Cars or trucks?
Front-wheel-drive or rear?
Luxury or economy models?
Imports or domestics?
How high can incentives go?
Carmakers hope their 2005 models will answer these questions and a variety of others.
If, as the automakers insist, consumers are prepared to return to cars after having filled their garages with trucks and sport-utility vehicles, manufacturers are ready with the introduction for ’05 of a couple dozen new cars and less than a half dozen new trucks.
Is the public ready to drop front-wheel-drive sedans and return to rear-drive? Chrysler and Cadillac expect as much, respectively, with their Chrysler 300/300C and Dodge Magnum and STS.
Or will consumers accustomed to FWD be swayed by cars that offer all-wheel-drive, the feature that attracted them to SUVs?
Ford’s money is there with the Five Hundred and Mercury Montego. The sedans, which come with FWD or AWD, will be joined by several more like them for 2006.
And were gas/electric hybrids a fluke based on the spike in gas prices to $2 a gallon or are more motorists enticed by the promise of higher mileage and lower emissions regardless of what petrol costs?
Honda hopes so. It unveils a hybrid Accord sedan, and Lexus and Ford bring the hybrid to sport-utility vehicles with the RX and Escape, respectively.
And will new sheet metal be all consumers need to accept 36 to 72 months of debt or will they need to see some cash on the hood before they reach for the checkbook?
Here are the potential answers to those questions with vehicles that are new or substantially revised for 2005:
Acura: The flagship RL sedan has fresh styling, a 3.5-liter V-6 that generate 300-horsepower, versus 225 previously, and standard all-wheel-drive.
Audi: A redesigned A6 sedan is due in November in two flavors, one with a 3.2-liter, 255-h.p. V-6, the other with a 4.2-liter, 335-h.p. V-8. A 6-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel-drive are standard on both.
Buick: The midsize LaCrosse sedan replaces Regal and Century, and is first up in what will be a remake of Buick’s car lineup in the next few years. Choice of 200 or 240 horsepower V-6s. LaCrosse is joined by Terraza, a crossover sport van, or CSV, that looks like an SUV to escape soccer mom image, but acts like a minivan, complete with sliding side doors and third-row seat that folds flat onto the floor. Choice of front or AWD.
Cadillac: The STS, another vehicle off the Sigma platform, along with the CTS sedan and SRX sport-utility, replaces the Seville and offers a V-6 in the rear-wheel-drive version, a V-8 in the all-wheel-drive version and keyless push-button and remote start in both.
Chevrolet: Gen 6 Corvette arrives with a redesign and a standard V-8 that achieves 400-h.p./400 foot-pounds of torque V-8. A promised higher-output version is in the wings. At the other end of the scale, the compact Cobalt replaces the aged and smaller Cavalier with high-mileage and high-performance supercharged versions. In trucks, Equinox, built off the same platform as the Saturn Vue, is a front-/all-wheel-drive successor to the mini Tracker SUV. Uplander is Chevy’s version of the crossover sport van.
Chrysler: The 300/300C RWD sedans replace the LH FWD sedans. The 300C is the top-of-the-line model, offering a 5.7-liter, 340-h.p. Hemi V-8 that has been so well received that automaker has had to boost engine production to meet demand. In the interest of higher mileage, four cylinders shut down when not needed. While stability and traction control are standard in all but the base model, all-wheel-drive is added late this year.
Dodge: The RWD Magnum looks very much like a station wagon. All-wheel-drive is added this fall. The R/T version offers the 5.7-liter, 340-h.p. Hemi V-8 with the four cylinders that shut down when not needed to boost fuel economy. The midsize Dakota pickup has been redesigned and is nearly 4 inches longer and 3 inches wider. In addition to the base 3.7-liter V-6, there’s a choice of regular and high-output 4.7-liter V-8s.
Ford: The premium midsize Five Hundred sedan arrives offering front/all-wheel-drive, 3-liter V-6 power, limo-like rear-seat room and a trunk that holds eight golf bags. The Taurus replacement has the cabin room of a full-size Crown Victoria. The next generation of the iconic Mustang features 1960’s fastback styling, a choice of a 210-h.p. V-6 or an a new 300-h.p. V-8, and more attention to cabin room and comfort. The Freestyle is the new FWD/AWD sport-ute/wagon crossover rival to the Chrysler Pacifica. Freestyle offers three rows of seats, with the third row flipping and folding flat into the floor. The compact Escape adds a high-mileage/low-emission gas/electric hybrid available in four-wheel-drive.
Honda: The Accord sedan gets gas-electric hybrid technology this fall. The hybrid version has a V-6 that can shut down half its cylinders and an electric motor that boosts acceleration and reduces fuel consumption. Redesigned Odyssey minivan has more room for all seats, which total eight on EX models with a new “PlusOne” second row. It has a center seat that converts to a tray or can be removed and stored in the floor. Odyssey’s 3.5-liter V-6 can shut down three cylinders at cruising speed to save gas.
