The 2010 North American Car and Truck of the Year Awards are still months away, but the "long list" has leaked out and it's an odd mix of good, mediocre and, in several cases, not-yet-released.

Fifty journalists from around the continent have voted for 37 vehicles, with 12 offerings hailing from Japan, 11 from Europe, another 11 from the U.S. and three from Korea. Strangely, the Suzuki Kizashi, which hasn't even debuted in production guise, is included in the cars list, while the upcoming Honda Crosstour, the pseudo-wagon-cum-crossover, is listed (as a "truck" no less) despite only being recently confirmed by Honda and spied in the Great Smoky Mountains. Also of note, there's not single Chrysler, Dodge or Jeep offering to be found on the long list, which will be whittled down between now and the awards ceremony at the Detroit Auto Show in January.

Check out all the contenders for this year's award in both the car and truck categories, and let us know if they missed anything in the comments below.


[Source: InsideLine]

We often think of the 1950's as being the heyday for Detroit's fortunes, but even in the early-to-mid Sixties, it remained something of a modern marvel, thanks largely to its world-leading auto industry. This archival video was apparently commissioned as part of a failed bid for the 1968 Summer Olympics (which went to Mexico City instead). Reportedly filmed in 1965, Detroit – City on the Move shows the area in full bloom – a startling contrast to the shell of an empire that remains just 44 years later.

With the harmonies of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra as a backdrop, Mayor Jerome Cavanagh takes us through footage of downtown streets bustling with some of the city's two million residents, shots of a startlingly clean and new Cobo Hall (including scenes of the Detroit Auto Show itself), the crisp campuses of the (then) Big Three, and of the city's once-mighty cultural draws. It even has footage of the late John F. Kennedy talking up its virtues as part of the Olympic bid.

Interestingly (and perhaps tellingly), this sanitized look at Detroit all but glosses over mounting troubles with blustery talks of 'rebirth,' it utterly omits mention of the hitmakers at Motown Records, and in retrospect, it fails to adequately address growing racial tensions in the city (Detroit's infamous riots would lay siege just two years later in 1967).

Admittedly, such promotional films show a city in its best light by design, but even still, there's no getting around the fact that the World's Automotive Capitol ain't what it used to be. This video, part of the Prelinger Archives, gives us a glimpse into what Detroit used to be, and perhaps more than anything, what it sought to be. It's an amazing yet sobering look into mid-Sixties America, and it's worth a look. Take a trip back in time by clicking on the jump.

[Source: Archive.org]

It is estimated that up to 200 Fiat executives would relocate to Michigan if Fiat ends up owning Chrysler, and the city of Birmingham, Michigan wants them. It's gearing up for something like an Olympic bid to attract prosperous Continental types, and is joined in the effort by nearby city Bloomfield Hills. The two cities are regular landing spots for top level execs -- Zetsche, Wagoner, Henderson and Nardelli, among others -- with beautiful real estate, high property values, and a high school founded to serve transplanted kids.

A Birmingham real estate agent is planning to present its relocation services to the local Italian consulate. and the Bloomfield Hills International Academy is considering an Italian extracurricular program. To sweeten the deal, the owner of a boutique shoe store pitches the fact that only she and the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas sell $1,595 Chrissie Morris high heeled sandals. No, it's not Turin and the surroundings are the Piedmont -- but a fresh million in Birmingham will get you 3,000 square feet more living space and a yard, and if you're going to be in Michigan anyway...

[Source: Bloomberg]

Earlier this month, General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson said in reference to the possibility that the automaker may move its headquarters from Detroit: "We're looking at, frankly, everything within our business, but it's not like we have that queued up at the top of our list. We don't have any such plan... but if we did it would be motivated by business rationale, which would be cost, efficiency and speed."

Apparently, Jim Fouts, mayor of the city of Warren, Michigan, was paying attention. In an effort to lure General Motors from its current Renaissance Center headquarters in the heart of Detroit. The Detroit News reports that Fouts has hand-delivered a letter to the automaker's top brass outlining what he describes as "an offer they will find hard to refuse." Fouts goes on, "I've done everything I can humanly and legally do to induce General Motors to make this wise, economical move." That offer reportedly includes the largest set of tax breaks ever offered in the state of Michigan.

