If there's one thing the Detroit auto show never fails to deliver, it's razzamataz. If you found yourself at the press days of this year's show and, for some reason, grew bored with the array of new metal on display, there was never a shortage of spectacle or celebrity to enjoy.
General Motors' Style Event, held on the eve of the motor show, was easily the most star-studded of the show. It attractive American film and TV stars aplenty, including Hollywood stars Christian Slater and Carmen Electra, and musicians John Legend and Jay-Z.
At the show itself, Audi's big celebrity surprise was 80s pop star Seal, who crooned his biggest hit 'Crazy', rather aptly, as the Audi Q7 V12 TDi was unveiled. It turns out that Seal has been driving a Q7 for the past 18 months, and wants to trade it in for the new V12 model.
Chrysler introduced its Nassau concept to the sound of drums; bongos, specifically, played by drummers from America's network of Drum Cafes. It also gave bongos away to journalists who attended the unveiling.
Over at the Mercedes stand, the german marque chose to introduce the four-wheel drive 4-MATIC versions of its S- and E-class saloons on a sheet of ice, around which figure skaters from America's hit show 'Icecapades' danced.
Elsewhere there were American football players, chat show hosts and celebrity chefs. And, perhaps most interestingly for European visitors, former Williams and McLaren F1 pilot turned NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya put in an appearance at the unveiling of the Dodge Avenger.
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