Feature Story: The Road Ahead In Mobility

The Times They Are A-Changin’ And The Auto Show Changes Too

The last few years have been some of the most unprecedented in modern memory.

The pandemic, and the resulting effect on our lives, has changed many things forever. We work from home more now and “You’re on mute” is a phrase we are all too familiar with. And with gas prices so high, many are choosing to drive less.

It really is a different world. With so many seminal events paused during that time, a lot has changed in the last three years and much of that has gone unnoticed, due to a lack of awareness.

This is especially true with the return of the

North American International Auto Show

(NAIAS) in Detroit.

It was way back in 2019 that we were last able to see the future of the automobile in person. In 2020 the show was scheduled to take place in the summer for the first time and you all know what happened that year!

Fast forward to September 2022 and the Auto Show is back, only this time as an autumn affair. But, like so much else, the NAIAS has also changed drastically.

Gone are the multilevel displays and fancy lighting showing off the vehicles in dramatic fashion. This year’s show was a MUCH more toned-down event.

Restricted to one floor with open and mostly simple single level displays, the whole show had more of a showroom feel and felt less of an experience than it did in the past. The big LED wall screens were still there, only less elaborate and at ground level.

However, one big name in attendance during press days was U.S. President Joe Biden, who showed up the same day Biz X was there to welcome the event back to Detroit.

Also of note was who wasn’t there.

As usual this year’s show was dominated by GM, Ford and Stellantis.

The other large displays were limited to Toyota/Lexus and Subaru.

All other brands like Asia’s Honda/Acura, Mazda, Nissan/Infiniti and Hyundai/ Kia, and Europe’s Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar/Land Rover and Volvo, were limited to very small booths along the back of the show.

Interestingly, some of the larger displays were from a few of the OEM manufacturers who make all those components for the big automakers, but most would not be familiar to the average person. There were also some aircraft manufacturers on site with their small aircraft.

Regardless, it was still a fascinating peek at what’s to come, and oh boy is there a LOT to come!

It has been written before that the last truly great change in the automotive industry was the 1980s. While many of the cars from that era were regarded as unremarkable little econoboxes, the changes this decade brought ended the days of the backyard mechanic and introduced technologies like fuel injection, ABS, air bags, and other electronics that a wrench just couldn’t fix.

Since then our cars have become more and more like rolling computers, with GPS, Satellite Radio, Radar Cruise, Blind Spot Monitoring, and a dozen more technologies that in the ‘80s would have seemed better suited for a fighter jet!

So, when we point out that the cars on display now will look as outdated in a few years as the cars from the ‘70s did in the ‘80s — that’s really saying something!

Buckle up as we take a look at our next big leap into a future that finally resembles The Jetsons. (Ironically, George Jetson was born July 31, 2022. Coincidence? We think not!)

The takeaways driving the show this year had two prominent themes.

The electrification of the industry was the biggest one by far. Autonomy was also a common feature, with a number of concepts really focusing on making the automobile more focused on passenger comfort and many having controls that can stow away when in full self-driving mode. Let’s take a look at a few of these concepts and new models.

2023 Ford F-150 Lightning: Ford had the All-Electric F-150 Lightning on display and available to ride in on a very cool indoor obstacle course. What was VERY clear from this course was the incredible power that these Electric Vehicles (EVs) have. The driver spared no volts stepping on the “gas” and pushing riders deep into their seats. It was uncanny to see something this big go this fast. The next-gen Mustang also was unveiled that evening, just outside the event. Unfortunately, we weren’t on hand for the “stampede” of Mustangs that accompanied the new Mustang, but it was quite the collection of classic ponies! More evolutionary than revolutionary, the 2024 Mustang is still an air breathing Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) sports coupe in

The 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning is already on the road, and has been embarrassing some sports car drivers at stop lights. Featuring a “Frunk” that is now commonplace in EVs, the Lightning ups the practicality of the full-size pickup like never before!

the classic sense that sticks to a tried-and-true recipe. However, it’s a recipe that others are moving away from. (More on this later.)

2023 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4xe:

Stellantis wasn’t going to be outshone on the floor by Ford. They had DUAL indoor obstacle courses for both their RAM trucks and their Jeep lineup. Jeep used theirs to show off a range of 4xe models. We rode the course in a 4xe Hybrid Wrangler, and were blown away by how powerful and QUIET these were while climbing very steep inclines. While many love the ripping roar of a powerful engine — a silent and strong electric drivetrain with GOBS of torque makes sense when trying to become one with nature. RAM had a similar course to test their trucks in, but one that wasn’t as aggressive. They have an EV coming in about a year.

2024 Dodge Charger Daytona

SRT Banshee: Sticking with Stellantis, one of the biggest moves they are making is the upcoming 2024 Charger EV (the Charger name suddenly seems even MORE appropriate!). Mean looking with some incredible styling details that hark back to the past, while being very forward thinking. And that sound . . . that sound. Yes, it’s fake, but it makes a statement! The move to full electric muscle cars will be a controversial one for many. But, the truth is that many sports car owners keep their head down when a Tesla Plaid pulls up alongside. They know they don’t stand a chance. Knowing this, Dodge is trying to bridge that gap by keeping the sound with the fury.

