Live from #NAIAS | The 2015 Detroit Auto Show

Best Cars Guide has been hitting up the Detroit Auto Show, or NAIAS, for the last five years. We are excited to be represented by an expanded team this year in the nation’s automotive capital through contributor and social media manager, Whitney Gonzalez, and our contributing editor, Bob Gritzinger (who’s no stranger to The D).

Here are a few words to tee up their time in the home city of the Big Three. We hope you’ll keep up with us for live updates through Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as well!

Bob’s NAIAS preview…

Bob Gritzinger, Contributing Editor | @bobgritzinger

Ahh, Detroit—that annual pilgrimage to the cold and snowy north that must be endured by thousands of members of the global automotive media because it ranks among the top two or three auto shows on the planet. Not in square footage—Frankfurt’s dozen or so halls and Chicago’s massive McCormick Center are much larger. Not in exclusive luxury cars—the Ferraris and Lamborghinis, Rolls-Royces and Bentleys, all play in a separate space at a nearby casino. Not in weird concepts—yes, Detroit has had its share of these, but nothing like Geneva or Tokyo (look up Rinspeed for reference). Not in green—ever since I witnessed someone converting a Prius into a plug-in hybrid in the convention center parking lot it’s been obvious that Los Angeles has that category covered.

So why Detroit—and why is so important to be here as an automotive journalist? Because for the past 100 years, give or take a few, Detroit has been the center of the automotive universe, whether as a manufacturing center, design and engineer powerhouse, or marketing headquarters, for a few of the world’s biggest names in car building. This is the home show for General Motors, Ford and Chrysler (now Fiat Chrysler Automobiles), and because of their sheer size, nearly every automaker in the world gets caught up on their gravitational pull. Yes, even the Chinese.

I’ll be out scouring the show for the automotive world’s latest, greatest, smartest, coolest vehicles, and—because this ranks highly on my “give-a-hoot” meter—those that offer the most practicality and functionality. Sure, I’ll be wowed by the 2016 Acura NSX supercar, the Cadillac CTS-V and the Ford Mustang GT350R, but I’ll also climb around in the all-new Toyota Tacoma and Nissan Titan trucks. I’ll be intrigued by GM’s second-gen Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid and its reported all-electric sidekick, the Bolt concept, but I’ll also want to see how far Audi and Volvo have upped their games with their new Q7 and XC90 crossovers.

Time to lace up the comfy shoes. Or put on your slippers and sit back and watch while we burn the shoe leather for you.

A few words from Whitney…

Whitney Gonzalez, Contributor and Social Media Manager | @whitneygonzalez

I’m so excited to be checking out the North American International Auto Show (aka NAIAS aka Detroit Auto Show) for the first time! This Florida girl is seeing snow for the first time in about 5 years here in Detroit. Ford invited Best Cars Guide to be a part of their NAIAS Digital Summit and I am already hearing great things about Ford events and trends.

Growing up, there was just about always a Ford in our driveway. My mom has been an Expedition-faithful for about a decade or more, and my dad always seems to have an F-series truck (including a turbo-diesel F-350 with which I completed most of my learner’s permit driving hours).

I’m looking forward to the rush that is NAIAS, and I hope to learn lots about Ford’s latest announcements. I’ll be doing my best to share with you an inside scoop to the event and the show. Keep up with the happenings, including exclusive announcements, by following me on Twitter @whitneygonzalez and using the hashtags #FordNAIAS and #NAIAS2015.