2006 Chicago Auto Show
Coverage by TCC Team (2/6/2006)
TCC Team
Publisher

2000 Chrysler Town & Country
Biggest Story: Could it be
anything other than the new Toyota Tundra? TheChicago show was once the nation’s biggest, and
it’s beginning to regain some traction lately, than to previews like this one.
Best New Concept: Dodge
Rampage. Reports of the death of the domestic pickup could be greatly
exaggerated — at least if this is a sign of things to come.
Best New Vehicle: The 2008 Toyota Tundra. During
Detroit’s winter
of discontent, could anything be so distressing as the sight of the first
Japanese truck with the potential to really become a mainstay in the
domestic-dominated pickup segment?
Predictions: With
Toyota
and Honda clearly
in the lead in the hybrid market segment, the Big Three need something to prove
their own environmental credentials. Well, Kermit the Frog was right: it isn’t
easy being green. Unless we see a big surge in the number of E85 fuel pumps
across the
U.S., and fast,
Detroit
’s sudden
passion for ethanol will prove little more than a short-lived flash in the
pan.
Marty
Padgett
Editor and
producer
Biggest Story: By my internal sensors, it was the
“well, okay” reception for the Tundra. As one fellow journalist put it, “Well,
it’s important for them.” The not entirely handsome Tundra surely will come in
hybrid and heavy-duty versions, so there is reason for concern. But the
domestics are already planning on those models and are rolling out updated
versions of their own segment leaders. For now, it seems, the most likely victim
of the new Tundra’s success will be the Nissan Titan.

2005 Lexus LF-Sh concept

2005 Lexus LF-Sh concept
Best New
Concept: Honda’s Civic Si four-door
is a natural. So why haven’t they done one before? Oh, wait, it’s because this
is the first four-door to actually look the Si part. Never
mind.

2007 Chevrolet Avalanche
Best New Vehicle: A split vote between the Chevy Avalanche and
Hyundai Entourage. The Avalanche gets good marks for taking the right idea and
thoroughly vetting it in the second generation. Take a look inside and you’ll
see how serious GM is about good interiors. With the Entourage, it’s easy to see
the minivan and the cloned Sedona taking over for Ford and GM in the minivan
race they can’t seem to compete in — at a lower price with a better look than
the updated Nissan Quest or the dowdy Sienna. That market game is down to
Odyssey, Caravan, and Sedona/Entourage, by most any
measure.
Predictions: The
Chicago show
has spent 16 years trying to end-game around
Detroit
’s first-tier status, and they just may
do it in the next two years with the addition of more space at
McCormick Place
. The
domestic brands have outgrown Cobo and there’s no solution in sight. Meanwhile,
Chicago
’s
convention center is cavernous, convenient, and it’s surrounded by a first-rate
city. With the move of the L.A. show to November, my prediction is that Detroit
will get de-emphasized and the auto industry will move more in the direction of
year-round introductions, beefing up their presence at Chicago, New York, Los
Angeles, and maybe even Miami to avoid the hassles of wedging themselves into
Cobo right after the holidays.
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