2009 Detroit International Auto Show

This weekend we attended the Detroit Auto Show as we do every year.

There were lots Exciting New Vehicles to see I took lots of photos.
(Click Here for my Photos of the 2009 Detroit Slide Show)

The Ford Motor Company unveiled the 2010 Ford Taurus at Detroit’s NAIAS, a complete redesign of the flagship sedan, and one that reaches us a full year ahead of schedule. What makes the timing so impressive are the new model’s high ambitions.

Ford F150 was named the North American Truck of the Year. It did, however, face some stiff competition. The all new 2009 F150 is a perennial favorite and can claim the top sales numbers for any vehicle in North America for 27 straight years. It is also the top selling Canadian pickup for 42 straight years.

The Truck of the Year Award is just one of many prestigious honors the F150 has had after recently being named Motor Trend “Truck of the Year” and “Truck of Texas” by the Texas Auto Writers Association.
For 2009 the F150 has received five star front and side impact ratings from the NHTSA and is a Top Pick for the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS).

Ford also had the SVT Raptor on Display this is an Awesome Off Road F-150 The Raptor goes on sale in the summer of 2009 with the base, 5.4L three-valve engine. The 6.2L becomes available the following winter.

There were way more Electric and Hybrid Vehicles this year. Some Manufacturers had up to 6 vehicle lines that they will be offering in Hybrid or Electric. Downstairs there was a full track that Visitors could have a ride in the Electric and Hybrid vehicles including the Ford Escape and the All New 2010 Hybrid Fusion that gets up to 2 times better fuel economy better than it's Competitors.



Ford Motor Company announced an ambitious and daring strategy to transform the way America drives: “We are launching an aggressive plan to bring pure battery electric vehicles as well as next-generation hybrids and plug-in hybrids to the market quickly,” says Bill Ford Jr., the company’s executive chairman, adding that “our electrification strategy is not a test program.”

The company has already produced a prototype, based on the Focus platform, and allowed journalists to take it for a spin through downtown Detroit. By next year, Ford will offer a full-battery–operated van to commercial fleets, and by 2011, the first of Ford’s passenger vehicles — a small car developed with world-class supplier Magna International — will be ready for American drivers. Ford will start out by producing 10,000 cars.

Partnerships like the one with Magna inform Ford’s strategy, which will focus on helping the country’s infrastructure to evolve, improving battery technology, and working with the government to adapt policy. In total, the automaker will produce four different electric vehicles over the next four years, each expected to reach up to 100 miles on a single battery charge. Since most Americans typically drive about 35 miles a day, these cars are the perfect choice for commuters and city drivers.

In conjunction with its battery electric vehicles, Ford will continue to develop hybrid cars, and it will also begin production of a next-generation plug-in hybrid, expected to reach the market by 2012.