Superb archive photo, apparently from the 1951 Chicago motor show, of the public launch of the Kaiser Silver Dragon.

Milestone info from Hemmings.com - looks like quite a lot of money was spent even for the time; just count the people on stage and the orchestra.

Just when you think you've heard it all, comes this from California... Solar windows 1, Prius mirror housings 0.

There's been a lot of mention of the new Dodge Dart on j-a recently following the Alfa Romeo Giulietta platform-based car's debut - replacing the Caliber hatchback but a true successor to the Neon sedan - at Detroit earlier this month.

The name's not new, though, and was once appended to a model line rather larger and way more powerful. Here's a trip down memory lane for those of us of a certain age.

These US Chryslers didn't just stay in North America, either. Chrysler Australia built its own Valiant tagged versions of the Dart two-door coupe body shell and similar models, some also using the Dart nameplate, were also built and sold in South Africa, South America and Europe (Holland).

The DVLA - UK equivalent of the US DMV - has just mailed me, and presumably every other (30m?) vehicle owner in the UK, a new 'red' V5C form, aka logbook, a record of the legal registered 'keeper' as we are referred to over here. I must, a leaflet enclosed in the envelope says, "immediately" destroy my old 'blue' V5C.

Turns out a batch of the old blue forms - presumably blank - has been nicked and the DVLA says it is doing this to prevent fraud.

Questions arise: who forgot to lock a door and allowed the old ones to be pinched in the first place; are they still working for the DVLA on my taxpayer dime, and how much is all this costing the poor old taxpayer anyway? We really should be told.

Tuesday's launches included Honda's 2013 Accord coupe 'concept' - doesn't look much different from the previous generation

Press day two of the Detroit motor show seemed almost as crowded as the first with a number of reveals - including Buick's new luxury compact Encore SUV, Toyota's Prius plug-in, Prius C and NS4 plug-in hybrid concept - and there were still TV crews filming at Toyota and other stands late in the afternoon when I finally, shoe leather wearing thin, called it a day.

Had lunch with Edmunds.com analysts Michelle Krebs and Jessica Caldwell - Jessica reckons on a 2012 light vehicle tally for the US of around 13.7m units, vs 12.7m in 2011. Even 14m may not be out of the question.

Having admired yesterday the huge 6-litres-plus V8 diesel engines available in the full-size pickup trucks from Ford, Chrysler and GM, I asked Chevrolet marketing head Chris Perry today what the take-up rate was for his Silverado line. The answer is 40% of the heavy-duty versions, the real working trucks tradesmen over here buy. Much higher than I expected.

Spotted a 'surprise and delight' feature on Cadillac SUVs with electric tailgates yesterday. When you push the button to open the gate, the hazard lights at the back flash three times and then it begins to open. New Federal regulation? No, just a feature they thought worth including. Spotted the same on a Toyota today. As well as flashing the hazards, the Toyota also sounds a discreet toot of the horn before the tailgate starts to rise.

As a family man, trying to stuff two little kids and all their gear into a saloon, I'd really like any one of the big US minivans, Chrysler's Town and Country, Toyota's Sienna or Honda's Odyssey. Edmunds in its regular comparison tests usually ends up recommending one or other of the Japanese models depending on which is where in its model life cycle.

Top-trim versions were all at the show - electric remote control rear side sliding doors, electric liftgate, dual- or split-screen rear DVD screens, satellite radio, separate front and rear climate control, electric folding rear seats, heated and cooled front seats, bottle holders and storage cubbies galore. And separate centre rear seats far enough apart to prevent fisticuffs between siblings on long journeys - my kids would love one of these. I'm well aware we have similar 'MPVs' in Europe, smaller and more practical on our narrower roads and parking spaces and more fuel-efficient. But grumbly old diesel I4s and jerky automated manual transmission (Peugeot and Citroen)? If the auto option is offered at all (Mazda 5). If like me you want automatic, the choice of engines is limited. And none bar the Mazda have rear sliders - they apparently add a lot of weight that affects fuel economy.

