Volvo’s cars offer stylish — and safe — alternatives
When Volvo captured the International Truck of the Year award at the Detroit auto show last month, it was because the Swedish automaker had successfully ventured into the sport-utility-vehicle segment to meet the demands of most SUVs while setting new standards of safety and ecological efficiency, while still being fun to drive.
That shouldnÂ’t have been so surprising, because Volvo has been making safe and substantial cars for 75 years. The style and fun have come later, but the new XC90 SUV shouldnÂ’t obscure the rest of VolvoÂ’s product line of sedans and station wagons. Its basic S40 sedan and V40 wagon start in the mid-$20,000 range and are safe and solid bargains. Moving upscale, I recently was able to spend a week test-driving a pearl-white S80 anniversary edition, which came shortly after I also had driven a V70 T5 station wagon, and its sedan twin, the S60.
The basic S40 has a turbocharged 1.9-liter 4-cylinder engine – for better fuel economy if less-potent performance. The S60 sedan ranges in price from $28,000 to the mid-$40,000 bracket, and the one I test-drove was not only loaded with options to total $36,635, it also came with all-wheel-drive. Volvo used to steadfastly build rear-wheel-drive cars and let Saab, its Swedish competitor, devote its engineering to front-wheel-drive. Over the last two decades, the obvious assets of front drive, particularly as they relate to driving in Swedish winters, and northern-tier, snowbelt driving in the U.S., led to a changeover to front-wheel-drive in Volvo car-building.
The S60 AWD sedan I drove had VolvoÂ’s 2.5-liter 5-cylinder engine, with dual-overhead-camshafts, turbocharged to deliver 300 horsepower. With a 5-speed automatic transmission that allows clutchless-manual shifting, and the all-wheel-drive unit that transfers power from a 67-percent front bias to wherever a wheel has better traction, the price was only $32,175. Adding the touring and premium packages, which include power leather seats, a moonroof, trip computer and a quality-air filtration system, boosted it to $36,635.
Ironically, I drove the S60 AWD before we had anything resembling snow cover or icy roads on the North Shore of the Great Lakes, and it was iciere when I got the V70 wagon, which was a front-wheel-drive version with a smaller, 2.3-liter inline 5-cylinder, turbocharged to put out 247 horsepower. The wagon adds the flexibility of a spacious rear cargo area, and is the lower, less-rugged twin of the Cross Country wagon. It also had the touring and premium packages, taking the price from $33,870 up to $36,500, and the value is increased by the fuel economy, which reached a high of 28.4 miles per gallon in highway driving, and a low of 22.7 mpg in mostly city driving, compared to EPA estimates ranging from 20-28.
The V70 wagon also had an excellent audio system, which has needless complexity for setting the frequencies until you get used to it, but also had incredible separation of the layers of sound on every CD.
Both the S60 and V70 have VolvoÂ’s fantastic seats, which not only are comfortable and firm, like fine pieces of Scandinavian furniture, but they have slightly convex headrests that cradle the back of your head. ItÂ’s especially pleasant for the front passenger, who might have more reason to relax.
The S80 was a quantum leap up the scale, particularly the test car, being the pearly 75th anniversary model. This baby was loaded, and the price sticker reflected it – shooting from $45,995 to just over $50,000 with the addition of the anniversary gear and the navigation system, plus an amazing surround-sound audio system upgrade. The audio was so good that I was impressed BEFORE I realized that I hadn’t hit the right combination to set the sound and the balance, and it still sounded good with the bass and trebel turned down to negative digits, and the fade switch biased toward the rear. Once I reset everything, the 200-watt amplifier made those eight speakers truly come alive.
The S80 had the 2.9-liter in-line 6-cylinder engine, also with dual-overhead cams and four valves per cylinder, with 197 horsepower – less than the optional twin-turbo engine’s 268 horses, but however many the test-car had, it was plenty. The front-wheel-drive sedan moved out well with moderate throttle, and it turned into a screamer if you ever put it to the floor to merge onto a freeway, for example. It has a 4-speed automatic, with the clutchless-manual capability. Volvo packaging is so tight that the larger 5-speed automatic doesn’t fit with the longer 6-cylinder engine.
Along with the stunning paint job, what sets the commemorative S80 apart is the 75th anniversary edition package. You already get the navigation system, with its pop-up screen that rises out of the center of the dashboard. The package adds two more 7-inch video screens mounted into the rear of the front headrests. In case youÂ’d like to keep rear occupants occupied on a long trip, you can program those screens to play DVDs, CDs, video games or a 68-channel color television, with separate remotes and headphones, so viewers can switch from DVD to video games, etc.
