All about cars

While there may have been fewer production-ready new models at this year’s Detroit auto show, a fair number of concept cars appeared under the lights at the Cobo Center. Over the past few years, automakers have shied away from showing concept cars as they've chased down consumers with as many real products as possible. It seems they’ve run out of new products, though, and are relying on no-promises concepts to wow show-goers. Here are the ones we think might actually wow. From certain angles the XTS intrigues, but the rear doesn’t light my fire. If this is a luxury flagship, part of me still wants to see a V-8 engine and rear-wheel drive, not all-wheel drive and a V-6-backed hybrid powertrain. Efficiency is good — these days necessary, arguably — but a luxury flagship needs to perform, and the XTS doesn’t have the makings of that. Cadillac, prove me wrong. I don’t think buyers will note a strong V-6 under the hood versus a V-8, considering the V-6 in the smaller CTS puts out more than Northstars of the recent past. Powertrain won’t matter anyway because this thing is a looker. Even if you don’t like the style personally, you have to agree that this will draw stares from the boomer set who don’t want to drop the dough on a more expensive Audi or BMW flagship. The rest of the world will get the Mini crossover before we in the U.S. do, which is a bummer, but the Beachcomber is actually a good teaser for the model and a good concept in the classic auto show sense. I’ll allow that I might be under Mini’s cheeky spell — or the effects of being in Michigan in January. A beach seems like a pretty good idea. I just spent a week at the beach over the holidays, so maybe I’m not so spellbound. The Beachcomber holds promise, but the concept’s cutesy elements — from the faux spare tire holder to attachable interior accessories like a plastic palm tree — spell softie. If the basic structure is what we’ll see in production form, as I was told...

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