NAIAAS

By: John Degroot

January 23 2010

NAIAS - Garden Clippings for Sat, Jan 23, 2010

                Where can you find 16 acres of brand new cars all under one roof?

                My boys once again dragged me to the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.  We arrived the morning of Saturday the 16th, the first day open to the public.  Crowds were skimpy, giving us lots of opportunity to wander and check out whatever caught our eye.

                It seems the traditional Big 3 American automakers are catching on to what consumers have been saying for the last several years: “give us more quality with less impact on the environment. “

              Hummer was nowhere to be seen.  While flashy Lincolns and guzzling SUV’s of all stripes were represented, they took a back seat to more sensible smaller vehicles. 

               If there was a crowd anywhere, it gathered around CT&T, a little known company that produces very compact all electric vehicles designed for neighbourhood shuttling, deliveries and other service uses.  Travelling with ease at 35 mph, CT&T vehicles will run up to 80 miles on a single charge.  Another head turner,  BYD, short for Build Your Dream, is a Chinese manufacturer of battery operated cars that at first glance resemble KIA and Hyundai.   Don’t count on these cars to leave rubber at the starting gate, but BYD vehicles claim to reach 0 to 60 in 14 seconds, with a top speed of 87 mph and no need to recharge the battery until you have run 200 miles.

                The treat for me was to be found in the lower floor, below the glitz of snazzy cars above.  The Michigan Economic Development Corporation transformed the dark dungeon basement into a ride and drive quarter mile test track surrounded by forested terrain, colorful flowers and three magnificent water features.  Visitors were given the opportunity to test drive, in the passenger’s seat, electric vehicles provided by a variety of manufacturers.

                Oddly enough, the running vehicles in the test track produced no noise and no smell.  If there was any noise to be heard it came from the waterfalls, and any smells came from the french fries in the adjacent food court.

                  I was more impressed with the gardens and landscaping in the basement than with the cars on the main floor.  I suspect I was outnumbered, but anyone who took time to wander downstairs would have been impressed with over 200 full sized Spruce trees along with countless tulips, daffodils, iris and hyacinth all in full bloom.  A full sized Hicks Yew hedge meandered around the perimeter of the track, and several huge Birch trees gave the track area forested appeal.

                  Umpteen tons of huge boulders were used to construct three water features. Welcoming visitors at the entrance of the display was a fast flowing cascading waterfall, surrounded by carefully chosen woody plants.  In the centre of the track was a 40 foot circular water basin with an impressive water spray.

                  The Auto show runs until Sunday Jan 24.  Check out www.naias.com for details.