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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Japan , Plants/Manufacturing , Commercial Trucks , Nissan Sensing the ripe market opportunity, Nissan will start producing various light-commercial and medium-duty trucks in 2010. The targeted segment is currently dominated by Ford and GM, where the miscellaneous cabs and frames are used to produce such vehicles as dump trucks, tow trucks, and school buses. Now, Nissan wants a piece of the pie. Larry Dominique, Nissan's VP of product planning, wouldn't disclose details right now, but he did say that a handful of new products will be needed to satisfy the new commercial truck dealers - and Nissan is more than willing to oblige. Joe Castelli, the former director of Ford's commercial trucks (and now a VP of commercial trucks at Nissan), said the Japanese automaker will be pulling from their global stable of commercial components (branded Atlas and Atleon in other markets) to quickly adapt them for the U.S. market. Nissan's official commercial...
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Crossovers/CUVs , Lincoln Click above for a high-res gallery of the Lincoln MKT concept. As reported earlier , Lincoln has given the MKT crossover the green-light, with the production version set to debut in Detroit this January and sales beginning sometime next year. The MKT is built atop the same platform as the Ford Flex, but Lincoln insists that the two models won't share a single body panel. Power will be provided by either a 3.7-liter V6 or a 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine, equipped with direct-injection and a turbocharger, however a hybrid drivetrain will not be offered. A six-speed automatic gearbox, complete with paddle shifters, will be standard, along with seven-passenger seating, a power-folding third-row seat, heated and cooled, first- and second-row thrones and the SYNC in-car entertainment system. Options will include a new sat-nav, Sirius Travel Link, an auto-park feature (similar to that found on the Lexus LS460) and a Cross Traffic Alert...
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Etc. The North American International Auto Show is by far the largest auto show in North America, but the small, aging facility that houses the new car party is prompting automakers to ditch the event all-together. In response to news that Suzuki has joined Porsche in bowing out of the 2009 show, the city of Detroit is rushing a $90M plan to increase floor space by 80,000 sq. ft. The move is seen as a stop-gap measure, with other more grand plans still on the way at a later date. With far superior facilities in New York, Chicago, and LA, Detroit may not have long to act. For people in the Detroit area, the Cobo expansion has been a hot topic of conversation, but one that typically doesn't get beyond the talking stage. If area executives continue to try to one-up each other, argue and get nothing done, more automakers are likely to bow out in the future. [Source: Detroit News ] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Trends , Marketing/Advertising , Suzuki Porsche and Suzuki rarely come up in the same breath, but here is something they both share: neither will be in Cobo Hall when the Detroit Auto Show opens in January. Joining the Stuttgart sportscar/SUV/SUS maker in skipping the show, Suzuki has said that they are pulling out for a slightly different reason. Whereas Porsche had said that Detroit wasn't a very important market for them , Suzuki is saying they didn't like the space they were offered. Here, Suzuki is hitting closer to what many people feel is the real problem with Cobo, there just isn't enough room. It's a fine hall with a storied past, and as a journalist it's nice to be able to get to any press conference within a minute from the media center, but it's not very big compared to the other halls around the world. With a name like "2009 North American International Auto Show" it needs more square-footage. It's still...
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Hybrids/Alternative , Green , Crossovers/CUVs , Lexus , Rumormill We've known for quite some time that Toyota would be introducing the world to its third-generation Prius hybrid sedan at next year's Detroit Auto Show. Expected to be powered by a revised and enlarged 1.8-liter engine and electric motors, the new model aims to continue Toyota's hybrid dominance, at least for the next few model years. We also expect Lexus to get its own more luxurious version of the Prius, and Inside Line is reporting that it will come in calender year 2010 and could be the first Toyota-made hybrid with lithium ion batteries. What's more, Lexus is said to be considering a second hybrid-only model to be based on Toyota's midsize sedan architecture, as is the current RX, which is available in both standard and hybrid guises. Rumor is that the second dedicated hybrid model might be a crossover utility vehicle, the current darling of the it's-not-a-station...
