Automakers roll out new toys at Detroit show
Published 11:20 pm Monday, January 11, 2010
DETROIT — A roundup of highlights and news out of the North American International Auto Show on Monday:
Fords win 2010 vehicle awards; 2012 Focus debuts
Ford Motor Co.’s market momentum got a lift by winning both the 2010 North American Car and Truck of the Year awards.
Ford’s Fusion Hybrid midsize sedan took top car honors and its versatile Transit Connect compact van snagged truck of the year at the Detroit auto show.
It was only the third time in 17 years that an automaker has won both awards, selected by 49 auto journalists and given annually since 1994. Finalists for the car award included the Buick LaCrosse and Volkswagen Golf GTI and TDI diesel. The Chevrolet Equinox, Ford Transit Connect and Subaru Outback were finalists for the truck award.
Ford also unveiled the 2012 Focus, a small sedan and five-door hatchback that is the company’s first truly global car.
The new Focus, due in European and North American showrooms early next year, was designed and engineered to be sold worldwide using almost all the same parts, unlike past versions that differed substantially from market to market. It will also be sold in Asia. Ford expects to sell 2 million Focuses starting in 2012.
Ford CEO Alan Mulally said global sales for Focus-sized cars are projected to grow by 25 percent by 2012. Currently, one out of every four vehicles sold worldwide is a small car, Mulally said.
“We believe this is the richest growth opportunity for us around the world,” he said.
GMC shows concept mini-truck
General Motors Co. unveiled the new GMC Granite, a sign that the automaker may enter the hip urban mini-truck fray against the Kia Soul and Nissan Cube.
The short, wide Granite is a cross between a panel truck and a minivan. GM says it is loaded with electronics and features that appeal to young professionals and has rear seats that flip and fold to create more cargo space.
The Granite would be the smallest vehicle ever assigned to the GMC brand if GM decides to build it. It would be powered by a 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with satin or brushed-metal finishes instead of chrome.
Toyota shows its sub-Prius hybrid
Toyota unveiled a new hybrid concept car that is smaller than the Prius and geared toward younger buyers, part of the Japanese automaker’s strategy to expand its lineup of hybrid and alternative-fuel vehicles.
No official timetable has been set for sale of the FT-CH to the public, but Toyota plans to sell more than 1 million hybrids per year globally by the end of the decade. It also plans plug-in hybrids and electric cars starting in the 2012 model year and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles in 2015.
The plan to broaden the Prius brand is a sign of its success and loyalty among buyers. The Prius, which launched in the U.S. in 2000, has long been the nation’s top-selling hybrid and was the best-selling vehicle overall in Japan last year.
GM’s Lutz promises a pure-electric Chevy Volt
General Motors Co. will build a pure-electric vehicle by expanding the Chevrolet Volt’s battery pack and removing its internal combustion engine, Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said.
He would not say exactly when such a vehicle would make it into showrooms, but said it would be “technologically trivial” to switch the Volt to pure electric.
The Volt can run 40 miles on a charge from a standard home power outlet. After the battery runs down, a 1.4-liter four-cylinder internal combustion engine takes over and generates electricity to power the car. It goes on sale in November.
Chrysler looks to rehire engineers if sales improve
Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said the automaker will start hiring production workers again if it sells enough cars and trucks.
Marchionne said Chrysler Group LLC is revamping its models and will need more engineering and development workers. He said the company doesn’t have the manpower at present to accomplish what it wants to do.
He didn’t give a time frame for hiring more production workers but said it will depend on meeting its own sales projections.
Marchionne also said Chrysler is performing slightly better than expected despite a difficult 2009.
GM may reopen some closed factories
General Motors Co. may reopen some shuttered factories to keep up with growing demand.
Mark Reuss, GM’s North American president, said that plants building the Chevrolet Equinox, GMC Terrain and Cadillac SRX crossover vehicles and the Buick LaCrosse sedan are at capacity.
Reuss said the company would try to raise output at existing plants in the short term. He stopped short of saying any plants would be reopened, but mentioned an idled factory in Spring Hill, Tenn., as versatile enough to build several models.
The Terrain and Equinox are made at a factory in Ingersoll, Ontario, while the LaCrosse is built in Kansas City, Kan. The SRX is made in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico.
Honda CR-Z adds flair to hybrid market
Honda Motor Co. showed off the production model of the 2011 CR-Z, a sporty two-seater hybrid that will go on sale late summer in the U.S.
The CR-Z hatchback is Honda’s attempt to bring a bit of flair to the hybrid segment, whose design has long dominated by the boxy lines and sloping roofs of four-door sedans like the Toyota Prius. The two-door CR-Z, by contrast, features a compact profile that echoes the company’s CR-X two-seater it sold from 1984 to 1991.
It also comes with multiple drive modes that allow cycling between sportier or more fuel-efficient drive settings.
The CR-Z is Honda’s latest bid to grab sales in the gas-electric hybrid market. It also sells the five-door Insight and a four-door Civic sedan.
