Concept cars put on an auto show of their own
DETROIT, MICH. — Concept cars. What a concept! It used to be that manufacturers would make up weird, futuristic car models and put them at display to draw attention to their “real†cars at auto shows. That was then. Now days, concept cars often, if not usually, are set out to gauge reaction on what manufacturers intend to produce within a year or two.
The battle in the marketplace is only going to get hotter in the future, if the concepts shown at the Detroit Auto Show this week and next are any indication. Typically, since there are various Car of the Year and Truck of the Year awards, some group actually has a “Concept Car of the Year†award voted on by – who knows? – the soothsayers among my fellow-journalists.
At Detroit, the concept cars were spectacular. In fact, with so many manufacturers coming out with new vehicles in the last year, the case could be made that there were fewer newsworthy production vehicles, while an increase in flashy concepts carried the auto show circuit.
If I had to pick one from the Detroit International Auto Show, my vote would go to the Mazda Ryuga. Always among the more creative in concept styling, Mazda has outdone itself with the Ryuga, which is an extremely low, hip-high, four-seater that is actually a foot lower and a foot shorter than a Mazda3 compact. Unique, double-width doors rise up and over the roof to access an ultramodern interior. The driver has a cockpit-style setting, complete with video rear-view enhancements, while the occupants have the form-fitting comfort of a futuristic lounge. If you like aesthetics, consider that the gently angled and tapering headlight slits were designed to mimic the flow of dew off a bamboo leaf.
U.S. companies were prominent in the concept game as well. Chrysler Group, for example, showed off a Jeep Trailhawk, a lowered amalgamation of the Wrangler and Grand Cherokee in looks, with removable roof panels and a four-passenger interior. Then they switched right over to a surprising and well-received luxury-crossover wagon, called the Nassau. It is a tightly styled four-seater with a sloping rear hatch and an impressive, Crossfire/Pacifica type grille. The Nassau has a 6.1-liter Hemi V8 powering a unique personal-luxury vehicle, and even an official from a competitor said, “They’ve got to build it.”
Ford had a major display, including the Interceptor concept, which J Mays introduced as “modern American muscle,†with 400 horsepower and the ability to run as a flex-fuel vehicle. Ford also showed the squarish Airstream Concept that runs on lithium batteries, and a Lincoln MKR with a twin-turbocharged V6. Next to those, an entirely redone Focus – including a coupe model – and revised Five Hundred with a better grille, and Fusion models bolstered with all-wheel drive – were impressive but fought little space in the spotlight.
General Motors, hot from sweeping Car of the Year (Saturn Aura) and Truck of the Year (Silverado pickup), showed off a Camaro convertible, which might have been a first — a concept of a concept. It is a top-down version of the year-old Camaro concept, which remains in the yet-to-become-production category. Chevy also turned out an all-new midsize sedan, bearing the familiar Malibu name.
Bigger news was the Volt, an electric-powered concept with a plug-in recharging system that GM product vice president Bob Lutz called “shocking,” and added that he had never been more enthusiastic about a car, because this one can turn various types of fuel into electric power. For a man who swore off, and at, hybrids just two years ago, Lutz has become a major believer. The Volt is limited to 40 miles on a full plug-in charge, but the system doesn’t need to add to your household electric bill, and can regenerate electricity via a 1.0-liter turbocharged engine with your choice of gas, E85, hydrogen, or even bio-diesel.
Among imports, Mazda was far from alone, as everyone from Acura, Lexus, Volvo, and Mercedes, to Nissan, Hyundai, and Volkswagen, among others, showed off impressive concept cars.
Mercedes displayed the Ocean Drive, a huge, four-door convertible, loaded with features and luxury accommodations. Mercedes was the last manufacturer to build a four-door convertible, back in 1962 when the Type 300D finished a five-year run, so Mercedes brings back the idea with the Ocean Drive.
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Volvo, always conscious of new safety technology, has a new XL60 concept model, a compact SUV loaded with new safety features but also with a dashing new style.
Another dazzler is the Acura Advanced Sports Car Concept, a sports car that will become the next NSX. Acura brought out a long, low, LeMans-racer-type sports car in the mid-engine NSX in 1992, and except for changing the headlight design, it remained the same as a limited production gem all these years. The concept will be the NSX replacement, with a V10 engine and SH-AWD. Designed in the U.S. and assembled here as well, the car is expected to set styling and technical standards for future Acura sedans.
Nissan, another company that has tried out new production vehicles as concepts first, has both the Rogue, a new, personal conveyance, and the Bevel SUV, described as a “single purpose, multi functional vehicle. It has a hybrid engine, with a 110-volt outlet for power-tools, computers, etc., in the rear and it has its power source recharged by solar roof panels.
