– Honda: The Odyssey mini-van is slated to add an optional 2.5-liter, twin-cam, V-6 in ’96.
The next-generation del Sol and Prelude should arrive in the ’97 model year. The Civic-based del Sol two-seater is slated for a modest makeover in mid-1996, as is the Prelude, which will likely remain powered by 4 cylinders.
Honda’s badge-engineered sport-utility, the Passport (nee Isuzu Trooper), gets a facelift in fall ’96.
A larger and less-conservative successor to the Accord is scheduled for the 1998 model year, when it may get a new 2.5-liter, 175-h.p., twin-cam, V-6.
Honda also is keen to get a version of the next-generation Isuzu Trooper to complement its Passport in ’97 or ’98.
– Hyundai: The company is considering whether to bring its second-generation Grandeur luxury sedan to the U.S. when the big four-door is redesigned in late 1996. The current model is about the size of the Acura Legend and is sold in Japan by Mitsubishi as the Debonair.
The compact Elantra sedan is being joined in the ’97 model year by a sporty coupe based on the HCD-II concept car and powered by a 1.8-liter, twin-cam 4.
A ’98 model year introduction is planned for the next-generation Sonata sedan (Code name: Y3), which may spawn a front-wheel-drive, seven-passenger mini-van in ’99.
– Infiniti: Nissan’s upscale division is adding a premium sport-utility to its U.S. lineup for the 1997 model year. Designed in California and based on the next-generation Pathfinder, the utility may be called the T45 and carry a $50,000 sticker.
The top-of-the-line Q45 sedan is slated to get a major overhaul in mid-1996.
The mid-range J30 sedan will be redesigned in the ’98 model year.
– Isuzu: The Japanese automaker will tap U.S. affiliate General Motors for a replacement for its TF-series pickup in mid-1996, based on the Chevy S-10. The truck will come from GM’s Shreveport, La., plant, with body panels shipped from GM do Brazil.
The Indiana-built Rodeo sport-utility also is slated for a reskin in the ’97 model year.
The company plans a major redesign of the Trooper in the ’98 model year and has talked with U.S. suppliers about shifting its production then from Japan to the Subaru-Isuzu Automotive plant in Lafayette, Ind. The plant now assembles the Passport and its Isuzu-badged twin, the Rodeo.
Isuzu is looking seriously at production editions of concept models, including the VehiCross and the XU-1 (sans gullwing doors), for the late 1990s.
– Jaguar: The British sports-car specialist plans a new mid-range sedan, built on a future Ford chassis, to pit against BMW’s 5-series and the Mercedes E-Class in the late 1990s. That vehicle is being developed under the code name X200 and may share underbody components with a new small Lincoln that’s due as a ’99 model.
Ford’s British luxury-car subsidiary is holding consumer clinics to test a radical new vehicle concept: A premium sport-utility, based on the next-generation Explorer that’s due in the ’99 model year, powered by Jaguar’s twin-cam V-8 engine. Formal approval is months away.
The Coventry-based firm is looking at a smaller model (Code name: X50) that would do battle with the entry-luxury Europeans, like the BMW 3-series and Mercedes C-Class. If approved, it won’t appear before decade’s end.
At the top of the range, Jaguar also expects to replace the recently restyled XJ6 sedan with an all-new, Lincoln-based flagship (Code name: X400) early in the next century.
– Jeep: Chrysler is revamping its Jeep Wrangler in mid-1996, altering the sheet metal, adding dual air bags and a quadralink coil-spring suspension and installing the 2.4-liter, 138-h.p., twin-cam, 4-cylinder from the Cirrus/Stratus sedans.
A replacement for the Grand Cherokee (Code name: WJ), powered by a 3.5-liter, 200-h.p., overhead-cam, V-6, is due as a ’99 model. The current vehicle may be carried over with modest changes and redubbed Grand Cherokee Classic.
– Kia: Not content to be an entry-level player, Korean automaker Kia Motor, an affiliate of Ford and Mazda, aims to crack the lucrative mid-size market in the ’97 model year with an all-new sedan known by its code name: G-car. Reports from Korea say the G-car will be sold with 4-cylinder and V-6 engines, the latter built under license from Britain’s Rover Cars. Its chief virtue will likely be price: Around $18,000 for a nicely equipped version, or about $3,000 to $5,000 less than a comparably equipped American or Japanese rival.
