Thousands of miles from home, but in familiar market segments, Japanese automakers were out in force at this year’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
Lexus, for instance, introduced its first new LS flagship sedan in almost 10 years – the 2018 redesign a radical departure from its aging predecessor. Powered by a new twin-turbo V6 with 415 horsepower, the LS 500 also looked sporty with a distinctive four-door coupe-ish silhouette. Toyota showed off a sportier Camry — with quad pipes, no less — and Infiniti took the wraps off a QX50 concept with a radically revolutionary variable compression turbocharged engine.
More pedestrian, but even more important, was the introduction of the Qashqai subcompact crossover, which Nissan Canada expects to be its number two seller right out of the gate. Last, but not least, Honda showed off its new Odyssey. Yes, it does look like the old one, but it now boasts 280 horsepower and some novel seating arrangements.