Toyota spent its concept energy on a FT-HS, a new sports car design with a 400-horsepower hybrid using a 3.5-liter V6 with electric power. It also turned to upscale Lexus for a fabulous Super Car LF-A concept, which is a revised version of a concept model brought out two years ago. This time,it has a V10 with 500 horsepower and a rear transaxle. The car appears aimed at Porsche and Audi type sports cars – as well as, uh, NSX replacement cars.
Hyundai put the Veracruz on display, but if it was a concept vehicle, it didn’t work – because it looked good enough to drive away on the spot.
Imagine that. A concept that works, right now. Among the outgrowth of concept cars, that’s what we can hope for.
Ford puts fine Edge on line for crossover battles
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. — WhatÂ’s in a car name? Well, the 2007 Ford Edge could be said to have edgy styling, and it could give Ford Motor Company an edge over the competition as U.S. vehicle buyers edge away from oversized/full-sized SUVs to compact/crossover size.
It also could claim to be good enough to eat – at least from the names of its available colors. The colors are dazzling, and the names are even better, with crème brulee, dark cherry, French silk, light sage, lime gold, Merlot, orange frost, and white chocolate. Choose a color, and take a little drive out for dessert.
In the highly competitive world of current automotives, where crossover SUVs (CUVs) may become the most heated segment in the industry, any old edge will do, and the just-introduced Ford Edge is far beyond being just “any old†edge. Introduced to automotive media for test drives through the city streets of San Francisco, and the twisty, hilly roadways north of the Golden Gate Bridge, up to Point Reyes, the Edge showed good performance, a solid and comfortable feel of security, and the potential for economy that the big, truck-based SUVs could never pretend to have.
Ford unveiled the vehicles at a public courtyard near the Bay Bridge, on the Embarcadero, a busy boulevard running along the San Francisco waterfront. While a couple of waves of journalists got scheduled walkarounds of the EdgeÂ’s various assets, a lot of normal citizens walked up and asked all sorts of questions. There is no question, the Edge attracted considerable attention, and interest, from those passers-by.
Built at a renovated Oakville, Ontario, plant in Canada, the Edge has a fairly tall, blunt appearance, with the striking chrome horizontal grille bars familiar from the year-old Fusion sedan. Ford spent time and effort to make the Edge handle just right, which means softer edges in cornering than what European or some top Asian crossovers might have. That means compromising all-out performance handling for a more American edge in comfort. Oops, thereÂ’s that word again.
The undulating trends of American vehicles have taken us from station wagons to wildly popular minivans where baby-boomers grew up, then to sport-utility vehicles as boomers grew up and sought family tricksters that made minivans seem stodgy. Gasoline prices that rose to shocking heights this year, before subsiding from near $4, may have provided the impetus to bring us to our senses from 13-miles-per-gallon truck-based giants. Even though gas is back toward the lower $2 level, we may have learned that money saved on gasoline works quite well for other expenses.
Ford, among other manufacturers, claims that this year will see car-based crossover SUVs (or CUV – crossover-utility vehicles) surpass larger SUVs, and that by 2010 there will be 3 million CUVs sold. Consider that in 1996, as we lusted after large SUV trucks, there weren’t any CUVs. In 2000, there were a half-dozen of them. This year, there will be 40 different CUVs, on its way to 70. They will account for 2.4 million sales for 2006, while larger SUVs will be 2.1 million, and declining.
Minivans, meanwhile, havenÂ’t disappeared. Led by the Honda Odyssey, Toyota Sienna and Nissan Quest in pursuit of the dominant Chrysler corps, minivans are better than ever, but Ford claims its numbers will drop below a million in the next year. We in the U.S. have almost forgotten about the fantastic new station wagons that are dominant in Europe, from Volvo, Audi, BMW and Saab, while driving them and buying more of them would take us full circle. For now, the trend is CUVs, which are at least closer to the rational station wagon genre than their inefficient, truck-based forebears. Ford says that when you combine design, safety, performance, fuel economy and value, the Edge has the opportunity to be the best of the new breed.
The Edge has FordÂ’s new corporate Duratec 3.5 V6 engine, with 265 horsepower at 6,250 RPMs, and the low-end punch of 250 foot-pounds of torque, running through the new six-speed automatic transmission Ford has built jointly with, ahem, General Motors. It has an estimated fuel efficiency of 25 miles per gallon in two-wheel-drive form, or 24 with all-wheel-drive. The Edge will start with a base price of $25,995, while the upscale SEL model starts at $28,000, and adding all-wheel-drive adds $1,650. So the price point is very competitive.
