Panic In Detroit? No, We’re Busy Disrupting Ourselves

For an industry hitting record profits and selling more new cars than ever, this year’s Detroit auto show was filled with worries about who will control the future of the car—and not enough big new models to silence those doubts.

Nothing came close to last year’s blockbuster reveals of the Ford GT and Acura NSX. The most newsworthy car of the show—the production Chevy Bolt EV—had its reveal a week earlier at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The parade of high-volume launches was a short one: the Chrysler Pacifica, GMC Acadia, Mercedes-Benz E-Class and the front grille of the Ford Fusion. Everything else was either a low-volume niche vehicle or a concept that can barely move on its own power.