Highlights, tips & photos from the 2011 NAIAS

The 2011 version of the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) arrived at Cobo Center this week with an air of excitement and a look to the future. The media days are behind us, the industry and charity previews are this week, and the Auto Show opens to the public on Saturday, January 15^th.

With 700 cars on the showroom floor there is a lot to see and do. Here are a few of my highlights.

Head downstairs and check out the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s “Smarter Living in Michigan” exhibit. It features Michigan-made innovation and clean energy in a town square environment. From batteries to wind, LED lights, and charging stations; it’s all about green, renewable, and sustainable energy.

While I was there, Governor Snyder had a quick press conference and walked the showroom floor. He stressed that innovation and entrepreneurship are what will make Michigan thrive, “innovation is the driver, not technology.” When asked how he likes his new job he pointed out that he’s only been at it for a few days but that, “it’s a good job.”

Govenor Snyder at NAIAS for the MEDC.

Also in the Smarter Living area is the Ride and Drive Track featuring electric, hybrid, and fuel cell vehicles. For the press days, we were allowed to drive the cars ourselves around the mini-track. I took the electric Smart Car for a spin. It’s perfect for Europe and cities like New York and Chicago but I’d give it a pass here in Detroit. It gets about 80 miles on a full charge and there is distinctive whirring noise.

Ford and Chevy both had fun, interactive displays and are a must see. At the Ford display you can race slot cars around a track and test your driving skills on a virtual road course on the Fiesta Rally Simulator.

Over at Chevy, they were also playing virtual driving games. The coolest interactive display was the Camaro Convertible photo op. They encourage you to jump while they snap your photo and you can instantly share with Twitter and Facebook or send it as an email or text. Take a look at my Camaro photo.

If you’re into design the College for Creative Studies and the Michelin display are both very creative and worth a look.

Tips for surviving NAIAS & things to do:

• Check your coat or leave it in the car! It gets hot under the lights.

• Bring cash if you plan to grab a snack or check your coat.

• Take the People Mover, it’s only 50 cents.

• If you’re taking tons of photos, first shoot one of the information placard or the back end of the vehicle. This way you won’t confuse the vehicles when going through them later.

• Niki’s Pizza in Greektown is offering 20% your food bill until January 24^th. Just show your NAIAS ticket or badge.

• Auto Show Bar Tour from Inside Detroit. Check out a few bars with a local and special drink prices.

• 2011 AutoWeek Design Forum is happening on Thursday, January 13th.

More tips for the Auto Show from last year.

Now for the car eye candy!

2011 Ford Explorer

Boss Mustang.

Slot car racing at the Ford display.

Fiesta Rally Simulator

One of the designs from CCS. Photo courtesy of College for Creative Studies.

GM EN-V

Car from The Green Hornet.

Ford C-Max

Call of Duty: Black Ops Jeep.

Old Fiat 500.

Porsche.

Bentley.

Mini Paceman

Camaro photo op.

Chevy Sonic

U of M Solar Car in the Smarter Living exhibit.

The Super-Secret Detroit TED event Delivers

The super-secret TED@MotorCity Salon sponsored by Lincoln was held last night at The Music Box in the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit. TED is a global nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading.The theme of the event was “New Tomorrows” and promised world-class speakers but didn’t divulge any other details prior to the event.

Why so secret? More on that later.

As we begin the press previews for the 2011 North American International Auto Show, Detroit is in the spotlight not only for the automotive industry but also on how a city can look to the future and reinvent itself.

From the TED@MotorCity program:

Tomorrow inevitably represents new hopes, and provides us with new opportunities. What does tomorrow look like? What will it mean for our lives and work?

Tomorrow will bring changes that we can’t anticipate. Tomorrow is close enough that we can almost touch it – but far enough to allow us the freedom to imagine new horizons.

Speakers and highlights:

The curator of the evening was Gary Bolles of Xigi.

Thomas Goetz, executive editor of Wired Magazine. "Better health is not a science problem, it's an information problem,” Goetz told us. By finding better ways to deliver the information through design and technology we can put people in more control of their health. For those working on losing weight and improving their health, Goetz recommended some gadgets and the app Lose It!

