2010 North American International Auto Show
Small reigns supreme at 2010 show
Robert Hayes
Issue date: 3/1/10 Section: Opinion
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Compared to the barren wasteland that was the 2009 North American International Auto Show, this year's show managed to transform itself back into the crown jewel of the season. Although the number of new models introduced in Detroit this year remained somewhat subdued, the show managed to recapture its spark with the public, drawing 65,000 more attendees than the previous year, despite such obstacles as the Detroit area's crippling recession, bitter cold temperatures, and even an electrical fire at the Audi display which shut Cobo for an afternoon.
Competing in a marketplace where customers have changed preferences from big, gas-guzzling SUVs to smaller, more fuel-efficient cars and crossovers seemingly overnight, and where fears of energy security and climate change are fueling increasingly strict environmental legislation, automakers were forced to respond, and it showed at this year's auto show. More than anything else, this year's show screamed one thing: small is big.
Every company at this year's show scrambled to put out press releases highlighting their growing efforts to improve the fuel economy of the products they sell, but some stood above the rest by taking their talk straight to the show floor in the form of brand new, smaller, cars. GM, Honda, Toyota, BMW, Audi, and others all showed more fuel-efficient models, but one automaker led the charge by showcasing their most important new product in years: Ford and its 2012 Focus.
Ford's 2012 Focus, the compact car's first complete redesign for North America since its launch in 1999, was the star of the show. Building on Focus' success in Europe, this new Focus is Ford's first true "world car", designed to be sold in all markets without expensive changes. Available early next year in either a four-door sedan or five-door hatchback, Focus will offer up an all-new direct-injected 2.0-liter engine and 6-speed dual-clutch automatic to boost fuel economy. The new Focus will also integrate Ford's Active Park Assist, blind spot detection, and the latest version of Sync, Ford's voice control software, which will include the ability to download apps, such as Pandora Internet Radio, and Mapquest directions. Focus will go into production late this year at Ford's Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan, the former home of the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator full-size SUVs, and one of three former truck plants undergoing renovations to produce small, fuel-efficient cars. This new Focus is a clear sign that Ford is no longer content to keep refreshing old models, and is aiming straight at the Civic and Corolla, the current leaders of the compact market.
Ford's small-car launch continued with the 2011 Ford Fiesta, Ford's first entry into the subcompact market since the ill-fated Aspire died a deserving death in 1997. On sale in Europe since 1976, the Fiesta that arrives this summer is the sixth generation of Ford's award-winning subcompact, which has garnered considerable press since its European launch at the end of 2008, even participating in a beach assault with the Royal Marines on Britain's Top Gear. The Fiesta will be available in a four-door sedan or five-door hatchback, both of which promise 40 MPG on the highway thanks to Ford's new "PowerShift" transmission, a dual dry clutch six-speed automatic.
The small-is-better mantra that dominated the 2010 North American International Auto Show continued at General Motors, where Chevrolet showed off its 2011 Cruze compact sedan and 2010 Volt gas-electric sedan. The show also previewed the new, more fuel-efficient future of the General's truck-and-SUV brand, GMC, with a compact SUV concept dubbed the Granite. Even Buick proved it could downsize, bringing along the Regal GS Concept, a rebadged Opel Insignia OPC, showing that Buick has once again found the guts to build a compelling sports sedan.
The Cruze, Chevrolet's long-overdue Cobalt replacement attracted the most attention among the gold bowties, as it signaled the return of GM's product development focus from big, extremely profitable large SUVs and trucks, to the small car market it had neglected since 2004, when the current Cobalt went on sale, and has remained basically unchanged ever since. The Cruze, which will be built in Lordstown, Ohio beginning later this year, will be powered by a 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that will be built right here in Flint, at the GM's Flint Engine South. Chevrolet is promising fuel economy in excess of 40 MPG highway with the new Cruze, which will undoubtedly help boost GM's reputation with consumers tired of the company's decades of lackluster compact offerings.
GM's star, the 2010 Chevrolet Volt, made its fourth appearance in as many years at the North American International Auto Show, where it had been originally launched as a concept at the 2007 show. The General has struggled to maintain interest in the Volt, which was revealed in production form in early 2008. The Volt is expected to be released sometime later this year, after one of the longest reveal-to-production leads in memory. The Volt, a battery electric vehicle with a gasoline generator, will be built in GM's Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly Plant, using battery packs assembled in Brownstown, Michigan and the same Flint-built 1.4-liter powerplant as the Cruze.
