能记起别克的Shyhawk、Rendezvous、Rainier或Terraza这几款车型了吧。

晚宴

    得意：凯迪拉克为了ATS轿车的发布，特地砸钱在宽敞的底特律创意研究学院陶伯曼中心（College for Creative Studies Taubman Center）11楼举办了盛大的晚宴。众多名流受邀列席，菜色十分丰盛，从龙虾到香肠卷应有尽有。凯迪拉克北美总裁马克•罗伊斯在宴会上介绍了ATS轿车，然后和蔼地婉拒了一众记者的采访要求。

    失意：德国大众汽车（Volkswagen）一心想成为世界上最大的汽车公司，但它的晚会开得很失败。大众把晚宴地址选在了市中心的一个嘈杂而又潮湿的饭店大厅，然后想在这个逼仄的空间里塞下尽可能多的宾客。另外虽然大众公司由于一些法律问题已经中止了收购保时捷（Porsche）的计划，但当晚却有好几辆保时捷停在饭店门口，在附近几家破败不堪的停业店面的映衬下，显得非常突兀。

最令人吃惊的产品趋势

    得意：豪华SUV。保时捷卡宴（Cayenne）的成功促进了豪华SUV的流行。各大豪车品牌以及有志于向豪车领域进军的厂商都不断推出SUV车型，而且是越大越好。玛莎拉蒂（Maserati）展出了一台基于Jeep大切诺基平台的新款Kubang，它的产地就在底特律。宾利（Bentley）也宣称将尽快推出一款三排座的SUV。英菲尼迪（Infiniti）展出了全新的三排座JX35 SUV，它还安装了一套备用的防撞干预系统，这款SUV将于今年春天上市。最后，雷克萨斯（Lexus）也展出了老车型LX570的8座改款。喜爱自驾游或经常去大型购物中心的人可以多加关注。

    失意：电动汽车。几乎每个厂商都推出了一款自己的电动汽车，但反响却相对平淡。日产（Nissan）聆风（Leaf）和雪佛兰Volt的销量惨淡给很多热心人士的头上浇了一瓢冷水。电动汽车就像娱乐圈的少女新人一样，在一炮走红之后，就因成名过早而渐渐黯淡下去，看来电动汽车现在还没有迎来它的黄金年代。

高管

    得意：不少海外汽车厂商的高官在底特律强势亮相，如大众的马丁•温特科恩，戴姆勒（Daimler）的迪尔特•柴奇，菲亚特—克莱斯勒（Fiat-Chrysler）的塞尔吉奥•马基奥尼，日产—雷诺（Nissan-Renault）的卡洛斯•高森等悉数在正式问答环节中接受了报刊记者的采访。这种安排使得高官们在采访中说出了一些更有思想的话，制造了一些真正的大新闻，比如马基奥尼认为欧洲可能出现另一波产业合并的浪潮，催生出“第二个大众”，来与有志做全球老大的大众汽车相抗衡。

    失意：福特的艾伦•穆拉雷和通用（GM）的丹•阿克尔森在产品发布之后就开始掐架，像是两个橄榄球运动员在那里抢球，但事实上并没有透露什么有用的信息。

Engineering

    Hits: The Cadillac ATS, built on an exclusive new lightweight chassis that, with rear-wheel-drive and just 3,400 pounds of avoirdupois, can go head-to-head -- at least on the spec sheet -- with the BMW 3-series.

    Miss: The Buick Encore, built on a chassis that it shares with the Chevrolet Sonic, revived memories of earlier Buicks that borrowed engineering from other brands as it moved its model offerings to lower price points. Can anyone say "Skyhawk," "Rendezvous," "Rainier," or "Terraza?"

Parties

    Hits: Cadillac threw a splashy event worthy of the 00's for the unveiling of the ATS on the 11th floor of the spacious College for Creative Studies Taubman Center. The A-list crowd supped on small plates ranging from lobster concoctions to sausage rolls, while North American president Mark Reuss introduced the ATS and then amiably withstood a crush of would-be interviewers.

    Misses: Volkswagen, which aims to be the largest auto company in the world, tried to cram the largest number of guests into the smallest possible space when it hosted a late-night event in a noisy, steamy downtown saloon. The scene outside was equally discordant. Even though VW has called off its planned merger with Porsche due to legal problems, a fleet of Panameras parked at the door looked shockingly out of place in the shabby neighborhood of abandoned storefronts.

Most surprising product trend

    Hits: Luxury SUVs Blame it on the success of the Porsche Cayenne. Luxury and luxury-aspiring manufacturers continue to roll out SUVs, and the bigger they are, the better. Maserati displayed a version of its new Kubang, based on a Jeep Grand Cherokee and built in Detroit, of all places. Bentley declared its intention to enter the fray ASAP with its contender, which will have three rows of seats. Meanwhile Infiniti showed off its all-new JX35 that features three rows of seats plus a backup collision intervention system. It goes on sale this spring. Finally, Lexus unveiled a revised version of its durable LX 570 with seating for eight. Anybody for a safari -- or a trip to the shopping mall?

    Misses: EVs Nearly every manufacturer had an electric vehicle to introduce, but the applause was muted, and the buzz was lacking. Slack sales of the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Volt have chastened enthusiasts. Like the showbiz ingénue who slumps after her first big hit, EVs may have suffered from premature celebrity and are not quite ready for prime time.

Management

    Hits: Overseas top executives made a strong showing in Detroit, with VW's Martin Winterkorn, Daimler's Dieter Zetsche, Fiat-Chrysler's Sergio Marchionne, and Nissan-Renault's Carlos Ghosn all submitting themselves to print journalists at formal question-and-answer sessions. The formats allowed for more thoughtful responses and generated some real news, such as Marchionne speculating on another wave of industry consolidation in Europe with the creation of a "second VW group" to compete against the Wolfsburg giant.

    Misses: Ford's Alan Mulally and GM's Dan Akerson were less available, appearing mostly in messy scrums after product reveals, which more resemble piles of linemen falling on a fumbled football than anything like the communication of useful information.