– Lincoln: A new rear-wheel-drive, entry-level sport sedan (Code name: DEW98) known internally as the “Legend fighter,” joins the Lincoln line in 1999. It will be about the size of the Infiniti J30 and powered by a 3.5-liter, twin-cam, V-8 with a five-speed automatic transmission.
The restyled ’99 Town Car (Code name: FN145) keeps much of its bulk along with its rear-wheel-drive chassis, but gets a cosmetic makeover to take in into the next century.
Ford wants to put the Lincoln badge on one, maybe two upscale sport-utilities segment, including a version of the next-generation Explorer in ’98 and an all-new “Suburban fighter” due around the same time.
The slinky L2K roadster could find its way to Lincoln-Mercury dealerships toward the end of the decade if Ford planners can figure out a way to build it in low volume (i.e., 2,000 units a year) yet sell it for less than $50,000. One answer would be to share components with another production model.
In the case of the proposed two-seater, its potential sibling might be the new DEW98 near-luxury sedan Lincoln plans to unveil in the ’99 model year. The pieces, including the four-door’s 3.5-liter, twin-cam, V-8, could be shared with the roadster to help keep the price down.
An all-new Mark IX (Code name: FN157) is in the works for 2000, powered by a new 4-liter, twin-cam, V-8 and an electronically controlled five-speed automatic. The same engine will power the next-generation Continental (Code name: FW136) due in 2001. Few major changes are in store for Lincoln’s volume leader, the Town Car, before 2003.
– Mazda: Successors to the 626 sedan and the MX6 sport coupe may go into production at the Auto Alliance International plant in Flat Rock, Mich., in mid-1996.
– Mercedes-Benz: The sexy SLK roadster that’s been making the auto-show rounds is slated to debut as a ’97 model.
Also due in the U.S. in the coming year is a new C-Class wagon. Priced from the low 30s, it will be aimed at such high-end import wagons as the Volvo 850, Mitsubishi Diamante and Audi A6. Like the sedan, the wagon will offer a choice of a 2.2-liter, 4-cylinder (C220) or a 2.8-liter 6 (C280). Dual air bags, ABS and traction control will be standard on the deluxe edition. A coupe is also expected in ’97.
The German automaker’s Alabama-built AAV (for all-activity vehicle) is due to reach dealerships in the fall of ’97 as a ’98 model. Looking like a fairly conventional sport-utility, it eventually will be offered in several versions, including hard- and soft-top.
– Mercury: A replacement for the Tracer sedan (Code name: CT120) is due in mid-1996, sharing mechanicals with the Escort and Mazda Protege. A coupe and a wagon will join the series in the ’97 model year.
Ford may use the Mercury name on an up-market version of the all-new four-door Bronco that debuts as a ’97 model.
A new smaller Cougar (Code name: CDT139) is expected to come from the AutoAlliance International plant in Flat Rock for 1998. A convertible companion could arrive a year later.
Ford’s Lorain plant in Ohio may build a new front-wheel-drive, Taurus-based edition of the Grand Marquis (Code name: EN158) beginning in mid-1998. The smaller, Euro-style sedan will be aimed at premium Japanese four-doors such as the Toyota Avalon.
– Mitsubishi: In the ’97 model year, look for replacements for the 3000GT sport coupe and Diamante and Mirage sedans, as well as a substantial facelift for the Montero sport-utility and Mighty Max pickup.
– Nissan: A redesigned Pathfinder sport-utility is due in mid-1996 and will share mechanicals with a new Infiniti-badged companion. The 240SX coupe is expected to add a soft-top version in ’96.
Japanese sources predict that the next-generation 300ZX will surface in the 1997 calendar year, but few details have emerged as to the car’s styling or technical layout. One proposal has the next-generation ZX metamorphosing into more of a personal luxury car, much like the Lexus SC400, without the high-performance engine, but fitted with more of the amenities and accoutrements in high-end coupes. The next ZX could share a mechanical base with the Infiniti Q45, which boasts a state-of-the-art chassis and a potent twin-cam, V-8 engine, but is priced at more than $50,000.
