Each year, we know four U.S trips are etched in stone, the Detroit Auto Show, Los Angeles Auto Show, Chicago Auto Show and the New York Auto Show. But even though Detroit is the biggest show in terms of vehicle unveilings, the facility that houses the event just isn't cutting it. Detroit's Cobo Hall features cramped quarters, leaky ceilings, escalators that never seem to work and a basement that smells. And after the assembled press leaves Cobo, hundreds of thousands of show-goers get to experience both the best and the worst of Cobo for themselves.

The bleak and dreary exposition space will finally get its long-overdue rehab starting later this year, with a scheduled completion date in 2014. Planners have worked out another 125,000 square feet of floor space. There will be a massive digital video screen outside Cobo's main entrance. Walls have been replaced with glass that overlooks the river. It all looks very impressive, and you can see the graphically stimulating four minute-long virtual tour for yourself by hitting the jump. As an added bonus, be on the lookout for the late 1990s/early 2000s Pontiac Firebird with Ram Air lurking on the expanded show floor and note the laughably blue water in the Detroit River. Hat tip to BJ!



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