NAIAS 2010: Passenger Cars Return to the Forefront as Detroit Show Begins

The 2010 North American International Auto Show began yesterday with two days of media previews for assembled journalists. The overall mood of the show this year is far more optimistic, with the attitude that the worst of the recessionary market is now behind the industry, and that growth through high-tech, fuel-efficient, extremely stylish smaller vehicles is the way of the future. The show is demonstrating a return of the American passenger car—albeit one designed in Europe or Asia.

Kicking off events was the announcement that Ford had swept the board at the North American Car and Truck of the Year awards. The Ford Transit Connect added to its long list of awards, beating the Chevrolet Equinox and Subaru Outback, while the Ford Fusion Hybrid won against the Buick LaCrosse and Volkswagen Golf/GTI. It is only the third time that an automaker has won both awards, and is something of a coup for Ford. "We've been focusing very relentlessly on our strategy around making sure our vehicles are world-class in the areas of fuel economy, safety, quality and smart technology," Mark Fields, Ford's president of the Americas, said after the morning ceremony. "We're just so glad we're being recognized for that, both by the journalists but also, more importantly, by the customers."

Ford then started the unveilings with the dramatic new global 2012 Ford Focus Sedan and Hatchback. The new vehicles will go on sale towards the end of the year, and represent Ford's latest effort at creating a "world car"—one that has the same components, built with the same processes, and is marketed in the same way in markets throughout the world. The new Focus will be offered with a 2.0-litre direct-injection four-cylinder engine mated to a six-speed dual-clutch transmission, with an optional 2.0-litre turbocharged EcoBoost engine slated to arrive later. The C-platform that the Focus is based off of will eventually underpin 10 new vehicles for Ford, according to the company. The new vehicle will be priced higher than the outgoing model however, reflecting its additional content, quality, and the surprising level of fit and finish present in its interior. An electric model and a plug-in hybrid will also be introduced next year, and built at the company's Wayne (Michigan) plant, according to Ford.

Cars were the focus for General Motors (GM) as well, introducing the Buick Regal GS concept, the Chevrolet Aveo RS concept, and the GMC Granite CUV concept at the show. The company released details of the Buick concept earlier in the month (see United States: 8 January 2010: NAIAS 2010: Buick Unveils Sporty Regal GS Concept Sedan), but kept the Aveo and Granite information under wraps until yesterday. Aveo is a lightly disguised look at the next-generation GM B-segment offering that will be built and sold globally, and is both larger and far more stylish than the current South Korean-made vehicle sold by Chevrolet. With styling reminiscent of a cross between Alfa Romeo and the proportions of a Volkswagen (VW) Golf, the new vehicle will slot in between the Chevrolet Spark and Cruze in the United States. The turbocharged engine in the RS concept may or may not be offered in the production version of the vehicle. The GMC Granite concept is a small crossover based on GM's Gamma platform, which also may see eventual production. A diminutive crossover utility vehicle (CUV) with an urban theme and suicide doors, it is meant to slot in at the entry-level end of the spectrum in Buick-GMC showrooms. While suicide doors are generally not likely to make it to production, GM has announced that the new Opel Meriva, a similar CUV for the European market, will indeed have the front-opening rear doors seen on the show car version of that vehicle, giving the Granite hope for retaining that unique design cue.

Hybrid cars also featured prominently, with Toyota announcing the FT-CH hybrid sedan, a compact vehicle roughly the size of the Honda Insight that looks as if it is meant to compete with that model. Smaller than a Prius by nearly six inches in the wheelbase, the vehicle is still a concept but may preview a model that Toyota uses to flesh out its new Prius line of vehicles. The company announced officially that it would indeed be bringing out a line of vehicles under the Prius moniker, but stopped short of calling it a separate brand. A more production-ready hybrid coupé concept was unveiled by VW, the appropriately (if unimaginatively) named New Compact Coupé. The two-door features a hybrid powertrain that combines a 1.4-litre turbocharged 150-hp gasoline (petrol) engine with a 27-hp electric motor, which will allow the coupé to reach 60 mph in 8.1 seconds but still return a combined 45 mpg. Visually, the car is thought to represent what the new Jetta will look like when it debuts later this year, but the similarities to Audi's A5 coupé are impossible to ignore. Another vision of a sporty hybrid was on the Honda stand, with the unveiling of the production-spec CR-Z hybrid coupé. The two-door, two-seat hybrid is meant to evoke the original Honda CRX in its styling, and will feature a 1.5-litre i-VTEC four-cylinder producing 122-hp and 128 lb-ft. of torque. Available with a six-speed manual or CVT automatic transmission, the car returns a surprisingly low 33 mpg combined for the manual version, 37 mpg for the CVT automatic.

Luxury brands got in on the hybrid and advanced powertrain action as well, with an updated second version of the Audi e-tron making its debut. Much closer in concept to the production version that Audi insists is coming for 2012, the new e-tron is shorter than the original version seen at last year's Frankfurt and Los Angeles auto show, and lighter as well, to the tune of 550-lbs. The electric lithium-ion drivetrain produces 204-hp and a creatively calculated 1,955 lb-ft. of torque through all four wheels. Audi says that e-tron will become a brand within a brand, similar to how the company uses Quattro for its all-wheel-drive systems. The company says that the newest e-tron coupé has a range of 155 miles, and recharges in 11 hours from a 230-volt outlet.

Outlook and Implications

More concept cars are appearing at the NAIAS than in previous years, but they all tend to be lightly veiled versions of production cars—no truly "out-there" concepts showing possible design themes, material directions, etc., have been present for some time. Thus the latest concepts are more a peek into the market a few years down the road instead of blue-sky ideas that will never reach production. What is becoming very apparent is that the Japanese automakers no longer have an edge on technology over American and South Korean competitors. High-tech powertrains are arriving on nearly all new models from Ford, GM, and Hyundai/Kia, promising serious gains in fuel economy and emissions output without the sacrifice in power and performance that European customers have had to tolerate over the decades. If the show is anything to judge by, this truly will be the "Year of Ford"—the buzz at the company's stand is palpable, with new products now dominating the floor where just two years ago tired, outdated offerings sat. Winning the North American Car and Truck of the Year awards is a big indicator of Ford's new-found competitiveness, and the known list of new products coming from the company this year will be formidable, providing a significant challenge for other automakers in the market.

Passenger cars are the stars of the NAIAS this year in a big way—no new trucks are being introduced at this year's show (aside from a top trim level on the GMC Acadia, the Denali), a remarkable change from recent years when the American and Japanese automakers introduced bigger, thirstier, heavier vehicles in an attempt to chase profits. The recession's effect on conspicuous consumption however seems to have dampened desire for flashy trucks as personal transportation, and a renewed interest in fuel economy and high technology is driving the return to passenger cars. But these new small cars are different from any that have come before them in the American market: they have a decidedly premium feel, with upmarket interiors and expensive onboard infotainment systems that would have been unthinkable in small cars just five years ago. While small premium vehicles have been common in Europe for some time, the small equals cheap mentality of the U.S. market has always prevented such vehicles from arriving there. This is about to end however, and one can point to the success of the new Mini Cooper as the reason why. That vehicle proved that Americans will accept smaller, more expensive vehicles if they truly deliver on style and content. Add much more stringent corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards into the mix and a recession triggered partly by fuel price volatility, and the market now seems ready to accept a Ford Focus equipped and styled in ways that would have been more Acura or Audi than more mass-market Ford. Time will tell if American consumers will accept all of these new smaller, more expensive, better-equipped vehicles in large quantities, but make no mistake: they are definitely coming.