Detroit Auto Show opens as industry pares back splashy debuts and leans on test tracks

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Auto Show returns this week, offering an opportunity to take a peek at the cars of today and tomorrow and also go for a spin.

The annual car-fest at a Detroit convention hall features a lineup of 40-plus vehicle brands. At last year’s show, organizers say attendees took more than 100,000 rides in them.

“That’s what makes the Detroit Auto Show different,” show chairman Todd Szott said. “You can get up close, talk to the people behind the brands and actually experience the vehicles.”

The Detroit Auto Show once was the place for new model debuts, glitzy displays and scores of journalists from across the globe. Automakers since have determined that new models can make a bigger splash when they are unveiled to a digital audience on a day when they don’t have to share the spotlight with rivals.

President Donald Trump visited the Detroit area Tuesday afternoon, touring a Ford plant in Dearborn that makes the ultra-popular F-150 pickup truck before delivering remarks during a meeting of the Detroit Economic Club.

The president touted his tariff policy, telling business leaders at a casino-hotel that “our workers are thriving.”

“And our auto industry is returning to the country where we all began, and where it all began,” Trump said.

While the Detroit Auto Show has scaled back dramatically from its heyday, it still drew 275,000 attendees a year ago. And it is leaning into interactivity.

Two tracks offer attendees ride-along experiences in internal combustion engine, hybrid and electric vehicles, while the Camp Jeep and Ford Bronco Built Wild Experience give visitors a chance to climb into the vehicles and tackle some makeshift “mountains.”

The show gets underway Tuesday evening with vehicle announcements from Ford Motor Co. as part of the media and industry preview days. On Wednesday, the annual North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year will be revealed. The show opens to the public Saturday and runs through Jan. 25.

Visitors can check out displays under the Alfa Romeo, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Ford, GMC, Jeep, Kia, Lincoln, Ram, Subaru and Toyota nameplates.

Speakers include Republican U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno from Ohio, and a pair of Democrats — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Pete Buttigieg, the Transportation Secretary under President Joe Biden.

FILE - Todd Szott, left, president of the Detroit Auto Dealers Association and dealer partner at Szott Auto Group, talks with Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Mich., center left, as Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., second from right, talks with his press secretary, Brennan Sullivan, as they tour the Detroit Auto Show, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez. file)

President Donald Trump listens to Corey Williams, Ford River Rouge Plant Manager, left, and Bill Ford, Executive Chairman of Ford, during a tour of the Ford River Rogue complex, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Dearborn, Mich. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

FILE - The General Motors display is seen, which includes a 2025 Silverado ZR2, foreground, at the Detroit Auto Show, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez, file)

President Donald Trump speaks to, from left Bill Ford, Executive Chairman of Ford, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Jim Farley, CEO of Ford, and Corey Williams, Ford River Rouge Plant Manager, during a tour of the Ford River Rogue complex, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Dearborn, Mich. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

FILE - Guests are given a ride in a Bronco on a track at the Detroit Auto Show, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez, file)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Big 12 Conference is ditching its slippery new glass floor for a hardwood court for the final two days of the tournament.

“After consultation with the coaches of our four semifinal teams, I have decided that in order to provide our student-athletes with the greatest level of comfort on a huge stage this weekend, we will transition to a hardwood court for the remainder of the tournament," Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said in a statement Thursday night. "We look forward to a great semifinals and championship game.”

The Big 12 announced last month that it would play the men’s and women’s tournaments on the surface, which is produced by ASB GlassFloor and has been used at the NBA All-Star Game and in Europe but never before during an official competition in the United States.

There were numerous instances where players appeared to slip, even slightly, when trying to plant.

“I personally didn’t have any involvement (in the decision),” Kansas coach Bill Self after his Jayhawks beat TCU 78-73 on Thursday night in the last game played on the glass floor. “If the other coaches are doing it, (they) have juice and they got more than I got. Because I didn’t have any any involvement with that at all.”

Then he added, “I think it’s the right thing to do.”

Rather than traditional wood, the floor has an aluminum and steel spring-action design that is supposed to mimic the flexibility of hardwood. The LED panels, which allow the league to display everything from data-driven graphics to advertising, have ceramic coating and little dots etched into the glass that are supposed to create grip that is consistent with traditional surfaces.

The ball seems to bounce like usual, though with a different “thudding” sound. There are a whole lot more squeaks from sneakers than usual. But the biggest difference has been the traction: Numerous players have slipped when they might not otherwise.

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FILE - Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark addresses the media during the NCAA college Big 12 women's basketball media day, Oct. 22, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)