bonsai garden? —

The best of the rest from the 2017 North American International Auto Show

More emotional concepts, the last Viper, and some other little delights from Detroit.

DETROIT—The North American International Auto Show in Detroit has a bit of a problem. You see, CES takes place in the days directly before it, and in recent years automakers have started making big announcements in Las Vegas. This also affects the annual Los Angeles Auto Show (which takes place in November), but the effect is more pronounced at Detroit. The result—in my view at least—is three underwhelming events in a row. That's not to say there weren't big announcements in Detroit. It doesn't get much bigger than Toyota's eighth-generation Camry or BMW's seventh-generation 5 Series, for example.

We've covered the headliners already, so the gallery here represents all the little wonders we stumbled across in Cobo Hall. There was a face-lifted Ford F-150, the cabin of which was more Range Rover-like than ever. The venerable F-150 is Ford's top seller, and the refreshed 2018 model gets a full complement of advanced driver assists.

GM brought along one of the hydrogen fuel cell trucks it's developing for the US Army. The ZH2 will be handed over to the military later in 2017; right now it's being put through its paces at GM's proving grounds in Michigan. The military is interested in the ZH2's potential because it's almost silent, its exhaust is basically clean water, and the fuel cell is removable and works as a portable generator.

Dodge is killing off the Viper at the end of this model year, so it may be one of the last times we see one on display. Despite a reputation for crashing the moment it left the lot, there remains something charming about an 8.4L V10-powered sports car, particularly when it's painted such a bright metallic green. Farewell, Viper: the automotive world will be poorer once you're gone.

Rinspeed can be trusted to make the most bonkers concept cars, and the Oasis, built with ZF, doesn't disappoint. Mobile office? Check. Pizza delivery van? Check. Bonsai tree forest under the windscreen? Check. Underneath all that stuff is an innovative front axle from ZF that has twice the steering angle of normal vehicles.

There have been hundreds of different takes on the Mazda MX-5 Miata by now, but the little white speedster concept we found on Mazda's stand was beautifully executed. Sadly the chances it will ever go into production are remote.

A proper old-school road race for motorbikes, the Isle of Man TT course is made up of 37 miles of roads on the island, with stone walls everywhere and a grisly reputation for claiming riders' lives. Cars don't often get a chance to set a TT lap, but in 2016 Mark Higgins and Subaru got permission to have a go. Rally specialists Prodrive built the car, and you can find it (behind a pillar) on Subaru's stand. The lap is easier to see, as it's on YouTube.

Mercedes-Benz had a plethora of plug-in hybrids on its stand at NAIAS, along with the Concept EQ, yet another concept car that wears its emotions on the outside. MB also had a home storage battery on display, evidently getting some inspiration from Tesla.

Nissan's V-Motion 2.0 concept was packed full of visual delights, most of which I am too unskilled to do justice with a camera. A particularly nice touch was the lacquered carbon weave on the roof pillars, but you may have to take our word for it.

Finally, we learned that Volvo will bring the V90 wagon to these shores, but unlike the Cross Country variant, if you want one you'll have to special order it.

Listing image by Jonathan Gitlin

Channel Ars Technica