Heated front seats are somewhat common, but this car has heated rear seats, headlamp wiper and washer, electric rear sun curtain, thicker carpeting, an umbrella mounted under the trunk panel, and 17-inch “Thor†alloy wheels.
All of this, of course, is just frosting on the Volvo cake, which starts out with vault-like safety for the occupants, surrounded by front and side airbags and an inflatable side-impact curtain that drops down from the roofline on either side to prevent heads from striking doors or windows in side-impact collisions.
It is surprising, and impressive, to see Volvo branch out from its basically secure and conservative posture with new styling and now enough gadgetry to satisfy the most particular customer.
(John Gilbert writes a weekly auto column. He can be reached by e-mail at jgilbert@duluth.com.)
Escalade EXT gives Cadillac a ‘much-needed’ pickup
If you went back 10 years and told someone that Cadillac would have a sport-utility vehicle, your credibility would be questioned, at best. If you then said that they also would have a pickup truck, your credibility would be shattered.
ThatÂ’s where weÂ’re at, however, in this rapidly changing world of automotives.
The Cadillac Escalade came out a year ago as a Cadillac version of ChevroletÂ’s popular Tahoe, a large, full-size SUV. And for 2003, the Escalade not only has grown a few inches, but it has added the EXT version, which is an Escalade SUV for the front 2/3, and upscale pickup truck for the rearmost 1/3.
With the amazingly increasing number of SUVs flooding the market, it gets more and more difficult to trace their lineage these days, but this one can still be tracked. Chevrolet came out with the Avalanche a year ago, and it was a far-out styling exercise that saw Chevrolet take a Suburban – the world’s longest SUV – and cut off the body after the second row of seats, turning the third row and the cargo area into a pickup box.
A wall, of course, was necessary to separate the occupant compartment from the box, but Chevy had an interesting idea there and put a movable partition there. With very little effort, you can lower the rear window and fold down the midgate, elongating the cargo-hauling box considerably.
The Avalanche met with rave reviews, or considerable scorn, whichever side you happened to be on. It was an extremely long and large SUV/pickup, and its lower parts were covered with all sorts of plastic cladding. It almost looked like a vehicle for one of those contemporary action-figure toy dolls.
Well, when GM gave Cadillac its Escalade, as a considerably upscaled Tahoe, with a fancy grille and all sorts of interior features to separate it distinctly from the Tahoe. When next the Escalade ESV was added, it was either an elongated Escalade or a refaced Suburban, riding on the SuburbanÂ’s 130-inch wheelbase instead of the Tahoe/EscaladeÂ’s 116-inch wheelbase.
So it probably was quite natural that the Escalade ESV would now beget the EXT, which is basically an Avalanche with all sorts of upgrades.
When Cadillac first got the Escalade, a lot of us might have been completely unaware that Cadillac needed its own sport-utility vehicle. The Cadillac Escalade EXT causes me to reiterate: It is a captivating vehicle if Cadillac needed an SUV/pickup truck combination, I just was never aware that Cadillac needed a pickup truck.
Financial reward, however, is a compelling reason why everybody needs every vehicle that might fill a niche and make a profit, not necessarily in that order. And with a price sticker of $53,799 on the Escalade EXT that I test-drove, itÂ’s obvious there is some serious income to be made with this beast. When it comes to upgrading a vehicle, few can match CadillacÂ’s proficiency.
The Escalade has stunning looks, from its front end that was obviously influenced by the new-wave cutting-edge wedginess of the Cadillac CTS sedan that came out a year ago, then on to the sweeping long body and longer rear pickup box. Cadillac calls it a “sport-utility truck,†and that’s pretty accurate, based on the versatility.
The timing of my road-test of the Escalade EXT was perfect, because, I had recently published and printed my first book, “Return to Gold Country,†about last year’s University of Minnesota’s NCAA hockey championship season. I had the chance to drive to Sentinel Printing in St. Cloud, Mn., to pick up a few boxes of books. The Escalade EXT’s pickup box couldn’t have come in handier. The boxes of books rested with unshifting firmness on the heavy-rubber lined pickup box, and with a hard-cover topper that folds down and fastens tightly to the tailgate, the books, hot off the press, couldn’t have had a more luxurious ride.