Hyundai: A compact SUV, the Tucson, based on the Elantra, joins the lineup in October. Engine choices are a 2-liter 4-cylinder or 2.7-liter V-6 and FWD or 4WD with either. Side air bags for the front seats and side curtains are standard.
Jeep: The next generation Grand Cherokee gets a new look (subtle changes, but the seven-slotted grille is retained), new size (4 inch longer wheelbase/5 inch greater overall length) and new engines (a 3.7-liter, 210-h.p. V-6 from the Liberty; 4.7-liter, 230-h.p. V-8; and a 325-h.p. Hemi V-8). The Hemi Grand Cherokee with comes with dynamic handling system to control body roll and electronic stability control to prevent wheel slippage. Also includes headlamps that increase intensity as it gets darker, DVD entertainment system and side air-bag curtains. The compact Liberty for the first time in the U.S. adds a 2.8-liter, 4-cylinder turbocharged diesel rated at 160-h.p. and 295 foot-pounds of torque capable of towing up to 5,000 pounds and offering a driving range of about 480 miles. It will be teamed with a 5-speed automatic transmission and offered in the 4WD versions of the Liberty Sport and Limited models.
Kia: The Sportage SUV will return this fall, but this time it will be car-based (Spectra) instead of on a truck frame and offer a choice of engines, 2-liter 4 or 2.7-liter V-6. Side curtain air bags will be standard.
Land Rover: The LR3 replaces the Discovery and has Land Rover’s traditional square-cut styling. It has a Jaguar 4.4-liter V-8 that generates 300 h.p., 6-speed automatic, permanent 4WD, seats for seven and a system that adjusts ride height, torque response, the transmission, traction control and other functions to match five terrain settings.
Lexus: RX400h hybrid gas-electric SUV is due by year-end. Based on the RX330, it will have standard AWD with two electric motors that add 40 horsepower (to 270) and make the 400h more efficient than the RX330.
Mercedes-Benz: The German automaker teams with its racing partner for the SLR McLaren, a two-seater with a carbon-fiber body and chassis, 617 horsepower and a base price north of $450,000.
Mercury: Not long ago some were speculating Mercury would join Oldsmobile among the departed, but it is introducing a premium midsize Montego sedan. It’s offered in either front-drive with a new 6-speed automatic or all-wheel-drive with a continuously variable transmission. It will be joined for 2006 by the Mariner, a compact sport-ute derived from the Escape for ’05, and the Milan, a slightly smaller midsize sedan.
Nissan: On the truck side, the Pathfinder and Xterra SUVs and Frontier pickup are redesigned. All are available with a new 4-liter V-6, and the Pathfinder and Frontier are built on shorter versions of the full-size Titan pickup platform. Pathfinder grows to include a third row of seats for seven-passenger capacity, two more than before. Wheelbase on midsize Frontier grows 10 inches, to 126.
Pontiac: Midsize G6, the replacement for the Grand Am, is being dubbed the Oprah by some after the carmaker gave away more than 270 on her show. Built off the same Epsilon platform as the Chevy Malibu, the sedan version comes out first, followed by a coupe and a convertible next year. Goodies include panoramic roof with sliding panels and remote engine start. Only a 3.5-liter V-6 for now but a more potent 3.9-liter comes out next spring for the high-performance GTP version. The Montana gets the CSV treatment and an SV6 addition to its name.
Porsche: Carrera and Carrera S coupes are redesigned for 2005, though they retain the basic shape that has evolved over generations. A new active suspension program lets the driver choose normal and sport settings. Boxster gets its first major changes since it debuted for 1997, including fresh styling, more power and side head air bags (side thorax air bags were previously standard).
Saturn: It took General Motors’ switch to crossover sport vans to give Saturn an entry, the Relay, with SUV styling and minivan function.
Scion: tC coupe arrived in June, giving Toyota’s Gen Y brand its third model. The tC is more conventionally styled than other Scions.
Subaru: Redesigned Legacy and Outback have evolutionary styling changes, more luxurious interiors and a new emphasis on performance. Legacy GT models and the Outback XT have a new turbocharged 2.5-liter 4 with 250 h.p.
Suzuki: Lineup grows with addition of a Reno four-door hatchback and a Forenza wagon, both with a 2-liter 4-cylinder engine and standard side air bags.
Toyota: Tacoma pickup grows to midsize from compact and comes in three body styles, regular cab, extended cab and four-door Double Cab. Engine choices are a 2.7-liter 4 and 4-liter V-6. Inner cargo bed is now sheet-molded compound instead of steel. Highlander SUV adds a gas-electric hybrid version in the spring.
Volvo: Redesigned compact S40 sedan and V50 wagon (previously called V40) arrived in the summer offering 168- or 218-h.p. 5-cylinder engines (the latter turbocharged) and FWD or AWD.
