Last Friday I made the short flight up to Detroit to roam the halls of the Cobo Center for the second year in a row at the NAIAS. Even though this was a public day it was still a good chance to see many of the upcoming offerings from many of the worlds best automakers. I have to say many, because once again Porsche decided not to attend this show. Unfortunately, their tendency of cutting class seems to have spread, with other brands such as Ferrari, Suzuki, and Mitsubishi (sort of) following suit to leave some empty space on the upper floor. That space was eagerly absorbed by the likes of Tesla, Fisker, BYD, and others, but the feeling wasn’t the same.

Looking through the photos that I have, there’s probably too many to cover in just one post. Therefore, I’ll make this a two parter to be continued soon. For now, hit the jump to check out some of the highlights, including a few instances of deja vu…

Shown above is the Chevy Camaro display, which not only had the production coupe in silver, but also a specially made Camaro Black Concept seen on the right. I’m not usually a fan of the fully blacked out look, rims, grill, and all, but somehow this car pulls it off. The evil red halos set within the headlamp housings also added a great personality to it. Will we see this variant in production? I have my doubts, but hey, maybe Roush will pick up the pieces even if Chevy chooses not to.

Cadillac had out a new concept that was dubbed the “Converj.”

The design is very reminiscent of the Cadillac CTS Coupe which was displayed at the 2008 show, except that it held a much more green story. Like many of GMs recent designs this concept features a front grill that is all but completely filled in for better aerodynamic performance. On top of that, it would run off the same powertrain as the upcoming Chevy Volt, meaning that you could drive around town to get your groceries on electricity, and then flog it around a track on the weekends using a conventional gas motor.

Speaking of the Volt, it was also stationed in the oppose corner at the Chevy booth wearing production trim.

The plug-in range-extended electric vehicle that GM is resting many of its hopes on looked a little bit better in person than it does in photos, but I’m still a bit bummed at how much it changed since the Volt Concept. Have a look at the photo I got of the concept car last year to decide for yourself.

You’ll have to wait until late 2010 to test drive the Volt at a dealer, but you can see its guts now courtesy of Chevy’s display. The batteries which make a sort of “T” shape down the center of the vehicle will be produced by LG Electronics right here in North America.

I think Chevy did a good job with the display for the Volt, but not far down the alley at the Toyota booth things were even more over the top for that brand’s darling model. This was the display for the new 2010 Prius.

The new Prius may not look a whole lot different from the outgoing model at first glance, but as soon as Toyota can finish their plant in Mississippi to start churning those things out by the bakers dozen I’m sure we’ll be seeing them everywhere. Alongside the new Prius was a fully electric vehicle concept from Toyota based on the new iQ small car.

Called the FT-EV Concept, this little two seater is not unlike what Nissan did at the New York Auto Show in 2008 when they displayed the Denki Cube, a Nissan Cube dressed up to show what it would be like if it held batteries instead of an engine. Rumors are that this concept could see the light of day, so the battle of the electric cars is just heating up.

Over at Lexus I saw the first bit of deja vu for the day.

The Lexus IS Convertible was on display, but it was eerily similar to something else that I saw in 2008 at the exact same rotating platform…

Oh, that’s right. The Lexus LF-A Convertible Concept. Both red convertibles with striking white interiors worthy of show cars. Both on the same stainless steel tile. Unfortunately, both were without working hard or soft tops, as the gentleman seen above was not allowed to operate the new IS’s top to give me a look at what it will be like in the winter.

I’ll end tonight with the second head scratcher that I observed. Kia unveiled their Soulster Concept derivative of the recent Soul sedan that is trying to compete with the likes of the Scion xB and Nissan Cube. I’m not sure exactly who the Soulster will compete with but it looks most equipped to do battle with a Jeep Wrangler, just without the ride height for off-roading.

My double take moment came when I recalled the Suzuki X-Head Concept. It technically debuted at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2007, but was also in attendance at the Suzuki’s booth during the 2008 Detroit Show.

Whereas the Soulster is ready to take you and your three friends out to the beach, the X-Head was more for the fishing and/or biology crowd that needs to trudge around in swamps and collect samples and/or dinner.

The Kia is still a design exercise, but much less than many concept cars out there. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it in a showroom alongside its namesake sibling and accessories galore within a year or two. Only time will tell.

Check back later in the week for another helping of the 2009 NAIAS.