Although we spent most of the last week camped out at Cobo Hall, we ventured back down again to see what the Detroit Auto Show offered up to the public - and how they reacted to it. Although many things - like the seven-person deep crowds around the Lamborghini booth weren't the least bit surprising, we took note of a few things that may be of interest - especially if you're planning on heading down to the show.

(Click through for our observations from the first public day of the Detroit Auto Show)

Those looking to see the slick Land Rover LRX would be disappointed; the conceptual sport ute - along with the Series 1 Land Rover parked next to it during its introduction - were nowhere to be seen. In their places stood a Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, although access to both was impeded by the pseudo-waterfall. Land Rover reps wouldn't offer a reason as to why, exactly, it was pulled; they did, however, offer up posters of the concept's exterior and interior. Somehow, it's not quite the same.

Crowds were certainly strong around Mazda's Furai and Ford's Verve concepts, but other areas at Ford's display were somewhat quiet. Case in point? The Mercury booth had the spirit of a morgue, not surprising given the brand's projected future.

Foot traffic through the GM stand seemed to be continuous, which - given the presence of the Corvette ZR1, CTS Coupe and everyone's "favorite" future hybrid, the Volt - wasn't surprising. Other vehicles, like the Shanghai-designed Buick Riviera, Hummer HX, and Pontiac's thunder from down under, the G8, received quite a bit of attention. It was interesting to see Chevrolet's marketing tactic; while other brands were freely distributing literature to those so inclined, visitors had to ask Chevy's representatives for not only the ZR1 brochure, but for the cheesy full-line piece itself.

If the new Venza was positioned as the centerpiece of Toyota's display (which it was), it didn't show. Few visitors lined up ringside to the car at any given time. Some claimed they thought it was the '09 Matrix (which was on the floor itself), others sidled up to the small A-BAT pickup instead. Others watched a live knockoff of The Price is Right, where visitors answered Toyota pricing trivia to win boring prizes (anyone here want a highlighter? We didn't think so). Fun came when one participant, wearing a felt-lined pimp hat, identified himself with a crude four-letter sexual phrase. We're hoping that wasn't on his driver's license.

Plenty of visitors stopped around "exotic alley," the block of displays consisting of Maserati, Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Ferrari, and Fisker. The largest crowds centered around Lamborghini, where the combination of oddly-colored LP640s and ever-posing models spurred the constant clicking of shutters. Crowds were light around the Maserati stand; the new GranSport notwithstanding, little caught the eyes of passers-by. As one person stated, the Fisker Karma hybrid concept "looks more Maserati-ish" than the Quattroporte.

The size, spirit and price point of BMW's new 1-Series drew plenty of attention at the company's brightly-lit stand, but the new compact coupe wasn't for one gentleman. At 5'10" and somewhere around 250 pounds, he struggled to get in and out of the 135i's door and had virtually no headroom. With his permission, we followed him to the adjacent Mini booth, where he sampled the Clubman's rear seat with (at least) a little less trouble.

Outside the young'uns gathered to play video games and ogle the large-wheeled vehicles present at DUB's stand, focus on the lower levels turned to the Chinese automakers. Of the four present (ChangFeng, Geely, BYD, and Tang Hua), only Geely and Changfeng had their products open for public sampling. Visitors commented on the strong aroma of plastics (and the presence of Snoopy-laden floormats in one Geely), but remarked that they weren't quite as bad as they had envisioned. After being asked if they'd ever buy a Chinese-built car, a vast majority responded with a emphatic negative.

The Detroit show is open to the public until this Sunday, the 27th, at 7:00 p.m. Already been to the show floor? Let us know your thoughts on your visit in the comments section below.

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