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Automakers Showcase
Their 2001 Models
By MARK MAYNARD
Copley News Service
Every January, the Detroit and Los Angeles auto shows pound the media and consumers with new-car news.
It's almost too much to wade through, but we must.
After shuffling through 2 1/2 days of media conferences in L.A., it become obvious that the good stuff was in Detroit. But then it always is.
California is a snow globe of fascination for automakers who frisk our lifestyle and transportation choices for inspiration in design. Then they hoard these projects for 15 minutes of limelight in middle America before an audience of 6,000 auto writers and videographers from around the world.
The L.A. show gets about half the media attention, though Southern California is headquarters for at least 13 Asian nameplates.
And, Ford is moving its Premier Automotive Group, or PAG, to Irvine, Calif. This stable of luxury nameplates -- Volvo, Lincoln, Jaguar, Aston Martin and Land Rover -- will mean design studios and test sites.
PAG's president, Wolfgang Reitzle, looked around the L.A. show and vowed a bigger presence there next year.
General Motors has been expanding its presence at the Los Angeles show in the last two years and will continue, company sources say.
"Of the eight or nine big auto shows (around the world), L.A. is now on the list for a presence from GM," a company spokeswoman says.
"There is much more emphasis on holding something back or introducing something out here. It is the first show of the new year and drawing a stronger media crowd."
In Detroit, the hottest concept and production cars had roots in California. The BMW Mini, VW Microbus concept and restyled Nissan Z concept all came from design centers in Southern California.
Chrysler showed Detroiters the 2001 "Mulholland Edition" Chrysler Prowler, and Ford even showed a 375 hp, supercharged dune buggy concept called the Explorer EX. The automaker's product development chief, Richard Parry-Jones, hinted that he'd "like to do a Baja special."
Isn't showing a Baja special in Detroit like showing a snowmobile in Los Angeles?
And though Ford debuted its "Forty Nine" Custom Coupe concept in Detroit, it also put one on the turnable in Los Angeles, but not until after media days.
Voted the best concept car at the Detroit show, the Forty Nine is powered by a Thunderbird 3.9-liter V-8. Corporate design chief J Mays says the sleek shape is hypersmooth. The exterior is finished in pitch black with chrome accents and 20-inch chrome wheels.
"As we at Ford peer into the future," Mays says, "the really important stuff may not be the things that change but the things that stay the same, the things we decide to keep, the values worth holding onto."
The Forty Nine concept is one of the things worth keeping.
The L.A. show gave journalists more news of station wagons than visions of dashing creativity.
Here's a recap of notable introductions from Motor City and the City of Angels:
- Wagons have been making a stealth return for a few years, but now the wagon train is undeniable. Making debuts were the VW Jetta and Passat, Mazda Protege, Kia Rio, Lexus IS 300, Mercedes C-Class and a prototype from Daewoo. And there were a couple of crossover wagons. Pontiac used L.A. to showcase its Vibe, a joint effort with Toyota. Under the glorified wagon exterior is a sturdy Toyota Corolla chassis. Toyota will sell a version called Matrix. Both will be built at the GM-Toyota factory in Fremont, Calif. The front-drive Vibe has seats for five and a base, 130 hp 4-cylinder that gets 27 mpg around town or 32 on the highway. A Vibe GT with a supercharged 180 hp engine and 6-speed manual transmission also will be offered when it goes on sale next year as a 2003. Speaking to no one in particular, a journalist at the debut remarked: "At last, an excuse to drop the Aztek."
- One year ago at the L.A. show, General Motors announced that it would re-establish a design center in Los Angeles. As a house-warming, journalists were invited for a lunch and media conference in the new facility -- it's called 5350 Industrial Concepts -- at 5350 Biloxi St. in the North Hollywood area. GM debuted the 2002 Cadillac Escalade EXT, a five-passenger SUV with a pickup bed. Based on the Suburban chassis and the Chevy Avalanche, the all-wheel-drive Escalade EXT will come with a 345 hp 6.0 liter V-8 and luxury-class Bose stereo and ultrasonic rear parking assist. On-sale date and prices were not discussed, though the 2002 Escalade goes on sale soon with a base price of $49,990.
