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10 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday January 14, 2009 www.oakvillebeaver.com The glitz is gone as Motown's auto show goes lean and green General Motors showed 17 new or concept vehicles at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. GM vice-chairman Global Product Development, Bob Lutz, is shown with the Cadillac Converj that runs on electricity alone using the same system as in the Chevrolet Volt. Story and photos by Jim Robinson Carguide Magazine Metroland Newspapers General Motors came off the fiscal ropes in Motown with a parade of 17 new vehicles and concepts it hopes will lead to a change of fortune for the world's biggest automaker. The Chevrolet Equinox crossover, the Buick Allure sedan and the Cadillac Converj concept were some of the new vehicles shown at this year's North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit that could be categorized as green and lean. Gone were the glitzy days of trucks falling from the ceiling onto the show floor or being driven in through a plate glass window. Also gone were seven manufacturers (Nissan, Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Land Rover, Porsche, Rolls-Royce and Ferrari) that gave the show a miss, citing fiscal woes of their own. Electrics and hybrids were seemingly everywhere with plug-in hybrids and all-electric cars attracting serious attention as opposed to just three years ago when they were viewed as novelties. GM has the strongest presence in Detroit highlighted by the Cadillac Converj concept, arguably the best looking vehicle at the show. But what made Converj so interesting is its use of the next generation Voltec all-electric propulsion system from the Chevrolet Volt. Backing up GM's commitment to pure electric power was the announcement it is partnering with LG Chem of Korea on a nextgeneration lithium ion battery that will see the Volt on the street as a production car in 2010. GM further announced the battery plant would be located in Michigan along with a 110,000 sq. ft. laboratory that GM will build and operate along with researchers at the University of Michigan. All was also green at Chrysler, unveiling updated versions of its Extended Range hybrids along with two new electric vehicles. Chrysler expects to have 500,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2013. An example was the Chrysler 200C EV concept representing what a next-generation hybrid Chrysler sports sedan could be. With 40 miles of all-electric range, this Range-extended Electric Vehicle (REV) is capable of a 400mile total driving range. Ford announced an aggressive new electric vehicle plan to bring pure battery-powered vehicles, hybrids and plug-in hybrid vehicles to market. To start, Ford will introduce in North America a new battery electric commercial van in 2010, a new battery electric small car in 2011 to be developed jointly with Magna International in Aurora, Ont., and next-generation hybrid vehicles, including a plug-in version in 2012. The new collaboration with Magna International will result in a new lithium ion battery-powered small car with a range of up to 100 miles on a single charge, without using a single drop of gasoline. AUDI: Audi bucked the lean and green theme with the premiere of the R8 V10, a 10-cylinder, 525 hp, 196 mph evolution of the quattro fourwheel-driven sports car. The new 5.2-litre FSI V10 gasoline engine mounted longitudinally directly behind the cockpit is almost identical in construction to the unit powering the recently announced R8 LMS that will race at customer level in the GT3 class. As a further safety enhancement feature that also adds a new dimension to the already much lauded styling of the R8, the V10 is equipped as standard with the world's first allLED headlamps. Continued on Page 11