Car Makers See ‘Retro’ as Roas to Future

The millennium will bring a bevy of “crossover” and “retro” vehicles to U.S. consumers, judging from a preview of concept cars and trucks unveiled Sunday by Detroit auto makers.

So-called crossover, or hybrid, vehicles are expected to become one of the hottest industry segments in coming years as auto makers look to blend the best attributes of passenger sedans with those of sport-utility vehicles, pickup trucks and minivans.

The auto retro movement will gain momentum as well. Leading the way back to the future, Ford Motor Co. on Sunday took the wraps off a concept Thunderbird coupe that evokes the sporty design of the original two-seater introduced in 1955.

Ford, which discontinued the oversized Thunderbird in 1997, will probably reintroduce the sports car in about a year as a 2001 model, company officials said at the North American International Auto Show here.

“It captures the heritage of the past while offering the best technology of the future,” said Jacques Nasser, Ford’s president and chief executive.

DaimlerChrysler, meanwhile, showed for the first time the Chrysler PT Cruiser, a crossover vehicle that combines attributes of a car and a truck.

The PT Cruiser is a small, van-like vehicle--DaimlerChrysler dubs it a “flexible activity vehicle”--that is designed to appeal to consumers who want the ride and handling of a car but the spaciousness and versatility of a light truck.

DaimlerChrysler said the PT Cruiser would be a 2001 model that would go on sale in late 2000. It is expected to cost less than $20,000 and become the upscale Chrysler division’s signature model.

Increased competition in high-profit vehicle segments, particularly SUVs and full-size pickups, is prompting auto makers to experiment with new designs in an attempt to carve out new market niches. Toyota Motor Co., for instance, has had success with the Lexus RX300, a compact SUV built off a car chassis.

General Motors Corp. indicated Sunday that it intends to be a big player in the emerging segments by displaying three concept crossover vehicles: the Pontiac Aztek, an amalgam of a mid-size sedan, van and SUV; Oldsmobile Recon, a car-like, compact SUV equipped with high-tech gadgetry; and the Chevrolet Nomad, a modern sports wagon that combines the performance and handling of a sports car with the flexibility of an SUV.

GM Chairman John F. Smith Jr. would not say which of these concept vehicles would be produced or when, but emphasized that the company is committed to being a leader in the crossover segments.

“These are very serious concept vehicles,” he said.

Many of the crossover vehicles displayed Sunday borrow heavily from vehicles of the past. The retro Chevy Nomad, for instance, takes design cues from a 1950s sports wagon of the same name.

Not to be outdone on nostalgia, DaimlerChrysler displayed the Dodge Power Wagon concept that evokes memories of the brand’s 1946 workhorse pickup of the same name. The Ram-based truck uses a 7.2-liter diesel engine.

DaimlerChrysler also displayed the Dodge Charger R/T, bringing to mind the division’s muscle-car coupe of the ‘60s. The concept, however, is a sedan and not a gas guzzler like its predecessor. Instead it uses an environmentally correct 4.7-liter, V-8 engine supercharged by compressed natural gas.

The retro movement is not new, and its best exemplar is the new Volkswagen Beetle. The Bug has been a smashing success, with demand outstripping supply for more than a year.

Ford hopes to have similar success with the new Thunderbird, whose make-over was directed by J. Mays, the designer of the new Beetle and now Ford’s vice president of design.

Aware of the Thunderbird’s status as an American icon, Ford has attempted to replace the dowdy, overgrown sedan that the vehicle had become with a fresh sports car reminiscent of the coupe the Beach Boys crooned about.

The sunmist-yellow concept vehicle relies on design elements from T-birds of 1955 through 1957 and 1961-62, including porthole windows, a hood scoop, round headlamps and taillights and the trademark Thunderbird badge with turquoise inserts.

Ford executives would not say how much the new Thunderbird would cost, though analysts forecast that it would be more than $30,000. Mays said it is aimed at both young baby boomers and older Generation X-ers.

Michael Robinent, an analyst for CSM Forecasting, said the Thunderbird is a sure hit for Ford, which has been able to keep development and production costs low by building it off the same chassis it will use for the new Lincoln LS sedan and S-type Jaguar.

“They will do well,” he said. “All the Detroit auto makers will be coming out with vehicles like this that harken to the past.”