In all of its very informative and interesting press sessions during the Edge introduction, Ford’s demographic research may have missed one group – automotive journalists. We have spent the last two months on whirlwind introductory trips to drive some outstanding new vehicles, many of which are crossover SUVs, or CUVs. There is the Acura RDX, Acura MD-X, Honda CR-V, Mazda CX-7, Mazda CX-9, Dodge Caliber, Jeep Compass, Dodge Nitro, Suzuki XL-7, Suzuki SX4, Mitsubishi Outlander, Hyundai Santa Fe – all of which closely followed such vehicles as the Toyota RAV4, Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tucson, Chevrolet Equinox, Saturn VUE, BMW X3.
Among others. All of those are CUVs, and all of them have one thing in common: In each case, the manufacturer has said that while all the blossoming CUVs are very competitive, all have a stodgy SUV-like appearance, and “ours is the one that’s different.†Ford says it hasn’t yet seen the “iconic CUV,†which leaves the door open for the Edge to claim that turf, with what it claims is its most important launch of the year.
Overall, driving the Edge, or riding in it, is impressive. A solid feel, as if Ford tried to dial in a little of the larger Explorer’s strong stance, is evident. The Edge lets occupants sit up high, which Ford officials stressed as an important ingredient to consumers – never mind that when you are up high in one, but behind another SUV, you’re “commanding view†of the road is cut off at one car-length.
Truly useful features abound in the Edge. The 60/40 split rear bench seat folds down readily, including by remote switch just inside the uplifted tailgate. The front passenger seat backrest flips forward to form a flat surface, which extends stowage length to 8 feet from the tailgate.
When the rear seat is upright, not only is it roomy and comfortable back there, but the backrest reclines far enough for a restful ride or power-nap. A DVD navigation system is available. Power-points for such plug-ins as computer recharging are standard, and so is a jack for MP3 or iPods to play your own music through the 9-speaker audio system.
An enormous sunroof is available, and when you hit the switch it slides back for a vast expanse of sky view that entertains both front and rear occupants. The Vista Roof has a panel measuring 27.3 by 29.4 inches that tilts or slides open, and a 31.3 by 15.8 inch fixed rear see-through panel that combines to make a 9 square foot patch of upward visibility. With the Vista Roof open, wind noise is baffled, too, but when you close the windows and the sunroof, you realize the vault-like insulation from road and wind noise that surrounds you inside the Edge.
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The secure feeling inside the Edge is reinforced by the knowledge that the most important safety stuff all come standard on every Edge. The list of safety features ranges from an array of airbags that includes side and side-curtain bags, high structural rigidity, four-wheel disc brakes with antilock, and AdvanceTrac traction control with FordÂ’s spectacular roll stability control (RSC) first featured on the Volvo XC90. ItÂ’s nearly mandatory to have such features available these days, but to make them standard on even the base models is a high plateau, indeed.
Mom and dad care mostly about safety, but the kids care about being entertained as you head over the river and through the woods. For them, the usual ceiling-mounted DVD player folds down for rear-seat dwellers, but you canÂ’t get it with the panoramic sunroof, naturally. For those who want to have their cake and eat it too, choose the sunroof and a dealer-installed option of a pair of video screens in the backs of the front seat headrests. I blew a Ford guyÂ’s mind by asking if you could order the ceiling DVD screen AND the twin headrest screens for a three-screen overload. You can, of course, if you want to rise to the category of wanting to have cake, and ice cream, and to eat it all at once. Or, if you have three little twerps who could sit back there in potential harmony with the absurd possibility of three separate videos.
Driving the all-wheel-drive Edge hard around twisty mountain roads, it responded well enough. I might prefer a bit stiffer setting on the independent multilink suspension, to the point that I would be willing to put up with a bit of harshness to attain. The Edge could never be accused of even approaching that sort of stiffness.
The engine was responsive too, and the six-speed automatic handled all chores well. Well, almost all. In descending a steep hill, I was advised to click the overdrive switch on the gear lever to off, helping with engine-braking. I did, and it slowed slightly, but not well enough for my taste. I asked why Ford had not put a manual shift-gate onto the shifter, so you could manually up- or downshift, and I was told that FordÂ’s market research showed interested consumers didnÂ’t care about having that controlling edge.
OK, but as CUVs charge ahead to become the most competitive single segment of the industry, my feeling is that the RDX, Outlander, and others are extremely fun to drive because they not only have manual shift-gates, but fingertip control paddles on the steering wheel or steering column. They are fun to use in accelerating upshifts, but they are most beneficial in downshifting, whether descending a steep hill, or merely leaving a freeway, when you might prefer to drop down to fourth, or even third, to prevent the automatic from hunting and searching to match your gas pedal urging.