I never opened the partition from the club-cab to the pickup box, and although you can stretch the cargo box from 5-foot-3 to 8-foot-1 by doing it. Excepting an occasion when you might be hauling lumber, I remain skeptical about why anyone would want to open that partition, especially a Cadillac buyer. But, at the going price, you take all the features you can get.
Other than the same 130-inch wheelbase of the Suburban/Avalanche, the EXT has significant differences. It weighs over 300 pounds more than the Avalanche, and has a 6.0-liter, 345-horsepower V8 with full-time all-wheel-drive instead of the AvalancheÂ’s 5.3-liter, 285-horse powerplant with either rear-wheel or four-wheel drive. Even the optional 8.1-liter V8 thatÂ’s available in the Avalanche has 340 horsepower, still yielding a slight edge to the Caddy.
Along with the assurance that the GM flagship line will have the most power, the Escalade EXTÂ’s full-time all-wheel-drive gave me a few moments of curiosity early in my test-drive. The EXT had exceptional traction during a light little snowfall, and I couldnÂ’t find any of the usual lock-up switches that might permit selecting a range for 2-wheel drive or AWD, or even a low-speed lock for serious off-road duty.
Silly me. If you wanted to buy a vehicle to do anything approaching serious off-roading, youÂ’d buy a less-refined truck, including the Avalanche, with all that rock-dispersing cladding and a ruggedness, instead of the Escalade. Anyone willing to spend an extra $15,000 beyond the Avalanche to get the EXT is probably a buyer who considers his or her driveway as about as serious as off-road driving should be.
The interior is refined and tastefully done, with light tan leather seats and wood trim and my favorite new GM interior feature – a new and somewhat flat, contemporary steering wheel, instead of that tiresome old dished thing that not only lacked style but wouldn’t allow you to reach any of the remote steering-wheel-mount switches unless you had 8-inch fingers. Full instrumentation is in classic analog form, and the dash computer allows you to program whether to activate or cancel the sometimes-maddening array of warning buzzers and light-flashers that accompany the remote power lock-unlock switch.
All sorts of gadgets prevail, including something like 100 little bitty lights to indicate which switch is for what. Also included is GM’s unbeatable OnStar system that is both a global-positioning system and a personal connection to some on-call “slave†housed in some computer room, ready to respond to every request you might have, from booking a motel ahead to getting a reservation for dinner – in addition to locating you if you’re lost or have a mishap.
A DVD player entertains the two or three rear-seat occupants in the roomy back seat, and a Bose AM-FM-6-disc audio system is augmented by an XM Satellite radio. The driver and front passenger have 10-way adjustable seats, with both the seats and back cushions heated, and the pedals are adjustable with another power control to accommodate short or long legs for optimum comfort.
Impressive as all those features are, they shouldnÂ’t obscure the real-world items, such as the Stabilitrak stability system as well as traction-control, a road-sensing suspension, automatic level control, ultrasonic rear parking assist to beep when you get close to crushing a subcompact, 4-wheel disc brakes on 17-inch alloy wheels, on which are mounted all-weather tires instead of the bouncy off-road tires of hard-core SUVs.
There is nothing hard-core about the Escalade EXT. It may be capable of heavy-duty work, but it is decidedly “soft core†where luxury matters to Cadillac’s audience.
Outlander a perfect solution to counter outlandish SUV size
The Mitsubishi Outlander is evidence of the benefit the “crossover†sport-utility vehicle trend provides.
To the uninitiated, crossovers might seem to be vehicles that can be used for different purposes, but any vehicle can do that. A crossover SUV is one that bridges the gap from truck-based SUV to car-based SUV – simple as that.
When manufacturers started building sport-utility vehicles, they had sportsmen, ranchers and farmers in mind, people who had to haul and tow all sorts of things, including families of various sizes. So, rugged was the keyword, and it was important to have the ability to drive over the fields and through the woods to places other than grandmotherÂ’s house.
When SUVs became super-trendy, they replaced minivans, which had replaced station wagons, in the American lifestyle. Studies showed that something like 95 percent of SUVs purchased never were driven off the road, and probably about the same amount never hauled anything. If they did, it would be a lightweight boat trailer, which any car could tow.
So manufacturers started downsizing the rugged passenger compartments and clamping SUV-like bodies onto car platforms, rather than trucks. Voila! No more truck-like ride, no more top-heavy tippiness, no more multi-ton heft and gas mileage down low enough to challenge single digits. Some credit Subaru for starting the movement, although Subaru never really made a truck, so rather than crossing over, it just let its tough station wagons grow in ground clearance into the Outback variety. The real trend came when Honda and Toyota, battling at the top of the competitive heap, came out with the compact Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4, then moved upscale with the Acura MDX and Lexus RX300.