2023 Dodge Hornet GT GLH: Another blast from the past is the resurrection of the Hornet name with the 2023 Dodge Hornet. A compact crossover with very sporting pretensions, it fills a badly needed space in the Dodge lineup. This goes even further with another hark back eschewing cars and focusing exclusively on trucks, SUVs and crossovers, the compact market will be seeing more and more of these mini-SUVs in future. Subaru had a number of small crossovers on hand, and Toyota unveiled the Crown to the North American market. It’s a midsize hybrid with an upscale interior and sporty looks.

2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV: Over at the General, their most anticipated vehicle was the Electric Silverado. This totally Electric Full Sizer will do battle with the F-150 Lightning. Yet, GM didn’t stop there and pulled the wraps off several pure EV models bearing names that are familiar to many. The Equinox EV, the Blazer EV, and of course the Hummer EV (which is an absolute mountain of a vehicle, in person), are all electrified. This truly shows we have gone past the tipping point given that the electrification of large trucks was only a twinkle in the public’s eye until Tesla showed the industry that EVs aren’t just small weird-looking, city cars. The performance these vehicles have is truly game changing. For example, Hummer has the WTF (Watts To Freedom) mode that really gets the nearly 10,000 lb SUV moving. Range remains an issue, however, for the larger of these vehicles, especially when it comes to towing. But, a case can be made for a working truck that never stays too far from home. The savings in gas alone would make it VERY appealing to contractors and outdoor enthusiasts alike.

What’s clear from all this is that Ford, GM and Stellantis are all charged up about fullsize electric trucks and SUVs! However, an auto show wouldn’t be worth attending if there weren’t mind bending concepts to drool over. Few make it to production as they are shown, but they often predict what’s coming down the road.

The Lincoln L-100 Concept & 2025

Buick Wildcat EV Concept: As far as concepts, the largest takeaway was the autonomy that was mentioned earlier. And with that, the Lincoln Star Concept was on display. It has so many nooks and crannies that opened up, you’d swear it was a Transformer. The stunning and swoopy Cadillac Celestiq was also on display to show the future of the Cadillac brand.

The blue tow of the 2023 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4xe hooks gives away that these Jeeps are not your old school Willys from WWII. Seamlessly blending EV torque with the range of a gas motor, these jeeps are going to revolutionize the off-road market.

The 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Banshee was STUNNING with incredible lines and details and call backs to a very long and distinguished heritage. The 2023 Dodge Hornet GT GLH fills a gap in the Dodge brand lineup that used to be filled by the Caliber and Neon.

The 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV has people buzzing about the future of pure electric full-size pickups, as GM joins the EV fray. The Lincoln L-100 Concept opens up like a flower and is meant to be mostly driven autonomously, but can be driven old school.

Buick showed off the 2025 Wildcat EV Concept that was a bit more traditional, but still focused heavily on autonomy and electrification. It’s also nice to see Buick return to a car-based platform, given that they carry no cars currently in their lineup.

ASX: Taking Mobility To New Heights

As previously discussed, all these technologies are coming together to take us to the future, and the one display that

brought that all together was that of Airspace Experience Technologies (ASX; website: Iflyasx.com).

Autonomy, GPS, Drone Technology, and EVs combine into one travel solution.

According to John Rimanelli, CEO and Founder of ASX, you can hail a pod that would autonomously arrive at your home and pick you up.

You would then ride worry free (and emission free) to your destination not having to worry about navigating traffic . . . or even touching the controls.

Have a long way to go? No problem!

The pod will go to an airport where it will mate with what looks like a super-sized drone. This drone is not unlike those you can buy for a few hundred dollars . . . only scaled up massively.

While remaining in your pod, the drone can use the battery in the pod to fly you anywhere within its range, autonomously.

Once at your destination, a battery can be swapped out if it’s low, and you can proceed to your destination having never left that pod.

Rimanelli suggests these pods can be manufactured by current automakers with their unique brand identities, while being compatible with the ASX platform.

He also ensures us that until autonomous operation has been perfected, these pods will

John Rimanelli, the CEO and Founder of ASX was on hand with a display that ties the entirety of what the Biz X team saw, together into one symbiotic future of travel at the NAIAS.

have an operator that can take over in the event of an issue.

However, ultimately, the ASX CEO and Founder comments: “Flying is hard, and an autonomous vehicle would be far safer as it doesn’t get tired or distracted.”

Rimanelli also sees this platform being used for cargo, defence, and even fighting forest fires, where they can pick up pods loaded with fire retardant over and over, without ever getting tired.

This is, of course, all in a prototype stage, but the technology that makes it possible is already here.

Regardless, this is a very likely glimpse of what future transportations will look like.

A Sign Of Things To Come

All in all, it was not the show we knew. A lot has changed and it’s unclear if those glory days of the NAIAS will ever return.

What is clear though is that the last few years have been about nothing, if not change.

We will look back at 2022 and reminisce about the days when we drove cars ourselves, and they were filled with liquid that exploded — a similar sentiment expressed in the movie I, Robot.

This movie, in particular, came to mind often, during the show and with Tesla’s unveiling of its robot Optimus — the future isn’t quite so far away!