2004 DETROIT AUTO SHOW : Day One Wrap

DETROIT January 4, 2003; Dee-Ann Durbin writing for the AP reported that:

--Toyota Motor Co. set a new U.S. sales record in 2003, selling more than 1.85 million vehicles, executive vice president Jim Press said Sunday.

Although complete sales figures weren't scheduled for release until Monday, Press said Toyota increased its market share to an all-time high and established Toyota as the best-selling car brand in the United States. It was the eighth year in a row the company has set a new record for its U.S. sales.

Press said the company hopes to sell 2 million vehicles in the United States by 2005. Toyota plans to introduce 11 new or updated vehicles in the next 14 months, he said.

Among those is the hybrid Highlander sport utility vehicle, introduced Sunday. The hybrid version of Toyota's most popular SUV will be able to go 600 miles (965 kilometers) on one tank of gas and has better fuel economy than a compact sedan, Press said.

The hybrid Highlander will likely be on the market in the winter of 2005, Press said. It will cost slightly more than the current Highlander, which is around $25,000.

Toyota also showed off the FTX concept pickup, with wide, curving sides and narrow windows.

-- Honda Motor Co. said Sunday that it hit new records for U.S. sales in 2003, claiming it had the biggest market share gain of any automaker.

While official 2003 sales figures were to be announced Monday, Honda executive vice president Dick Colliver said the Japanese auto company's Honda division sold more than 1 million vehicles for the fourth straight year.

The Acura division also had a record year, powered by strong demand for the TL and TSX sports sedans, reaching more than 170,000 vehicle sales, he said.

All together, American Honda sold 1.35 million vehicles, he said.

-- Chrysler Group is hoping to vault to the ranks of Ferrari and Porsche with its prototype ME Four-Twelve, an 850-horsepower super car that was one of four concept vehicles the company introduced Sunday.

Chrysler is eyeing General Motors Corp.'s Hummer with the Rescue -- a taller, heftier Jeep with massive, 37-inch (94-centimeter) tires, removable doors and a folding windshield. Two smaller concepts designed for younger buyers -- the compact, three-seat Treo and the Sling Shot sports car -- also were unveiled.

Chrysler chief operating officer Wolfgang Bernhard, who introduced the ME Four-Twelve in a tuxedo, said the prototype was developed in less than a year. The vehicle, which would be Chrysler's first super car, will be ready for road tests this summer.

The 12-cylinder, 6-liter engine can race from zero to 60 mph 96 kph) in 2.9 seconds, Bernhard said, which would break the 3-second standard. The prototype's top speed is 248 mph (400 kph).

Chrysler executives said the concepts could reach the market in two to three years if the company decides to build them. Chrysler President Dieter Zetsche said they would put a "tremendous spotlight" on the company.

"Chrysler used to be the engineering company. That's something we should strive to be seen as again," Zetsche said.

-- Infiniti on Sunday showed off its first model that will be assembled in North America. The QX56 luxury sport utility vehicle, to be built in Canton, Mississippi, seats eight and comes with a navigation system and standard side curtain air bags in all three rows, which Infiniti says is a first for an SUV.

The vehicle, which is scheduled to be in showrooms by spring, will sell for around $50,000 and is intended to compete with the Lincoln Navigator. Spokesman Simon Sproule said Infiniti hopes to sell 15,000 QX56 SUVs each year.

-- Audi introduced its new 12-cylinder A8 sedan Sunday, placing high hopes behind its signature vehicle.

"We wanted to show we could have a truly competitive flagship car," said Len Hunt, president of Audi of America.

Hunt said Audi sold 4,000 A8s in 2003, exceeding expectations, and hopes to sell between 5,000 and 6,000 in 2004. Sales of the A8 climbed 170 percent between 2002 and 2003, Hunt said.

The new A8, which has standard all-wheel drive and a longer front grill, will be on the road in Germany in February and will hit North American showrooms by the end of the year. It will cost around $120,000.

-- Porsche sales increased by 33 percent in 2003, for a total of 30,028 vehicles, Porsche North America President Peter Schwarzenbauer said Sunday.

The Cayenne sport utility vehicle was responsible for much of that increase, selling 13,661 between March and the end of the year. The company also showed off a limited-edition Boxster S model that celebrates the 50th anniversary of the 550 Spyder, a $59,000 sports car with a 3.2-liter, 6-cylinder engine that goes from zero to 60 mph (96 kph) in 5.7 seconds.

-- General Motors Corp. has created a new rear-wheel-drive vehicle architecture that already has led to one new sports car and could be the foundation for others.

The first offspring of the Kappa architecture, the Pontiac Solstice two-seat convertible, was unveiled Sunday at the North American International Auto Show.

