Toyota’s Lexus luxury division unveiled the Lexus IS concept that is the forerunner of the sport sedan Lexus said is coming to the U.S. by mid-2000 to compete with the Audi A4 and the BMW 3-Series in the entry-level luxury segment, where vehicles usually sell for $27,000 to $32,000.
Lexus says IS will be a smaller, lower-cost companion to the Lexus GS sedan, an entry-level luxury sports sedan like the Lexus ES300 is an entry-level luxury sedan.
Byran Bergsteinsson, Lexus Division general manager, said one of the holdups in bringing the IS to the U.S. involves deciding what size engine to put in the car.
“The target audience is younger educated professionals who are also enthusiasts seeking a car that makes them feel connected to the road. Frankly these buyers may not have considered purchasing a Lexus in the past, and we’re anxious to introduce them into the Lexus family,” said Bergsteinsson.
The IS has been voted the Car of the Year in Japan, where it has been on sale the last year as the Altezza and is due in Europe next spring as the IS200. The IS probably will require a larger displacement engine than the 2-liter 4-cylinder in Altezza when it goes on sale in the U.S.. Toyota and Lexus officials are trying match the engine to the car’s stylish exterior.
“We guarantee performance to match its body. The styling of the IS is aggressive and powerful, with the sharply wedged-shaped silhouette emphasizing the sporty nature of the car,” Bergsteinsson said.
The IS interior is spacious with aluminum pedals and a chronograph-style speedometer and tachometer. IS will be built in limited numbers in Japan for export to the U.S.
Trucks R Us: Ford Motor Co. has come up with more ideas for pushing its highly successful Ford pickup and Explorer into new shapes to appeal to even more buyers.
“We don’t sit still when it comes to providing customers with trucks that fit their needs,” said James O’Connor, the Ford vice president in charge of the Ford Division. For example, only five years ago, 70 percent of the trucks sold in the U.S. were ordered with conventional cabs, O’Connor said. Now, about 70 percent are sold with supercabs or extended cabs. The popularity of the supercabs and three- and four-door pickups indicates consumers like the idea of trucks with more room in the cab, O’Connor said.
The new F-150 Crew Cab, which Ford plans to build at its truck assembly plant in Kansas City, Mo., starting early next year, carries the trend toward larger cabs to its next step, noted J Mays, Ford’s vice president of design.
“The Crew Cab is a fully functional pickup with room for six adults,” Mays added. The latest extension in the F-Series line will come with 4.6-liter engine and uses the same driveline, chassis and braking systems from the current F-Series truck.
Mazda van odyssey: Mazda previewed its 2000 model MPV mini-van that goes on sale this summer. Like the ’99 Honda Odyssey, the MPV rear seat folds into the floor to provide expanded flat cargo space or can be flipped over to face rearward so you can open the hatchlid and watch the soccer game from the comfort of your vehicle–especially handy if the hatchlid is being used to keep the rain off your head.
Richard Beattie, Mazda’s president of North American operations, insists that the struggling automaker is “turning the corner” as sales for ’98 were up 8.3 percent, the first gain in four years.
“But we must keep launching new products and we’re still most in need of a long-awaited sport-utility,” Beattie said.
Mazda is expected to get a version of a new Ford sport-ute to be built in Kansas City, Mo., for 2001. Beattie won’t say.
He also said there are “no plans to launch an RX-7 back in the North American market,” though admitting “the RX-7 was part of our heritage and we need to bring it back at some stage in the future.” While the RX-7 was known for its rotary engine, Beattie said “it wouldn’t necessarily have to come back with a rotary, but it would have to come back at a lower price.”
The RX-7 started at just less than $40,000 before being discontinued at the end of the 1995 model year after initially going on sale in the 1979 model year for $6,995 and topping $30,000 for the first time in the 1991 model year.
Sales driver: Jaguar has big plans for its new S-Type vehicle.
Nick Scheele, Jaguar’s chairman and chief executive, said in Detroit that the S-Type, which will share some parts with Ford Motor Co.’s new Lincoln LS, will extend the Jaguar line into a new part of the luxury car market.
The retail prices for the new S-Type probably will start at $45,000 to $50,000. Currently, the least expensive Jaguar starts at $55,200.
In addition, Jaguar has added plant capacity to build the S-Type, giving it more cars for dealers in the U.S. and western Europe, where its sales grew at double digit rate in 1998 (21.4 percent in Europe and 22 percent in Britain.)
The S-sentials: The 2000 S-Class Mercedes-Benz sedan, introduced in Europe last year and set to go on sale in North America this spring, will come with two V-8 engines and be marketed as the S430 (4.3-liter V-8) and the S500 (5-liter V-8). It will start at about $70,000. The new S-Class is shorter than its predecessor, yet rear-seat legroom has been increased, Mercedes says.
Active duty: Tom Purves, sales and marketing director of the Rover Group, said the Discovery II, which went on sale last fall, is the first sport-ute with active suspension. The Freelander, Land Rover’s mini-sport-ute on sale in Europe, will arrive in the U.S. in late 2000, sporting a new 24-valve V-6 and automatic transmission.
Land Rover also will offer a limited-edition Discovery called the Land Rover TReK 99 painted in Molten orange and fitted with big off-road tires.
Plugged in: Electric vehicles are still getting an intense look from automakers.
At the Detroit Auto Show, Ford Motor Co. announced that it had acquired a majority interest in Pivco Industries, a Norwegian company that has produced a two-seat, plastic-body electric “city” car that weighs less than 2,000 pounds and is scheduled to go on sale in Scandinavia late this year. Ford officials said the acquisition was an effort to tap into the Norwegian company’s innovative technology. They also left the door open to the possibility of importing the electric runabout into the U.S., though it is likely the vehicle will be marketed in other parts of Europe first.