Dale Dougherty, founder of MAKE Magazine and Maker Faire. Dougherty affirmed, “We are all makers.” Makers used to be mainstream but not anymore. Makers are playing with technology and we should make sure that the next generation are makers.

John Gallagher, Detroit Free Press journalist and author of Reimagining Detroit: Opportunities for Redefining an American City. I’m a few chapters into Gallagher’s book so I was excited to see him on the program. He said that cheap energy allowed for urban sprawl and now that cheap energy is a thing of the past we must look back to our cities. People want to live, work, and play in a walkable city. We must strive to get back to that and provide alternative public transportation.

Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist. Gary Bolles commented on how Newmark was the most connected person in the world. And isn’t that what we’re all looking for, whether personal or professional, is to make a connection? He mentioned accountability in journalism and how to get the news outlets to get it right and do it honestly. I immediately thought of Stephen Clark, WXYZ, and the #backchannel that they have created. I especially liked the comparison between Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert to the Shakespearean court jesters. Stewart and Colbert don’t want to be considered professional journalists. It’s just: be funny or die! And, get the facts right.

Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.org talks with Gary Bolles.

Jessica Care Moore, poet and playwright. She performed at TEDxDetroit and this outing was just as inspiring. It brought chills. She ended with, "In this room I see ideas everywhere. Do you?" Yes, I see the ideas. Now is the time to act on them.

Lisa Gansky, entrepreneur and author of The Mesh: Why the Future of Business is Sharing. Ganksy told us that our digital tomorrow depends on the meshing of 3 key ingredients: social, mobile, and physical goods. Zipcar was used as an example of how a “brand is a voice, the product is the souvenir.” She asked the automakers to make “share-ready” cars and told the audience to share their failures.

Why the secrecy?

I have no idea. My thought is that TED (without the x) is an exclusive brand and Lincoln was aligning themselves with that elite group. Lincoln surely delivered on the slick event; it was top shelf.

The usual pre-event buzz wasn’t their priority. Instead they had many local Detroiters in the twitterverse scratching their head in a “how did I miss this” type of way.

To be fair, it is my understanding that the invitation was sent to the entire TEDxDetroit database. So, why weren’t those that were planning on attending talking about it? A simple line in the invitation reads:

Also, please, no blogging nor tweeting this invitation/event before it takes place.

TED@MotorCity and Lincoln proved that an event doesn’t need the “this event is going to be so cool” buzz to, in fact, be cool.

Detroit is on a precipice and the people and their actions and decisions are going to decide which way it goes. Our “New Tomorrow” is up to us.

Feedback, makers, reinvention, connection, and sharing. That is our “New Tomorrow.”

TED@MotorCity not only delivered world-class speakers but it was world-class all the way around. 

Update on Tuesday, January 11, 2011 at 2:07PM by Becks Davis

Want to know more about the event or others thoughts on it? Check: The TED Blog, Slayter Creative, and The Tunieblog.

Detroit Moxie's Weekend Roundup

I know, it’s cold outside and I want to hibernate too. I must have been a bear in a former life. But there is so much to do in Detroit! Get out there and enjoy the city. And, if you really want to stay warm, you can do that AND get downtown.

Weekend Roundup

1. Friday Night Live! at the DIA - Live music from The Juliets, a five-piece pop band from Ypsilanti. Also, guided tours, a workshop to make artist trading cards, and more. January 7th.

2. A Day in the Warsaw Ghetto: A Birthday Trip in Hell - This travelling exhibit features 85 photographs that Jost took illegaly in the Warsaw Ghetto on his birthday in 1941. Through March 13th.

3. Wild Winter Inuit Adventure at the Detroit Zoo - Delve into the Inuit culture and traditions. Zookeeper talks, ice carvings demonstrations, and more. January 8-9.

4. Winter Beer Tasting - If you love craft beer, you're not going to want to miss the chance to taste over 20 seasonal and limited release beers. Plus free pool! January 8th.