If I lived here in the US, it'd be one of the American models with a creamy-smooth V6 and a proper six-speed auto. Or maybe the Mazda which is sold in the US with a meaty 2.5-litre I4 and auto option but only six seats rather than the seven we get.

I'm all but done here now. Tomorrow (Wednesday), I'm going to see the nerve centre of OnStar, GM's in-car concierge and rescue service. To see such things as how an adviser in Detroit can remotely unlock a car in Los Angeles after the owner has shut his keys in. Should be interesting.

Hours after its reveal, camera video crews were still shooting the new Dodge Dart

Day One of my first Detroit show was great. The Americans know how to get a product noticed and the music that heralded the Dodge Dart was loud enough to make ears bleed over in Canada. I wasn't in the main audience but, on a far corner of the stand, it still felt like an earthquake.

The true successor to the Neon, on its Fiat/Alfa platform with European MultiAir engine options, etc, is a nice looker though cabin materials and fit/finish, though way ahead of the Neon, are still below the standard of a European Focus, Astra or Golf. That won't worry US buyers used to low-rent domestic interiors. There are a few styling cues - the dashtop screen demister vent, for example - reminiscent of the Neon. I didn't find the driver's seat particularly comfy and the rear is a bit cramped. Expect it soon on airport rental lots, just like its predecessor.

We may not like small sedans much in Europe/UK but they're popular in America and the Dart drew a huge crowd for its reveal and TV crews were still filming it hours later. If the number of fingerprints on a car is a guide to the interest in its launch, the Dart is Detroit's show winner. It's got some nice features - one of many options includes a customisable digital dash display, not unlike the Cadillac CUE system I told you about earlier.

Amongst numerous other highlights were Chevrolet's two concept coupes aimed at Millennium buyers - the 18 to 30s - and, as Glenn Brooks has reported, the new Ford Fusion which looks so like a Mondeo from the rear. I wonder if the new Mondeo will be as big? I've also been catching up on US products - giant SUVs with interiors bigger than some British flats, their truck cousins and certain sportscars with V8 engines.

Detroit is routine for most of the British journalists I have caught up with and getting lost in the Renaissance Center is apparently also routine. I don't think I have managed to take the same route anywhere twice. A security guard seeing me twice in 10 minutes handed over a map and wrote in the points of compass and the roads alongside, which is handy. Apparently it takes new employees in the complex a couple of months to get a sense of direction of the multiple floors, glass walkways and so on. GM employees in the building for years tell me they still get lost - "just as you get used to a layout, they change it," one said.

I also like the elevated monorail People Mover (much like London's Docklands Light Railway) which, for US$0.75 a ride, winds round a circular track, one way only. That means a few stops from RenCen to Cobo Center for the show and an aerial tour of downtown as you make many more stops on the way back. Some of the guys walk but, with my success navigating RenCen so far, I'd probably end up across the river in Canada.

Turns out the Marriott will supply tea bags on request. Ever tried tea made in a coffee maker? With coffee whitener? I'll get my Liptons at the show, thanks.

Cadillac's ATS meets the press. That's GM North American chief Mark Reuss giving the speech

5.30am local. Memo to self. Do not drink industrial strength American coffee while writing car launch reports just before bed. Memo to Marriott and other fine international hotel chains, any chance of an optional UK-style room tea-making set in lieu of the standard coffee machine?

Last night's Cadillac ATS launch at the College for Creative Studies - the only time we needed to leave the Renaissance Center area this trip - was great fun. It's in a low high-rise once part of GM's real estate and was home to a styling studio run by the legendary (Mr Tail Fins) GM design chief Harley Earl. GM donated the building a few years ago and CEO Dan Akerson told us GM has hired 176 graduates from the college so the GM connection remains.

The Americans know how to stage an event so the building and neighbourhood were lit with Cadillac logos and video and the vehicle reveal itself was slick. Nice food, too, including all-American staples such as sliders (small burgers) and mini hot dogs.