– Oldsmobile: The Silhouette mini-van is being replaced in mid-1996 by a steel-bodied successor that eschews the Space Shuttle styling of the current model in favor of a more conservative design. The early ’97 model will have some intriguing features, including dual sliding side doors, plus more of an international flavor.
The successor to the Achieva (Code name: GMX130) will arrive in the division’s centennial year, ’97, sharing a chassis and driveline with the next-generation Pontiac Grand Am. Look for a new name on the Olds compact. Also due in the ’97 model year, a companion to the new Chevy Malibu compact, to which Olds may transfer the Cutlass Ciera moniker.
The Antares show car from the Chicago Auto Show is described by Olds insiders as a slightly modified forerunner of the car that will replaced the Cutlass Supreme (Code name: GMW170) in spring 1997. Its Aurora-like styling will be complemented in ’98 by a new 3.5-liter, V-6 version of the corporate Premium V (Northstar) family.
Olds may delay the launch of its next-generation Eighty-Eight sedan by six to nine months, to the 1999 model year, “to get it right,” according to one division official. But its companion, the Nighty-Eight Regency, could be phased out of production a year or two earlier.
The new full-size family sedan is to be based mechanically on the Aurora (G-body) and is often referred to by division insiders as the “G-minus” because its exterior dimensions are slightly smaller than those of the Olds flagship. Inside General Motors, the car carries the official designation GMX160, and it will likely shed the Eighty-Eight nameplate in favor of a more contemporary badge such as Anthem.
– Plymouth: The nifty Prowler neo-hot-rod is in the pipeline for production as a limited-volume ’97 model, though corporate officials could still pull the plug. Anticipated sticker: $35,000.
– Pontiac: Scheduled for a mid-1996 intro is the new Pontiac Grand Prix, which gets its first major exterior revision since the car’s debut in 1988. Powertrain and chassis components will be largely carried over from the present. A prototype, the 300 GPX, is at the Chicago Auto Show.
Also due in mid-1996 is a next-generation Trans Sport van (Code name: U2), along with companion models for Chevy, Olds and Opel, GM’s German affiliate that has been assisting with engineering.
– Porsche: The German sports-car specialist expects to introduce its new Boxster two-seat roadster here in the fourth quarter of 1996, with a price tag of around $40,000.
– Rolls-Royce: German automaker BMW, which last year acquired Britain’s Rover Cars, has come to the aid of ailing UK manufacturer Rolls-Royce. BMW has agreed to supply powertrain and suspension components for the 1998 Bentley Java convertible, the production version of the slick concept car that debuted last spring at the Geneva International Motor Show.
– Saab: The successor to the 9000 series is due in the ’97 model year. GM’s Opel subsidiary will supply V-6 engines to the Swedish automaker (in which GM holds a 50 percent stake).
– Saturn: The GM division’s SC-series coupes get a major facelift for the ’97 model year, but few significant mechanical changes.
The next-generation Opel Astra, a European subcompact about the size of the old Pontiac LeMans, may provide the mechanical base for a new model that Opel and Saturn are developing. In the U.S., Saturn will slot the new car below its SL/SC/SW family of compacts in ’98 or ’99.
GM reportedly is considering a plan to consolidate the next-generation Saturn compacts on the same platform as the new-for-1997 Chevy Malibu. If the plan is approved, the two car lines could begin sharing major underbody components early in the next decade.
– Toyota: A replacement for the Kentucky-built Camry sedan and wagon are anticipated for the ’97 model year. The next Camry also will spawn a new front-wheel-drive mini-van to replace the Previa the following year.
Toyota reportedly is considering whether to build a four-door edition of the new RAV4 sport-utility vehicle at its Ontario plant. The Cambridge facility is undergoing a multi-million-dollar expansion and could begin building the four-door in the 1997 model year.
– Volkswagen: The German automaker’s supervisory board has approved production of the snappy Concept One at the company’s Puebla plant in Mexico. The neo-Beetle is expected to go into production in the 1999 model year and will be targeted initially at the North American market. Components will be shared with the next-generation Golf/Jetta. Prices are expected to start at around $12,000.
– Volvo: The Swedish automaker is teaming with Mitsubishi at its Dutch plant to build a new compact 500-series for ’96, based on the Japanese automaker’s new Lancer family. No firm plans exist for U.S. sales, but Volvo insiders say the cars could arrive here in calendar ’97.
