For more years than most folks can remember–23 to be exact–Ford has dominated the full-size truck market.
General Motors hopes to end the reign, though there’s no timetable, at least none GM is letting anyone in on.
“Bringing out new half-ton Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra models for the 1999 model year was Phase I in trying to capture the full-size truck title,” said GM President Rick Wagoner while in town for the Chicago Auto Show.
“Our new Chevy Suburban/ Tahoe and GMC Yukon XL/Yukon for 2000 was phase II and new heavy-duty three-quarter- and one-ton trucks for 2001 is phase III. We had full-size truck leadership in the second half of ’99 without having our new heavy-duty three-quarter and one-ton trucks. We expect to sell 250,000 of those annually,” Wagoner said.
Proper Focus: The 2000 Ford Focus is performing as advertised, says a Ford executive.
The new compact Focus is taking over from the Escort as Ford’s entry-level volume leader and is living up to company forecasts that it would attract youth, said Martin Inglis, who was promoted in January to vice president of North American operations for Ford Motor Co. after heading its South American operations.
“At least 48 percent of the buyers are under 35,” he said.
Better yet, Inglis said, “we bring in at least $2,000 more on each Focus we sell than we did on each Escort, which was not one of our profitable propositions.”
Ford reportedly lost money on each Escort it sold. Inglis wouldn’t say whether the added $2,000 Focus brings in puts that car in the black.
Black ‘Bird: Still no definite word on when Ford will spring the new Thunderbird coupe built off the same platform as the Lincoln LS sedan.
“It’s getting closer,” Inglis said.
A rule of thumb in the industry is that you don’t display a concept on the auto-show circuit more than two years, otherwise the concept that looked fresh and distinctive the first year tends to show signs of age the third year because so many people are familiar with the design.
This is Thunderbird’s second year on the auto-show circuit as a concept. The only change this year from last is that it’s now black instead of yellow. Word still is a 2001 introduction.
Versatile Versatrak: The Versatrak all-wheel-drive system in the 2002 Buick Rendezvous will be offered in General Motors mini-vans, probably for the 2002 model year, insiders say. Versatrak allows for a third-row seat in Rendezvous and the mini-vans that can be folded flat against the floor to increase cargo capacity.
GM had the Honda Odyssey in mind when it adopted Versatrak. Odyssey has a third seat that folds into the floor, thus ruling out the room needed for the hardware to offer all-wheel-drive in that rival mini-van.
4×2-step: Chevy says its 2001 S-10 four-door Crew Cab initially will be offered only as a 4×4, but eventually will come in a lower-cost 4×2 version. Chevy expects its four-door Crew Cab to account for about 15 percent of S-10 sales.
Keen on Kia: Chicago is the No. 2 market in the nation for Kia, where the Sephia sedan and Sportage sport-utility vehicle split sales 50/50, said Dick Macedo, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Kia while here to unveil the 2001 Rio at the auto show.
Macedo said Rio will start in the $8,300 to $8,800 range when it goes on sale this fall.
But why a small car when all other automakers are focusing on trucks and sport-utes?
“They can’t afford to build a small car, we can,” he said.
Hyundai’s purchase of its fellow South Korean automaker last year helped the cash-strapped Kia.
“It costs more than $500,000 just to certify a car for sale in the U.S. and since Kia was bankrupt, there weren’t any $500,000 checks lying around. Without Hyundai, Rio would have been introduced much later,” Macedo said.
Stratus sphere: DaimlerChrysler President Jim Holden, in Chicago to unveil the redesigned 2001 Dodge Stratus sedan and coupe at the auto show, said he hopes to continue getting cars from Mitsubishi’s Normal plant beyond 2004.
DaimlerChrysler produces the Stratus sedan at its Sterling Heights, Mich., plant and the coupe, now called Avenger, but to be renamed Stratus for 2001, at Normal, where it is built off the Galant/Eclipse platform.
“We haven’t yet discussed any successor vehicles for the coupe either with Mitsubishi or at one of our own plants after 2004, but I wouldn’t preclude doing another vehicle with Mitsubishi if the deal is right,” Holden said.
“I have no reason to believe we won’t do another vehicle at Normal, whether a coupe or perhaps something else, he said. We haven’t discussed a successor model yet, but another coupe is the most probable,” Holden said. “We don’t have the capacity on our own to do both a sedan and a coupe in the same plant, and it (Normal) is a wonderful outlet for me to get another product for my lineup,” Holden said in an interview.
And before you ask, though Mitsubishi has started building a convertible Spyder edition of the Eclipse coupe at Normal, Holden said DaimlerChrysler “has no plans for a convertible version of the Stratus coupe.”
Tether time: Ford Motor Co. will install child-seat tether anchors in its 1989 through 2000 model Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles free. Tethers secure the top of the child seat to an anchor point to limit the forward motion of the seats in crashes. The government will require child-seat tethers in all vehicles starting in the 2001 model year. Consumers can call 1-800-392-3673 for the location of the nearest dealer to have the tether anchor installed.
Who’s on first?: Chevrolet general manager Kurt Ritter said there is one major difference between the Chevrolet Avalanche and Ford Equator full-size trucks displayed at the auto show that puts the Avalanche a step ahead of the competition.
Both feature small cargo beds, but open the extended cab passenger cabin when needed to haul long items, such as lumber. Avalanche’s rear window comes out, the seats and the cabin wall fold flat. Equator’s window, however, slips into the wall, the seats fold and the wall folds flat, eliminating the need to store a loose window.
“But our vehicle will be on the market (first quarter of 2001 as a 2002 model) while theirs is still a concept,” Ritter said.
But Equator, built off the F-150 pickup, also features steps that fold down when you open the doors and retract when you close the doors for easier entry/exit.
“That feature is still in play with us. We could do it if we want,” Ritter said. “We just wanted to communicate a couple of Avalanche’s features for now.”
Also take note of the concept Chevrolet Traverse, a sedan built off the S-10 pickup platform.
“We could go with that vehicle in different sizes,” Ritter said. “We could make it (subcompact) Cavalier size to come up with a small car offering lots of interior room.”
And what about an Impala SS?
“Stay tuned,” Ritter said.
Will Chevy unveil another Impala SS concept at this year’s Specialty Equipment Marketers Association show in Las Vegas, like it did with the SS concept that became a production model in 1994?
“Stay tuned,” Ritter repeated.
One vehicle you won’t see, however, is a bow-tie version of the Buick Rendezvous hybrid sport ute at the show.
There’s word that GM’s Saab unit will get a Rendezvous version, but Ritter rules out a low-cost rendition for Chevy.
What Chevy will get, however, is a V-6 engine for the Tracker sport-utility vehicle starting this fall for the 2001 model year. Tracker is a version of the Vitara supplied by Suzuki. Chevy has been limited by Suzuki to offering only a 4-cylinder Tracker.
