TCC DOES CHICAGO AUTO
SHOW
2002 Mercury Marauder Convertible concept
2002 Chicago Show, Part I by TCC Team (2/5/2002)
2002 Chicago Show, Part II by TCC Team (2/6/2002)
2002 Chicago Show, Part III by TCC Team (2/7/2002)
CHICAGO GETS FORD CROSSTRAINER IN
2004
2004 Ford CrossTrainer
LUTZ SCRAPS BUICK
DESIGNS
The
latest victims of Bob Lutz’s product-planning ax are the replacements for the
Buick Regal and LeSabre. The vehicles will be produced — just not in the design
that had been locked in prior to his arrival at GM. Reuters reports that
scrapping the planned redesigns will push new versions of the vehicles back by
10 to 12 months; Lutz called the two vehicles “by far the most disappointing
vehicles I have encountered” since his arrival at the Renaissance Center.
"There was nothing favorable you could say about them except they were on
time," the new service quotes Lutz. Lutz also indicated that Buick would add
another truck-like vehicle to its lineup, but declined further
elaboration.
GM Gets Bullish on Design
by Joseph Szczesny (1/14/2002)
HONDA INSIGHT TOPS GREEN LIST
2001 Honda Insight
‘VETTE PACING 2002 INDY 500
This year’s 86th running of the Indianapolis 500 will
feature the Chevrolet Corvette as the pace car. The race, scheduled for May 26,
2002, will feature the Corvette as the pace car for the fifth time since 1978.
The Chevrolet brand has scored the pace car 13 times, and this year, it will
compete for the first time since 1993 behind its new Indy V-8 racing engine.
TOYOTA TO UNVEIL THIRD DIVISION IN
NY
Toyota is preparing to unveil its new sales
channel, which is aimed specifically at youthful buyers, at the New York Auto
Show in March. Toyota officials around the Chicago Auto Show said a lot of the
effort required to set the new campaign in motion is now complete. The dealers
involved in the effort will be self-selected: "Think of what we did with the
Prius," said one Toyota official. Another part of the effort will be aimed at
making the buying process simpler and easier to navigate. "The current process
isn't attractive to younger buyers," added another Toyota official. In preparing
the new channel, Toyota officials also have taken a good look at the fact many
of the younger buyers belong to minority groups. Thus, the new channel will also
take advantage of the new diversity-oriented marketing campaigns that the
company has been putting in place.
GOODYEAR REPLACING 200,000
TIRES
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is recalling
some 200,000 tires made for 15-passenger vans and ambulances, the company said
on Friday. The Akron, Ohio-based company has been sued 31 times for such
accidents, according to the Reuters news service, but insists that the tires are
not defective. The company attributes the tread separation found in the suspect
tires to other factors, such as underinflation and running under severe loads.
The recall is voluntary; NHTSA last week declined to mandate a recall and closed
its investigation into a wider range of Goodyear tires.
BUSH PROPOSES HYBRID
CREDIT
The
Bush administration’s plan to cut fuel consumption includes tax credits for the
purchase of hybrid gas-electric and fuel-cell vehicles. As Congress debates
whether to increase Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards — currently
at 20.7 mpg for trucks, 27.5 for cars — the White House is proposing a credit of
up to $4000 for buyers of hybrids and $8000 for buyers of fuel-cell vehicles who
purchase before January 1, 2008. The credits are part of the $2.1 trillion
budget for 2003 just sent to Congress by the administration. Current hybrids on
the market include the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight; the Honda Civic hybrid
goes on sale in March, and Ford and GM are both promising hybrid trucks in the
near term.
Honda Bets on Hybrids by
Frank Bohanan (1/28/2002)
GMC GETTING NEW MID-SIZE UTE
The word from inside General Motors is that GMC will be
getting a new Avalanche-like vehicle next year. Lynn Myers, Pontiac/GMC general
manager, confirmed this week that GM is developing a sport-utility
vehicle/pickup truck derivative that will be built off the same basic
architecture now being used for the Chevrolet TrailBlazer and GMC Envoy. The new
Avalanche-like derivative will be added to the GMC lineup after the rollout and
ramp-up for the new extended-wheelbase version of the Envoy, the Envoy XL. GM
hasn't said yet where the new GMC sport-utility truck will be built but a good
bet is the GM assembly plant in Oklahoma City where GM is now preparing to build
the extended-wheelbase versions of the TrailBlazer and Envoy. In addition, GMC
isn't forgetting its roots as it pursues professional-grade customers. GM also
announced it is bringing out a couple of additional medium-duty models for
commercial customers under the GMC nameplate. The GMC TopKick will come in C4500
and C5500 models, which will be well suited for use as shuttle buses, wreckers
and snowplows, according to David Hansen, general manager of GM's Fleet and
commercial operations. For even heavier jobs, the new C6500, C7500 and C8500
versions of the 2003 TopKick will be available. The new versions of the TopKick
should be available by the mid-summer, GM officials said.
PORSCHE TO HELP SAVE OLD ROADS
Porsche has enlisted the help of actor James
Brolin in an innovative effort to save old trails and roads across the United
States. The Cayenne Crossing Initiative will be chaired by Brolin and will work
with governmental, environmental and preservation groups across the U.S. to
restore and maintain unique roads. "Nearly two years ago, Porsche invited me to
join a small group of journalists to cross the Mojave Road," Brolin told
audiences at the Chicago show. “One of the impressions I took away is that
historic trails like the Mojave Road wouldn't exist without the efforts of the
dedicated groups to maintain the trails. Maintaining the trails means protecting
the environment, which we’re losing little by little," Brolin added. Bob
Carlson, Porsche spokesman, said Tread Lightly!, a non-profit organization
dedicated to educating the public on having fun outdoors with minimal impact on
the environment, will also help coordinate the off-road portion of the Cayenne
Crossing Initiative. Carlson added Porsche envisions the commitment to the
Cayenne Crossing Initiative extending for a number of years. The first projects
will include the restoration of Clark's Grade, a trail in Southern California's
San Bernardino National Forest that leads up to Big Bear Lake. Porsche also will
help pay for the construction of a bridge over Peter's Mill Creek, a trout
stream in Virginia's George Washington National Forest, which is threatened by
off-road vehicle traffic. Another project will involve the construction of three
information kiosks that will identify and communicate the history of Route 66.
The project has been endorsed by the non-profit California Route 66 Preservation
Foundation, which is dedicated to preserving the history of Route 66.
MOTORWEEK NAMES DRIVERS’ CHOICE
PBS' automotive show MotorWeek named its 2002
Drivers' Choice Awards at the Chicago Auto Show on Wednesday. The TV show named
the following 12 category winners:
1. Best Small Car - Nissan Sentra(1)
2. Best Family Sedan - Nissan Altima
3. Best Minivan - Dodge Caravan(1), Chrysler Voyager(1), Chrysler Town & Country(1)
4. Best Convertible - Ford Thunderbird
5. Best Luxury Sedan - Cadillac CTS
6. Best Sport Sedan - Subaru Impreza WRX
7. Best Performance Car - Chevrolet Corvette Z06
8. Best Small Sport-Utility Vehicle - Saturn VUE
9. Best Family Sport-Utility Vehicle - Ford Explorer/Mercury Mountaineer
10. Best Pickup Truck - Dodge Ram
11. Best Crossover Vehicle - Chevrolet Avalanche/Cadillac Escalade EXT
12. Best Dream Machine - Ferrari 360 Spider/Mercedes-Benz S55 AMG/Porsche 911 GT2
(1) Repeat winner from 2001
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