It seemed that Ford officials were condescending in acknowledging my question, but if the CUV segment is as competitive as Ford says – and I believe it is – then deal-breakers will be such things as that reclining rear seat, the convergence with electronic gadgetry, fuel-efficiency, and features like manual overrides on the transmission.
Technically, I learned later, deactivating overdrive drops you two gears, and if you’re still descending too fast, hit the brakes sharply and it electronically drops the transmission one more gear. At that point, downshift the lever to low, and it goes down one more gear — to second — and holds it. Nobody at the Edge intro seemed to be aware of all that. Seems to me, a manual gate, and paddles, would have been far simpler.
A brief drive down to FishermanÂ’s Wharf, then up some of the wonderfully abrupt San Francisco hills in the base two-wheel-drive Edge was also impressive. However, if you dropped the temperature 50 degrees and coated those streets with ice, you would have Duluth, and you would probably want that all-wheel drive.
Audi’s S8, S6 make powerful claims for proper respect
MONTREAL, QUEBEC — It was an impossible choice. Driving the new Audi S8 – the high-performance version of the A8 luxury sedan – was an exhilarating exercise in mastering some challenging woodsy two-lane roads in the hills north of Montreal. Driving the same roads in the new S6 – AudiÂ’s high-performance version of its hot-selling midsize luxury A6 sedan – was even more exhilarating in some ways.
In Minnesota, where driving on ice and snow is a way of life, Audis have been popular and well-appreciated, because their standard front-wheel drive or quattro all-wheel drive eliminate most of the hazards that rear-wheel-drive vehicles confront annually from December to April. BMW and Mercedes – Audi’s two traditional German luxury rivals – have historically depended on front-engine/rear-drive for what they claim is a performance advantage.
Around the rest of the U.S., Audis are considered nice, safe cars, maybe just a slight distance behind the more prestigious cars from BMW or Mercedes. ThatÂ’s a sore point for Johan de Nysschen, executive vice president of Audi of America, who addressed journalists at the media introduction for AudiÂ’s newest cars in Montreal by making it clear Audi intends to make a bid to gain its rightful position. “We feel our brand is under-appreciated and under-recognized in the U.S.,†said de Nysschen. “For example, how many people in the U.S. know that our current S6 outsells BMWÂ’s M5 and the Mercedes AMG (E-Class) in Germany? And how many know that our A6 is the best-selling mid-size luxury car in the world?Ââ€
Most of us were surprised that Audi had surpassed those traditional foes in the home market, to say nothing of the world. The newest introductions, meanwhile, are to prove that while Audi’s sedans compare well to BMW and Mercedes counterparts, Audi also aims to outrun the high-performance AMG cars from Mercedes, and the “M†models from BMW.
That made the North American introduction of the S8 and S6 particularly intriguing. Both cars have the same basic 5.2-liter, Lamborghini-based, direct-injection V10 engine, and the same performance-oriented quattro all-wheel-drive system, but the cars make distinctly different impressions. Switch the S8’s air-suspension system to “Dynamic†and the big sedan hunkers down and feels planted on the curviest pavement. On the same roads, you could hurl the shorter A6 around the same curves, with a greater feeling that you are provoking the precision. You never think of “tossing†the S8 into a curve; it feels like it’s on rails. The S6 feels as though it needs your manipulations to send it sweeping smoothly around those curves.
That makes the S6 feel considerably quicker, which led to another surprise. One one segment of the drive through the hills, I noticed pushed the S6 at as spirited a pace as felt comfortable, enjoying the drive immensely, while a friend of mine did the same in another car up ahead, pretty much maintaining the same interval about 100 feet ahead. When we reached our stopping point, I was surprised to see that he was in an S8. The larger S8 is the classier, more luxurious car, while the S6 felt distinctly lighter and more agile, and I appreciated that sportier feel.
But leave it to those Germans. They decided they wanted the S6 to be ultimate hot midsize luxury sedans, and it has 435 horsepower and 398 foot-pounds of torque from its 5.2-liter V10. To prevent hot-footed S6 drivers from breezing past any larger S8s, the same size V10 in the S8 is tuned to 450 horsepower and 398 foot-pounds of torque. It seems the lighter S8 should be able to offset those extra 15 horses, but, the larger, longer S8 is only 100 pounds heavier than the S6, because its totally built of high-strength aluminum, with space-frame construction blessing the platform, suspension, body — everything.
The S8 will go 0-60 in 4.9 seconds – a vicinity only Corvette-Porsche-Viper type sports cars might visit, to say nothing of a large, four-door sedan with all-wheel drive and filled with opulent leather and wood. The rear seat could be the site of a board meeting, but it would be the fastest-moving board meeting imaginable.
