Motor Bella, the first outdoor Detroit Auto Show, was weird but cool

PONTIAC, Mich. — Last year was supposed to be the first year for the Detroit Auto Show, also known as the North American International Auto Show, to move to its new summer date. Then the pandemic happened, and the plan was to do the new summer show in 2021. Then the pandemic continued. So with one more revision, the show became merged with another planned car show called Motor Bella, and it was all moved to September, and up to the M1 Concourse race track in Pontiac. We were there this week, and like the Chicago show earlier this year, it was a bit strange — but it still had quite a bit of appeal, and future ones could even become better than the Detroit Show used to be.

News Editor Joel Stocksdale: It was a dark and stormy night. No, wait, that's not right. It was a gray and drizzly morning. There we go. And aboard the shuttles from the parking lots, we weren't exactly sure what we were in for. But once inside the gates, this odd show started making some good impressions. In one corner, Stellantis had trucked in enormous mounds of dirt for Jeep and Ram ride-alongs, and occasionally you'd hear a Ram TRX open up its pipes just before leaping into the air. Then there were decorative strings of lights gracing the walkways toward the main building and some of the other tents, leading you to the infield with the main displays. And stepping into this section we realized: This is a real show. There were cars lining the edges of the track, and huge tents and displays from Ford and GM were in the middle on the skidpad. And unlike Chicago, everything was already built and ready to go.

Certainly the scale of some things was dialed back. Some manufacturers, such as the aforementioned Big Three along with Toyota, still had large, professional display booths not unlike what would be on the floor of Detroit's TCF Center. But most other automakers simply had their vehicles parked along the course with a single flag or possibly a small tent. We wouldn't be surprised if some of these companies only had a presence because of the local dealers. But at the same time, some of these brands weren't represented at all in Chicago. And the brands that still did big displays sometimes went bigger. Some had merchandise for sale. Others had unique experiences, like Ford's augmented reality booth.

But probably the best part of all this was the action. We already touched on the Stellantis demos, which some of our other editors can tell you more about, but there were also running displays of other cars. Toyota brought out a bunch of race cars and SEMA cars and was running them on a separate part of the track. These included one of Ivan "Ironman" Stewart's Baja Tundras, a Supra NASCAR car, a Toyota Sequoia drag car, and a couple of modded Supras. It was a blast to see these in motion, and we think guests will have a lot of fun seeing them, too.

The extra space and the opportunity to do more impressive dynamic displays is what really stood out to me, and it could revitalize car shows. Maybe not for the press, but for the public. Shows were already a chance to get up close and personal with cars, and seeing them being driven they way they're meant to be enhances that. It gives people more of a reason to visit. So Motor Bella was a bit odd, but it's on to something.

Road Test Editor Zac Palmer: I had more fun in cars at Motor Bella than I've had at any previous auto show, and that's all thanks to it being held at an actual racetrack. After the few (crowded room) press conferences concluded in the morning, I found fun stuff to do with fellow Autoblogger John Beltz Snyder. We hit Ram's TRX jump experience first. That was loud and particularly thrilling. Also, it was impressive witnessing how well the TRX lands after being launched into orbit at speed — you'd be surprised at how soft the impact is.

Next, I rode in the Ford F-150 Lightning that President Biden drove earlier this year. You can check that First Ride review out here. In short, the Lightning is damned promising, and not too shabby around a race track. After that, I hopped in the backseat of a Ford Mustang Mach-E GT Performance Edition. I can confirm that it's more than fast enough around a track for the GT badge. It positively rips, and the instant electric torque is simply fantastic at rocketing you out of corners.