In contrast to the volume of praise heaped upon Ford for its new Focus, several of GM’s debutantes at this year’s Detroit show were, perhaps unfairly, virtually passed over by elements of the media. To GM’s credit, each of its four US market brands had at least one new vehicle or concept to challenge perceptions and in some cases, hint at radical change to come.
The GMC Granite concept, some two feet shorter than the brand’s current smallest model, is the best example yet of how quickly GM is reinventing itself. This minivan/SUV crossover looked impressively rugged for a vehicle with such dinky measurements (the official dimensions list the wheelbase as 2,631mm, the same as that of the Opel & Chevrolet Meriva). There seems no reason why a production version would not succeed, especially with the ongoing shift to smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles. After all, in 2009, a year of relatively low pump prices, seven of the US market’s top ten best selling vehicles had a standard four-cylinder engine.
several of GM’s debutantes at this year’s Detroit show were, perhaps unfairly, virtually passed over by elements of the media.
Cadillac division’s main Detroit premiere, the XTS concept, tapped into the public mood, playing the luxury-with-economy card. Rumoured for production at GM Canada’s Oshawa plant alongside the regular XTS from 2013, this looks like being the first hybrid Epsilon 2 architecture vehicle. Production of a long wheelbase XLS variant, to be built in China by the Shanghai GM joint venture, is expected to start around the same time. The XTS and XLS will replace the DTS, STS and SLS.
While GM used the show to drop strong hints about where it sees the tastes of buyers in North America heading, Ford had a visibly more global theme to its stand. The statement that Focus production would begin simultaneously in the US and Europe (Q3) to be followed shortly after by China shows just how determined the firm is to push its One Ford mantra.
However, expanding this strategy seems certain to create regional tensions, especially considering the company’s plans to replace the Mondeo and Fusion with one car. Will this mean that the Fusion, launched in 2005, will have to last until 2014, or will the Mondeo be replaced after only five years in 2012 in order to appease Ford’s US division?
Chrysler Group also has some urgent decisions to make on the future of its models in this segment, in which it offers the low-selling Avenger and Sebring, but there was no news on that front at Detroit. Instead, the show seemed all about gauging public reaction to two versions of the Fiat 500. There was little information available on the only one of them that had not been seen before, the 500 BEV, which suggests that an electric powertrain for the little car is not high up Fiat’s list of priorities.
Considering how much money is presently being thrown at developing battery-powered cars, Audi’s concept may well have been the most significant model to have debuted at Detroit.
Electric drive was, without a doubt, the main theme of this year’s show. Toyota’s FT-Ch concept hinted at a Yaris-sized hybrid to be part of what its executives called a future ‘Prius family’, while Audi revealed that the e-tron badging of two previous electric sports car concepts would evolve into a new sub-brand, much as quattro has.
Considering how much money is presently being thrown at developing battery-powered cars, Audi’s concept may well have been the most significant model to have debuted at Detroit. OEMs are usually reluctant to reveal the weight of show cars but in the case of the e-tron, a 1,350kg figure was stated. This, thanks to a lightweight ASF frame and fibre-reinforced plastic body panels, according to Audi. And that mid-mounted battery pack? By quoting the 399kg figure openly, it seems Audi agrees with those who maintain that EVs are not likely to become mainstream products just yet.
The opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Automotive World Ltd.