Not surprisingly, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, Governor Jennifer Granholm and Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano are less than enthused about the idea of GM moving to Warren. Ficano says, "We got together and asked what tools we have in our toolbox to tell the rest of the world that we're really open for business." Apparently, that toolbox holds its own set of tax incentives and abatements designed to keep GM in the RenCen.

All things being equal, it seems unlikely that General Motors would vacate its current headquarters to move to Warren, especially with an expected bankruptcy filing waiting in the wings. Either way, the ball is now firmly in GM's court.

[Source: The Detroit News | Photo: Bill Pugliano/Getty]

The North American International Auto Show is the biggest event to hit the state of Michigan in any given year, but the location of the event has come under fire due to the advanced state of disrepair of Detroit's Cobo Hall. Earlier in the year, the state of Michigan and representatives from Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties approved up to $299 million to repair and expand Cobo in exchange for the facility being turned over to a regional authority run by all three counties.

Even though the city of Detroit would be relieved of $15-20 million per year in repairs and a $20 million cash payment, the city council turned down the Cobo expansion deal. The defeat of the proposal left the future of the show in the state of Michigan in doubt, so Oakland County executive L Brooks Patterson offered up the Rock Financial Showplace as a future site of the auto show.

According to The Detroit Free Press, that idea is one step closer to reality as a state senate panel has approved up to $135 million to expand the much newer convention center to accommodate future auto shows. The money for the proposal would come from hotel and cigarette taxes, and the money officially goes to the Novi, MI facility if a deal on Cobo isn't reached by July 1.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

Calling it "economic and consumer patriotism," the mayor of Warren, Michigan wants to make it compulsory for city officials to buy American cars. Jim Fouts says that 15% of his fiscal budget depends on the auto industry, and the city's two most lucrative tax payers are General Motors and Chrysler. Therefore, in order to support the folks who support the town -- and in turn, take care of the taxpayer -- he's trying to expand the order he gave last year that required his appointees to Buy American.

The mayor hasn't said he'll fire or lay off someone who doesn't buy American. Yet when asked if he would, he has said things like "they are at-will employees in a strong mayor form of government... and they can be terminated at any time. I believe they know that and with that in mind I strongly urge that they buy American."

Of course, at least one person has come out and rung the constitutional bell, saying "It comes down to liberty... I don't see how they can tell you how to spend your money." However, Fouts says he has had no complaints so far.

[Source: Freep]

Sure, thousands of auto workers may be losing their jobs, but don't think they've got nowhere to go. Following similar overtures made by Jay Leno and Michigan restauranteur A.J. O'Neil, Slim Shady will be putting on a free concert for Detroit's unemployed auto workers. But on top of playing for the downtrodden in his home town, Eminem will also be sayin' hello to Hollywood with 200 of his fellow Detroiters.

The concert is a joint effort between Slim (who played an assembly-line worker in the semi-autobiographical film 8 Mile) and Jimmy Kimmel, on whose show Eminem will be appearing and performing (presumably and somewhat ironically, in the Pontiac Garage). Kimmel and Matthers felt it was important to show the world how the Detroit 3 crisis is affecting "real people" while showing them a good time in the process. It'll be back to MoTown following the performance where Shady is scheduled to put on another exclusive show for auto workers in their natural habitat, where the entertained laid-off workers will hopefully be able to lose themselves in the music... at least for the evening.

[Source: USA Today | Image: Eli Reed/Universal Studios]

Yesterday's media question-and-answer session with General Motors' CEO Fritz Henderson didn't reveal much in the way of actual news, but at least one question raised a few eyebrows: "Is GM considering moving its corporate headquarters?"

