Detroit morne salon ?

He has it all and yet. Preferring the Indian summer to the freezing winter, the Detroit show, which will open its doors this Wednesday until September 25, was logically to attract more novelties and exhibitors in Michigan than it did in the days of the January frost, its historic date. The ace. European manufacturers will not show up, except for Stellantis, which will exhibit its American brands.

The organizers had nevertheless put all the chances on their side. Beyond the season more conducive to testing in the city center, they even obtained from Washington, that Joe Biden make the trip to come and inaugurate the demonstration on Wednesday, and unveil his device to switch America to the electric car . But neither the president of the United States, nor a mild weather seem to have convinced many people.

GM prefers the web to show visitors

Even General Motors, whose headquarters are a few hundred meters from the show, did not wait for its inauguration to unveil its novelty of the year: the Chevrolet Equinox EV SUV. A model with a particularly interesting price/performance ratio, since it offers 213 hp and a range of 400 km for less than 30,000 dollars. Rather than lifting the veil on this model in the lobby of the NAIAS (North American International Motor Show), GM executives preferred the Web, where the new Equinox was launched last Thursday, almost a week before the launch. opening of the lounge.

A supposed sketch of the future Ford Mustang, seventh of the name.

Fortunately for the organizers, there is still a builder who plays the game thoroughly. It’s Ford, the other regional stage, since its headquarters are located in Dearborn, in the suburbs of Detroit and it arrives at the show with a real novelty, kept completely secret until Wednesday. And it’s not a confidential car or the electrified version of an existing model, but the 7th generation of one of the symbols of American cars: the Mustang. No one knows exactly what the new will look like, even if we suspect that it uses the codes in use since its creation in 1964. Similarly, we know little more regarding its engine. Fully thermal, hybrid, fully electric? Mystery.

Still, if Ford (which has been absent from major European shows for years) plays the game at home, its effort may not be enough, any more than the arrival of Joe Biden and good weather. The staff of the show estimates that if 500,000 visitors come to visit it, they will be amply satisfied. By way of comparison, attendance had reached 700,000 the last time in 2019. A figure already below that of the great years.