DETROIT — TechCentury, the official publication and blog of The Engineering Society of Detroit, is visiting the North American International Auto Show for its annual Press Days.
ESD Director of Communications and Public Relations Matt Roush will take readers on a spin around the show floor so they’re ready to head for the highlights when the show opens to the auto industry Wednesday, Jan. 13, and to the general public Saturday, Jan. 16.
And you can hear more about the auto show on the Internet Monday at 3 p.m. Eastern time, when Roush co-hosts the M2 TechCast podcast with Mike Brennan, owner of Michigan Technology News and its tech news blog, www.mitechnews.com. Brennan will be reporting live from the auto show floor while Roush holds down the fort at the Podcast Detroit studios in Ferndale. Listen live at www.podcastdetroit.com.
This year’s auto show features a show floor that’s 70 percent new from last year, the first major renovation in five years. The auto industry has also shelled out $200 million for flashy new displays. Several specialty and luxury automakers, however — Tesla Motors, Mini, Jaguar and Land Rover — have pulled out of this year’s show.
This year’s show will also feature important vehicle rollouts — including Fiat Chrysler’s new minivan, a category it invented 33 years ago. And despite low gasoline prices, there are still electric, hybrid, and unique high-MPG models on display, like the $8,600, 86-mpg two-seat Elio pictured above.