Detroit wrap

Ford is posting huge profits and knows where it is going with everything from the Focus to the upcoming Escape and Explorer, and General Motors has trimmed for growth as well as previewing the Barina sedan and a couple of classy American hopefuls in motown on Monday morning.

But when Chrysler chief Olivier Francois got up to introduce the all-new 300C he talked openly about a company, and an industry, that is pulling itself up off the ropes to answer the bell for future sales.

"It's time. Time for Chrysler to come back onto the automotive stage like this," says Francois. "It's time for a car that makes a bold statement without saying a word. It's time for the torch of the most awarded car ever to be passed. And we did this with only one objective - to make it even better."

Chrysler says it spent more than $1 billion on the impressive looking new 300C and it's the standout American car at this year's Detroit show. But there is, as always, a lot more to see and understand at the first major show of the year. When Hyundai turns the spotlight on its all-new Veloster and the Curb concept it gets a predictable reaction, but then it also talks reinventing the brand in the USA.

Then Kia, which is using a couple of months of extra lead time on all the joint models it shares with Hyundai to do a better job, rolls the adventurous KV7 concept onto its stand.

The combined impact is great news for buyers but an awful effort for Japanese carmakers, since Korea is now doing a better job of Japanese-  style vehicles and including the emotion that's missing from contenders from the other country.

Honda does its best in Detroit by previewing the all-new Civic concept - it's basically the production car and far more punchy than the underdone CR-Z hybrid - but it could be too little and too late for Japan, since Toyota has nothing new and Nissan is not even at the show.

And BYD of China makes a splash as well, although its cars are still early-Korean standard when you get up close.

Detroit has plenty of eye candy, from the race-bred Porsche 918 RSR to the plug-in electric SLS in safety vest yellow on the Mercedes-Benz stand and the huge selection of Boss 302 Mustangs on the Ford stand. It seems every carmaker also has some form of plug-in electric car, hybrid or alternative energy vehicle, from the hybrid RSR on down.

But the company with the single most impressive exhibit, once you drill down a bit, is Ford. It is using the all-new Focus as the base to show what can be done in a One Ford world where spin-offs from a basic platform satisfy just about every showroom shopper. There is everything from an all-electric Focus battery car to a hybrid, a C-Max mini people mover, the upcoming replacement for the Escape and more.

"There are 10 different models, top hats, off the one platform. All on the one production line,"  says Ford's CEO, Alan Mulally. "Henry Ford, back in 1925, advertised opening the highways to all mankind. Making it affordable. We're accelerating Henry's original vision."

The news in Detroit is more than just concept cars and new showroom contenders. Opel confirms a plan that will put its cars into Australian showrooms from 2012, not as part of the Holden lineup but as a separate brand under its own banner.

"This is not just an Australian play. It's important for Opel. It's an important brand statement," says Opel chief, Nick Reilly.

Ford leaks news that the Falcon could go front or all-wheel drive, with the potential loss of local production. "Don't hold your breath," says global design boss, J Mays.

Mercedes-Benz talks for the first time about a huge safety push on its C-Class starter car, Chrysler confirms a 12-month delay on Australian deliveries of its impressive new 300C, and there is endless hopeful banter at General Motors on the future prospects of the Commodore and a born-again export program to the USA.

Gover's opinion ...

The overall vibe at Detroit 2011 is more positive than recent years, but not nearly as upbeat as the years before the global financial crisis. There are far fewer concept cars and dream machines. The concepts that are presented are, mostly, based on real production cars with some extra bling for the spotlights.

What comes through clearly is that the GFC has forced all carmakers to re-think their business.

Most have dumped the old 'push' model, where factories ran at capacity and dealers were force-feeding buyers using huge incentives, for a 'pull' program where production is matched to the real demand in showrooms.

There are still some exceptions, but GM Holden boss Mike Devereux talks openly about building "one fewer car than customers want" in Australia.

It's a policy that worked brilliantly for Enzo Ferrari and one that is being adopted more and more in the post-GFC motoring world.