Curtain Calls

The Japanese might not have Detroit's financial woes. But they also had something to prove at this Detroit Auto Show: that they can design as well as they engineer quality. With attractive cars like the Lexus LS and interesting concepts like the Nissan Urge roadster, they made some progress. (Mazda also showed a racy little sports car concept, the Kubura, that it should definitely build. But, of course, Mazda is now controlled by Ford.)

When it came to flexing muscles, the Japanese reasserted their superiority in small cars. The Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit and Nissan Versa all bowed at this show as remarkably roomy runabouts that can go 40 miles to the gallon or better. Those cars also brought back memories of the days when small sippers from Japan put Detroit on the defensive. "Because gas hit three bucks a gallon, at least three Japanese companies are betting that Americans will want tiny little cars," sniffed GM's Bob Lutz. However, he still sees plenty of opportunity to sell big SUVs like GM's new Cadillac Escalade. "The full-size SUV market is not dead," he insisted. "Not by a long shot."

The Chinese are Coming

As if Detroit didn't have enough to worry about, a Chinese car company showed up for the first time in Detroit. It wasn't exactly an auspicious debut. Chinese automaker Geely didn't actually make it onto the show floor. Instead, its display booth was located in Cobo's outer hallway, beneath a bird's nest whose occupants left their calling cards on the humble Geely sedan all week. Still, the hallway and an overhead balcony were packed for Geely's Tuesday press conference, where chairman Shufu Li, speaking through an interpreter, promised to begin exporting an under-$10,000 family sedan to the U.S. by 2008. When asked whether he was worried about political roadblocks, Li offered a Confucius-style statement of resolve. "On the same piece of land, there can be tall trees and small trees and trees that live and trees that die," he said. "All I am saying is Geely wants to be a tall and healthy tree on this same piece of land." Translation: Look out Detroit, another turf war is coming.

Let's give the last word on the Detroit Auto Show to Carlos Ghosn, an all-star executive whose turnaround of Nissan was cited by Jerry York as the blueprint Detroit should be using. When I spoke with Ghosn about what it takes to fix a car company, I expected lots of talk of the need for speed and driving hard. But instead, here's how Ghosn described a well-run car company: "Car manufacturers are mules, not horses," he said. "Mules are more reliable animals, especially in the mountains where there are many ups and downs. Horses may go faster, but they can fall down. Mules, they never fall down." Ghosn's advice to Detroit's distressed automakers: Work like a mule. And don't fall down.

© 2006