Up to 40 global motor firsts will be unveiled this week as the most important auto show in the US gets under way in Detroit.
Many of them will feature electric motoring solutions, at times combined with internal combustion engines.
Conventional 4x4 vehicles and US "muscle cars" will also be on show, alongside many smaller cars.
To Detroit's carmakers - General Motors (GM), Ford and Chrysler - the show marks a new future after a long crisis.
"This is an industry that's on the mend," according to Sergio Marchione, chief executive of Chrysler and its alliance partner Fiat.
"I'm really positive about what 2011 will bring".
In 2010, sales rose 11% in the US to about 11.6 million vehicles and this year sales are expected to come in at about 13 million vehicles, according to carmakers herein Detroit
"We have a solid foundation to deliver more sales and improved results in 2011," said Ford sales and marketing executive Ken Czubay.
"The seeds of growth have already taken hold". BBC News