Now everybody has one. Or two. With more on the way. It is my firm belief that while the big SUVs are either loved (by those who own them) or despised (by those who donÂ’t, and are irked by the intimidation and vision-blocking of SUVs), the industryÂ’s SUV dilemma will solve itself, because crossover SUVs are going to take over and dominate the marketplace. The vast majority of SUV buyers will buy crossovers, leaving the biggest SUVs to those sportsmen/farmer types who need them.
Because it takes a company a minimum of a couple of years to go from design to production, It is uncertain whether the Outlander is a trend-setter, a trend-follower or just jumping onto the bandwagon a bit late. Mitsubishi always has made very good but underrated cars like the Galant, Diamante, Mirage/Colt/Lancer, and Eclipse, and it got in early on the SUV trend with the Montero. But the Montero and the more recent Montero Sport are pickup truck-based SUVs.
By being a bit late, the Outlander might be right on time to thrust Mitsubishi into the thick of the crossover battle. In recent years, engineering and production have stiffened car chassis to the point of structural rigidity that makes them not only far safer in collisions but also capable of being much more precise in handling. You turn the wheel, even swerve, and the stiffness of the platform allows the car to respond without swaying. MitsubishiÂ’s most recent new car platform is on the Lancer compact, an enjoyable little sedan to drive.
The Outlander body was plunked down on that sophisticated Lancer platform, and the result is a quick, fun-to-drive SUV, with a lot of passenger room inside that somewhat blunt body shape – a surprising amount of room, actually, so that you not only have room for four or five, but also a large storage area behind the rear seat. The wheelbase is 103.3 inches, and its overall length is 179.1 inches – virtually identical to the CR-V in both dimensions.
The test-drive vehicle was the more basic LS, which means it doesnÂ’t cost as much as the XLS but has the same 2.4-liter 4-cylinder and 16-inch wheels. With a base price of under $19,000, you can load it up and still be around $22,000 with the top model. But the base LS is pretty impressive.
The single-overhead-cam engine has four valves per cylinder and produces 140 horsepower at 5,000 RPMs, with a 6,250 rev redline and a 6,500 rev shutoff. It also puts out 157 foot-pounds of torque at only 2,500 RPMs for good pulling power. At just over 3,200 pounds, that engine wonÂ’t win any drag-races, and the Outlander has been criticized for not being very swift from 0-60. While thatÂ’s a lot like criticizing a Corvette for not having much rear-seat room, I also have a theory about that.
The test Outlander had front-wheel drive, with all-wheel drive as an option on both the LS and XLS. The magazine test figures I read of 10-plus seconds to 60 were for the all-wheel-drive version. Maybe I’m wrong, but the FWD Outlander felt very quick – much quicker than the CR-V, RAV4 or Forester it intends to compete with. Maybe it was just perception, or maybe the FWD version is quicker because its modest power doesn’t feed all four wheels. The upside in the less-than-huge horsepower compromise is that the Outlander gives you mid-20s for miles per gallon, and with regular fuel.
The 4-speed automatic transmission is another factor. It is also very simple, but also fun to drive. You come down with the floor shifter from park-reverse-neutral and into drive, and thatÂ’s it. The adaptive automatic will learn from your hevy-footedness how to shift, weÂ’re told. But you also can move the shift lever over to the right to a separate gate, and, sure enough, it goes into auto-manual mode where you can upshift or downshift manually with a spring-loaded tap. That also allows you to extract all the power you want from the engine, and it adds to the perception of quickness, where perception is as important as any statistics.
The front bucket seats are very firm, but comfortable, with bulges in the backrest for lumbar support. The rear seat is a split bench that can house three or fold down flat to stash long items.
Four-wheel independent suspension gives you maximum stability with that quick steering feel. Incidentally, while reading Motor TrendÂ’s December issue evaluation from which it picked the Volvo XC90 as SUV of the year, I scanned the test data used from the 14 finalists, which ranged from the Navigator and Hummer H2 to the 4Runner, Lexus GX470 and nimble Subaru Baja and Forester, as well as the Honda Pilot and Element.
