Anyone who follows the auto industry more than occasionally probably will see few surprises at the 100th Chicago Auto Show, which opens Friday for a 10-day run at McCormick Place.
Long before most new vehicles appear at shows, snapshots of prototypes taken by spy photographers appear in enthusiast magazines and on the Internet, often with details on engines and other features, giving even casual observers a heads-up to what’s coming.
Also thanks to the Internet, cars a manufacturer sells in Europe or Asia are familiar to aficionados in the U.S. So savvy consumers may even know what’s coming from abroad well in advance.
And then there are the manufacturers, some of whom who can’t wait to tell everyone about the vehicles they plan to sell in two or three years. Toyota, Honda and others usually are tight-lipped about their plans, but General Motors Corp. told the world about the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro in 2006 and this year Ford followed with the Verve concept, a preview of another 2010 production model.
Jerry Cizek, president of the Chicago Automobile Trade Association, the dealer group that sponsors the show, says he would be happier with fewer leaks, previews and teasers, because they take some of the excitement from an unveiling at the show.
That was not the case with the Mazda Miata, which made its world debut at McCormick Place in 1989.
“Mazda told us about it, but we were sworn to secrecy,” Cizek said, and the car was one of the show’s big draws.
But life in the 21st Century is different, and spy shots and pre-show publicity can whet the appetites of curious consumers, Cizek adds.
“There’s nothing like seeing a vehicle in the flesh,” he said, and photographs, especially unflattering spy shots, often don’t do justice to the vehicles, encouraging a close-up look at the show.
And Cizek points out that 63 percent of show visitors aren’t there just to gawk. They tell the CATA in surveys that they plan to buy a new vehicle within two years.
Years ago many visitors came to see scantily-clad models, jugglers, magicians and celebrities, but McCormick Place now is a huge showroom that Chicago area dealers say fill their showrooms.
“Where else can you get a chance to get into every vehicle to see if your family fits?” Cizek said.
This year’s show doesn’t have a blockbuster unveiling like the original Miata, but a dozen or so production and concept vehicles will be shown for the first time, at least in North America.
Perhaps the best kept-secret is the 2009 Aura RL, the flagship of Honda’s luxury line, which was largely kept under wraps until the media preview Wednesday. The redesigned RL sports a restyling and a new V-6 engine while retaining all-wheel-drive.
Among other production debuts are the:
* 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8, a revival of the muscle car from the early 1970s and one of the industry’s worst kept secrets.
* Chevrolet Traverse, the latest member of GM’s large “crossover” family sold as the Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook.
* Hummer H3T, a pickup version of the smallest Hummer that fits between a full-size and midsize truck.
Ford and GMC have two of the more intriguing Chicago debuts.
Ford’s is the Transit Connect, a tall, compact commercial delivery van sold in Europe since 2002 and due to arrive here for 2010 as an alternative to full-size cargo vans and other large beasts of burden. Transit Connect, whose overall length of 179 inches is about 4 inches longer than the Focus, will have a 4-cylinder engine and be aimed at florists, caterers, couriers and other commercial users looking to save a buck on fuel. It has sliding doors on both sides, rear doors that swing out like barn doors and seats for up to five.
GMC, General Motors’ truck brand, has the Denali XT concept, a unibody (car-based) midsize pickup with GM’s dual-mode hybrid system and a V-8 that burns E85, the ethanol/gasoline blend.
GMC says the aggressively styled Denali XT hints at future styling directions, but the hybrid and weight-saving unibody platform could help GM’s trucks meet tougher fuel economy standards.
Honda has a midsize unibody pickup, the Ridgeline, and Toyota is hinting it wants one, too, with the A-BAT concept, a car-based pickup with gas/electric power.
North America debuts in Chicago include the BMW M3 sedan, the Porsche Cayenne GTS and the YES! Roadster, a mid-engine German sports car sold in Europe the last several years.
Audi will have its first U.S. showing of the 2009 A4.
Hyundai is showing the 2009 Sonata, with wholesale changes to the interior. Hyundai also will display the ’09 Elantra Touring, a four-door hatchback, for the first time in the U.S., and Mitsubishi is displaying the freshened 2009 Galant and Eclipse, both built in Downstate Normal.
Volkswagen has the Routan, a reskinned version of the Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan. Suzuki will show its first U.S. pickup, the Equator, a restyled Nissan Frontier.
Aside from the new vehicles, the biggest change from last year is that all eight of General Motors Corp.’s brands are in the North Hall. Previously, Cadillac Hummer and Saab were in the North Hall, and Chevy and the rest of the clan were South Siders. That means the South Hall also is largely rearranged and several manufacturers have built new displays.
The move coincides with GM’s 100th anniversary this year, though the celebration will be in September and GM is pitching it as more of a glance at the future than a look in the rearview mirror
Even with some 1,000 vehicles on display, visitors may be disappointed that the Smart Fortwo won’t be among them. Smart spokesman Ken Kettenbeil said the new brand didn’t have marketing money to display in Chicago after showing in Los Angeles and Detroit. It also will be New York next month.
The Fortwo went on sale in January but is sold out for most, if not all, of this year.
Hyundai, Suzuki, Subaru and International Truck also are in the North Hall, where the CATA will commemorate its 100th show with a display of a dozen or more cars from the last hundred years, including a 1903 Curved Dash Oldsmobile and a 1903 Ford Model A and photos from the CATA’s archives.
Chicago’s first auto show in 1901 was at the Coliseum at 15th and Wabash Ave., but the 100th isn’t until this year because the show was interrupted by World War II. It resumed in 1950, when the industry had returned to full civilian production and had plenty of new hardware to exhibit.
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rpopely@tribune.com
