But away from the jittery nation that is now the US, away from the cold and dilapidated streets of downtown Detroit and away from the Big Three's uncertain future, then the Cobo pavilion of just 65,000 square metres was certainly alluring. Andrew Hamilton reports from Detroit
The 2004 line-up of both production and concept cars mostly oozed with firepower. That's the difference with European shows: small, frugal and chic shapes are also very much part of the showcase. But not at Detroit, for they simply aren't part of the American way of life.
North America is the world's biggest car market and, more importantly perhaps, it has more fat wallets. It was hardly surprising then that, among the exotic launches, there was the all-new Ferrari 612 Scaglietti, guaranteed to get lots of wows on the highways and freeways at 60mph.
For those looking for home-bred machines with a pedigree, GM and Ford respectively took the wraps off an all-new Corvette and Mustang.
More relevant to European and indeed Irish interest had to be the Range Stormer from Land Rover. It's a concept that will go into production next year and likely to be a high performance response to BMW's X5 and the Porsche Cayenne. It uses the supercharged 4.2-litre engine of the Jaguar V8.
The four-wheel-drive arrangement has an innovative "terrain response" system. It allows the driver to select one of six on-road and off-road conditions, at which the system automatically chooses the correct height for the air suspension and the most suitable gear range and differential settings.
The Range Stormer is based on an all-new platform that will provide the underpinnings for future Land Rover models including the next generation Discovery.
And that aggressive name which reminded some of us of Stormin' Norman who ran a previous encounter with the Iraqis? It isn't likely to be used, according to Land Rover people at the show. "It's really more about sport, maybe that's a clue," said one.
That Desert Storm and the intervention of a well-known film star who's now a State governor, led to the huge success of the Hummer H2, probably the most politically incorrect vehicle on sale in the States these days - it does about 8 mpg. Now they've introduced a smaller and (slightly) more politically correct version, which made its debut at the show in concept form. The Hummer H3T is powered by a turbocharged 3.5 litre five-cylinder petrol engine developing 350bhp.
Although the show concept was presented as a two-seater pick-up, the H3T will come with five seats. H2 was the first vehicle to emerge from a deal between AM General, which provides fighting steeds for the US Army, and GM. The Hummer's "war service" was a godsend when it came to marketing it as an everyday SUV.
Mercedes-Benz showed us a new class act, actually the Vision Grand Sport Tourer, likely to be known as the R-Class. It is, as the name might imply, a luxuriously appointed MPV and it will share its mechanical package with the next M-Class, including V6 and V8 engines, a seven-speed automatic box, permanent four-wheel-drive and air suspension.
Sales in Europe and Ireland should start in the early part of 2005. There will be two different wheelbases, a shorter five-seater for Europe and a longer seven-seater, primarily for the US market. The long version looks massive and, at 17 feet long, it even exceeds the long wheelbase S-Class. The European versions with five seats will be one foot shorter.
Saab's latest at Detroit, the 9-2x, has cynically being dubbed a "Saabaru", understandable really because it isn't built in the Swedish homeland and it's largely a Subaru Impreza. Saab sales worldwide have been static and this initiative with GM's Subaru affiliate is an attempt to stimulate showroom traffic.
Engines for the new small Saab include the 227bhp turbocharged 2.0 litre in Aero models and a naturally aspirated 2.5 litre in higher performance versions.
The x appellation incidentally, stands for four-wheel-drive. Will we see 9-2X in Europe and Ireland? A decision apparently has yet to be made but it looks likely.