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Hybrids/Alternative , Green , Toyota The current Prius is baked from a refined recipe that results in a roomy, practical and efficient vehicle lurking under an eco-statement exterior, or at least we thought so . Five years on, it's still the most popular way to conspicuously consume under the guise of saving the planet. Toyota hasn't been resting on the success of its green badge of targeted consumerism, so we're going to see a new Prius at the 2009 North American International Auto Show in January, according to Toyota President Watanabe. The 3rd-generation Prius will grow in size, and engine displacement will be bumped to 1.8 liters to increase performance. Despite the increase in size and sprightliness, weight will reportedly hold steady. Further changes are in store after the launch, with plug-in and Li-Ion updates to come. The nameplate will also move beyond a single model and become a sub-brand during the reign of Prius the III. More body...
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Spy Photos , Sedans/Saloons , Ford Around 2 AM EST on Monday night, one of our readers sent us a tip about a photo making the rounds on two Taurus-specific forums. We followed both links and came across the spy shot you see above - now rumored to be the 2010 Ford Taurus. Big deal, right? It was, but not for the reasons you think. While we like spy pics as much as the next pistonhead, we have a policy against posting photos taken inside an automaker's design studio. Unlike the shots snapped by Frau Priddy and the crew at KGP, our legal department insists that anything taken on automaker property is illegal to distribute. So after the picture began circulating on several smaller sites, we held off on publishing it... until now. With sites like MotorTrend and InsideLine throwing caution to the wind, despite Ford's attempt to quell the photo's circulation, we feel compelled to bring it to you in all its grainy majesty - until FoMoCo's legal department...
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Convertibles , Coupes , Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , Sports/GTs , Green , Crossovers/CUVs , Lexus , Australia Click above for a high-res gallery of the Lexus LF-A Roadster concept. Lexus Australia's chief executive, John Roca, gave up a number of product details to The Australian in an interview this past weekend, including the addition of an "F" variant of the GS sedan and possibly a full-size LS limo. Both models are aimed to attack luxury stalwarts Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz by offering a number of high-performance variants and also developing a new model that would slot in below the IS sedan to take on the BMW 1-series and the Audi A3. That model is still a few years away, but it will be an integral part of Lexus' commitment to reach one million global sales in the next two to three years. The other element includes offering hybrid versions of every vehicle it sells, plus the introduction of a hybrid-only model that will...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Detroit Auto Show , SUVs , Geneva Motor Show , Land Rover Click above for high-res gallery of the Land Rover LRX from Geneva We've big fans of the Land Rover LRX concept's styling, which looked as good in black ( unveiled in Geneva ) as it did in the original white ( unveiled in Detroit ). So we're suitably pleased by reports that Land Rover is preparing to build the vehicle, which could get the nameplate Freelander Sport in keeping with the nomenclature already set in place by the Range Rover Sport. The production LRX would target the likes of the upcoming BMW X1 and Audi Q5 (and potentially the Porsche Roxster), while offering a range of eco-friendly engine options that help Land Rover reduce its overall environmental impact. Such powertrain possibilities could include a 2.2-liter diesel and 3.2-liter gasoline inline-six with the potential for start-stop technology and even a hybrid system. Although the Freelander Sport would be oriented towards...
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Hybrids/Alternative , Green , Lexus , Toyota Last month , we brought you the words of Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe who announced that at next year's NAIAS in Detroit, his company would be unveiling a pair of dedicated hybrid models: a replacement for the lamentably iconic current Toyota Prius, and a dedicated luxury hybrid from Lexus. The latter would be the first standalone hybrid model from the luxury brand, which until now has made a name for itself producing gasoline/electric versions of its standard models. Emerging reports now suggest that the Lexus hybrid Watanabe-san alluded to in Detroit will actually be a rebadged luxury version of the next-gen Prius, taking on a "lifestyle wagon" design based on the more basic Toyota. While the notion of a lightweight Prius being laden down with Lexus-grade luxury equipment may seem at odds, somehow we doubt the Hollywood crowd will be bothered. [Source: Motor Trend ] Read | Permalink | Email...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Detroit Auto Show , Sedans/Saloons , Etc. , Green , Crossovers/CUVs , Cadillac , Chevrolet , Honda , Saturn Click image for a gallery of the Saturn Flextreme At its annual dealer meeting in San Francisco, what's described as having been a "passing remark" seems to be generating some buzz. Automotive News reports that a GM spokesperson said that the Chevy Volt's underlying technology could make its way into offerings from the automaker's other brands. While the report describes an excited dealer's reaction, the idea of shared E-Flex itself is hardly surprising. For instance, we've seen E-Flex concepts for Saturn/ Opel (Flextreme) and Cadillac ( Provoq ) already, and sharing the tech makes sense when you consider that consumer interest will probably be high whenever the Volt is ultimately produced, and spreading the wealth gives GM multiple avenues (and price points) at which it can cash in on the investment. The General already shares...
