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 Alex
Hare's 2004 NAIAS Show Blog
January 4, 2004: Day One of the Press Days. The first thing one learns during the media days is that it is physically impossible to see every press conference. They are only scheduled ten to fifteen minutes apart from one another, and you must arrive at least twenty minutes early to have any hope of seeing anything at the conference. The conferences are a noteworthy blend of state of the industry, financial report, product, and showmanship. In fact, the entire show is quite an impressive undertaking. What follows are entries from the Press Days of the event; the public show runs from January 10-19th, at the Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan. Given that there is no way to see every single event in a day, what follows are some of the highlights of Day One at the Show. The first event I attended was the Chrysler Group press conference, where they debuted several different concept vehicles. Concept vehicles are potentially a tantalizing glimpse into the future, because once in a while they actually find their way onto roads and into garages. Regardless of the fact that most don't, concept cars are usually the most talked about items at a show. There were a few today that seemed to generate a fair amount of buzz. The Dodge Slingshot. A small, low two-seater roadster that looks reminded me of the Razor concept shown here a couple years ago. The Slingshot was touted as being very small and light, with a retractable roof and removable side roof bars that can be stowed in the front compartment. Below are a couple photos of the Dodge Slingshot concept vehicle.
The Jeep Treo was next. It was introduced with a video showing a computer-animated girl of the future being transformed into a girl-about-town who gave her friends rides all over the place. It was a slick piece that was probably intended to show a hip, progressive active/urban lifestyle, but it had the effect of making the girl into a taxi-driver; she took people places but didn't do much else herself. Though this was billed as a look into the far-future for Jeep, I was struck by how small and limited the vehicle was. No offense to the design team, but it looked like someone crossed a Jeep with a Smart car and that union yielded the Treo.
Small, sleek, kind of cute. But is it a Jeep? Not for me to say. I did wonder about one thing: where are you supposed to put the front tires for those bikes? There isn't a whole lot of room inside the Treo. The animation showed the future-taxi-girl taking two people with her inside the three-seater, with both their bikes on the back. The Slingshot and Treo didn't seem to generate a lot of buzz, but the next two sure seemed to. Took forever for the crowd to clear out so I could snap a few pix... First up was the Jeep Rescue. In my mind, this is Jeep taken up a notch. With all the right cues turned up to 11, the Rescue appears to be a poke at the Hummer H2 considering it's capability and size.
The Jeep Rescue was very popular among the press, as you can tell from how many of them are in these photos. It was the fourth concept vehicle introduced by Chrysler that garnered the most attention, and was swarmed by press for a long while after. The Chrysler ME Four Twelve super-car is a very clear and deliberate attempt to change what you think of the Chrysler brand. See what you think of it...
I don't usually dwell on specific details like horsepower, torque, etc, but it's sometimes fun to thow those numbers out (like last year's Cadillac Sixteen -- it's just a hoot to say "1,000 HP" and watch someone's eyes bug out). In the case of the Chrysler ME Four Twelve, it's a quad-turbo, 6.0 liter, V-12 that goes from 0-60 in 2.9 seconds. Not that anyone really ever needs that, but it just sounds cool; super-cars aren't really about need, are they? Next on the day's agenda was a Ford press conference, where they showed a new Bronco concept vehicle and talked about several upcoming production vehicles. The Bronco concept struck me as a curious blend of Jeep and Land Rover styling. I say "curious" because it may prove to be one of those where you either love it or hate it (personally, I can say that I "liked it"). Sadly, pictures taken during the presentation weren't that great, and the vehicle wasn't brought back out at the end (that I saw). The rest of the Ford conference talked about this being the "year of the car." it's a phrase used internally to reflect some of the newer vehicles that are coming out for the '05 model year. These include an actual production model of the GT (shown as a concept car a couple years ago), the new Five Hundred sedan, a modestly updated Focus, the new Freestyle "cross-over" vehicle -- more on those later -- and the newly redesigned Mustang. Sadly, those photos as well as some from Honda's SUT truck concept vehicle and two concept vehicles from Subaru, are doing to have to wait until tomorrow. Day Two promises an early start and a lot of walking around. January 5, 2004: Day Two of the Press Days. A show blog seemed like such a clever idea at the time, but with so much going on and so much to talk about it now seems rather daunting (especially given how late the hour is...). However, the blog must go on. First off, some better images of the things I talked about yesterday. Leading off with the Chrysler ME Four Twelve:
Then a better shot of the Treo, and one more of the Rescue:
One more of the Slingshot, without the rail this time:
And some decent photos of the Ford Bronco concept vehicle introduced yesterday...
I still owe some snapshots of Honda's SUT concept and Subaru's two concept cars, but those should come up tomorrow. Today we saw another small-truck concept, this time from Mitsubishi.
