Is This Hell? Yes, but It’s Heaven for Test-Driving Cars

No, it’s not really paved with good intentions. But the road to Hell is a great place to test-drive cars. That’s why automakers increasingly are squiring journalists to Hell, Mich., an unincorporated community about 60 miles west of Detroit with a population of 72, to show off their latest vehicles. While the tiny burg pales next to test-drive favorites such as Northern California’s wine country, Hell has three things in its favor: winding roads that can showcase a car’s handling, way lower travel costs, and a quirky name tailor-made for the purple prose often used in car reviews.

Thanks to the auto recovery, Hell is about to get a lot more crowded. A total of 376 models will be introduced in the U.S. between now and the end of 2015, according to researcher Polk, as auto sales run at the fastest pace since 2007. In 2010, the year after industry sales fell to a 27-year low, there were 91 introductions. “The economy is better, so the auto companies are doing more [test-drive] programs … to reach a wider array of media,” says Michelle Krebs, a senior analyst with auto researcher Edmunds.com.