2011 Ford Fiesta bumper.

2011 GMC Acadia Denali mirror

Buick Regal GS air duct

Fiat 500 Abarth

2011 Ford Mustang GT 5.0

Taillights from an electric vehicle

GMC Granite concept headlight

2011 Jaguar

DETROIT — Maybe last year’s show set this year’s up for a letdown.

At the 2009 show, General Motors went on the offensive with major announcements about its plans for a battery research facility, Chevy Volt production plans, partnership programs with battery manufacturers and a new Cadillac concept using the Volt’s technology.

It was exciting because GM, facing the toughest trials of its existence, went on the offensive and actually wrested the fuel economy lead away from Toyota.

But on Monday, Toyota and Ford went on their own offensives. Jim Lentz, head of Toyota’s U.S. sales arm, said that the company planned to develop a “family” of Prius hybrid vehicles. It also announced that there are eight new hybrid models in the pipeline and that the company plans to increase global hybrid production from 530,000 in 2009 to 1 million within the next couple of years.

Lentz went on to say that the company is approaching what it calls “sustainable mobility” with a four-prong approach that includes the company’s hybrids, plug-in hybrids, fuel cell vehicles and battery electric vehicles.

Toyota has already announced a new plug-in Prius that the company will build in limited numbers later this year. Lentz also said that the company plans to market a fuel cell vehicle by 2015.

So what was on GM’s agenda regarding fuel economy? GM showed production versions of the Chevy Spark and Cruze, vehicles it has shown previously. It also showed a sporty concept of the next generation Chevy Aveo and of course the Volt.

It also showed an urban utility vehicle concept for GMC called the Granite,  a Denali version of the GMC Acadia and a Buick Regal called the GS.

As for big announcements about advanced powertrains, GM officials didn’t offer much. It still has a press conference scheduled for Tuesday to talk about plans for Cadillac, but no major announcements on fuel economy are expected.

At last year’s show, GM showed the Cadillac Converj concept using the Volt’s high-tech powertrain. Some had hoped that GM would announce that the Converj was a go, but right now, all that is expected is for Cadillac to show the CTS-V Coupe.

Ford also stepped up with some major announcements. The Dearborn automaker announced plans to invest $450 million and create 1,000 jobs to build lithium ion batteries for hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

“This investment underscores how serious we are about delivering a range of electrified vehicles to customers — including hybrids, plug-in hybrids and pure electric vehicles,” Bill Ford Jr., Ford’s executive chairman, said in a statement.

On the council’s last scheduled meeting before a Saturday deadline to block the deal, Councilwoman JoAnn Watson attempted to bring the issue to a vote. But she couldn’t persuade enough colleagues to join her, and the panel recessed without considering the deal.

“I know this has been an emotional issue and a controversial issue,” Council President Kenneth Cockrel Jr. said. “But it’s real simple: We don’t have the money to do this on our own.

“”This thing is a go, and it’s something they should be happy about. It’s going to allow us to re-position Cobo to make it competitive, to secure the (North American International) Auto Show and attract other kinds of convention business.”

The plan — approved by the Legislature — calls for the city to lease the facility to a regional authority, which would oversee extensive improvements and an expansion to the home of the show that generates some $500 million for the economy. The council didn’t have to approve the deal, but could have rejected it — as they did an earlier version of the plan that called for the city to transfer ownership outright to the authority, which would comprise representatives from the state, city and Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties.

“This is a victory for the region,” Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano said. “Our dedication and due diligence is paying off. Our goal was to make sure that we did not lose our trademark — the North American International Auto Show. This will enable us to retain about 16,000 jobs and $500 million in economic impact annually.”

But several residents at today’s session urged the council to reject the deal.

“We don’t want to give up something as special as Cobo,” Michael Hailburton said. But it wasn’t until near the end of the nearly three-hour meeting that Watson decided to bring up the issue. She initially did not have a resolution prepared, but it was quickly drafted by the council’s research team.

“I don’t subscribe to the notion that we do nothing with an asset,” said Watson, who traveled to Washington, D.C., Friday to seek a bailout for Detroit residents. “The council should speak, and it should not morph into an authority. We should speak.”

Watson and members Martha Reeves and Kwame Kenyatta wanted to bring the measure to a vote, while Cockrel, Sheila Cockrel, Brenda Jones and Alberta Tinsley-Talabi did not. Kenyatta decided to push for the measure to be voted on to end the debate once and for all. His passionate comments on Cobo were uncharacteristic for the normally cool-headed Kenyatta. He told his colleagues there are more important issues for Detroit and said members should stop playing political games.

“If you want to vote against me (because) of Cobo Hall, please do it. I don’t give a damn,” Kenyatta said. “People are dying in this city. When I was at the gas station, people didn’t ask me about Cobo Hall. They ask me about the grass, people dying in the street and gangs. That’s what people are concerned about. Barack Obama is not concerned about Cobo Hall.”

Source: Detroit News