'Car & Driver' Editor Discusses North American International Auto Show
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Who don't dream about a new car? Motor City is ground zero today for car enthusiasts worldwide. Detroit is hosting once again the North American International Auto Show. Our Ed Garsten is there, probably having more fun than he should be allowed. We will allow it just this one time, Ed. Good morning.</s>ED GARSTEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, every time I cover one of these things, I come home, and my wife says: I don't even want to hear it. She can't get another new car this year, and there are so many cool cars, slick cars, retro cars out here in the floor, the 600,000 square of Cobo Hall in downtown Detroit. Already this morning we have seen some interesting introductions, Ford finally, after a four-year absence, introducing its production model of the return of the Thunderbird. We have also seen BMW introduce its Mini, or reintroduce its Mini. And Mercedes came up with three new cars in it C-class, which if you can imagine a Mercedes for about $30,000, there's going to be one coming out this fall. A whole family of them. I want to bring in, Csada Csere, who is the editor of "Car & Driver" magazine. What have you seen that you like so far?</s>CSADA CSERE, EDITOR, "CAR & DRIVER": Well, I think new Mini is really an intriguing car here because it starts a new niche. What we have got here is tiny little car in which the emphasis is not on fuel economy, but it is performance and fun to drive at a relatively low costs. And we haven't seen a lot of that these days.</s>GARSTEN: I think one of the brands we have seen really try to change its image is the Cadillac. We are going to show you some pictures. First of all, a concept car called Vizon, tell you us about that.</s>CSERE: Well, the Vizon is actually a luxury SUV. The car will go into production in a couple of years in a little bit more subdued form. But the idea is this is a car-based SUV, not a truck-base SUV. So it will ride and handle better than the truck-based ones, but still offer all the utility and four-wheel drive that people want.</s>GARSTEN: A little while ago here at the GM display, where we are standing, we saw them roar in with a big, black truck, the Cadillac Escalade EXT, that is a production vehicle that they are going to make. What is going on with Cadillac?</s>CSERE: Well, a couple of things, they are trying to change their image, and get more with it, number one. Number two, they are trying to get into niches where nobody is really. In fact, Lincoln Blackwood came out a couple of years ago with this luxury pickup truck type, and the Escalade EXT is a little bit like that, except it is different because it has got a pass-through between the bed and the back seat. So you can actually fold down the back seat and this pass through and get something really long into it, or fold it up and get four passengers and a shorter luggage space. But it is another niche where nobody is there, and Cadillac wants to get that business.</s>GARSTEN: I assume that Cadillac is working really hard to try to lower its demographic?</s>CSERE: Well, it is critical. Their average age is a little bit high. And with every new product, that is going to be the goal, to bring it down. That's one of the reasons they are jumping into these SUV areas because the demographics are lower there than the big full- size traditional luxury sedans.</s>GARSTEN: The fabulous success of the PT Cruiser, which we saw introduced here last year, everyone thought this was going to be a retro show. Has it turned out that way?</s>CSERE: Well, there is a little bit of retro coming up, and we haven't seen all of it yet. Nissan is going to be introducing a new Z-car pretty soon, in about an hour. Tomorrow morning, we are going to see the return of the Mazda RX-7. So there is a certain retro theme going on throughout the show. We even saw it in something like the Chrysler Crossfire, which is a concept car. It has got this rib running down the middle of the cab that essentially splits the windshield. It looks like an old-fashioned sports car from the '30s and '40s. So retro is still a strong theme.</s>GARSTEN: All right, Csada Csere, thank you so much. We want to also tell you that two awards were announced this morning, the North America Car and Truck of the Year. The car of the year was the -- tell us, Csada, do you remember what it was? -- I remember what it was: the PT Cruiser. And the Truck of the Year was a surprise, the Acura MDX, SUV -- it is live TV, folks, we are trying for you. We will bring you the cars throughout the day here at the North American International Auto Show. Back to you. Daryn.</s>KAGAN: Well, Ed, let's put you on the spot here for a second, your wife won't want to hear about it when you get home. If you could take any car home, what was your favorite that you've seen so far?</s>GARSTEN: I really like that T-Bird. It reminds me of when my brother and I cruised around in his '57 T-Bird rag top. It would bring back those old days. And it really is a beautiful car. I would be happy to take one home. My wife is getting the payments ready.</s>KAGAN: There you go, Ed Garsten, thank you very much for that look at the auto show.