– BMW will offer a preview the X3 sport-utility vehicle when it unveils the xActivity concept at the Detroit Auto Show Jan. 6. The all-wheel-drive xActivity has an open top and no center roof pillars. The X3, due for the 2005 model year, will be smaller than the X5 SUV.
– Chrysler Group has shaved about $3 billion from projected manufacturing costs, which will be applied to a $30 billion plan to introduce new products, including the Pacifica crossover. The money will be saved by using the same tooling and machinery in a plant after a car is redesigned. This increased flexibility also will allow Chrysler to build Pacifica, coming out in spring as a 2004 model, on the same Windsor, Ontario, line as the Dodge and Chrysler minivans, though they share few components.