GM's remaining brands put out concepts at this year's show: the GMC Granite Concept, a compact SUV, the Buick Regal GS Concept, and the Cadillac XTS concept. The Granite, an "urban utility vehicle", as GM knows it, shares more of its spirit with the dearly departed Pontiac Vibe hatchback than with GMC's "Professional Grade" image. The Granite is based on GM's new global compact car platform, so any dreams of off-roading or hauling significant loads will likely remain just dreams if the Granite gets the green light for production.
Buick's Regal GS Concept is based on the 2010 Buick Regal, itself a hastily rebadged version of the Opel Insignia sedan, which was launched in Europe to critical acclaim early last year. The Regal, Buick's first true sports sedan since the 1980s' Regal Grand National, is unique for the brand as it will be available exclusively with four-cylinder engines, either a 182-hp 2.4-Liter four cylinder, or a sporty 220-hp 2.0-Liter turbo four. When the Regal arrives late this year direct from Opel's Russelsheim, Germany assembly plant, don't be surprised if the GS joins the lineup, the GS is already in production there as Opel's sport Insignia, the Insignia OPC.
Cadillac also showed a concept at the 2010 show, showing a full-size sport sedan concept, dubbed the XTS Platinum, which will replace both the ageing STS, and the lackluster DTS sedan in its lineup. The XTS concept is powered by a two-mode hybrid system, using both a 3.6-Liter gas V6 and an electric motor to power the sedan on electric power only at speeds below 40 MPH, and, thanks to plug in capability, the XTS will be able to travel 20 miles on electricity only, before becoming a normal gas-electric hybrid. Expect the clearly production-ready XTS Concept to be in production soon, though whether the expensive hybrid system makes it to production hasn't been announced.
Honda also continued the trend of downsizing, launching a compact hybrid called the CR-Z. Designed to remind buyers of Honda's vaunted CR-X sport hatchback of the nineties, the CR-Z promises to bring sporty handling and performance to the hybrid market, attributes that are desperately lacking in today's hybrids. Powered by a 1.5-liter gas-electric hybrid powerplant, which Honda claims will deliver 36 MPG in the city and 38 MPG on the highway, a somewhat lackluster number compared to the industry-leading Toyota Prius hatchback hybrid, which delivers 51 MPG city and 48 highway, and is even surpassed in the city by the 41-MPG Ford Fusion Hybrid midsize sedan. Fuel-economy aside, the CR-Z does bring to market something no other hybrid offers: a manual transmission. That alone may instill the CR-Z with enough sports car street cred to become a success.
Among the flashing lights and media swarm surrounding new model reveals at the 2010 show, one automaker was absent, although perhaps not surprisingly. Chrysler, Detroit's smallest automaker, now in the hands of Italian industrial giant Fiat, is struggling to cope with a dramatic sales freefall, and a complete lack of investment in product development by its former owners, Cerberus Capital Management. Because of this, Chrysler's display at this year's show, while brighter, bigger, and more expensive than last year's gloomy expanse of beige carpet and mountains of brochures, the vehicles on display could very well have passed for a repeat of the 2009 show.
The only concrete product launches from Chrysler at the show were a handful of "special editions" for current models, including Chrysler 300 "S6" and "S8" packages, which add new wheels and seats, a bright yellow Dodge Nitro "Detonator" edition, Jeep Liberty "Renegade", Jeep Wrangler "Islander" and "Mountain" editions, a "Couture" package for the ancient PT Cruiser, with its two-tone paint clearly setting its sights on nostalgic drivers who likely have never heard the word "couture". Chrysler also brought out a "Walter P. Chrysler Signature Series" Town and Country minivan, tying Chrysler's wildly successful founder to a minivan - an unlikely association which Chrysler has not adequately explained.
What was clear, however, is that even Chrysler doesn't know what its future has in store. Sitting alone in the corner of the Chrysler display was an unexplained five-door hatchback, called the Chrysler Lancia. What is a Chrysler Lancia? Well, that same question was on the minds of many at the show, and even Chrysler couldn't provide an answer. The model had no signs advertising it, nor any brochures to market it. Even the employees staffing the display didn't know what it was. While the presence of Lancia products on the Chrysler stand may signal a future merger of the two brands' products, one thing is certain: even Chrysler doesn't know.
Despite the problems swarming over the industry, and the nation on the whole, as the 2010 North American International Auto Show draws to a close, and after many production and concept debuts, it is clear that, if one short year can bring the industry's successes and bright new future back into the spotlight, imagine what next year's show will bring.
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