Glory days of muscle cars back at Detroit car show

Detroit

NOTHING punctuates a comeback in the car industry better than the return of supercars sporting unbridled horsepower.

From souped-up sedans that top out at speeds of 200 mph to slick, high-performance sports cars, carmakers are showing off their fastest models in years at the annual North American International Auto Show here this week. The show is noticeably lacking in introductions of practical, mass-market family cars or people-hauling SUVs and minivans.

In their place are glittery, expensive speciality cars that appeal to car enthusiasts and generate new buzz around familiar brands such as Ford, Acura and Lexus. It is a far cry from a few years ago when the gloom of the recession and financial hardships caused car companies to shrink their product lineups and focus on t…