Jumping on the Bandwagon : Car Makers Roll Out People-Haulers at N.Y. Auto Show

Station wagons, minivans and other people-haulers dominate the new models on display at the New York International Auto Show in what appears to be the car industry’s response to the growing number of families with children.

The Saturn division of General Motors Corp. displayed its first station wagon, which joins the company’s existing coupe and sedan. Saturn, the GM small-car division aimed at taking on Japanese car makers, said the wagon is designed for “family-oriented buyers.”

The plastic-body wagon will be available this fall. Although its price was not disclosed, it is expected to be in the same range as the company’s other models, $8,400 to $12,700.

At the other end of the scale, BMW used the New York show to unveil its first station wagon for sale in the United States. The German luxury car maker has sold a similar vehicle in Europe for several years.

But as befits a car with the image BMW tries to uphold, it is not described by so common a term as “station wagon.” Instead, the new BMW is the “525i touring” model, or “sport wagon.”

The car, priced at $38,600, will go on sale in June.

Another new people-hauler displayed at the show is Mercury’s Villager minivan. The sleek, front-wheel-drive vehicle was developed jointly by Ford Motor Co. and Japan’s Nissan Motor Co.

The van, which seats up to seven people, depending on how its modular seats are arranged, is being made in Ohio. Though the Villager’s price was not announced, it should fall somewhere between the Saturn wagon and the BMW.

For families who like back roads, Chrysler Corp. displayed several variations of its new Jeep Grand Cherokee “sport-utility vehicle,” which goes on sale Sunday. The new Jeep supplants the existing, 8-year-old Cherokee line, which Chrysler will continue to sell as a lower-priced alternative.

At the top of the new line is the Grand Cherokee Limited, which features leather seats and push-button controls at a list price of about $27,500. Lesser-equipped versions of the four-wheel-drive cars start at $18,900.

Several “concept cars” at the show are also aimed at hauling groups of people. While concept cars are futuristic, experimental vehicles, many of their designs and innovations end up in production cars.

One is the “Sizigi” van displayed by Chevrolet. The updated minivan features dual sunroofs, a sliding table holding a TV and VCR and seat cushions that reverse from leather covering to a more practical fabric.

Mazda is showing off a clean-fuel car that runs on hydrogen. But the vehicle probably won’t be in showrooms this decade. The auto maker said the concept car emits water vapor, not exhaust fumes.

The car, the Mazda HR-X, has the same rotary engine used in the company’s original RX-7 sports car and can exceed 90 miles per hour.

Framed in aluminum and plastic with a dramatic glass bubble over the passenger compartment, the four-seat compact can run 120 miles on a tank of hydrogen gas.

“I think it’s a more promising technology for the future than the electric car,” said Takanori Minami, general manager of the company’s technical research center in Hiroshima, Japan.

Mazda pursued development of the hydrogen-fueled car because its engineers were disappointed with the problems of developing a good battery for electric vehicles, Minami said.

“Hydrogen seems to have more potential to deliver that performance package,” he said.