Car Shows Loaded with Sports Cars

12/31/96

The Associated Press reports that carmakers seem to be embracing the horsepower-and-testosterone market of sports cars in spite of slumping sports car sales. Sportsters from the U.S., Japan, and Europe dominate the new model introductions which are scheduled to take place at next months' car shows in Los Angeles and Detroit.

A redesigned Corvette, an all-new Porsche (the first in 19 years), a supercharged Mercedes-Benz roadster, and Acura's new NSX will all splash at the shows. The new models replace older ones that have fallen victim to higher prices and consumer-mania for sport utility vehicles and pickups: Mazda stopped exporting its rotary-engined RX-7 to North America this year, Nissan ended the Z-car series, and Chrysler stopped importing the Dodge Stealth.

AutoPacific Inc. consultant George Peterson said, "sports cars have been doing terribly over the past couple of years. Everybody was trying to develop best-in-class products. Consequently, they all got too good and too expensive."

The success of some models, like the Mazda Miata and the BMW Z3 roadster have shown that there is still some life to the market, and offer hope to the sports car makers. Sports cars debuting at the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show in January will include the Mercedes-Benz SLK and Porsche Boxster, and the redesigned '97 Acura NSX. Detroit's North American International Auto Show will boast the introduction of the redesigned Chevrolet Corvette, which is now entering its fifth generation.

Other sports cars making their debuts at the shows will be Ferrari's F133 in Detroit, and sports coupes like the 1998 Mercedes CLK (Detroit) and the 1998 Volvo C70 (Los Angeles).

Non-sports car models debuting at the shows include Toyota's 1998 Sienna minivan (based on the Camry chassis), the 1998 Dodge Durango (from the new Dakota pickup platform), the 1998 Lincoln Navigator (a luxury version of Ford's Expedition), Honda's CR-V, Subaru's new 1998 Forester SUV, Kia's 1998 Kia Sportage convertible, and Oldsmobile's 1998 Intrigue sedan (which will replace the Cutlass Supreme).

Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel