Detroit Auto Show: Mercedes blitzkriegs Motown

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And they’re off!

Not content to wait around for the opening bell on Sunday morning, Mercedes-Benz got things going here at the North American International Auto Show (the Detroit Auto Show to most folks) on Saturday night with a full-fledged, off-campus news conference with not one, not two, but three full reveals.

It was an ambitious offering, held at a newly reopened Detroit landmark, the Book Cadillac Hotel, which to an outsider might have seemed like the German Embassy transported to the Motor City. At the event, which the hosts dubbed a Neujahrsempfang, or New Year’s reception, it seemed that few stops were not pulled out.

Indeed, judging by the elaborate level of production, rail-thin models, choreographed light-and-sound show, massive hordes of imported Daimler employees and two-block line of M-B shuttle vehicles outside the event, one could be forgiven for thinking that the economy was just fine and we were in boom times once again.

As guests were plied with lobster risotto, Merlot and creme brulee, the company’s chief executive, Dieter Zetsche (known as the mustachioed Dr. Z for those of you familiar with old Mercedes commercials) rolled out the brand new E-Class sedan, as well as a limited-edition SLR open-top sports car, and a concept called the BlueZERO that can run on battery, hydrogen or range-extended electric drivetrains -- and will, in limited numbers, starting later this year.

Buzz levels peaked notably when Zetsche said that the new 2.5-liter turbodiesel version of the E-Class would turn in 44 miles per gallon highway fuel economy. That’s worthy of a big exclamation point considering the fact that the current E-Class diesel, with a 3.2-liter engine, tops out at 32 mpg.

So, despite the heady feel of the event ...

... spread over several floors of the Westin hotel, despite the short ribs and the Chilean sea bass, despite the presentation of a 650-horsepower sports car with a top speed of 219 mph, these are tough times, Zetsche acknowledged. ‘We want to show that confidence is the right response to this market,’ he said. Detroit’s mayor, Kenneth Cockrel, roaming the party, had a more direct take on things. ‘The economy just sucks,’ he said.

Cornered later at the party, Zetsche sipped on ice water and touched on a variety of subjects, including Daimler’s 19.9% stake in Chrysler. He said that Daimler didn’t need to sell it and that blame for the failure of its recent talks to unload its holdings fell squarely on the shoulders of Chrysler and its parent company, Cerberus. ‘They became totally unreasonable and made allegations which had no foundation,’ Zetsche said, while declining to explain just what those allegations were.

He also lamented the untimely end to the Firehouse party, a traditional Detroit Auto Show event thrown by Chrysler (with Daimler’s help) that was canceled this year. Last year, Zetsche tended bar, and he suggested, had he more time to prepare, that the company might have organized the event in Chrysler’s absence.

As a final shot, the amicable Teuton critiqued as absurd the prohibition on private planes favored by the administration in the bailout loan package granted General Motors and Chrysler. ‘To do the kind of jobs that are global jobs, sitting in airports and waiting for connections is just not effective,’ he said.

Outside, it was snowing, heavily. The lines of Mercedes shuttles picked up weary partiers and trundled off down the wide boulevard. On the corner, a Mercedes hybrid diesel concept was parked, jauntily collecting snow on its roof.

-- Ken Bensinger

Photos (from top): Associated Press; Ken Bensinger / Los Angeles Times; and Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

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Mercedes blitzkriegs Motown
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