Kickstart: Not your typical auto show

There's an anecdote I like to use when I'm around folks in the auto industry. My first day at Plastics News, I tell them, was the day General Motors introduced the Aztek. And luckily, my future was brighter than that of the ill-fated crossover. (While the Aztek had many features drivers liked, including an integrated cooler, it had the look that only a mother — or corporate management — could love.)

I've seen a lot at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit over the years since then, including performances by musicians and acrobats, 1,000-horsepower motorcycles and a herd of longhorn cattle on a downtown street for a pickup truck introduction.

What I hadn't really seen until the 2022 edition was lack of big applause for at least a few of the new vehicle introductions. Not that the media and others at the show didn't like the cars, but with reduced attendance, there simply wasn't the same crowd to hype up the cars.

This year's show — the first since January 2019 because of COVID-19 — is very different. Because of the pandemic, automakers have found new ways to introduce car models. They no longer have to rely on just a handful of big auto shows, but instead can use targeted events to unveil new models.

That's not to say that there was no media hype at the show. (The biggest event at the show was one that the general press media weren't invited to attend: a private walkthrough from President Joe Biden, which led to increased security for everyone attending, including a person with a dinosaur costume for a display on the show floor at Detroit's Huntington Center.)

Will this low-key show be an example for the future? Or just a one-time post-COVID adjustment? As always, we'll have to wait and see.

The electric vehicles on display at the auto show are mostly being marketed for their ability to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, but one automaker is highlighting another benefit: silence.

Stellantis NV's Jeep lineup is in the process of converting to electric vehicles, with a target that half of Jeeps sold in the U.S. by 2030 will be electric vehicles. With no engine noise, Jeep officials said, drivers will be able to get into nature and still hear nature rather than revving engines.

Plastics have played a big part in traditional vehicles to either muffle or tune an engine's sound. In electric Jeeps, the plastics that are in an EV engine will be part of a system that won't require thermoformed acoustic panels.

So when a hybrid 2023 model year Jeep Willys made its way on stage via a 45-degree ramp up and around the car company's display, it stood out by copying the climbing capabilities of other Jeeps, but without the engine noise.

"Something you might not have noticed, because it literally didn't draw any attention to itself, was the lack of sound this vehicle makes," said Jeep CEO Jim Morrison.

Beyond the auto show, the National Toy Hall of Fame has unveiled the finalists for 2022, and plastics once again are heavily represented.

Collectible Breyer horses, made by Breyer Molding Co. starting in the 1950s, are making their second appearance as a finalist, as are Nerf toys, Master of the Universe figures and Lite-Brite. Spirograph, an art toy with plastic gears, is on the list to potentially join the hall in 2022 along with the games Rack-O, bingo, Phase 10 and Catan. Tops, pinatas and Pound Puppies round up the rest of the list.

The winners will be named on Nov. 10. The Toy Hall of Fame is part of the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, N.Y.