DETROIT (CNN/Money) - It's the world's coolest parking lot.

The North American International Auto Show offered its first peek today at the cars and trucks automakers pray will be good enough to make 2004 a very good year for sales.

CNN's Jeff Flock takes a peek at one of the new cars offered by Ford at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Play video (Real or Windows Media)

On the Cobo Center carpet, more than 6,500 journalists -- at least, 6,500 people who scored media credentials -- mingled with the sheetmetal sirens for the first of three media preview days.

Sunday offerings centered on concept cars, including many already on the fast track to showrooms. But there was plenty of production excitement as well, including a big-buzz evening debut at Detroit Opera House: The 2005 Corvette C6, only the sixth generation of the car in a half-century-plus.

Herewith, a selection of Sunday's best from the NAIAS:

Chrysler ME Four-Twelve

Chrysler followed last year's Viper-powered Tomahawk motorcycle with the equally outrageous ME Four Twelve. The name may be clunky, but the performance would be anything but: With a lightweight carbon fiber chassis and 850 horses from a mid-mounted, four-turbocharger V-12, the ME -- according to Chrysler's computer simulations -- could shatter the three-second barrier from 0-60 mph, run a 10.6 second quarter-mile at 142 mph, and achieve a top speed of 248 mph. While actual production seems a dubious proposition, Chrysler Group CEO Dieter Zetsche insisted the company will seriously consider the business case to make this American supercar a reality.

Toyota Highlander hybrid

Determined to stay in front of the hybrid pack, Toyota unveiled a Highlander SUV that delivers serious power along with a dose of social responsibility. On sale next January, the Highlander hybrid will deliver up to 270 horsepower by mating a V-6 engine with an improved hybrid electric drive with double the power of the all-new 2004 Prius. Toyota officials claim 0-60 mph times under 8 seconds, fuel economy better than the average compact car, and a driving range beyond 600 miles. All-wheel-drive models will use gas to power the front wheels and electric power exclusively at the rear; front-drive versions will blend gas and electric power up front.

Toyota FTX Pickup concept

Striking more fear into the Big Three, Toyota showed a design concept that heralds its next-generation full-size Tundra pickup, to be built in mid-2006 at a new plant in San Antonio. The brazen design features suicide doors, 3-D instrumentation, a hideaway tool box in the bed and motorized, foldaway rocker panels a la the Lincoln Navigator. For the fuel-frugal, a hybrid V-8/electric version is a distinct possibility, Toyota officials said.

Honda SUT

There's a cargo bed out back, but Honda's Sport Utility Truck isn't a pickup in the traditional cowboy sense. The industrial-style concept blends SUV seating for five with a tidy five-foot cargo bed. A high-output V6 is mated to four-wheel-drive. A production version is expected in 2005, derived from the Odyssey minivan and Pilot SUV. The SUT won't match the towing and hauling power of the typical Ford or Chevy pickup, but Honda is promising class-leading fuel economy and cleanliness. Like all upcoming Honda trucks, the SUT will feature a fat roster of standard safety gear, including stability control, side air bags and side curtain bags with rollover sensors.

Pontiac Solstice, Chevy Nomad and Saturn Curve

Pontiac Solstice

The production version of GM's eagerly awaited Solstice convertible is slated to go on sale in early 2005 as a 2006 model. The two-seat, rear-drive roadster gets a 2.4-liter four-cylinder with 170 horsepower, along with standard 18-inch wheels and a clamshell hood that hinges from the front. GM is hoping to keep the base price close to $20,000.

The Solstice was one of several GM concepts riding the new "Kappa" platform, a new compact rear-drive design with four-wheel independent suspension. The Chevy Nomad concept is a shapely small wagon, driven by a 250-horsepower, turbocharged 2.2-liter four. The name harkens to the 1954 Nomad, a concept wagon based on the original Corvette that never reached production.

Saturn Curve

The Saturn Curve is a low-roofed, four-seat concept coupe with 200 horsepower from its supercharged 2.2-liter four. Roof pillars are concealed by a wraparound glass canopy; the interior highlight is a curvy center console made of blond wood.

