
2004 Ford auto show logo
2004 Detroit Auto
Show Coverage (1/4/2004)
Kappa Architecture Sure to Spawn More

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In a show with plenty of strong offerings,
few vehicles have scored such solid reviews as the Chevrolet Nomad concept. And
that’s generating increasingly open interest among the General Motors executives
who would have to give the go-ahead to put the tiny two-seater into production.
“We’re listening,” said a high-level executive, who noted that media and public
support helped convince the automaker to build the sporty Solstice after its
original debut in concept form at the 2002 Detroit show. What’s clear is that
there will be a number of future products based on the automaker’s new Kappa
platform, which is used for both the Nomad and Solstice, as well as the Saturn
Curve concept vehicle. But while Kappa was envisioned as a global small-car
“architecture,” it could have some problems making the trip across the Atlantic.
European regulators have enacted new standards designed to reduce injuries when
a pedestrian is struck by a car. That would require adding about 40 mm (nearly
two inches) of crush space under the hood, a massive amount for a vehicle the
size of the Solstice. “Ultimately, I’m convinced we’ll do a Kappa for Europe,”
GM “car czar” Bob Lutz tells TCC, but it’s going to require either a different
design —
or the introduction of new
technology designed to help improve pedestrian protection. These could include
breakaway hood hinges, or even the outside-mounted airbags several suppliers are
working on.
Big
Successes in Small Packages

2004 Chevrolet Nomad concept
“If we’d listened to the market research, we’d have never
done the MINI,” says the British brand’s boss in the U.S., Jack Pitney. They
didn’t, and it proved a good thing considering the MINI Cooper was one of the
hits of 2003. Now, other automakers are wondering whether they also need to be
thinking small in a big way. The Chevy Nomad was just one of several downsized
concept and production vehicles debuting in Detroit. Nissan introduced a Micra
show car, while Toyota’s youth-oriented Scion division said its third model will
be the tC, a hatchback touring coupe based on the European-market Toyota
Avensis.

2004 Mazda MX Micro Sport
Over at Mazda, meanwhile, “There’s a good possibility” the
MX Micro Sport show car could presage a production minicar, acknowledged Jim
O’Sullivan, CEO of the automaker’s U.S. operations. There are already plans to
produce a version of the Micro Sport for other markets around the world later
this year. “All our research says there’s a societal shift,” adds MINI’s Pitney,
suggesting a small but growing number of buyers that see minicars as the
“anti-SUV” statement. How big a market might that group make up? If
manufacturers can figure the right questions to use in their research, they’d
probably be more ready to bring products likes the Nomad and Micro Sport to
market.
Is the
Car Resurgence Real?

2005 Pontiac G6
Call it “the year of the car.” Well, Ford execs will, at
least, while their counterparts at General Motors agree that it’s time for
Detroit to start putting more emphasis on the passenger car side of the
equation. But exactly what does that mean in the marketplace? Industry analysts
and insiders offer various explanations why the Big Three are bringing so many
products like the Ford Five Hundred and Pontiac G6 to market at this particular
moment. With the Japanese taking aim at the large
— and profitable
—
truck market, Detroit is losing
its last protected sanctuary, suggests Dr. David Cole, of the Center for
Automotive Research. Whatever the reason, will it actually help halt the
steady, decade-long light-truck boom? In 2002, minivans, pickups, and SUVs collectively
outsold sedans, coupes, and wagons for the first time, and that trend continued
in 2003. But Ford design chief J Mays argued that the market might stabilize
with the launch of so many new passenger cars, such as the Five Hundred,
offering all-wheel drive, “command seating” and other SUV-like attributes. “We think you’re going to see people
slowly move back from trucks to cars,” says Mays, though GM Vice Chairman Bob
Lutz is less certain. He predicts the “glacial” pace of the shift from cars to
trucks is more likely to continue, though models like GM’s G6 could slow the
defection.
Bill’s
Not Going Anywhere

Bill Ford 2004
Ford Motor Co. Chairman Bill Ford isn’t updating his resume anytime soon, he
says. There were some rough and unhappy times during his first year on the job,
which Ford compares to a “highwire act without a net.” But “I’m actually enjoying the
heck out of it at this time,” he insists, adding that “seeing this battleship
turn around is giving me enormous satisfaction.” There’s been some speculation
in the Detroit automotive community about just how long the young family heir
might want to maintain the grueling pace managing a company in turnaround. But
if anyone expected him to hand over the reins to an outsider, Ford asserts “I’ve
got a job and I’m going to see it through.”
Cowger,
Wagoner Upbeat on GM Gains
The
New Year is getting off to a good start, or so says Gary Cowger, president of
General Motors’ North American automotive operations. He reckons that “the
combination of new products and the improving economy bodes well.” That should
help GM endure the withering rebate wars. “Incentives will stay,” said Cowger,
“but I do not see an incremental rise,” unlike 2003, when givebacks surged to
record levels. Cowger even draws comfort from the latest market share figures
despite their showing the Big Three again losing ground to their import rivals.
“In November and December, we had 30 percent plus” share, well over the
automaker’s stretch goal of 29 percent for the year as a whole. GM’s new product
will account for about 24 percent of the vehicles it sells in North America, and
that should draw in more customers, according to the executive. The big
challenge will be winning back passenger car customers ceded to the Japanese
over the last two decades. GM is trying to win them back by demonstrating the
merits of its new products through its 24-hour test-drive program. And to
Cowger, it is proving a solid success. “We’ve done 500,000 test drives,” he
tells TCC, “and they have resulted in 170,000 sales.”
GM
officials are upbeat about more than just the U.S. market. Despite the economic
uncertainties that gripped many of the world’s major nations, booming demand in
China helped propel global car sales in 2003 to a record 58.5 million, according
to General Motors Chairman Rick Wagoner. And the CEO told TheCarConnection, “It
could be closer to 60 million” in 2004, “with growth in every
region.”
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