The tests showed the all-wheel-drive Outlander slowest 0-60 at 12.3 seconds, but it also had the best skidpad results, with 0.79 g-forces – clearly better than the 0.75 of the co-runner-up Element and Baja, and far beyond the 0.64 of the surprisingly skittish Hummer H2. More impressive, the supposedly underpowered Outlander gave away a range of power from a minimum of 20 horsepower to the Element to a maximum of over 160 horses to the Aviator-Navigator or Hummer V8s, yet the Outlander recorded a 61.7 mph run through the 600-foot slalom course to beat everything else. Only the Volvo reached 60, while the Hummer could only manage 52.2 mph with its 315 horsepower.
From a driving standpoint, while itÂ’s fun to test and evaluate vehicles with all the goodies and gadgets, I donÂ’t need a lot of them intruding on my driving efficiency, especially when they take a toll on the sticker price and might be more nuisance than benefit. The Outlander comes through on that count, with simple gauges, and a neat center-dash stack of controls, topped by two round vents with slats that can aim heat or air (mostly heat, these days) wherever you want. Between them is a clock, a simple, what-time-is-it? Clock.
Right below the vents is the audio system, which was pretty basic on the test vehicle with AM-FM-CD player, and simple controls. Push the button on the left for on-off, and turn it for volume. Under that is the heat-air control, with three large, round knobs for fan, temperature and direction, and below that is a large 12-volt receptacle.
There are various storage bins in the Outlander as well, and the steering wheel is nicely styled, with bulges where you want to grip it, and four spokes angled downward so they’re not in the way of hands or eyes.
For $20,000, the Outlander is a tight, attractive package, with that beak on the grille giving it a distinctive place on which to mount the Diamondstar emblem. And from there on back, itÂ’s as impressive as it is cost-effective when it comes to crossing over.
(John Gilbert writes a weekly automotive column for Murphy McGinnis Newspapers. He can be reached by e-mail at jgilbert@duluth.com.)
Some auto show concept cars deserve to come to life
Now that the major auto-show circuit is well underway all across the United States, those who spend time wandering amid the shiny new products are either looking for a new car to purchase or they are just interested in seeing all the latest technology on display. The usual new and futuristic vehicles are always augmented by concept vehicles, that separate class of vehicles that might range from design experiments put out to dazzle the consumers, or design ideas that are out there to measure consumer reaction as a gauge to help determine if the concept will ever graduate to production.
This year is no different, but after spending several days in the mind-blowing company of a couple dozen such concept cars at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, there are some of those concepts that are ready for production, and some that are too far over the edge to worry about.
However, there are some concept vehicles that deserve consideration when it comes to decision-making time by the manufacturers. Here, at random, are three such concept vehicles that could make our real-world of driving more satisfying if their companies are willing to produce them for sale:
MAZDA WASHU
Mazda connected big-time with the Mazda6 sedan, which is quite probably the best midsize sedan on the market, and it certainly is the best midsize sedan for anyone who enjoys driving enough to want the family sedan to be far sportier than a mere appliance, and the soon-to-be released RX-8. So the Washu – which means “eagle’s wing†in Japanese – is the latest idea from a company on the upsurge.
It has the futuristic look of a space capsule, with sleek lines and aerodynamic excellence measured at 0.25 coefficient of drag, but inside that tightly skinned body is room for six occupants. In this era of crossover sport-utility vehicles, Mazda has followed up the MPV, Miata, Protégé, the new Mazda6, and the RX-8 with an intriguing crossover people-hauler and sports wagon with the Washu.
The front doors open wide, 90 degrees, and the doors wrap into the roof to make the opening seem even larger. The rear doors, instead of being the trendy “suicide door†style of being rear-hinged, instead pull out and then slide back. Mazda says it’s a lot like an airplane door, although those of us who spend more time on earth might say it’s similar to the rear sliding doors of most vans. Whatever the inspiration, the resulting opening is virtually the entire side of the vehicle, although a rollbar-like brace creates a side pillar that is even stylish on its own. While it doesn’t appear the Washu is large enough for three rows of seats, that’s exactly what it does have, so the large side opening is welcome.
Using “steer-by-wire†electronics, the steering wheel and controls fold neatly into the dash to open the front seat room even more. The seats are arranged to be switchable, with the rears folding away for cargo hauling, but the front seat giving the driver the choice of a cockpit-like sporty feel, or a relaxed, more upright cruising seat.
