Sights at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show

The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) — also known as the Detroit Auto Show — is having a banner year, judging by the 5,000+ automotive scribblers and bloggers roaming Cobo Hall searching for scoops during the two Press Days. Here are some of the images that caught my eye.

The ever-evolving Mustang

The Ford Mustang 1 was a concept car in 1962 that carried two passengers and a 1.5-l V4.

Somehow, that concept car morphed into the 1965 Mustang, first shown to the public at the 1964 New York World’s fair.

And now it looks like this for 2014:

Another new muscle car

The 2015 Z06 Corvette continues the tradition of American sports car with its 625+ hp V8. The price isn't available yet, but the last Z06 went out of production after 2013 and cost about $75K. And this version, which helped this year’s Stingray to win the title of North American Car of the Year, has almost as much power as the 2011  Corvette ZR1 which cost over $100K.

Best Paint Job

The metallic acid green paint scheme made this Viper really stand out in the Mopar display:

If this van’s a-rockin . . .

A shiny 1963 Chevy Van served as a photo booth for people who wanted to relive their youth. And here’s the song responsible for much of it.

Grills gone wild

Lexus has some of the wildest metalwork on the front of its vehicles. This concept car looks like it could shred a lot of cheese. And I pity any pedestrian who gets slammed with it.

A Relic of the Brown Bomber

Near the entrance of Cobo Hall, the people of Detroit have memorialized Joe Louis, the World Heavyweight Champion from 1937 to 1949, with a huge statue. But tucked away off to the side is more interesting artifact, “The Glove That Floored Nazi Germany.” It’s the bronzed right-hand boxing glove Louis used in 1938 when he defeated Max Schmeling, a poster boy for Hitler and the Nazis. Three years earlier, Louis had also defeated Primo Carnera, a standard bearer for Benito Mussolino and his regime.

More power

There’s just something about an 8,000-hp nitro-methane fueled engine that makes me warm inside. This one was inside a Toyota Camry funny–car dragster.