MSNBC's Cars that will Likely Set the Pace in 2014

Washington DC July 6, 2009; The AIADA newsletter reports that everybody knows the auto world has shifted. MSNBC reported that the trick is divining which car brands have got the gumption to last.

With President Obama's new efficiency standards requiring a fleet-wide fuel economy average of 35.5 miles per gallon, automakers have their work cut out for them.

Domestic carmakers in particular are gearing up to battle forthcoming offerings from new-to-the-U.S. Fiat, with its diminutive 55.5-mile-per-gallon Fiat 500, and Chinese newcomer BYD, maker of the staid hybrid-electric F3DM sedan. Honda's mod CR-Z and Ford's "eco-boosted" Euro models point to the types of cars we can expect by 2014.

BMW reportedly plans to bring a gasoline-powered and highly efficient X1 compact SUV to market by 2014. Audi has joined the light-engine surge as well, committing to building a next-generation S5 that weighs hundreds of pounds less than the current version. Italian-run Fiat and Alfa Romeo will also likely have vehicles in U.S. showrooms by 2014.

But the real news lies further east: China. At the Detroit Auto Show Chinese automakers Brilliance and BYD showed cars that could eventually reach the states. Geely and Chery are other Chinese automakers with ideas for expansion outside the East.

Click Here for more on MSNBC's vision of the future of automobiles.