The first half of the first media day of the Detroit auto show is over, and it's been a little less predictable than I thought. I'd expected the special guest stars (Toby Keith for Ford, Kim Cattrall for Mercedes-Benz), pyrotechnics, super-loud music, and pre-planned jokes, but Dodge managed the near-impossible at a show like this--it had a truly memorable press conference. Now, Ford's was the first conference for the day, which is where they introduced the 2009 F-150, and it was an over-the-top event. It included an all-star cast of Ford execs, reps from the plant where the F-150 is built, and a championship bull rider (PBR), monster truck driver, and NASCAR Craftsman Truck driver.
But Dodge's, which immediately followed, completely eclipsed the Ford conference. We all went outside to oversize tents to see the introduction of the 2009 Ram. After the new Rams pulled up front, so did a herd of cattle, being kept in line by cowboys with horses. It's cold in Detroit (supposed to snow later today), and we were all trying to stay warm during the conference--and so were the cattle. At least two different pairs of the beasts became very friendly with one another (to paraphrase Bart Simpson, it looked like one was trying to jump over the other one but didn't quite make it). Jim Press, who was speaking about the trucks at the time, saw we were all distracted by the hump...--er, amorous--cattle, and covered nicely, cracking a joke and bringing our attention back to the Rams. He'd predicted the Dodge conference would be one to remember, and he was right.
But it was still good to see that despite the strong emphasis on little cars, alternative fuels, and car-based everything, they still started the auto show with the backbone of what keeps this country working--trucks. And both of these are really good. I can't wait until we can put them head to head later this year.