Ford Bronco

The name recalls the rough-and-ready Bronco trucks of the `60s and `70s, but the new Bronco concept has some tricks up its chiseled sleeve -- including a nitrous oxide injection system that provides a Mad Max burst of power with the flip of a switch. The brawny Bronco is powered by a 2.0-liter, 128-horsepower turbodiesel. Its new intelligent four-wheel-drive system will be used on the redesigned 2005 Ford Escape.

Ford Mustang

With 8 million sales over 40 years, America's original pony car hits dealerships this summer, with a retro-styled, 2005 Mustang that's the first full redesign since the late `70s. Buyers will choose between a 4.0-liter, 202-horsepower V-6 -- starting below $20,000 -- or the GT version with a 300-horsepower, 4.6-liter V-8. With rear drive and a solid rear axle to please purists, the `Stang features the shark nose, galloping horse badge and other design cues from the '67 fastback model. An industry-first instrument cluster can be reconfigured to display any of 125 colors at the touch of a button. Five-speed automatic and manual transmissions are available. Two audiophile systems offer a choice of 500 or 1,000-watt power.

Dodge Slingshot

Dodge was thinking small with the Slingshot, a teensy sports car concept with 100 horsepower from a rear-mounted, three-cylinder engine. It's designed for affordable fun, with independent suspension, five-speed gearbox and a canvas roof panel that rolls back to for open-air driving. It's efficient, too, delivering up to 45 mpg.

Jeep Treo

The most bizarre concept vehicle has to be the Treo, a three-seat buggy with a pair of external rear wings designed for carrying a pair of Jeep Rubicon bicycles. Steering column and instruments slide side-to-side in a single module to allow right- or left-hand-drive. The concept envisions a hydrogen fuel cell sending electric power to all four wheels.

Jeep Rescue

An obvious, envious nod to the hot Hummer H2, the Rescue concept signals Jeep's intention to produce a Wrangler-based SUV in coming years. Imagined as the "ultimate search and rescue vehicle," the Jeep features a fold-down windshield and backglass, removable doors and sliding roof panels -- one made of canvas -- that let the Rescue run almost totally open to the elements. It's powered by a Cummins diesel engine, with 37-inch tires and a full array of the latest rescue gear, including infrared search cameras, a satellite phone and cameras under the chassis.

Chevrolet Corvette

The Detroit Opera House was an ideal stage for America's classic, leather-lunged sports car. With a 400-horsepower, 6.0-liter small-block V8 (up from 350 hp and 5.7 liters), the Corvette C6 will be the strongest standard `Vette ever when it goes on sale around fall 2004. More importantly, it's smaller -- five inches shorter, an inch narrower -- and more sophisticated, including a full interior redesign.

For the first time since 1962 (the next year brought the original Sting Ray) the Corvette will feature fixed headlamps rather than pop-ups. The exterior, however, features the evolutionary, don't-screw-it-up restyling that Corvette fanatics tend to demand. A convertible model follows the coupe into showrooms by fall, while 2005 brings a new, 500-horsepower Z06 version.

A upgrade of the current Vette's mediocre four-speed automatic transmission, rather than a new five- or six-speed with manumatic function, seems, on paper at least, the biggest disappointment -- especially when 3 of 4 buyers opt for automatics.

Mercedes-Benz Vision Grand Sports Tourer

After a tepid start for Chrysler's Pacifica, German overlord Mercedes -- oh, sorry, Herr Schrempp, equal partner -- will deploy its own six-passenger, three-row "tourer" in 2005. The Vision GST concept, evolved from a Benz design study shown last year, is notable for its hybrid V8 diesel/electric powerplant that divvies 250 horsepower between four wheels. Concept highlights include hulking 21-inch wheels, a panorama sunroof, and steering-wheel-mounted shift buttons. Mercedes claims a 20 percent fuel-economy gain versus a comparable diesel engine. A production version dubbed the R-Class is slated for U.S. dealerships in 2005.

Audi A8 12-cylinder

The production version of Audi's well-received new A8 flagship sedan should reach North America around the end of 2004. The 6.0-liter 12, its cylinders arranged in the "W" pattern developed by VW/Audi, produces 450 horsepower, good for 0-60 sprints of just over 5 seconds.