GM decided to move forward with a production platform for compact rear-wheel-drive vehicles after accolades for the Solstice concept at the Detroit show two years ago.

A team of engineers from GM outposts worldwide developed the new architecture in 27 months.

To demonstrate Kappa's adaptability, GM showed two concept vehicles Sunday that could use the same underpinnings as the Solstice -- the Chevrolet Nomad, a small four-seat design, and the Saturn Curve, a sporty coupe.

"The Kappa architecture is a brilliant new canvas on which to design expressive vehicles," said Anthony Lo, a GM design manager.

The Solstice is scheduled to reach dealer showrooms in the fall of 2005. Its starting price is expected to be roughly $20,000.

The car will compete against the likes of the Mazda Miata and Honda's S2000.

GM said the Curve signifies Saturn's evolution both in styling and design. The concept features a front-hinged, clamshell hood and a rear-hinged truck lid. The forward-opening hood is a nod to sports cars of the past.

To make room for rear-seat riders, the Nomad rides on a 107-inch (272-centimeter) wheelbase -- 2 inches (5 centimeters) longer than other Kappa architecture-based concepts.

Justin Hyde and Chang-Ran Kim writing for Reuters wraped up day one at the Detroit Auto Show

Having all but given away the cream of the domestic car market to foreign competitors as they trumpeted trucks for the past decade, U.S. automakers are touting a return to the glory days of the car as their best bet to restore reliable profits.

However, just as the Big Three U.S. carmakers turn their efforts to reviving their small-vehicle fortunes, the overseas crowd is revving up truck and sport utility lines of its own in a bid to squeeze Detroit's largest source of profits.

"I think we as an industry probably deserted the car for some time. It's time to put the focus back on that," Joe Eberhardt, Chrysler's marketing chief, told Reuters.

"I think the car making a comeback, not just for us but for some of our competitors as well, probably will be a good story for '04."

General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler arm will roll out roughly 40 new or updated models in 2004, giving them their best chance in years to prove they can compete head-on against foreign automakers in the United States.

At the North American International Auto Show on Sunday, GM unveiled the Pontiac Solstice, a small convertible that GM plans to start selling late next year at prices starting around $20,000. GM has a number of car models coming out in 2004, from the Chevrolet Cobalt small car to the Cadillac STS luxury sedan.

Ford showed off the Five Hundred large sedan, a new version of the iconic Ford Mustang and the Freestyle "crossover," or car-based sport utility vehicle. The Freestyle is Ford's first entry in the fast-growing market for midsized car-based SUVs that has been dominated so far by Japanese automakers, while the Five Hundred and Mustang are Ford's first updates in those segments in years.

RETURN OF THE MUSCLE CARS

And no golden era in Detroit would be complete without a new raft of sports cars. Chrysler, which is rolling out the 300C and Dodge Magnum rear-wheel-drive midsize cars this year, on Sunday unveiled the audacious ME Four-Twelve concept -- a mid-engine, 850-horsepower supercar that it hinted could be headed for production.

GM planned to unveil the next generation of the Chevrolet Corvette, complete with a 400-horsepower V8, on Sunday evening. And Ford on Sunday night was set to unveil a concept sports car reviving the Shelby Cobra name from the 1960s sporting some 600 horsepower.

With its new models and improving U.S. economy, there's a level of optimism among Detroit auto executives that hasn't been seen for the past few years.

"Maybe we're sleeping a little better this year than last year at this time," GM Chairman Rick Wagoner said on Sunday.

TRUCKS FROM HONDA, TOYOTA

But while the Big Three work on parts of the market they've neglected, foreign automakers discussed how they're targeting new segments. Honda Motor Co. Ltd. unveiled a concept version of its first pickup truck for the U.S. market, a midsize, four-door truck that will go into production next year.

Toyota Motor Corp. showed off a gasoline-electric hybrid version of its Highlander SUV that it said it would build early next year, along with a concept full-size pickup that hinted at the next version of its Tundra due in 2006.

"We are on a serious mission to build big-truck market share that will match our strong car presence," said Jim Press, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Toyota's U.S. sales arm.

And Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. was scheduled to unveil a concept version of a new small SUV on Sunday evening, part of a push into the truck market Nissan has made over the past two years, with models such as its Titan full-size pickup.

Part of the reason foreign automakers are growing into truck markets is that it's the final frontier. Jack Collins, Nissan's vice president of product planning for its North American arm, noted that the Titan was designed to appeal to about 1 million of the 2.3 million customers who buy full-size pickups in the United States every year.

"So when we look at the market and say is there some other segment we could play in with more than a million customers, the answer is 'yes,"' Collins said.