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Coupes , Hybrids/Alternative , Green , Chevrolet , GM Wired magazine got in the queue for some face time with Bob Lutz at the Detroit Auto Show, and came back with a quote that's raised a few brows. When asked what the target market for the car would be, Lutz said "I don't know. You'd like to have it at about $30,000 for the customer, but what I'm hearing from the team is we're not going to get there.... f it costs closer to 40 than 30, well, that's too bad." The issue is the timeline. His engineering team said that if they had more time they could cost-optimize the car, but Lutz doesn't want to wait for that. As for the recent go-round about when the Volt would appear , November 2010 is such a firm deadline in his mind that when it comes to the internal team, his only question is: "What is there about November 2010 that you don't understand?" Lutz must know how important it will be to price this car competitively...
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Trucks/Pickups , Etc. , Marketing/Advertising , Lifestyle Some crowds are worried about speed, some about interior volume, some about the number of cupholders. The pickup truck crowd has a tendency to be concerned with size, so the automakers give them what they want. And in this case, it's bigger and bigger logos. Kicking Tires took the real estate measurements of the logos on half-ton pickups at the Detroit Auto Show (and a Hummer, just for good... measure), and ranked them from smallest to the most grandiose. The logo on the new Dodge Ram is 250% larger than before, and it only came in fifth. Click the link to find out who's got the biggest, and let the bragging begin. [Source: Kicking Tires] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Podcasts , Sedans/Saloons , Trucks/Pickups , Crossovers/CUVs , Supercars , Audi , BMW , Dodge , Ford , GM , Hyundai , Lincoln Episode 85 of the Autoblog Podcast finds us reminiscing about the North American International Auto Show that recently invaded Detroit. It was perhaps not as thrilling as past shows, but the new F-150 and Ram hauled and herded some excitement into Cobo. Both pickups are newly spiffed and bristling with new features and engineering. While the trucks are no doubt big news, the CTS Coupe stokes our fires far more. We hope to see it visited by the V-series gnomes, too. There were a passel of diesels at the show, too. Audi's V12 TDI R8 concept was filled with design gumdrops for us to chew on, besides the 12-pot 500-hp diesel that returns mileage in the 20s. BMW had its 335d and some X5 alphabet soup thing , and Honda showed its clean diesel . Beyond oil burners, we took an IRL look at the Hyundais Genesis and found it surprising beyond...
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Filed under: Chicago Auto Show , Detroit Auto Show , Spy Photos , Convertibles , Coupes , Chevrolet , GM We've seen the Camaro coupe and convertible concepts over the past two years at venues like the Detroit and Chicago auto shows. A stunning yellow Camaro also had the starring role on the biggest Hollywood blockbuster of 2007. We're even getting " spy shots " of the production Camaro taken by General Motors engineers that are posted on the GM Fast Lane blog. What we won't see any time soon is a production Camaro being unveiled during 2008. Kicking Tires quotes Chevy execs as saying that the company wants to avoid overexposure when production is still a year away. The General also wants to get the concept car to less prominent show sites like Houston and Cleveland, and there aren't many hand-made models to spread out across the country. Since this is the third year in a row that at least one Camaro concept has been shown at the Detroit show, the crowd gathering...
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