Other competitors for Audi include Lexus, Acura, Infiniti, Volvo, Jaguar and Cadillac, but Mercedes and BMW are its primary rivals, because they share the autobahns, and they compete in motorsports. Audi counters by beating them – and everybody else – at the 24 Hours of LeMans, and on the Amercian LeMans series. Audi’s dominant R8 won five LeMans races, and 63 of 80 it competed in. This year, it was retired in favor of a new R10 TDI, which became the first turbo-diesel to ever win LeMans.
Race-bred performance in luxury models doesn’t come cheap. The smaller S4 may be a bargain, but the S6 starts at $72,000, and the S8 has a base price of $92,000. One S8 I drove, loaded with options including a $6,300 Bang and Olufsen audio system with 1,000 watts of power and 14 self-contained speakers, each with its own amplifier, had a sticker that topped $110,000. As with many of Germany’s finest cars, these beauties with Audi’s “fanatical attention to detail†are exorbitantly priced – and probably worth every penny.
With impressive success around the rest of the world, de Nysschen is impatient about focusing on the U.S. “We are headed for a record year in 2006 for our sales in the U.S.,†de Nysschen continued, “because of our newest A6, A4 and A3, and the introduction of the Q7, which has exceeded all our expectations. We introduced the Q7 just as large SUVs were slowing down, but we have delivered 3,200 Q7s since it was introduced last April, which means itÂ’s outselling the BMW X5 and Mercedes ML. We now also have the highest residual value.Ââ€
Audi, based in Ingolstadt, Germany, is not a huge company, but being between niche manufacturers and enormous companies is a benefit, and, de Nysschen added, Audi intends to capitalize on it.
“You must respect your competition – especially if they have larger market share,†he said. “Mercedes, unfortunately, has tarnished its reputation about quality a bit, and that is an opportunity for us. BMW seems to be very determined to become a volume brand, but when you do that, there is a threshold where you are no longer exclusive. We would like to have that problem, but for now, it can work to our advantage.
“In the past, we didn’t do as well as we should have,†de Nysschen said. “From the standpoints of marketing, and distribution, it was different in the U.S, than elsewhere. U.S. profits were not being reinvested in U.S. marketing. For many years we were behind BMW and Mercedes and had a lot of catching up to do. Whenever we got a car right, the economy seemed to go bad; and when the economy was good, we didn’t have the proper portfolio.
“We think the time is now. We have 267 dealerships in the U.S., with 97 of them exclusive Audi dealers. We are not a big company, and we can’t be all things to all people. But Audi has a passion to lead by technology,†he said, ticking off features such as quattro, the new sequential two-clutch automatic in the A3 and A4 that can be manually shifted in .2 of a second – faster than any human can shift a manual, and the passive and active safety measures that have gained accolades for the A3, A4, A6 and the soon-to-be-announced Q7 ratings, as well as the aluminum space-frame construction of the luxury A8.
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The S6 doesnÂ’t have the three-position suspension setting of the S8, but it has a comfortably firm stance. I particularly like the little styling touch on the S6 that includes a little row of five LED daytime driving lights up under the crossbar on either side of the now-familiar Audi grille.
Great attention has been given to making larger audio knobs, carefully finished details that might even be out of sight. The wipers, for instance, are positioned out of the airflow for aerodynamics, and when the outside temperature falls under freezing, the wipers raise themselves every so slightly to avoid sticking to the windshield overnight.
“We donÂ’t just build cars for our customers,†said de Nysschen. “We build cars for ourselves, too. Our engineers do thing to the very best level of what they are capable of. Those things look great, and feel great. Do they sell more cars? Probably not. But we like it, so we do it. We use real materials. If it looks like wood, it is wood; if it looks like leather, it is leather; if it looks like aluminium, it is aluminium.Ââ€
Europeans always include the extra syllable in aluminum, to make it “al-you-MIN-ee-um.†But the point is well-taken. I was at a rival luxury vehicle introduction recently, and when I asked if the wood trim on the dash was real, it led to an argument among the engineers, and nobody really knew. I laughed and said that if they couldn’t really tell, then it was pretty good stuff. But I like the Audi approach better. If you are going to put wood on my dashboard, make it real, or not at all.
Similarly, if you want the ultimate high-performance luxury sedan, and you want ultimate control around twisty curves — or icy Minnesota roadways — the S8 and S6 make powerful arguments.
Suzuki aims XL7, SX4 at rise to prominence in U.S.
CARLSBAD, CALIF. — The automobile business in the United States has been frustrating for Suzuki, and from a personal standpoint, I must say that SuzukiÂ’s cars have been mostly a frustration to me. That could all change for 2007, when the company known for exceptional motorcycles and outboard motors, and for being only a bit player in cars, introduces two vehicles – the XL7 and SX4 – that could lift Suzuki to the prominence it deserves.