I got lost in the labryinth finding the homeward shuttle - after just two beers before you start - and again in the rabbit warren known locally as RenCen where GM and we are based for the duration. It wasn't just the foreign klutz on his first visit, several natives of this city got lost with me. A few maps and more signs would help.

Today is press day #1 and the doors open at 6.30am. I'll be off soon in search of the media credentials not yet ready yesterday - bet I get lost again - and the blue plastic bangle I gather will be attached to me, some of the group had theirs already last night after an early reconnoitre.

As well as a myriad of launch events and 'pressers' - US speak for press conferences - I'm looking forward to meeting Fernando Calmon, our Brazilian reporter for at least seven years now.

"I'll be in a black suit," he said. "Actually we (a large media contingent hosted by Anfavea) are all in black suits." I might be the easier spot, then. The rotund gent with the beard in the grey suit with lurid tie...

Border patrol: Look this way and it's downtown Detroit

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Deputy editor Graeme Roberts is in Detroit for the 2012 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) and just a wee bit enthusiastic about his first trip to Motown. Blogging begins here.

A period of firsts for me. First time on Delta (only direct London-Detroit flight so a no-brainer for mine hosts Chevrolet UK and several other automakers hosting groups of journalists). Great cabin crew and some entertaining conversation with passengers from the US and UK, plus a couple of movies, helped eight hours in the air pass quickly.

First time in Detroit. It didn't take long on a Google Earth preview to see the derelict areas where once-thriving neighbourhoods are now sparse blocks of mostly empty land punctuated by the odd burnt-out home, and there's acres of concrete foundations and weed-strewn parking lots on which factories and workers' cars once stood. Some of that was visible as we flew in on a clear sunny day, no snow and temperatures in the early 40sF, not normal for the motor city this time of year.

But the freeway from airport to Renaissance Center hotel was neat and tidy, with overbridges painted bright blue (instead of the grey, mouldy concrete we get in the UK) and a big tract of new housing was going up alongside the road as we neared downtown. We came in in a Cadillac Escalade - I'm sure people live in flats in England smaller than such vehicles - and our driver agreed that some parts of Detroit really were bad, and no-go for visitors, but that there are many encouraging renaissance projects under way.

And there's been good auto jobs news recently in both city and state - such as this from Chrysler last week.

Certainly, the view from the 27th floor of RenCen is attractive enough - Detroit River and Windsor, Ontario, one way out the window and downtown's high rises t'other. The internet is now working so this'll do nicely, along with the show floor tomorrow, as just-auto's new, temporary US editorial office.

Inevitably you get the odd glitch with arrangements - my show accreditation wasn't ready though the rest of the party had theirs' waiting - but I've always found Americans have an encouraging 'no problem' approach - it'll be ready for me over at the Cobo Center at 6am tomorrow. And getting to it and into the show should not be as challenging as Chris Wright experienced last week in New Delhi - the globetrotter is now over here, too.

As is my j-a colleague Simon Warburton who will also be reporting from the show on Monday and from the Automotive News Congress from Tuesday. And, in a surprising coincidence, our Man in Brazil, Fernando Calmon, is in the room next door, writing a story for j-a.

Tonight, while he heads for a Mercedes event and some UK journos and PRs head for downtime refreshments in Greektown, we four Chevrolet UK guests - and many others from NAFTA and other countries - are off to the Cadillac media do to see, I hope, the covers come off the new ATS with powerful I4 turbo engine.

Looking forward to that.

If you are going to collide with something much larger, this report from the Antipodes suggests the current BMW 5-series is the vehicle to be in.

It's amazing the driver - and dog - survived the crash, reportedly caused by a moment's inattention.

Unless you've been on Mars for the last couple of months, you'll probably be well aware of the problems facing automakers - especially Honda - and suppliers after the worst floods in Thailand in decades.

But spare a thought for engineers at this Thai airline - it's one thing to drain out a car, or a car or parts factory, but think of the difficulty, and potential cost, of drying out and making safe this Airbus.

As the caption says: "At it's highest level it appears the water was about a foot above the bottom of the engine nacelle. Now going on three weeks sitting in the water..."