As I mentioned in my live blog, after some funky cover music from a conveniently-named band called “The Rays,” Kia unveiled their Ray plug-in hybrid concept car at the 2010 Chicago Auto Show. But the story doesn’t end there. I’ve been to enough press conferences to know that generally they follow the same formula: a company executive comes on stage to wax poetic about the brand, then pull a cord from the ceiling to light fireworks and POOF! a car appears on stage for all to see. Kia decided to get a little bit more creative this time around. Follow me after the jump to find out how.

Before Michael Sprague, VP of Marketing for Kia Motors America, took the stage, they replayed their ad for the new Sorento that aired during the Super Bowl. Check it out below:

Catchy, no? As Mr. Sprague gets into his market share growth monologue, it was interrupted by a few hooligans on the left side of the stage. Who could they be?

Oh my, and they’re coming closer…

That’s right, Kia decided to crash its own press conference with the costumed ‘childrens toys’ from their latest ad.

How did they get to Chicago? Why, they drove all the way from Miami in the Sorento of course!

Naturally, they brought along a quick montage of their trip (similar to the commercial) with still photos from some famous locations, museums, etc.

But wait, said Mr. Sprague, where are the rest of the guys? All five of you need to be here to promote this shindig?

Whoops. Looks like the others decided to root for the wrong team this year, and they won’t be joining us anytime soon. Thanks for stopping by anyway guys! Now, off of the stage so Mr. Sprague can continue. You were saying? Ah yes, Kia has been very active in many forms of media, including motor racing. This year they’ll be fielding Forte Koups in the Grand Am’s Continental Sports Car Challenge series. The actual race car was on display next to the stage, and looked pretty good.

With that said, it was time to bring up the design team to introduce their new concept car. Massimo Frascella took to the podium with pad and pen to see if he could work his magic in front of a live audience.

As Chief Designer Tom Kearns narrated, Mr. Frascella went to work, crafting something that would encompass all of the eco-environmental elements that they were looking for.

While this was all scripted, it was still really cool to watch as he sketched the outline of the car, making you realize how much thought had gone into the project.

Is this the car you’re looking for?

This continued for a few minutes and sketches until they had mentioned each of the best features, including the flat underbody for smooth aerodynamics, and an extendable trunk lid to decrease drag at higher speeds. A lot of cool stuff in concept, but I’m not sure how much is actually going to make production (if any of it). Without further ado, bring out the car!

The headlights are one element of the styling that I would not be surprised to see on a future sedan or coupe from the automaker. They have a very nice outline, and their slanted appearance gives them a very aggressive personality.

Finally, they asked all of the designers in attendance to stand up and be recognized for their wonderful concept.

And that’s a wrap! No fireworks, but otherwise one of the more interesting and entertaining press conferences that you’ll find at an Auto Show. Thanks for following along, and be sure to share your thoughts of the presentation in the comments below.

Post updated with photos from each press event.

8:47am: I’m up in Chicago today for the first press previrew of the Chicago Auto Show. It should be a fun event, and I’ll try to update this live blog with my thoughts as the day goes on. Stay tuned!

10:20am: Toyota press conference just finished. New 2011 Avalon revealed, and will go on sale this Spring. Focus of the talk was on safety and the pedal fix. Avalon will have the fixed pedal already from the factory. Next up is Honda so we’ll soon see the what the new Odyssey mini-van will be like.

Below: Bob Carter, Toyota’s Group Vice President and General Manager, introduces the new Avalon

11:18am: Honda showed the Odyssey Concept, but pronised the production model would bow before the end of the year (my guess would be the LA Auto Show). Car looks good though with a much more curvy front and side. Photos to be uploaded later on from each press event. Next up is Chevy… not sure what is on for an unveiling this time. More to come.

Below: Vicki Poponi and designer Catalin Matei unveil the Honda Odyssey Concept (which seems to have a faulty fog light)

12:12pm: Time to break for lunch. At Chevy they had a new special edition Suburban and a new Silverado HD pickup. The Silverado looks pretty cool, and will have up to a 20,000lb towing capacity. No idea what you would tow that could be so big, but cool none the less. Later on is Kia and then Suzuki, along with other new stuff around the floor. I walked past the Corvette Gran Sport and it is wearing a very nice shade of blue. Definitely check that out if you come visit the show on a public day.

1:15pm: At the Kia stage waiting for things to get going. They have a cover band called “The Rays” playing stuff like Poker Face and Party in the USA. Guess it’s more hip than Toyota’s elevator music was.

4:28pm: Kia did a great job with their presentation. Suzuki was a bust so not much to say there. I’ll have to devote a whole other post to Kia, but suffice to say their new Ray concept car looks pretty neat. What may actually make production is a whole different story. More thoughts to come.

Below: Kia Ray Concept

5:42pm: A few more live notes before I make my way back to the airport again for my flight out tonight (and before my iPhone’s battery runs out!). In terms of new cars, there are a few others worth mentioning. Nissan and Infiniti made a reappearance at this auto show, after backing out of all but the NY show originally in 2009. They brought along the new 40th Anniversary 370Z and refreshed M sport sedan respectively. Both cars look even better in person than they did in the initial press photos. Mercedes also had the new SLS AMG gullwing on display – a car I’m still not quite sold on, but it is growing on me. Last but certainly not least, Ford unveiled the new Edge crossover in their presentation that occurred before the Toyota conference (I couldn’t see everything live). Sharing a lot with its sister Lincoln MKX, the Edge got a new front grille in line with the Fusion, and the new meters with MyTouch interface. It’s very slick, with almost no buttuns in the traditional sense. They don’t ‘press’, but rather a simple touch will activate the audio, climate, etc.

Nissan 370Z 40th Anniversary:

2011 Infiniti M:

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG:

2011 Ford Edge:

Thanks for following along with me today. Hit up the comments below to let me know if this type of live post is something you would like to see more of in the future.

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.