While that's an unlikely scenario, Henderson stopped short of denying the possibility, saying: We're looking at, frankly, everything within our business, but it's not like we have that queued up at the top of our list." Henderson also admitted: "We don't have any such plan... but if we did it would be motivated by business rationale, which would be cost, efficiency and speed."

So, where might GM defect to? Detroit Free Press scribe Tom Walsh suggests that Wilmington, Delaware (the city where GM is incorporated) could be a possibility, or even just down the road to Warren, MI near GM's Tech Center complex is located.

Admittedly, a move by GM out of its Renaissance Center headquarters remains unlikely, but Detroit's already skittish residents and politicians are already bristling on the city's airwaves at Henderson's less-than-firm response to the question. What do you think? Answer our poll below.



[Source: The Detroit News | Image: Bill Pugliano/Getty]

We were on General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson's teleconference with reporters this morning, and while the proceedings were light on revelatory news (okay, there really wasn't any), some important things were clarified:

Namely, Henderson denied that the company has reached a decision on whether to pursue bankruptcy, and officials are still hard at work on a two-track strategy (one with, and one without), with the company's preference still being to keep matters out of the courts. When it comes time to make a decision (June 1), Henderson admitted that "The Treasury would be a key player in that decision," though he didn't rule out his company's own role as being part of the process.

Additionally, Henderson said that the company is still pursuing a "four-core brand strategy," meaning that it plans to keep Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, and GMC, with Pontiac still in the mix as a niche brand. Henderson called both GMC and Buick "very profitable," and added that some of the products that GM has in its pipeline that it is most excited about are slated to carry the Buick badge. When asked point blank as to the security of the two brands, however, he declined to guarantee survival of any particular marque in the company's portfolio.

Henderson all but confirmed that the company plans to keep the likewise "highly profitable A.C. Delco parts business, but he acknowledged that a decision looms for Hummer, with final bids from three purchasers expected by next week. The company expects to make a sale decision on the SUV brand by month's end.

In regards to Saab, the GM CEO reiterated that a number of parties are interested in the Swedish brand, and that their "books are open" to serious bidders. Unsurprisingly, Henderson also acknowledged that it is pursuing buyers for Saturn, but he denied that there was only one serious bidder in the mix.

On its European front, Henderson says that "well more than six" parties have expressed interest in Opel, which he characterized as financial and industry players. Henderson said GM expects work to get done within the next two-to-three weeks, and he acknowledged that Germany's cash-for-clunkers and the early success for the new Insignia have helped liquidity issues. As such, Opel can now evidently sustain itself through late in the second quarter, if not further.


[Image: Bill Pugliano/Getty]

We can't blame Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson one bit for thinking the North American International Auto Show might be better served by moving locations away from Detroit's troubled Cobo Center. The building itself has been in disrepair for years, with a leaky roof and a poor electrical system generally cited as its most urgent needs. When an agreement was finally reached that would have fixed most of Cobo's many woes and expanded it with an additional 166,000 square-feet of floorspace, we all let out a collective sigh of relief.

Unfortunately, in what our own John McElroy called "a stupefying move at the 11th hour," the Detroit City Council voted down the proposed plan by a five-to-three tally, saying that the $20 million the city would be paid to give up power over the dilapidated building wasn't enough. Naturally, this action drew ire from a number of important sources, not the least of which being the automakers who are growing increasingly fed up about the horrid state of affairs at the Detroit Auto Show.

Here's where Patterson comes into play: "If this thing goes down, I'm done," Patterson has told The Detroit News. "I'm not going to go back to Detroit to try to resurrect the deal. Five years is enough." Unfortunately, Patterson's plan to move the annual event to another location in the Detroit area has a few potential snags of its own. The next largest nearby venue is the Pontiac Silverdome, which is about two-thirds the size and has been empty since the Detroit Lions left the stadium in 2002.

And what does the embattled Detroit City Council have to say about Patterson's proclamations? "He's bullying us as usual... he just wants everything on his own terms" says councilwoman Barbara-Rose Collins.

This is one sordid affair that seems likely to drag on for years with no end in sight.

[Source: The Detroit News]