There are a gazillion million trillion dollars of beautiful (and some not so beautiful) cars at the North American Auto Show this week.  I took over 150 photos of many of them.  So how to choose what to show you today?  Well, only one intrigued me enough to take home the brochure.  And even though I know that the odds of me ever owning it are slim to none, let me show it to you anyway:

It’s called the Tango; seats two people, one behind the other, (hence the “it takes two” theme), and fits into half a lane.  It’s billed as “the world’s fastest urban car” and it’s designed for commuting to work in an urban environment.  It is the oddest, cutest looking thing and caught my eye while we were downstairs watching people ride electric cars around a course lined with magnolia trees and daffodils in full bloom.  Sort of a garden/auto show event.

The car is 8 feet 5 inches long, 39 inches wide and 60 inches tall.  It weighs 3,000 pounds and goes from zero to 60 in about 4 seconds.  It can accelerate from zero to over 130 mph in one gear. (Not that I ever envision going 130 mph in this or any other car!)  It’s range is 60 miles on inexpensive lead-acid batteries and up to 200 miles  with lithium-ion batteries.

It’s built by Commuter Cars Corporation in Spokane Washington, and they are presently taking orders for kit cars to be delivered within six months.  Supposedly you will be able to assemble them in 8 hours.  Put tab A into slot B?  Somehow I can’t quite imagine building my own car out in the garage.

Corporate Disclaimer:  “Please check your state’s or country’s laws regarding registering kit cars for the road.”

A few other photos for your viewing pleasure, and to save you the trip to Detroit and the $12.00 admission:

There were the Smart cars…

…and the old cars.

The inexpensive cars…

…and the really really really expensive cars.  (this was over $300,000!)

Some wild colors…

…and classic beauties.

Hybrid cars…

and gas guzlers.

There were cars with lots of space…

and some with no leg room at all!

And here are a few things that I just found pretty:

All in all it was a great afternoon filled with dreams and reality.  Not a bad combination these days.