An entirely new 3.5-liter V6 engine powers the Washu, with a six-speed automatic transmission activated by steering wheel switches. The roof is made of glass panels that can be switched electrically to be either transparent or opaque. And the headlights represent the latest industry trend, with the ability to not only shine brightly and with a distinct focus cutoff to avoid blinding oncoming drivers, but they also turn in the direction youÂ’re steering.
Great looking, functional and efficient. Build it, and the buyers will come.
GENERAL MOTORS HY-WIRE
First displayed at the Paris auto show a couple of months ago, GM brought its Hy-Wire to Detroit for the North American International Auto Show. It formed an interesting contrast, because most of the stuff GM was displaying was accompanied by boasts of more power than ever, with 300 horsepower here, 400 there, 500 over there, and a Cadillac Sixteen, which is so named because it has a 16-cylinder engine. Global warming, indeed.
Compared to all of that, if the Hy-Wire represents GMÂ’s corporate conscience, it was pretty subtle. But it is slick, if you look closely.
It is an alternative-energy vehicle, powered by a hydrogen fuel cell created by GM’s German arm, and with a drive-by-wire system developed in Sweden, the Netherlands and Italy. The whole motor – as well as transmission, steering and braking components – is contained in an 11-inch thick base chassis, which gave designers the ability to design a wide-open occupant compartment on top of it.
You can even change body panels, to make the shape of the vehicle conform to personal tastes. You also accelerate and brake by using hand grips, which you twist or squeeze.
ItÂ’s a spectacular vehicle, and its hydrogen fuel-cell power is one of the choices for the future, if we are to cut down on our dependence on gasoline. You need to load it up with hydrogen, and the fuel cell turns it into highly efficient electrical power, and your only emission is water.
Is it too futuristic to be feasible? Maybe. It certainly seems like it. But everybody is playing with fuel cells and other such technology. General Motors also has come out saying it will be putting hybrid power in an assortment of vehicles, starting with the Saturn VUE. But in those, theyÂ’re talking about a big, powerful gasoline engine, with little electrical motors to complement the power, and theyÂ’ll start appearing in 2005 and continue until the end of the decade.
However, Toyota and Honda have had that technology on the road for two or three years now, and while GM claims this will be high-volume production, something like the Hy-Wire represents something truly new, futuristic and possible.
TOYOTA FINE-S
Up at the forefront of technology, Honda and Toyota continue to try to outdo each other. While Honda had a fuel-cell vehicle on display, Toyota landed the stylistic haymaker of the Detroit show by launching the FINE-S. This is not only a stunning alternative-energy vehicle, it is just plain stunning, no matter what kind of styling you like.
The FINE-S is a slick sports coupe, powered by a hydrogen fuel-cell with electric power as a hybrid concept. So while some are trying to harness fuel cells, Toyota has already gone beyond that to complement it with hybrid technology, with which it already has proven success. While a fuel cell provides the main power, the FINE-S has little electric motors at all four wheels for all-wheel drive control.
Toyota has just delivered zero-emission hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles to the Japanese government in Tokyo and to the University of California campuses in both Irvine and Davis. Those vehicles are based on the Highlander SUV. But this FINE-S is something altogether different. With a long wheelbase and very short overhangs front and rear, and ground-hugging low center of gravity, the FINE-S has individual wheel torque control systems to provide performance handling. The spacious interior has four seats.
On the stage at DetroitÂ’s Cobo Center, Toyota introduced hybrid versions of its just-introduced RX330, the Lexus midsize SUV which had just been upgraded for 2004, and another little Jeep-like vehicle, the SU-HV, which also will get hybrid power. Then came the unveiling of the FINE-S.
While U.S. industry executives continue to talk about more power, and they and their lobbyists, and the conservative arm of talk-radio outlets continue to insist there is nothing to global warming or petroleum shortages, ToyotaÂ’s executives had a refreshingly different stance. One of them pointed out ToyotaÂ’s gain in market share around the world, then said that despite all the changes, Toyota believes that “our most dramatic changes are in our future. With global warming, and limited petroleum preserves, we want to make our engines the cleanest in the world. Success has not blinded us to the opportunities of the future.Ââ€
Kind of makes you believe Toyota not only has created a sleek beauty with the FINE-S, but that it intends to build it, too.
It couldnÂ’t happen soon enough.
In fact, that goes for all three of these concept vehicles. Certainly, there are a dozen more that would be popular and successful if built, but thatÂ’s part of the fun of going to auto shows. You go, and you get to pick your own. But the Washu, Hy-Wire and FINE-S would all make our world a better place in which to enjoy a vehicle.
