First News previews Detroit auto show

Go ahead. You can blame the media.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx will visit the Detroit auto show Thursday, as part of the Obama administration’s effort to highlight innovation in transportation technology and the importance of investing in climate-friendly infrastructure, the White House said.

This year, the auto show’s organizers expect thousands of members of the press to cover the show.

While Volkswagen displayed the Tiguan GTE Active Concept, the Detroit Three came out to excite – and, in some cases, surprise – aficionados. The show opens to the public on Saturday. By then, all of those visiting journalists will have spent the week sharing photos and video with their audiences and introducing a whole crop of new vehicles to potential buyers.

Dr. Dieter Zetsche, chairman of the board of management Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars stands next to the automaker’s new E-Class sedan during a preview night for the North American International Auto Show, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2016 in Detroit.

Bentley, Jaguar, Land Rover, Maserati, Tesla and Rolls-Royce will all eschew the show this year, but since Detroit tends to be a “people’s car” sort of event anyway, the luxury marques probably won’t go much missed. Seven years ago, auto sales hit a 27-year low.

“It’s a gateway drug to full electrification”, says Jake Fisher, director of auto testing for Consumer Reports.

It wasn’t all roses for everyone previous year.

“2016 will be one of the most challenging, but one of the most exciting, years in the history of Volkswagen”.

According to the automaker, the battery, tipping the scales at 960 pounds, comes with a nickel-rich lithium-ion chemistry for “improved thermal operating performance over other chemistries” and has an 8-year/ 100,000 miles limited warranty.

Vehicle lovers have two weeks to enjoy the new models and innovation at the nation’s premier auto show, but afterwards the industry will still have plenty of issues to address.

The Charity Preview event transforms the auto show into a world where women in gowns and men in tuxedos kick tires and celebrate Detroit’s biggest industry.

It’s hard for anyone to say where auto makers will pour their marketing dollars in a decade’s time, or even a few years from now. Ford and Google announced a partnership that could speed up the official arrival of fully autonomous cars. We’ll answer them as we can, generally during show hours (Detroit is on Eastern Time). 7 Action News crews will spend the entire week at the show.

“For North America, it will be about 17-and-a-half million for 2015, and upwards of 18 million in 2016”, said Kevin Kerrigan, senior vice president of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

After Detroit, the worldwide auto-show season continues with major shows in Geneva, Paris, Beijing, Los Angeles and NY.

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