Detroit Auto Show Has Something For Everybody

Detroit — The 2007 North American International Auto Show is shaping up to be the most diverse event the auto industry has ever seen.

For every big engine, there's an eco-friendly alternate-fuel vehicle. For every mega-dollar luxury car, there's an affordable model. And for every brand that's reinforcing its position, there's one striking out in a new direction.

Theme? We don't need no stinkin' theme. This is market fragmentation in capital letters, with everyone scrambling to find the next big thing.

Even the companies that aren't struggling are slotting new models into the small gaps in their lineups.

But there's some risk in this. It's not easy being all things to all people.

Toyota, the darling of many environmentalists thanks to its strong line of hybrid gasoline-electric models, made a wise business decision — the only logical decision, really — developing its big, new 381-horsepower Tundra pickup.

A good move to win new customers, but perplexing and perhaps troubling to some of the company's admirers.

“It's interesting to me that Toyota didn't show any environmental stuff,” said Chris Paine, director of the film “Who Killed the Electric Car?” The movie criticized General Motors Corp. for ending an electric car program.

Ford, widely criticized for a lack of vision, got a jump on the competition with a deal that gives it exclusive access to Microsoft's slickest and most appealing new technology.

It's been half a decade since the Ford Focus topped anybody's list of cool rides, but the Sync system's ability to run anything from a cell phone to an iPod with spoken commands — a feature not even Apple offers — puts the restyled 2008 compact at the crest of the next wave.

And for a company whose styling has recently inspired more yawns than gasps, Ford set Cobo Center buzzing with three of the show's best-looking concept cars, including the Lincoln MKR, a sedan that aims to rewrite the definition of American luxury.

Honda, whose reputation for quality and dependability has soared as its visual flair stalled, broke ground with its first Accord concept car, a radical coupe that turns the company's styling on its head with a long hood and sharply drawn body creases.

Expect the new Accord coupe to be virtually identical — 90 percent according to a Honda executive — to the concept model when it hits showrooms this fall. And don't be surprised if the sedan shares a lot of the coupe's spirit.

Chevrolet reworked its midsize Malibu sedan, which was unveiled Tuesday, adding power, a stylish body and a daring two-tone interior that recalls classic designs from the days when Chevy ruled America's roads.

While recalling past glories with one hand, Chevy reached out to claim environmental leadership with the daring Volt concept, an electric car that promises a 40-mile cruising range on battery power alone and the ability to go 640 miles by using a single tank of gasoline to power its onboard generator. And while a flood of flashy car-type SUVs, such as the Ford Edge and Saturn Outlook, had many people writing the minivan's obituary in 2006, Chrysler breathed new life into the segment.

The innovative swiveling second-row seats in the Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan promise to be as appealing to young families as Ford's Internet-connected iPods on wheels will be to club hoppers.

The only theme at the 2007 North American International Auto Show is innovation, but there's something on display for just about everyone.