When trucks are still king

The North American International Auto Show in Detroit has opened with one big question hanging in the air: how will autonomous vehicles change the industry?

The answer is still unclear. In the meantime, companies continue to put out new vehicles of all shapes and sizes, including small cars, SUVs and the all-mighty pickup truck, which dominate the show.

Here are a few things motoring analysts learned from the recent media preview:

TRUCKS ARE KING

Pickups appear to be the most popular vehicles and trucks unveiled at the show make clear that will continue for a long time.

Fiat Chrysler’s Ram also got big updates, losing more than 200 pounds and giving it a gas-electric hybrid engine option. Both the Silverado and Ram were given more athletic stances and meaner looks. Ford added a diesel engine to its F-150 and rolled out the midsize Ranger.

General Motors spent heavily to update its top-selling Chevrolet Silverado pickup, cutting up to 450 pounds of weight by using more aluminium and lighter high-strength steel.

Manufacturers turn big profits on large pickups. Sales in the US, for example, rose nearly six per cent last year, even though total sales dropped two per cent. Ford’s F-Series is the country’s top-selling vehicle, followed by the Silverado and Ram.

HEDGING ON ROBOT CARS

Automakers are hedging their bets when it comes to autonomous vehicles and whether they will someday cut into or even end personal car ownership.

In interviews through the week, executives said they’re preparing for a time when people hire self-driving ride services to get around instead of spending on personal vehicles. But they don’t know just when that will take place, so they also must continue to spend millions to develop conventional vehicles as well.

“These proclamations that we hear about the advent of electrification and artificial intelligence ... are all things that, at best, are conjecture,” said Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne.

Although some companies plan to deploy driverless cars to carry passengers in coming months, Sergio says it will take years for the vehicles to be in widespread use.

Mark Reuss, General Motors’ head of product development says he wishes he knew exactly when and where the switch would take place. But for now, GM and other companies have to be in both places.

“We can go either way and that agility is priceless,” said Reuss.

GOOD OLD DAYS

Despite the new wheels on the show floor, one of the biggest hits is a 50-year-old Mustang GT fastback in need of a paint job. It was one of the original cars used in the 1968 film Bullitt, which put the Mustang on the map with a famous chase scene.

Ford rolled it out to help celebrate a special Bullitt edition Mustang, which goes on sale this summer. The faded green car got a huge cheer when it rumbled onto the stage.