For those who scoff at the words Suzuki and prominence in the same sentence, consider that in Japan, Suzuki ranks third in vehicle sales, behind only Toyota and Nissan, and ahead of such powerhouse companies as Honda, Mazda, or Subaru.
In Japan, and other countries more sensitive to congestion and fuel-efficiency, smaller cars have been big for decades, and Suzuki makes outstanding small cars. The new SX4 is the newest of those. In the U.S., Suzuki sold vehicles on its own through a small network, but made some noise through an alliance with General Motors, where its Samurai became the Geo Tracker, and its Sprint became the Geo Metro.
The Metro was a popular and dependable economy car with a tiny 3-cylinder engine that was great for kids with no money and pizza delivery shops that didnÂ’t want to spend much. Virtually unnoticed, the Sprint was available in a sizzling turbocharged 4-cylinder model that was a hoot to drive.
From that hot-rod Sprint, and its GSR road-racing motorcycles, I knew Suzuki could make special things that worked, and provided world-class fun. So I looked forward to the new Verona and Forenza models a year ago, and while they proved adequate, it was disappointing to learn that those cars are the result of SuzukiÂ’s recent alliance with General Motors, and GMÂ’s recent takeover of the South Korean Daewoo company. ThatÂ’s where Chevrolet gets its Aveo subcompact now, and GM fives Suzuki the larger Verona and Forenza from Daewoo. Both are pretty nice cars, but if I buy a vehicle with SuzukiÂ’s name on it, I want a Suzuki engine in it.
That brings us to the SX4. It is a small, compact, 5-door hatchback that will ultimately replace the fun and flexible Aerio in Suzuki’s fleet. It is more stylish, and it resembles a progressive extension of that late and lamented Sprint GT. Suzuki calls it an “X-over†design, meaning “cross-over,†and it is aimed directly at the Dodge Caliber, Toyota Matrix, Nissan Versa, Honda Fit, Scion xA or xB, Subaru Impreza, Ford Focus, and Mazda 5, among others. Though more compact than some of those, SX4 is within 95 percent of cargo space of anything else in its class.
A more thorough review will follow, but for now, consider these points: The SX4 lists for a base $14,999, making it the most inexpensive all-wheel-drive vehicle available. The three-mode switchable AWD can be locked in front-drive, all-wheel-drive, or low-range AWD, which is for snow or other severe conditions, and switches to normal AWD at 36 mph in case you forget. It has a Suzuki-built 2.0-liter 4-cylinder with chain-driven dual overhead camshafts, 143 horsepower at 5,800 RPMs, with 136 foot-pounds of torque peaking at 3,500 RPMs.
The Aerio had a 2.3-liter 4, and the Grand Vitara uses the 2.0, which has been renewed with electronic (drive-by-wire) throttle control, four-cam phasing, and a controlled crossover intake manifold that provides more low or high end power. A 5-speed stick or 4-speed automatic makes it go, and it has EPA estimates of 24 city and 30 miles per gallon highway with the automatic transmission.
The base SX4 is quite well equipped, including alloy wheels. Add $1,400 to get the Sport model, which includes electronic stability control with traction control, keyless entry, a 6-CD audio with a subwoofer, cruise control, leather steering wheel with remote controls mounted on it. Safety is also a major element, with six standard airbags for front and side up front and side curtains. The automatic transmission is the only option on the Sport model, adding $1,000 more.
Already being sold in other markets, the SX4 is being built in Japan, with the European version being built in Hungary. Suzuki officials say they are aiming the SX4 at predominately single men, age 18-30, 35 percent of whom have at least some college, and with a household income of $50,000. If this is entry level, itÂ’s a sophisticated entry level.
My biggest complaint is that in spirited curvy-road driving, the SX4 could use either a 6-speed manual, or closer ratio between second and third, because I found myself having to choose between too many revs in second or not enough in third.
As for the new XL7, you might remember that the old XL-7 had a hyphen. The new one loses the hyphen, and it loses any resemblance to the old vehicle. The new one is based on an alliance with GM of Canada, and it is made in a joint-venture plant on the GM Theta platform, which underpins the Equinox. The Chevrolet Equinox is a good-looking midsize SUV, made in Canada, with a 3.4-liter V6 built in a GM facility in China – just to slow those who still chant “buy American†at the name Chevrolet.
Suzuki designed the XL7 to be close to the concept vehicle it displayed at the 2005 Detroit auto show, so it looks very good, particularly the stylishly shaped headlight enclosures that create a distinctive front end. Then Suzuki pulled off something of a coup when it also got to use Cadillac’s “high-feature†3.6-liter V6. Suzuki claims the engine is “designed by GM, but built by Suzuki,†and I’ve seen newspaper and magazine writers who should have investigated further who wrote exactly that.