SUV craze may “cross over” to solve its own dilemma
If you are a member of the ever-expanding world of sport-utility vehicles, or if you are a passionate critic that society doesnÂ’t benefit by the proliferation of all those huge truck-like SUVs, you might find satisfaction at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) currently in the midst of a two-week run in Detroit.
No, large SUVs are not going to disappear, but after the follow-up trend toward smaller and more compact SUVs, the next move clearly is focused on “crossover†SUVs – those vehicles created out of the placement of stylishly curved and purposely sized bodies atop compact or midsize automobile chassis. If the manufacturers go off in the direction indicated by the NAIAS in Detroit, we might all be considering crossover SUVs for our next automotive acquisition.
ThatÂ’s the message that came through loudly and clearly at NAIAS press preview days, which gave each manufacturer the opportunity to dazzle thousands of assembled automotive journalists with displays of their best new stuff.
There was a lot of other news, too, of course, befitting the annual show at Cobo Center, right in the heart of Motor City. There are a lot of other auto shows in the country and the rest of the world, but Detroit is unexcelled for gathering all of the auto industryÂ’s top executives as well as all of its most dramatic new products.
First of all, the show kicked off with the awards for car and truck of the year. the revived MINI Cooper beat out the Infiniti G35 and Nissan 350Z to win car of the year, and the Volvo XC90 beat out finalists that included the Honda Element, Nissan Murano and General Motors-influenced Hummer H2 in the truck of the year competition.
There were 50 journalists contributing independent votes, and 49 of us came through. This was my 10th year on the jury, and my projections this year were pretty close to right on. I ranked the Mazda6 as car of the year, with the MINI, Z-car and Infiniti following in that order, and the Volvo XC90, Honda Element and Nissan Murano were my top three truck selections.
Once that award – the only one in the industry done independently, without the pressures of potential advertising pressures or agendas – the whirlwind three days of new-vehicle introductions took over, with press conference-introductions of new products occurring every half-hour, with the ones including breakfast or lunch buffets lasting a full hour.
A parade of over 20 new 2004 vehicles, all of them just about showroom ready but some of them being introduced at the show, provided a captivating backdrop. There also were 16 futuristic concept cars, featuring far-out styling as design and engineering projects that could evolve into production cars if the reaction is sufficiently strong. As impressive as all of the concepts and new cars are, the most dominant theme of the show was the display and/or introduction of crossover SUVs, with no less than 25 new crossover SUVs dominating various manufacturersÂ’ displays.
With SUVs remaining popular – and extremely profitable – there is no chance manufacturers would turn away from them, even if people who have been buying the largest and costliest Suburbans, Tahoes, Expeditions and Navigators started diminishing. So manufacturers spent the last couple of years filling assorted niches in attempts to make their SUVs “different†from everybody else’s. Middle size and smaller SUVs proliferated, and after some early attempts such as the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 expanded to the upscale Lexus RX300 and Acura MDX, the idea of fastening fancy, wagon-like bodies on automobile platforms became popular.
Consider, for example, the truck of the year award. The Volvo XC90, the Element and the Murano all are crossovers. Whether midsize or compact in size, car platforms are lower and much more stable on the road than the big SUV truck platforms, thus eliminating the disagreeable SUV high-center-of-gravity tendency to roll over, and alleviating much of the criticism about the poor fuel economy of the heftiest SUVs. Some of the new crossovers are mostly sports cars with SUV tendencies.
Anything goes, apparently, and from the looks of things at Detroit, the upcoming 2004 model year will be the year that crossovers literally cross over to dominate the SUV segment. So letÂ’s take a three-day walk from one introduction stand to the next, picking out only the crossover vehicles:
FordÂ’s Freestyle FX, lower and sleeker than an Explorer, aimed at 2004 production.
FordÂ’s Model U, a quirky, boxy little thing with a hybrid internal combustion and hydrogen fuel system that exhausts air cleaner than what it takes in.
Chrysler Pacifica, a previously shown all-activity wagon.
Dodge Magnum SRT-8, lower and sleeker than a Durango.
Audi PikeÂ’s Peak, more imposing than last yearÂ’s Allroad, combining a “luxury sedan, luxury van and luxury SUV†into a quattro vehicle identified more as a “decathlete rather than a body-builder.Ââ€
Buick Centieme, a stylish wagon powered by the latest twin-turbo version of General MotorsÂ’ aging V6 stable.