- Next down the runway was the Chevy Borrego concept, the first project out of the Concepts design studio. Borrego looks like a Baja speedster and is based on the all-wheel-drive Subaru Impreza with a turbocharged 2.5 liter 4-cylinder engine. The so-called sports adventure vehicle has seats for two that can be expanded to 2+2 via a mid-gate behind the front seats. The cargo bed can be expanded to a 4-by-8-foot configuration.
- The Premier Automotive Group had more execs on hand than new-car introductions, but Jaguar confirmed rumors that it would introduce the F-Type roadster concept for 2004. That is, as long as its engineers can get the thoroughbred in shape to meet federal safety regulations and give it functioning mirrors and wipers.
- Volvo showed a BMW-wannabe, a S60 Performance Car Concept. The 300 hp sedan was a techno entourage of all-wheel drive, six-speed manual transmission, electronic suspension control and stability sensors.
- For Californians, Ford showed the 2001 Mustang Bullitt GT, which was merely a concept car at the show last year. Like the Forty Nine, this is another modern interpretation, recalling the 1968 Mustang GT 390 fastback driven by Steve McQueen in the movie "Bullitt." It will go on sale later this year, loaded with a 270 hp, 4.6 liter V-8, Brembo brakes with red calipers, lowered suspension and 17-inch wheels. The exterior has been modified with body-side moldings and a brushed aluminum fuel door. Colors will be Dark Highland Green, True Blue and Black with a dark charcoal leather upholstery and a brushed aluminum shifter ball, shifter bezel, door sill plates with Bullitt nomenclature and aluminum pedal covers. The Bullitt package adds $3,695 to the price of the GT model.
- Along with the Protege wagon, Mazda showed the MP3 Protege with a hookup to Internet music. It is the first of a series of performance models and it comes with a 140 hp, 2.0 liter 4-cylinder, short-throw manual shifter, 17-inch wheels, polished stainless steel exhaust and a sportier suspension, steering gear and shock absorbers. The interior is set off by a 3-spoke steering wheel, drilled aluminum pedals and a Kenwood audio system that will record up to 10 hours of MP3. It goes on sale in spring at less than $20,000.
- Kia used its home turf of California to announce that it will sell a wagon version of its Rio, the company's smallest offering in the United States, later in 2001. It repeated the announcement in Detroit, since the company is still building a dealer base east of the Mississippi. Pricing of the Rio wagon -- "not a Sport Wagon, just a plain wagon," jokes PR chief Geno Effler -- will only be slightly higher priced than the Rio sedan, which runs about $9,000. As with all other Kia models, the Rio wagon will carry Kia's five year/100,000 mile powertrain warranty.
- DaimlerChrysler debuted its Jeep Liberty in Detroit, then put one on the turntable in L.A. a day later, but too late for West Coast media days. Liberty will replace the Cherokee. The all-new vehicle will come with an optional all-new, 210 hp 3.7-liter PowerTech V-6 (derived directly from the Grand Cherokee's 4.7-liter V-8) rated at 210 hp. Standard engine is the 2.4-liter in-line four.
- Another winning design from BMW's design team in California, the 2002 Mini Cooper - a front-wheel drive hatchback - will come with a 115 hp, 16-valve 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine. An automatic transmission is optional. A supercharged Cooper S model will produce around 160 hp, but it won't go on sale until after the base model. Based on the 1967 Mini Cooper, the new version is 18 inches longer, 14 inches wider. Interior accommodations include a center-mounted speedometer, leatherette interior, wide-opening doors, remote central locking, adjustable steering column, and height-adjustable driver's seat and 50/50 split folding rear seatback. Options include a navigation system, xenon headlamps, rain-sensing wipers, heated seats and a Harman Kardon stereo. The mini goes on sale in England in July, but it won't be exported to North America until sometime in the first quarter of 2002. The base price is expected to be less than $18,000, and it's a safe bet that all 20,000 Minis destined for the United States will be sold well before the on-sale date.
- Porsche took advantage of Los Angeles for the North American debut of the Carrera GT, which Porsche says is "a racing car suitable for everyday driving." With a 0-60 time of less than 4 seconds, the two-seater GT will feature a 558 hp, V-10, 5.5 liter engine, 6-speed manual transmission, ceramic brake discs, center lock wheels, carbon-fiber body and a 2,750-pound curb weight. It will have a trunk, but not very big, and there will be a hardtop, though the final design isn't finished. No decision yet on a sale date, but Porsche is quoting a price of $350,000. "Porsche owners don't have money, they have wealth," says president and CEO Fred Schwab.
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