Yesterday we spent the day among shiny chrome, roves of wandering camera crews, and loud pulsating music. It was, of course, media day at the Chicago Auto Show, one of the largest in the country. While we don't usually spend much time talking about the automotive industry, largely because there's a whole gigantic empire of sites out there already, this opportunity seemed a little different. Reason we went, and to help get that "full disclosure" out there right away, is that we were invited to attend by Arlington-based PR firm, The McGinn Group, who were contacted by General Motors because they wanted to get a chance to talk about a new focus on design. While we were skeptical at first, because we don't like to be PR fodder any more than you, this changed when we arrived and started seeing cars, talking to designers, and getting a chance to interview GM Execs. The theme surrounding nearly everyone we spoke with was frank, honest and boiled down to: "we either start focusing on design again or we lose...and lose big." It's an interesting story, so, over today and tomorrow, this writer would like to take his normal supply of posts and do some reporting on the show, with those interviews, observations, and a billion photos. And just so we keep things interesting, we'll definitely also be straying from GM a bit here and there to include some coverage of some of the other manufacturers are building.