Auto Show Season Brings Big Auto Spices

This year’s auto season delivered exotic spices to produce a luscious feast in the automotive industry. The banquet is a replica of one strong message - TRANSITION.

Getting more powerful
The Toyota Motor Corp.’s Scion brand unleashed more powerful product lines not by featuring the EBC Greenstuff but through more potent engines. The brand launched the second-generation xB at the Chicago Auto Show. The car is made to be boxy cool, compact and high-performing as compared to its ancestor. The secret spice? The 2.4-liter engine that replaced the previous 1.5-liter unit.

Would the alterations spoil Scion’s success? Steve Haag, the Scion corporate manager, said no. “The all-new xB was designed with the help of our passionate owner body. No other automotive company listens to their customers like we do. Our xB owners wanted a larger vehicle with a more powerful engine,” he declares.

The Japanese automaker also replaced the xA hatchback with the new xD, also slightly larger and more powerful than its predecessor with a 1.8-liter engine. All Scion models for 2008 received the new Scion family front design which has been described by Haag as a “menacing horizontal combination of headlights and grille.”

Additionally, standard equipment and safety features have been expanded, and the list of available accessories is even longer than before. What does not change, said Haag, is “a strategy to keep our models surprising, versatile, exclusive and personalization-friendly.”

Rear-wheel drive spice
When Hyundai announced its plan to set forth a rear-wheel drive revolution, few took it seriously. But not until the Genesis Concept was introduced at the much-concluded New York International Auto Show (NYIAS). Genesis, the midsize, rear-wheel drive sedan, is a disguised prototype for an upcoming model. The vehicle is designed to compete with the Infiniti G-series, Lexus IS and even the GS models.

“Genesis will allow us to speak to driving enthusiasts and showcase our engineering,” Johnson said. “Until Genesis, Hyundai had never had a car on the cover of Motor Trend,” said Hyundai Motor America spokesman Miles Johnson.

Johnson added that the Genesis marketing strategy will give Hyundai something that Toyota and Honda franchises do not offer: a rear-wheel drive luxury/sport model. He pointed out, though, that the Genesis marks an expansion rather than sea change for the brand. “We’re not walking away from Accent and Elantra,” he said. The Genesis will showcase the automaker’s new 300-plus horsepower V-8 and also offer a V-6 model priced under $30,000.

Kia and its Soul
Kia, the Korean automaker, introduced its Soul Concept, a small crossover utility vehicle. Kia Motors America Marketing VP Ian Beavis described the Soul as a “halo model,” a term not usually connected with low-priced vehicles. Halo, in this sense, means the Soul conveys the essence of the brand in a volume model.

Conceding the present product lines of the automaker have rather blend-in styling, Beavis said that the Soul kicks off a new era in expressive design for Kia while maintaining the brand’s value story. The boxy Soul, powered by a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine, enters the market dominated by the Scion xB, Chevrolet HHR and the Honda Element. The production version of the Soul is due for 2008.

Asked how the Soul fits the brand’s “Exciting and Enabling” credo, Beavis said, “Exciting doesn’t necessarily mean the biggest engine on the block.” The value, he added, will enable buyers to enjoy their lifestyles with this vehicle.

All-new Mercedes C-Class Mirrors Dealers Whims
Robert Allan, the product manager for the third-generation 2008 Mercedes-Benz C-Class which is due this summer, said that this car reflects far more input from Mercedes dealers than any of its predecessors did.

The all-new 2008 C-Class will offer a separate Sport model series, clearly delineated by design, feature content, and handling performance. The 2008 C-Class Sport models wear the brand’s ‘coupe’ front end styling, which flaunts a simpler grille with big star emblem in place of the C-Class Luxury models’ conventional Mercedes grille and hood ornament.

The differences from its predecessor are more than skin deep. Allan noted that the Sport models get special suspension tuning and wheels, AMG exterior styling and unique interiors. Meanwhile, dealers asked and received expanded standard equipment, simplified ordering and option packages, and the 4MATIC option on both the C300 Sport and Luxury models.

Audi’s True Coupe
Audi has not marketed a coupe in the United States since after the 1991 model year, so the A5 coming for 2008 etch a remarkable change in strategy for the brand. The company spokesman Chris Bokich said that the A5 coupe, while sharing mechanical elements with other Audi models, is a separate model series, not a variation on another body style as its previous coupes had been. The A5 also exudes the automaker’s vehicle construction flexibility.

“The A5 is indicative of what is to come on future Audi models, both in terms of extroverted exterior and interior design, as well as technically regarding the modular-structure technology,” said Bokich. “We have moved away from platforms and are now mixing and matching skeletal underbody components that can efficiently produce vehicles of differing length, width, and height.”

Linking the Past to the Future
Maserati gets back to its roots with the 2008 GranTurismo coupe. Though the previous Maserati coupe evoked a few classic brand design elements, the new GranTurismo pulls more attributes from the rich and varied heritage of the automaker for inspiration. The grille is pure 1950s-era Maserati racecar, and the long-hood proportions evoke the legendary Maserati front-engine GT coupes of the 1950s and 1960s.

“The GranTurismo is a true Maserati at first glance. It has already garnered global admiration and we are proud to now bring it to North America,” said James Selwa, the President and CEO of Maserati North America. The new model also builds on a successful brand strategy. “Maserati has become a competitive, credible choice in the $100,000 plus range, no small feat given the strong field of competitors in our segment,” Selwa added.

What the future brings
Infiniti also flaunted a concept vehicle at the New York Auto Show - the EX. The company spokesman Kyle Bazemore said that the EX Concept is “about 85 percent” true to the production EX35 model due late this year.

Smaller than the current FX crossover utility vehicle, the EX does not replace it. Bazemore expects the EX’s coupe-like styling to attract new customers to the brand. The EX35 rivals the BMW X3 and the Acura RDX. Cutting-edge technologies introduced include the Around View Monitor (AVM) camera system that reduces blind spots, and the Lane Departure Warning System. Infiniti will introduce another world technology first at the Los Angeles Auto Show.