Motown Adrift in Cars
New sport-utility vehicles, car-truck “crossovers” that incorporate many elements of SUVs, and the most anticipated sports coupe in years look to dominate the Detroit auto show next week, the annual Motor City confab that is quickly developing a reputation as the Snow Bowl of car shows.
For the second time in three years, visitors and exhibitors will be fighting heavy snow that has enveloped southeast Michigan--a record 35-plus inches in December alone--to slog their way to what is formally known as the North American International Auto Show. Press previews begin Sunday; the show opens to the public Jan. 13.
This year, General Motors Corp., Toyota Motor Corp., DaimlerChrysler and Bayerische Motoren Werke will show production truck or crossover products in their world debuts, and Ford Motor Co.’s Land Rover unit will bring a truck over from Europe for its North American bow.
On the passenger car side, BMW, Subaru, Toyota’s Lexus brand and Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz are promising world or North American introductions of production models.
In addition, most of the major auto makers will show concept cars or trucks that could eventually be produced--or that at least hint at design cues and technology that are likely to be adopted in future models.
A review of what’s coming:
Ford
The folks from Dearborn, Mich., are likely to steal the show’s, well, thunder with the introduction of the 2002 Thunderbird. The two-seat T-Bird looms as one of the most anticipated cars in years, ranking with VW’s 1999 New Beetle and Chrysler’s 2000 PT Cruiser.
The V-8-powered T-Bird is expected to be little changed from the concept versions that have been shown in recent months, but enthusiasts are eager to see what chief Ford designer J Mays has brought to the final version of the icon that was resurrected--nay, rescued--from a destiny of nondescript banality.
Ford will also show four concepts: two as-yet-undisclosed SUVs; the Sports Roadster, based on a powered-up T-Bird; and the Forty-Nine, Mays’ fanciful take on Fords of the early 1950s, with the design envelope pushed “way out,” according to sources familiar with the project.
The two-door Forty-Nine has an elongated, tapered look with tiny taillights, multiple-bulb headlamps, a see-through glass roof and “Powered by Thunderbird” on the front and rear bumpers, reflecting the T-Bird engine it borrows, the sources say. Ford is seriously thinking of producing up to 50,000 of them, they say.
Among Ford’s luxury brands, Land Rover is premiering its Freelander SUV for North America, the first marketing move capitalizing on Land Rover’s acquisition by Ford last year. And Volvo is showing a concept SUV as well as a concept “Safety Car.”
General Motors
GM will showcase the Pontiac Vibe, a car-based, SUV-like vehicle first being unveiled for the press Thursday at the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show, and a variation of the Cadillac Escalade, nicknamed internally the UUV (for ultimate utility vehicle).
The Vibe will be built at New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., the joint venture with Toyota in Northern California. Toyota will introduce its own version of the car in Detroit. The UUV is a version of Caddy’s luxury SUV with a pickup truck bed, essentially GM’s answer to the forthcoming 2002 Lincoln Blackwood.
GM’s concept cars, shown in Highway 1 on Nov. 22, include the Buick Bengal roadster, GMC Terracross pickup-SUV, Cadillac Vizon crossover and the Oldsmobile O4, a convertible that has an uncertain future given GM’s recent decision to terminate the Olds division.
DaimlerChrysler
A new Jeep leads the lineup for the Chrysler side of DaimlerChrysler. The Liberty, as it’s called, was originally designed as a replacement for the aging Cherokee, but is being added as Jeep’s fourth vehicle, positioned between the Cherokee and the upscale Grand Cherokee.
Chrysler also has three concept cars scheduled to take the stage, including the Crossfire, a sleek, even elegant, two-seater sports coupe with rear-wheel drive and a supercharged 2.7-liter V-6 engine putting out 275 horsepower. There will also be a Dodge truck and a sophisticated-looking Jeep concept that represents quite a departure from what has been seen in production.
On DaimlerChrysler’s Mercedes side, there is the world debut of the new C-Class wagon, nicknamed the Combi, as well as two new Benzes for North America, expected to be AMG performance versions of existing Benz models.
BMW
From BMW comes the M3 coupe and M3 convertible, screaming four-seat versions of the 3-Series coupe that go on sale this spring. Both versions boast BMW’s new 333-horsepower inline-6 engine, which will also go into the M roadster and M coupe.
BMW’s beefy X5 “sports-activity vehicle” gets a high-performance version called the X5 HP later this year, with a 4.6-liter engine boosting horsepower from 282 to a walloping 347 and a top speed of 149 mph, the company says.