The Sport Truck Concept is another in the emerging "mini-truck" movement. I found the two-step retractable tailgate to be a very interesting idea. You'll notice that in that show on the right, you don't see the tailgate; that's because it's been powered down and under the truck bed. The rear glass pops open, and second row slides back into the truck bed for an open-air experience. I would personally feel better if that rear glass slid into the roof or something other than just having it sit up in the air like that. It may be safe enough, but it's a little uncomfortable to picture that flapping down in the wind. (maybe it's just me...) Mitsubishi's other introduction today was their Concept E, a futuristic take on the popular Eclipse. This version would be an All Wheel Drive (AWD) vehicle powered by a hybrid electric system. Oh, and it has exterior lighting that flickers like streams of lightning in Tesla spheres. Not sure how practical it is, but it looked very cool (especially in red, since it's easier to see in the light).
Next came BMW's press conference, where they mentioned some interesting figures before introducing the new 6-Series Convertible (no pictures; it was nice, but kind of large for my tastes). The new MINI Coopers are selling well: 95% of the MINIs shipped were pre-sold, and 85% of them were custom-ordered. This seems to be proof to BMW that premium buyers aren't just based on the size of the car, and they're quite willing to pay a little more for something cute and fun like the MINI. One other interesting tidbit: in 2003, the US became BMW Group's largest market, surpassing Germany. One other interesting thing that's come up in the press conferences in the past two days is the emphasis on China as an emerging market. Several manufacturers are already selling there, and it seems like they're all hoping to expand their market share in the coming years. Nissan introduced their 2005 Frontier and 2005 Pathfinder. No good photo ops yet, but if you want to know what these look like, they take a lot of cues from the Nissan Titan (their full-size pickup). The Frontier is essentially being packaged as a smaller, more affordable version of that vehicle. The Pathfinder looks quite a bit like both the Frontier and Titan in styling cues. Attractive overall, and a clear theme between the line. Volkswagen talked about their upcoming marketing push for their Phaeton, a high-end luxury sedan. They also talked about TDI versions of several vehicles, including a V10 TDI diesel powered Touareg. Diesel seems to be poised for something of a come-back, with more fuel-efficient and cleaner engines. They also introduced their Concept T vehicle, photos coming soon... Back to Chrysler, this time talking about the 2005 Chrysler 300 C, an affordable upscale sedan with available AWD, HEMI engine. The 300 C will start at $23,595, and $32,595 for the HEMI version. It should be available this spring. The new Dodge Magnum is also coming out at that same time; a slung-back station-wagon starting at $22,495 and a HEMI version starting at $29,995. Personally, I'm still waiting for a Charger I heard about a few years ago; if Dodge is going to push muscle, that's the one I would like see updated. Once those conversations were out of the way, it was time to move on to the latest developments in minivans. There's always been a challenge: how do you make minivans sexy? The answer: Fosse!
With a song and dance number, performers demonstrated Chrysler's new Stow & Go seats for the media. By the end of the number, Dieter Zetsche (President, CEO, Chrysler Group), was in the middle of this bevy of beauties who had shown several seating configurations and finally showed the fully stowed second and third rows of the system. Dieter then tossed his Fosse hat into the crowd, and then filled us in on the details. The new Stow & Go seat system is going to be standard in all long-wheelbase Chrysler and Dodge minivans. They're also going to offer the Dodge Caravan for less than $20,000. As a quick aside, though I've never met Mr. Zetsche in person he's always come across as very personable during conferences, video clips, and even tending bar at the Firehouse for a night during the Press Days. During a video about the seating system, there was even a clip of Dieter kicking back and tailgating, one of his "favorite" pasttimes. Though it may all be show, he's fun to see at these press conferences, and conveys a sense of someone who actually enjoys what he's doing. One last treat before leaving the Chrysler stand: another look at last year's show-favorite, the Dodge Tomahawk Concept (just because I still think it's pretty cool)...