Lexus RX330, a revised version of the segment-leading RX300 with adaptive headlights that turn in the direction you steer, and the latest variable-valve-timing 3.3-liter V6 with 230 horsepower and ultra-low emissions.
Hyundai OLV, a stunning outdoor-lifestyle vehicle with a 3-panel retractable glass roof, “suicide†(rear-opening) doors, and a tailgate that drops down to serve as an extension to house upright mountain bikes.
The Germans took over Monday morning, and between the $350,000 Maybach luxury sedan and the SL600 Mercedes roadster came the Volkswagen Tuoareg, an improbably named SUV that “is not an SUV, it’s an SUVW,†with off-road versatility that doesn’t compromise on-road touring, starting at $35,000.
BMW, which is preparing to launch the X3 smaller companion to its X5 luxury SUV, introduced the xActivity, a sporty crossover with floor tracks that also can extend to haul BMW-designed off-road bicycles.
Honda offered a concept sound-studio version of its Element, called the Studio-E, with a 200-horsepower VTEC engine, a 6-speed manual, overpowering audio system, and a 42-inch plasma TV screen that folds down out of the ceiling to turn the rear hatch opening into an incredible version of an outdoor movie.
Infiniti Triant, an SUV-like compact sporty coupe with gull-wing doors.
Infiniti FX45 premium SUV called “a bionic cheetah,†based on the G35 sedan’s platform, with either a 280-horse V6 or a 315-horse V8.
Dodge Avenger, a crossover SUV concept that is smaller and more user-friendly than the Durango.
Dodge Kahuna, a concept that was called a minivan but looked like a beach-buggy SUV spinoff with standard sufrboards on the roof and the ability of all side windows to roll down for one massive side opening.
Dodge Tomahawk. This one is a crossover all right, but crossing between a sports car and a motorcycle, with four narrow tires mounted close enough together to be motorcycle-like, with thing vertical light rows between those wheels, front and rear, a body make of a chunk of aluminum, and a Viper V10, with 500 horsepower – capable of 0-60 times of 2.5 seconds, and a top speed of 300 miles per hour, “although we haven’t found anyone willing to try to reach that speed yet,†a Daimler/Chrysler executive said. This rumbling monster was the runaway hit of Day 2.
Mitsubishi Endeavor, a midsize crossover fitting between the Montero and Montero Sport, with a 3.8-liter V6.
Mitsubishi Tarmac Spyder, a spectacular open-cockpit crossover between a personal SUV and a sports car, based on the new Lancer Evolution platform, with all-wheel drive and a turbocharged motor.
Lincoln Navicross, a large, luxurious SUV-wagon, but still much lower and sleeker than a Navigator or Aviator.
Day 3 opened with Mazda introducing the Washu, a concept crossover SUV that is either a 6-seat touring vehicle or a utility vehicle with as few as one seat, and a sliding rear-seat door.
Chevrolet Equinox is a compact crossover SUV, smaller than a TrailBlazer and fitting right in with the Colorado pickup and Cheyenne SUV/crew-cab pickup already displayed.
Porsche has already introduced its Cayenne, but its venture into high-clearance, all-terrain sports vehicles made it worthy of a press introduction now that the vehicle is heading for showrooms.
Toyota SU-HV has a hybrid synergy system of a V6 engine plus electric motors at all four wheels.
Toyota FJ is a tidy little Jeep-like off-roader, looking a lot like a Hummer H2 shrunk down to compact size.
Kia Slice, a compact little mini-SUV crossover that doesnÂ’t look big enough to have four doors, but it does, and they open opposite to display a wide side opening.
There they are. Count Â’em, 25 crossover SUVs. And those are just the newest ones, joining an already expanded field. Some of these resemble the basic concept of SUVs, but most of them are different, unique and attractive to a new and more discerning group of customers. In the process, the automotive industry may have subtlely solved its own problem.
It might not be long before activists might themselves find it efficient to pack themselves into crossover SUVs to head off to the next “ban the SUV†gathering.
About the Author
John Gilbert is a lifetime Minnesotan and career journalist, specializing in cars and sports during and since spending 30 years at the Minneapolis Tribune, now the Star Tribune. More recently, he has continued translating the high-tech world of autos and sharing his passionate insights as a freelance writer/photographer/broadcaster. A member of the prestigious North American Car and Truck of the Year jury since 1993. John can be heard Monday-Friday from 9-11am on 610 KDAL(www.kdal610.com) on the "John Gilbert Show," and writes a column in the Duluth Reader.
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