In strategy with GM, Suzuki will build the smaller engines, and GM will provide larger ones, so Suzuki agreed to halt production of its own 3.5-liter V6. Yoichi Shimoda, a former engine designer who now bolsters the marketing staff, was accommodating when I asked him about the GM-design/Suzuki-built bit. Does that mean Suzuki gets blueprints, then goes out in search of aluminum? No, laughed Shimoda.
Does it get the blocks from GM? “Yes,†he said. The pistons? “Yes.†The valves? “Yes.†The injection system? “Yes.†The engine-management electronics? “Yes.Ââ€
Ah. So GM sends the parts to Suzuki, and Suzuki assembles them, basically. However, Suzuki does its own machining of the cylinder heads and block, and modifies some parts.
“Right now, this engine is almost exactly the same as the GM version,†Shimoda said. “But in the near future, we will do other things to it. Our soul is into this engine.Ââ€
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In the new XL7, with dual overhead cams, variable valve timing, and drive-by-wire coils on each spark plug, the 3.6 delivers 252 horsepower at 6,500 RPMs, and 243 foot-pounds of torque at a mere 2,300 RPMs. The vehicle is designed to take on the Honda Pilot, Toyota Highlander, Hyundai Santa Fe, Mitsubishi Outlander, the Ford Explorer, and yes – the Equinox and all of its GM spinoffs. Suzuki – which intends to sell the XL7 only in the U.S. – could sell 150,000 of them in the coming year.
It will be difficult to choose a GM version over the XL7 when the XL7 offers arguably the best engine GM makes these days, plus the same unibody structure with reinforced lower side rails, and a Getrag 5-speed automatic transmission with a manual-control gate. All of those assets are buttoned into an attractive vehicle at a price that will undercut almost all rivals.
MacPherson strut front and multilink rear suspension let the XL7 corner with poise and precision, and with three rows of seats available, and a towing capacity of 3,500 pounds, the XL7 also delivers quite good fuel economy estimates of 18 city/24 highway for front-drive models, and 17 city/23 highway for all-wheel drive. With the seats folded down into the floor, storage can be increased to 95.2 cubic feet.
Pricing starts at $22,899 for the base model with front-wheel drive, Those basic models have six airbags, stability control with traction control, 4-wheel disc brakes with antilock and electronic brake distribution, and 16-inch alloy wheels. Moving up to the Luxury model, price starts at $24,599, and adds woodgrain trim, 17-inch wheels, leather interior and power 6-way driver seat. The top Limited model starts at $27,949, with moonroof, rear DVD player in the premium audio, remote start, foglights, and aluminum trim.
On all models, all-wheel drive can be added for $1,600. Stand-alone options include the third row of seats, self-leveling, auxiliary rear air conditioning and under-floor storage, for $1,350.
Curiously enough, I had a similar complaint about the XL7 as the SX4. With the 5-speed automatic, even in manual mode, the XL7 shift points left me wanting less of a gap between second and third. A new and contemporary 6-speed would handle the problem.
OK, so I don’t completely get my way with Suzuki engines. The 3.6 V6 in the XL7 is not a genuine Suzuki engine, but itÂ’s an outstanding engine — my favorite engine currently built by GM, underwritten by a dose of Suzuki soul. The SX4, meanwhile, is pure Suzuki, through and through.
Koichi Suzuki, president of Amercian Suzuki, said the companyÂ’s goal is to sell 250,000 vehicles by 2010, and if you think thatÂ’s optimistic, Suzuki is up 62 percent since 2003, and in the first half of 2006, it beat out Volkswagen for having the largest increase year-to-year. The SX4 and XL7 are not likely to slow that upward surge.
Domesticized imports speed up market pressure
(Second in a series on the Detroit Auto Show.)
DETROIT, MICH. — There always seems to be a not-too-subtle attitude to defend domestic car manufacturers in Detroit – an understandable reaction in Motor City, hub of the U.S. car world. But even as U.S. manufacturers trot out all their best new products at the Detroit Auto Show, their struggle to cope with an obviously global market is surrounding them throughout spacious Cobo Hall.
Of course, prideful domestic car dealers and nationalistic backers conveniently overlook the hard, cold facts. General Motors, Ford and Chrysler are reducing the number of U.S. plants and workers, in favor of building more and more cars and trucks in Canada and Mexico, because they can pay those workers less and still call the cars domestics, thanks to NAFTA, while more and more foreign companies are employing more and more U.S. workers in more and more U.S. plants.
