– Buick says it may add all-wheel-drive to a future sedan now that it will be offered in its 2005 Terraza crossover sport van. “It all depends on the execution. Whenever we develop new vehicles, we ask ourselves if the vehicle needs AWD or not. But you have to balance the cost versus the need,” says Roger Adams, Buick general manager. Because every Buick sedan will be new within the next couple of years and all of its SUVs and CSVs will have it, it makes sense to offer it in a sedan as well.
– How is General Motors doing in its boast to produce “gotta have” vehicles that attract buyers without costly incentives? “We have the Cadillac CTS, Chevy SSR and Cadillac XLR with no incentive support and XLR is sold out,” says Gary Cowger, president of GM’s North American automotive operations.
– Displacement-on-demand, which shuts off cylinders when not needed to conserve fuel, has an important difference from gas/electric hybrids, in which batteries take some of the chore of propelling the car to save fuel, says Mark Hogan, General Motors’ group vice president of advance vehicle development. “DOD is not as expensive. Where DOD costs hundreds, hybrids costs thousands,” says Hogan.
– The 2004 Detroit Auto Show attracted 808,833 people, the second-highest attendance in the 16 years of the event, officials say. The show at Cobo Center drew 810,699 people in 2003. The third-highest attendance was 802,301 in 2000. This year’s auto show had more than 700 vehicles, with 55 being introduced.
– The Experimental Aircraft Association has chosen “Launch the Next Century of Flight” as its theme for the 2004 AirVenture Oshkosh July 27-Aug. 2 at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wis. The gathering draws more than 10,000 aircraft and thousands of people.
