Shockingly, my 2 favorite cars at the Detroit auto show were boring sedans

Sedans, those stalwart four-doors, are falling out of favor.

In both the mass- and luxury markets, consumers are shifting their preferences to SUVs. Sales of these vehicles helped drive a new record in the US in 2015, as 17.55 million cars and trucks rolled off dealer lots. More than half of those were SUVs and pickups.

That said, sedans are still important products for many companies. One of them is Toyota.

At the 2017 Detroit auto show, Toyota and its luxury brand, Lexus, unveiled a pair of new four doors: the mighty Camry, Toyota's most important sedan and one that got a redesign for 2018; and the Lexus LS, also redesigned, and celebrating 28 years on sale in America.

These are both "flagship" sedans for their respective brands and both carry a heavy weight of expectations.

Maybe it was just that the Detroit show this year was a little skimpy on excitement, but I grooved on both cars.

This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author.