On to the next conference, where Suzuki discussed their ongoing 357 program, the goal of which is to have three times the sales in five years, by 2007. As part of that strategy, they're introducing nine new models over five years, as well as expanding their dealership presence. Two of the nine new models have already been introduced: Verona, a mid-size sedan, and Forenza, a premium compact. Today they introduced the Reno, described as a 5-door crossover vehicle, but which I imagine may also be called a four-door hatchback. The vehicle was cute enough. Lots of standard features for $13,000-15,000, and the customized model on the floor had a very cool paint job (chameleon color shift). The only downside was a painfully long and rather cheesy "Real World" knock-off video introduction that involved a cast of ready-made Gen X'ers driving the Reno cross-country. Of course, when the video ended and the Reno came out, the cast was there, in-character, to continue the experience. Admittedly, I'm not the "Real World" kind of guy, so maybe it was lost on me. The vehicle was cute, but I didn't get any decent pictures today. It was pretty clear that Suzuki sees the Reno as competition for the Scion xA; there was a reference to one in the video-intro, and a price comparison after the vehicle was shown. Day Two down, one more to go... January 6, 2004: Day Three, and pretty much my last day at the show. We've seen a lot of vehicles, both concept and production, and there's a lot to talk about that I won't have time for right now. I will probably put together a show-summary tomorrow to ease my own conscience. In the meantime I'm playing catch up from Day One. Here are a few pictures from concepts I saw then. As promised, here are some photos of Honda's SUT (Sport Utility Truck) concept vehicle:
During the press conference, the SUT was described as being designed with the "cool dad" in mind. As defined, the "cool dad" has a need for seating for five, presumably including children, a zest for messy active outdoor activities, and a sense of style and appreciation for hi industrial design. Along with the Mitsubishi STC I mentioned yesterday, the Honda SUT concept vehicle is an effort to create a cross-over vehicle that combines elements of a car (comfortable seating for multiple passengers) with the function and ruggedness of a truck. Also from Day One were two concept cars from Subaru, the B9SC hybrid-electric:
The B9SC concept reflects two of the other trends I've noticed here: slick two-seat roadsters, and hybrid electric engines. Subaru has partnered with NEC in developing the magnesium-lithium-ion battery in the B9SC concept. The second Subaru concept introduced was the R1e, shown below:
My own personal mnemonic to remember this vehicle was "Pikachu jellybean," as those were the first two things that came to mind when I saw it. I think that phrase describes the cute, rounded, flowing lines of the R1e rather well (but I'm biased, since I came up with it).The R1e would be a pure electric vehicle, most likely targeted at urban drivers. I've already talked about VW's press conference, and I finally caught up with some photos of their Concept T vehicle:
The introduction video for the Concept T included a sequence of it climbing a sand dune and launching off from its peak. Sadly, the video cut out there. Even though I have no plans to take-off from a dune, I think it's much more interesting to see how it handles the landing. The Concept T has rather obvious dune-buggy styling, and I'm guessing one heck of a blind-spot, looking at those rear pillars. Of course, this is a concept, and like most concepts it focuses more on style than actual usage. There tends to be a lot of changes between concepts and the showroom floor. Except for the Pontiac Solstice, which looks an awful lot like it's concept predecessor (from my memory, at least). The Solstice was a buzz-vehicle then, because it was one of the first to emerge during Bob Lutz' time at GM, and because roadsters are just kind of sexy. Here's a couple shots of the one you can expect to see tooling around next fall:
Which finally brings us to the things I actually saw today. Fortunately, Day Three was a short day. Two conferences, Kia, and a last one from Chrysler. Kia's president Peter Butterfield spoke about the company's shape and growth, including a total of 640 retailers in the US; half of them are exclusively Kia dealerships. Beyond that, Mr. Butterfield introduced the newest Spectra, seen below:
Despite coming with four wheel disc-brakes and 6 airbags standard, the Spectra's introduction seemed to be met with little enthusiasm. I imagine because this segment isn't quite as snazzy as the roadsters it just doesn't inherently generate a lot of excitvement. For it's class, though, the new Spectra looked nice. The model shown above has additional ground effects and a spoiler that's not on the base model. In an effort to show the direction Kia is capable of going (if they choose to), Mr. Butterfield also unveiled a Kia Concept vehicle, the KCV3.
I thought the KCV3 was actually quite a cool looking small sports car. The back end is a little unusual, but I think it might grow on me. I found myself wondering if Kia might actually take something like this closer to production based on response at this show. I think it might be an interesting move for them if they did. I imagine Kia may think so, too, or they wouldn't have bothered. After Kia was one last Chrysler press conference. Sadly, no Fosse dancers this time. The focus was on convertibles, ranging from an extended Jeep Wrangler Unlimited (15" longer) to the new 2005 PT Cruiser convertible, to the inevitable convertible Crossfire. Since I've realized I'm a sucker for the roadsters, here's a few quick shots of the Crossfire convertible:
My only disappointment with the Crossfire was my confirmation that if you're around 6' or so the interior is a little too snug for comfort. I found myself hoping that the convertible might not be quite as noticeable in that regard, but didn't get a chance to sit inside. One last fantasy-car indulgence before I call it a night. I noticed this next vehicle almost immediately upon entering the show, as I'm sure most people did. This is the Mercedes SLR McLaren super-car.
There are only going to be 500 of these worldwide, with 140 in the US. They go for $400,000 each. Esquire magazine has dubbed it the "Greatest Car in the World." And this is as close as I'll ever get to one. Given the striking styling, I found myself wondering what might happen if this team got to design the next Batmobile. That's it from Day Three of the Press Days. I'll put together some closing thoughts about trends I've noticed during the show. Look for it tomorrow. Disclaimer: The statements and opinions in this blog may not reflect those of Strategic Vision, Inc., it's subsidiaries, or affiliates. If you wish to discuss any of the opinions expressed in this blog, please contact Alex Hare directly. This page may contain links to external websites, which are outside of the control of Strategic Vision.Strategic Vision does not assume responsibility for the content or accuracy of external sites. |
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