Given the fact that it's highly probable that two of the three US automakers may be filing for bankruptcy in the next year, Tom and I figured that we should go to the North American Auto Show while it's still in Detroit.

I apologize in advance for the quality of these shots. I'm clearly not a photographer.

First up were the Mini Coopers. I have to admit that they're rather cute little cars. I don't know how pratical they'd be for a family, or for driving around Michigan in the winter, but they look like they'd be really fun to drive. If I were single and without dogs, I'd be tempted to buy one.




Their interiors are entertaining too, with the oversized odometer in the middle of the console. I'm not sure why it's so large, but it made me laugh.



The Volkswagen cars were pretty boring, but they did have this vintage VW Bug that was rather kick ass. I've always wanted to own one. The new ones aren't nearly as cool as the vintage version. If I ever get rich enough to have a car collection, I'm definitely going to have one of these in my garage.



Some concept car models done by a local design school. I'm not sure if I like them or not, but at least they don't have the horribly boring styling that most modern cars have.





I'm not sure why my son is smiling like this, but he's been doing it lately in every freaking picture and it drives me crazy. I am hoping that this is some kind of phase he'll grow out of.



An Alfa Romeo concept car. Again, I'm not sure if I like the styling on this one (I'd imaging driving it would be a rather claustrophobic experience), but at least it's different. I'm curious to see if this ever actually makes it into production.





I personally think Bentleys are overrated for the price. I don't get why people think they're so cool. I think the front of the car is rather ugly actually.



Ferrari and Porsche dropped out of the auto show this year which was really disappointing because not only are their cars cool (especially the Ferraris), but they always had entertaining displays with super hot chicks. Thankfully Lamborghini came this year.

I'm not sure what's up with the paint job on this one. It kind of looks like the primer coat before the real paint job was applied, or that they forgot to buff the paint job. My dad tells me that there are car paints that can absorb the laser beams from speed detectors and that might be why the color is weird. I don't know if that's total bullshit or not, but hey, it sounds cool.



And now the models, who were a rather hilarious bunch. Standing around an expensive car for hours, trying to look aloof, bored and yet hot must be one of the most bizarre jobs ever. And boring. Really, really boring.



It's hard to see from the front, but when viewed from the side you could see how freaky skinny these girls were. I wanted to run up there and give them sandwich or something.



He's not my type (I like my men to look more... uh... manly), but the women around me disagreed.



Not as cool as a Ferrari, but still one sweet ride.



A Maybach, which according to my father is the most expensive production car in the world. I googled the list price and they start at $350,000.



This Maybach has curtains on the windows. From what I could see, the interior was all kinds of posh, but I couldn't get a shot of it because the sales lady had a couple of people in there. They must have had connections or money or something, because otherwise you couldn't get within ten feet of that car.



A Fisker, which is apparently an electric sports car. I'm not sure if this is actually in production or not, but I do like the styling and the color. The marketing signs cracked me up because instead of saying "no leather seats" they called it "animal-free interior."



I don't know if Tesla is a prototype either, but again, another electric sports car.



This is what the charger socket looks like. It makes me wonder where you're supposed to plug your car in, what kind of set up it would take and how much it would cost to install.




A Lotus in saftey yellow. I don't know what it is about this color, but all of the guys who were looking at the car kept talking about how awesome it was. I think maybe it's because it's the same color that many power tools come in. Or maybe it's because it's the color that Tonka toy trucks come in which makes dudes all nostalgic. Not the color I'd choose for a fancy sports car, but Tom thought it was awesome.



The Scion display, which was the only visually interesting one of the entire show. It was a dismal year for displays, probably because most companies were cutting costs.



Some boring Toyota car that I'm only including here because of the freaking hideous color. For some reason, there were a lot of gross paint colors in this show. I don't know why someone would want a snot colored car, but apparently several car makers disagreed because this color was everywhere.



A prototype electric Toyota. Cute, but not sure how practical it really would be for most people.



An electric prototype for Chrysler. I think it looks like some weird glorified golf cart. I doubt this will ever make it even close to production seeing how Chrysler will probably go belly up once the government bailout money dries up.



As you can see, Chrysler didn't even try with their display. All their cars were on this dingy grey carpet. It was pretty fucking sad really, especially considering the last time we were here their Jeep display was impressive. They had a Jeep suspended upside down on the ceiling driving along a hilly road they'd mounted up there. What a difference a few years makes.



A Dodge Circuit. Another electric prototype that will probably never happen.



A Dodge Viper with a stupid paint job. Why they'd do this to such a nice car is beyond me.



A McLaren.



Some clowns standing in front of an SUV I want to take a picture of.



I admit that there's a part of me that lusts after this Mercedes. It seems like it would be the ultimate soccer mom ride, where I could just drive over and crush any puny compact cars that got in my way as I try to find a parking spot at the supermarket.



Another car that appeals to the suburban soccer mom inside of me and makes me feel like a dirty sellout, lol. I'm not proud to admit it, but I want to buy a Ford Flex now. The thought that we could have a car that could comfortably fit the four of us (including my six foot two husband who has to fold himself inside of our current cars) and our two dogs comfortably is really appealing.



A vintage Ford Mustang.



1953 Cadillac Le Mans prototype. It's sad that the styling on most cars are so boring now in comparison to the past.



This was really neat. The big three automakers set up a driving course in the basement of the convention center where you could drive their electric cars around a closed track. They had some normal cars and a couple of funky prototypes that they were letting people drive. I wanted to take a shot at driving one, but the kids were getting fussy and the line was too long.



The latest Corvette model. Unlike some older versions, I think this one is pretty cool looking.



A Smart car. I've actually seen these driving around town. I can't say that I'd want one for myself. They don't seem very practical for our winters, plus the fact that they're so tiny that I can't imagine they'd be all that safe in a crash. Still, they're cute.



Yet another electric prototype, this one from Chevy.



I can't remember what the hell this was, but I thought the seats and steering wheel were interesting, even if it doesn't look all that comfortable.



University of Michigan's solar racing car.



And a gratuitous baby picture.