New reality on display at Detroit auto show

By Lawrence Ulrich
Published: January 18, 2009

DETROIT: For decades, the marketing phrase "Sell the sizzle, not the steak" aptly described the scene at auto shows. Reporters flocked to gawk at glamorous space-age concepts or thundering sports cars, leaving more humdrum - and practical - machines to the tire-kicking public.
But new realities were on center stage last week at media previews of the North American International Auto Show. As car companies spoke grandly of the "electrification" of the automobile, it often sounded like the same old sizzle, best taken with grains of salt. Yet the atmosphere felt changed.
While some of the show's plug-in cars and pure electric vehicles will surely turn out to be hokum, the variety and scale of the offerings suggest that change is afoot - new, leaner meat will be added to the automotive menu.
Whether enough consumers are ready to have their habits and appetites changed is still a question. So is whether the Detroit-based automakers can survive to be part of the revolution.
General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Honda and Toyota showed various hybrids, plug-in hybrids and pure electric vehicles and pledged to bring the technologies to market in 2010-12. Underdog startups did the same, including Fisker Automotive, a California company whose $88,000 Fisker Karma sport sedan, a plug-in hybrid, is scheduled for production this year.

But the return of cheap gasoline has already dampened U.S. hybrid sales.
Throughout the show, auto executives emphasized that stable fuel prices or a coherent government energy policy would help them anticipate what consumers would buy next. Because of wild swings in fuel prices, "Every six months we get called stupid for having the wrong products," said Robert Lutz, GM's vice chairman.
Electric cars did generate the show's central irony: The models that will most impress Detroit's new overseers in Washington will drag down their bottom lines for several years. Companies are deep in the costly research-and-development phase: GM says it plans to invest more than $1 billion to develop the Chevrolet Volt's technology, and that car, the first Detroit plug-in, is nearly two years from market and unlikely to be made in large numbers.
Still, if the Detroit Three can muddle through the economic crisis, developing new alternative-fuel technologies might end up being a smart investment in their long-term fortunes.
Ford showed here-and-now machines including the Fusion Hybrid sedan, whose city economy rating of 41 miles a gallon, or 5.7 liters per 100 kilometers, beats the Toyota Camry Hybrid by an impressive 8 mpg.
Toyota showed the third generation of its hybrid heavyweight, the Prius. Toyota expects the more frugal Prius to achieve a 50 mpg rating, preserving its title as the highest-mileage car in America. And if Honda cannot beat the Prius's mileage, it will beat its price: The 2010 Insight hatchback is to go on sale this spring as America's lowest-cost hybrid, offering 41 mpg for about $18,000.
With no-shows like Nissan, Infiniti, Ferrari, Porsche, Mitsubishi and others opening up main-floor vacancies, Chinese automakers were allowed out of the basement. BYD (Build Your Dreams, backed by Warren Buffett) and Brilliance showed their latest potential threats to the automotive order. These included plug-in and electric models from BYD, vehicles that executives said would be sold in the United States in two years.
These were among the future U.S. showroom models introduced here:
Mercedes-Benz E-Class: The latest edition of Mercedes's sedan is to go on sale in July with V-6 and V-8 engines and technology features that include Attention Assist, which monitors 70 parameters and flashes a coffee-cup icon and "Take a Break" warning when it senses that the driver is getting drowsy.
Lexus HS250h: Lexus's first hybrid-only model goes on sale in late summer. The sedan has a sleek cabin, the latest safety and convenience gadgets and a hybrid system that gets about 33 mpg adapted from the Camry.
BMW Z4: Ditching its fabric roof for a two-piece powered hardtop, BMW's taut two-seat convertible grows bigger and heavier, but the controversial design has evolved handsomely.
Cadillac SRX: The current SRX has impressive driving dynamics, but many potential customers did not embrace its styling. The new model, based on Chevy Equinox architecture, aims at putting Cadillac on a stronger footing in luxury crossovers.
Lincoln MKT: Due on sale later this year, the MKT is a luxury take on the well-received Ford Flex.
Ford Mustang Shelby GT500: Financial jitters could dampen the desire of blue-collar boomers for a $45,000, 540-horsepower Mustang.
Buick LaCrosse: A joint Chinese-American design aimed in part at the Buick-loving Chinese, this low-key midsize sedan is to go on sale this summer with a choice of V-6 engines and optional all-wheel drive.
Mini Cooper Convertible: Going on sale in March, the 2009 Mini convertible will start at $24,550. It adopts the platform and technology of the second-generation Mini hardtop, with added features including pop-up rollover bars.
Audi R8 5.2 FSI Quattro: This version of Audi's mid-engine sports car produces 518 horsepower from a version of the Lamborghini Gallardo's V-10. Able to reach 60 mph, or 96 kilometers per hour, in less than four seconds, it is to come to America in 2010.
Automakers also highlighted several concept cars, from barely disguised versions of future showroom models to fanciful projects that may never see the light of day:
Chrysler 200C: Chrysler's electric-car technology still seemed less market-ready than that of its competitors. But the design has the look of a potential mass-market home run - one that Chrysler desperately needs.
Audi Sportback: This stretched, creamy eclair of a four-door will be called the A7 when it goes on sale in 2010. A modified hatchback, it disguises its practicality with a hatch opening integrated into the roofline.
Volvo S60: The current S60 is getting old, but this glimpse at its replacement is sleek and modern. An efficient turbocharged 1.6-liter 4-cylinder engine produces 180 horsepower.
Lincoln Concept C: A bustleback ode to the Renault Megane, the cute hatchback offers hints of a future small Lincoln based on the Ford Focus.
Cadillac Converj: Its name may be the show's silliest, but the Converj appears serious. The four-seat luxury car adopts a modified version of the Chevy Volt plug-in system, now called Voltec.
Subaru Legacy: Subaru unveiled a larger, restyled version of its slick-driving all-wheel-drive sedan, with Audi-esque front end styling expected on a 2010 showroom model.
Volkswagen Concept BlueSport: VW's handsome mid-engine convertible was its vision of a more socially responsible sports car. The turbocharged 2-liter diesel engine is said to be capable of 50 mpg on the highway.
Dodge Circuit EV: With Chrysler pinching every penny, the chances of the Circuit's reaching dealerships seem low. But the all-electric Circuit, based on the Lotus Europa, was the raciest of four electric prototypes by Chrysler.
Toyota FT-EV: This stubby two-seater is the first taste of a battery-powered commuter car with a 50-mile range that Toyota hopes to offer in 2012. Toyota said it would lease small numbers of a plug-in Prius late this year to commercial customers.