5. jessica Care moore - The poet and performance artists presents NANOC: I Sing the Body Electric at the Dell Pryor Gallery. Opening reception: January 7th. Exhibit runs through January 15th.

Do you know of a great event going on in Metro Detroit this weekend? Add it to the comments and share it with us!

Keep warm while exploring downtown Detroit

It’s January in Detroit and I’ve got breaking news for you: it’s going to be cold for the next 3 months. Yes, we may have a day of warmth sprinkled in here and there but this is winter in Michigan and we’ll have freezing temperatures. Shocking, I know!

But you still need to get around downtown Detroit, right? You’ve got things to do and people to see. So, how do you do this without freezing your tushie off? I’ve got a solution for you.

If you work or play downtown there’s a way to keep warm while travelling through the different landmarks of Detroit.

Mark Nickita, architect and president of Archive Design Studio as well as co-owner of Pure Detroit, Stella International Cafes, and The Rowland Café, routinely takes people on this little tour of Detroit that is very helpful if you want to keep warm and dry.

Nickita devised a route that will keep you inside while getting where you need to go. From the RenCen to the Compuware Building and everywhere in between, you only need to be outside to cross the street. Go from lobby to lobby, check out the shops and architecture, and stay warm. 

View Keep warm while exploring downtown Detroit in a larger map

1. Starting at the GM Renaissance Center, take the covered skyway to the Millender Center.

GM Renaisance Center skywalk.

2. Proceed through the Millender Center and take the covered skyway to the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center.

Millender Center

3. You’ll have to go down the stairs at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center and walk outside here because of security.

Covered walkway from the Millender Center to the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center.

4. Kitty corner is the Guardian Building. Enter off of Larned and exit through the side entrance onto Griswold.

The glorious banking hall of the Guardian Building.

5. Across the street is the Buhl Building, exit onto Congress.

6. Cross the street and enter the Penobscot Building. Exit onto Fort Street.

7. Cross over to The Dime Building. Exit back onto Griswold Street.

The lobby of the Dime Building.

8. Go East on Michigan Avenue to the 1001 Woodward building. Exit onto Woodward Avenue.

9. Cross Woodward and head into the Compuware Building.

The atrium in the Compuware Building.

10. Walk through Campus Martius and enter the First National Building off of Cadillac Square and exit onto Congress.

11. Cross Congress and walk under the covered atrium of Comerica Tower.

The covered walk attached to Comerica Tower.

You don’t have to take this route; it was just easier to write it out like this. Start at the Compuware Building or the Guardian Building, it doesn’t matter. You can go full circle from wherever you start.

Visit the GM Showroom in the RenCen on your lunch hour or stop at Pure Detroit in the Guardian Building for some shopping. So many choices!

 If you have a coffee at the Rowland Café, look around you. Besides the glorious banking hall of the Guardian Building, you might just see Mark Nickita who was the inspiration for this post. Hat tip to Matt Dibble for connecting us.

My favorite posts of 2010

I can’t believe how quickly 2010 flew by. I’ve sifted through all 155 posts of 2010 and these are my favorites.

Thank you all for reading throughout the year, your comments, and for your support. Here’s to a fabulous 2011 in Detroit!

1. Sorry Detroit, I did you wrong (January 25th)

2. Driving around Detroit (March 7th)

3. Detroit Weekend: Inspiration, Anger & Action (April 18th)

4. And Then it Got Quiet (April 27th)

5. The Writing on the Wall: Graffiti Alley (May 4th)

6. Street Artist Banksy Tags Detroit (May 12th)

7. Scoliosis & Me or Bent out of Shape (May 28th)

8. Call Me Unpatriotic, I Don't Care (June 14th)

9. 41 More Things to Do in Detroit Before You're Dead (October 11th)

10. Detroit’s Mason-Dixon Line (October 19th)

11. On winning and losing (December 21st)

If you're new to Detroit Moxie you might want to look at the 2009 version of this post.

Which were you're favorite Detroit Moxie posts from 2010? Did I leave any of them off the list? Also, what kind of posts would you like to see more of 2011? Anything you'd like to see less of?