DETROIT, Mich. – Bob Lutz has a cigar on his mind. It’s in his front suit pocket, and it’s whispering to him, calling to him, telling him to cut and run and find a nice, quiet place to sit back and enjoy it – while he can. Right next to him, Rick Wagoner has a tired look as the flashes pop and the photographers climb on top of each other to get a picture of the embattled leader of the largest car company in the world. Across the hall, Bill Ford is making a happy speech about innovation, dedication and the resurgence of the American Way, but his slightly puffy eyes and his taciturn demeanor bespeak the plight of a man with tough decisions to make, a family legacy to live up to and a desperate company to turn around.

In the west corner of the hall, Honda executives have also surrounded themselves with talk of innovation and dedication, and of the American Way as well. But they are not the ones doing the talking. Instead, it is the mob of 6,000 supposed journalists who are doing it for them, talking about the Honda Ridgeline and the Civic, murmuring to themselves, over and over again – can you believe that Honda won truck and car of the year?

They did. And it was the first story fed to the mob on this, the opening day of the 2006 North American International Auto Show. On the surface, today’s headlines were obvious: Honda, with their surprising win in both car and truck of the year categories, proved that a good car well made is the kind of vehicle Americans want. DaimlerChrysler came out strong with two retro cars that are sure to be big hits – as long as gas prices stay down. It’s yet another example of how far an automaker can go with just one great platform – in this case, the platform on which the Chrysler 300 was founded. This same architecture is responsible for the Charger, the Magnum, and probably soon, the Dodge Challenger. Ford is hoping that they’ve found their own great platform, courtesy of Mazda, and introduced a crossover called the Edge to go with the existing Fusion sedan. The Edge offers a panoramic roof, a 3.5-liter 250-horsepower engine, and a refined and versatile interior.

Ford has been watching. And learning, and now they know that in order to beat the best, they have to build like the best, which means nice, quiet interiors that fit together. Ford, however, has also kept an eye on its heritage, and reminded the mob about it with a brief appearance by Carroll Shelby, sitting in the passenger seat of new Ford Mustang Shelby Cobra GT500 convertible. At 475 horsepower, the GT500 gives the pony car that’s most preferred by secretaries everywhere -- according to Ford honcho Mark Fields -- a shot of testosterone, and poses an important question: Don’t secretaries like to go fast too?

General Motors is also learning, and today brought to the public two mainstream hybrids that will offer SUV buyers a fuel efficiency alternative: The Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid and the Saturn Vue Green Line. There was a drive toward subcompacts, as Ford introduced a concept “B” car named Reflex, and Honda went one better and brought out the Fit subcompact, powered by a 109-horsepower, 1.5 liter, four-cylinder engine, and with fuel economy ratings of 33 city/38 highway. Other notable introductions on opening day included a new 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe, the Audi S6 and S8, an Infiniti Coupe Concept, the 2007 Lexus LS 460, and perhaps the most beautiful car at the show, the Lamborghini Miura Concept.

The real stories here, however, were much different. Against a backdrop of protesting Delphi workers, in a ravaged city made pretty in the face just in time for the 2006 Super Bowl, General Motors and Ford talked a lot about quality, about American talent and innovation, and about hard work and dedication.

Then the imports showed everyone what it looks like.
With a Ridgeline towing a trunk full of innovation, with a Civic that offers a little bit of everything to everybody, Honda didn’t talk. They pointed. And pointed straight at the workers, engineers, and business experts that put their ingenuity to work building cars people want to buy. Americans. Asians. Europeans. Everyone. Americans don’t have the birthright of innovation, we have a responsibility to work hard and think smart. And from the looks of things at the 2006 North American International Auto Show, Americans in the auto industry have indeed been working hard -- and smart. It’s the American car companies that need a reminder that pretty talk and fireworks never made a person want to buy a car.

-- Brian Chee

Photos by Ron Perry