James Bond take note: Where your $125,000 BMW Z8 got sliced down the middle in “The World Is Not Enough,” BMW has sliced the top off its concept Z9 to make the concept Z9 Cabrio, a gorgeous drop-top version of the Z9 Gran Turismo (whose doors open both conventionally and in a gull-wing configuration). Future Hollywood product placement?
Toyota
Toyota’s world debut is the Matrix, sister car of the Pontiac Vibe. As with the Pontiac, Toyota aims to combine the style and image of a sports car with the functionality of a sport-ute.
“The problem is that utility and image have always come at a price out of range for most young buyers,” said Don Esmond, the Toyota division’s senior vice president. “Matrix will be active, accommodating, adaptable and, most important, affordable.”
Auto watchers are waiting, however, to see if the Matrix is overly reminiscent of a station wagon, a trait that could turn off some consumers.
Lexus, Toyota’s luxury division, continues to churn out new vehicles, showing the final version of the SC 430 hardtop convertible, which will go on sale in March. Lexus will also introduce two new versions of its entry-level IS 300 sedan: a five-speed manual variation and a SportCross model with a hatchback door.
Honda
Honda Motor Co. will unveil a boxy but flexible-concept SUV built with young male buyers in mind. The vehicle, called simply the Model X, features rear roof panels that can be removed to form a pickup truck configuration; it makes extensive use of rubber for easy cleaning.
“It combines the best features of a pickup truck with the best features of a sport-utility vehicle, and adds a college dorm for good measure,” said American Honda Executive Vice President Tom Elliott. “It’s designed to provide everything you need for the ultimate road trip.”
Acura, Honda’s luxury division, will unveil a prototype of the RS-X, which will come to market later this year as the replacement for the Acura Integra. The three-door, four-passenger RS-X combines aggressive styling and aerodynamics with a wide, muscular stance intended to convey what Acura calls “serious sporting intentions.”
Nissan
Nissan Motor Co. will offer the first peek at its idea for the full-size pickup truck it will build at its recently announced factory near Jackson, Miss., and show its latest vision of the much-awaited revival of the Z car, which is “nearly at design freeze,” said Nissan spokesman Fred Standish.
“If you took a silhouette, there is very little difference with the production car,” Standish said, noting that the Z is due in calendar 2002 as an ’03 model. When last seen, the concept Z was very retro, with a long hood and cab-rear configuration. But the Z car has evolved, and “this is definitely not retro,” Standish said.
Nissan’s truck concept will be known as the Alpha T--as in the alpha male of trucks, a reference to the truck’s envisioned macho, rugged looks. Nissan will also show a concept Sentra, the SE-R, a high-performance edition of the otherwise pedestrian sedan.
On Nissan’s luxury side, Infiniti will debut its completely redone flagship, the Q45, as well as a concept car expected to be a luxurious crossover SUV, based on a smaller, more maneuverable car platform.
Other Japanese Makers
Mazda Motor Corp., controlled by Ford, is taking the wraps off the latest conceptual iteration of the RX Evolve, a sports car that recalls the rotary-engine RX-7 of years past. Minus the rotary, it is expected to reach the consumer market before long.
GM’s Japanese partners will have their share of North American headlines as well. Subaru, which joined the family last year when GM bought 20% of Subaru parent Fuji Heavy Industries, will show the WRX, a souped-up rally racing version of the Impreza.
GM affiliate Isuzu Motors Ltd. will have a concept truck, the GBX, designed in California and based on what chief stylist Stephen Jennes calls the original SUV: a stagecoach. With an open roof panel in the rear, it will also have enough room under the seats to stow snowboards.
Mitsubishi Motors Corp. takes the veil off two sporty, multi-activity concept cars. The RPM 7000 is a combination high-performance sports car and practical daily driver. The ASX, for “active sports crossover,” combines car-like handling with full-time all-wheel drive and upscale SUV-like space for five passengers.
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The Detroit show will also feature the announcement of the North American Car and Truck of the Year awards, the most prestigious independent distinction in this country.
The passenger car finalists are the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius--hybrids that for the first time in the U.S. consumer market combine gasoline engines with electric motors to achieve phenomenal fuel economy of up to 70 miles per gallon--and Chrysler’s PT Cruiser, arguably the most written-about car last year.
Truck of the Year finalists are the Acura MDX, Ford’s car-like Escape SUV and the Toyota Sequoia full-size SUV.
“It’s very significant that the two hybrids are there with the PT,” said jurist Jim McCraw, a contributing editor at Popular Mechanics.
But, he acknowledged, he voted for the PT.
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Terril Yue Jones is The Times’ Detroit bureau chief. He can be reached at t.jones@latimes.com.