Regardless, the U.S. companies have reacted well to the serious competition from Asia and Europe, and the current domestic cars are better than ever, with new vehicles displayed at the Detroit show indicating still better prospects for the future. But itÂ’s not as though the import companies are going to take a few years off to let the U.S. catch up. The U.S. companies still have a large passion for big, powerful cars and trucks, while foreign brands continue to rise in technology and fuel-efficiency, expanding the use of hybrid and diesel alternatives. At the same time, they are speeding ahead in power and performance.
Toyota, the company that already has passed Chrysler and is closing in on Ford and GM as the worldÂ’s leading car-maker, displayed the full complement of the new full-size Tundra pickups, and the impressive looking truck statistically seems to have an edge on all three domestic trucks with a CrewMax that combines SUV-like interior room with a high-tech, dual overhead-camshaft 5.7-liter V8 engine that has 381 horsepower, 401 foot-pounds of torque, and 10,800 towing capacity.
Toyota also showed a Lexus FT-HS concept sports car with a 400-horsepower hybrid powerplant, and an IS-F sporty sedan version of the Lexus IS. with a 400-horsepower V8 and an 8-speed automatic.
Not to be outdone, Honda counters with the production version of its FCX fuel-cell concept, and then dazzled everybody with the Advanced Sports Car Concept, which will become the successor to the sensational but limited-edition NSX, which remains beautiful after being virtually unchanged since its 1991 introduction – 26 years ago. The new one has a V10 engine with SH-AWD, and technology that will foretell styling ques for the next TSX and TL sedans.
Also, on the heels of the MDX, RDX CR-V and Fit models, all new for 2006, Honda introduced a new Accord coupe, which will be out this fall. The car looks as exotic as many of the flashiest concept cars, but instead it is ready to be produced as the eighth-generation model of the car that is 32 years old in the U.S.
Similarly, Nissan showed off new concept vehicles called the Rogue, and the Bevel, which will continue to expand the width and blur the lines differentiating crossover SUVs. But Nissan also quietly displayed the stunning new Altima coupe, which also looks exotic and smooth, a new contender for the established, but newly redone, Accord coupe.
Subaru brought out new versions of the Legacy and Outback. Mazda showed its new CX-9, a larger SUV than the finalist CX-7, plus a vibrant, low-slung sporty concept, called the Riuga – a name that phonetically sounds a lot like the honking horn of a Model T – the car Henry Ford introduced 100 years ago at the 1907 Detroit Auto Show. And Mitsubishi unwrapped its redone Lancer compact, and its sporty Prototype X, which will become the Evolution X.
Hyundai rolled out a new Vera Cruz crossover SUV with three rows of seats despite a tidy, compact size, leading the Korean contingent
China also had a presence, although it appears the Chengfeng Group is not nearly ready to come to the U.S. with competitive models of the compact SUVs it displayed.
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If the Japanese and Korean companies seemed to focus mainly on real-world vehicles, so did most of the new models from Europe. More restrained, and more pragmatic, for real-world objectives. Volvo and Saab had impressive concept vehicles to show off, as did Mercedes, and Jaguar, with show-stopping concepts intended for production in the near future. But most of the vehicles were ready to hit the highways.
A new Mini Cooper with a new engine is ready to be introduced, while Porsche offers the first revision of its popular Cayenne SUV, powered by a gas direct injection 4.8 liter V8., including a turbocharged version with 500 horsepower. BMW, which just rolled out its redone X5 SUV and 3-Series coupe, adds a retractable hardtop model to the 3.
Even smaller than the Mini is the Smart Fortwo, a solid, Mercedes-built traffic beater that is popular in major European cities for conquering congestion and parking issues, and was supposed to come to the U.S. the past two years. This year, auto racing magnate and prominent business magnate Roger Penske has the licensing rights to bring in the Smart within the coming year.
Audi showed off a 3.0-liter Bluetec turbodiesel, and showed a Q7 SUV with a 500-horsepower, 737-foot-pounds of torque V12 turbodiesel, along with its flashy conception of a new sports car aimed at challenging PorscheÂ’s supremacy.
Of course, narrow-visioned domestic boosters will criticize those “foreign†vehicles, even though Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Nissan, Mazda, Hyundai, BMW, and various other brands have factories in the U.S. that are more than just assembly plants, and employ American workers. It seems incomprehensible, but you can buy a Chevrolet made in Korea or assembled in Canada with an engine built in China, just as you can buy a Ford or Chrysler Group vehicle made in Mexico, Canada, or elsewhere – even while buying a Toyota, Honda, Nissan or other foreign-named vehicle, with its engine and parts both built and assembled in the U.S.
More than ever before, cars in a global market know no national boundaries.
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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