Autoweek 1988 Detroit Auto Show Coverage
Content
GM hopes to run rings around Japan
eneral Motors' Saturn Division, which has been hiding in its dressing room for more than a year after suffering severe publicity burns under the limelight, is cautiously stepping back onstage. With word that the GM board has apSaturn early in its life was organized under the CPC (Chevrqlet-Pontiac-Canada) umbrella, but as of Jan. 1 will be a separate entity on a par
1
innovation and futuristic vision,
rest rumors its name might be changed) and execs are again speaking in public. Another factor shining more light on Saturn: The dramatic shift in the values of the dollar and yen has rendered the division's original goal of competing head-to-head with Japanese automakers' small cars atAUTOWEEK JANUARY 4, 1988
With the first Saturn car, a small sedan, scheduled to roll out of a new assembly plant in Spring Hill, Tenn., in the summer of 1990, Saturn president Richard G. LeFauve boasted to Detroit newspapers that the division aims to mqtch the Japanese automakers on quality of design and assembly and may even beat them on price. Saturn is
bines with letters like those in the logo of NASA, the U.S. space agency. GM would not c o n f i reports its board okayed Saturn funds in December, but, the burst of publicity lends credence to reports from insiders. GM trumpeted the cteation of Saturn early, then clamped down after adverse publicity during its formation.
.
sports car driver takes on the ultimate strset brsrCIe
WORT,D NEWS continued
1 Nissan's school of hard knocks
h, the life a show car caviar re0Champagne ofandcourt before ceptions. Holding
I Show cars damaged en route to L A . , Detroit shows
hundreds of reporters and photographers. Red carpet treatment wherever you go. Well, not quite. As Cecil Gold of California Custom Coach, manufacturers of the Auburn Boattail and Ferrari 365 GTB 4 replicars, will Bright lights and Bondo: The life of a show car tell you, two of Nissan's recent auto show offerings have had less than an the job. "We almost had the car ready for easy life. The Tuesday before the L.A. Saturday," said Gold, "but the fire marauto show he got a call from some people shall wouldn't let us in. We were only ten at Nissan. "It seems that one of the cars had minutes late." Sunday shown bright, howbroken loose inside the trailer carrying them ever, as both vehicles were ready for the to the show and damaged itself and the show. Said Gold, "We didn't do too badly other car." The Jura, a van-like prototype, considering that I pulled five guys off of our took the biggest hit. "The Jura's front was show car (a 365 GTB 4 replica built on a broken into five different sections," said 1988 Corvette) and we got both projects Gold, "but the rear had the most damage. done by Sunday." Our story doesn't end here, however. On The lower back was gone ... broken into three distinct pieces. What a mess. And it their way cross-country to the Detroit auto show, a turnbuckle on a tie-down strap had been damaged before. ' ' The Jura wasn't the only casualty, how- broke and both cars were once again daever. Nissan's ARC-X, said to be a close maged, this time more heavily than before. copy of the four-door sedan due from Nis- These bumps in the night didn't make the san's Infiniti division, was also damaged. people from Nissan feel all that great. You "It had a big dent in the top of the hood see, the vehicles were to be centerpieces at a and dents in three other places. The front special meeting of Nissan's top U.S. brass lens was broken in three spots, but it wasn't and the Detroit dealer body. But it's a little tough to put your best foot forward with as bad as the other vehicle. " Called in by Nissan representatives to re- damaged goods. Our last report had the two pair the cars to showcase splendor, Gold undergoing more all-night surgery. Maybe the life of a show car isn't all and his crew worked round-the-clock through the New Year holiday to complete champagne and caviar after all.
AUTOWEEK FEBRUARY 1,1988
Long a third-class citizen z the kingdom of auto shows, n the home of America's industry may soon bid for knighthood
By Kevin A. Wilson
Photos by Jeff Dworin, ~ h a r l e Krasner and Jim Frenak s
f there was an underlying theme to the 72nd Detroit Auto Show Jan. 16-24 it was "wait 'ti1 next year." Not that there was anything wrong with this year's show: It was just a mite thin on cars that hadn't already been seen in Los Angeles or at GM7sback-slapping party at the Waldorf (AW, Jan. 25). Detroit's hometown auto show continues to be a second or even third-class citizen. No American show compares with the extravaganzas st Frankfurt or Tokyo, but even by U.S. standards Detroit gets little respect from its hometown industry. L.A. is a natural focal point for Japanese makes, New York for Europeans, and, by default, Chicago gets the domestic limelight. That may change, perhaps as early as 1989, when expansion of Detroit's Cobo Hall exhibit area is completed. It may then compete with McCormick Place for major announcements and debuts by the Big Three. Such, at least, was the talk among the insiders this year. Consider: Had GM not been so eager to mine publicity in Manhattan, several of its stars would have debuted in Detroit, where they were at least seen by a wider public than at the "by invitation only" Waldorf event. Ford saved its odd-looking Lincoln Machete for Detroit and even Chrysler had a few volleys to fire at home. If major show cars denote a major show, then, Detroit came this close to a breakthrough this year. If major new production car debuts are the gauge, you could put the Buick Reatta (shown at L.A. but not priced and on sale until Detroit) on the plus side, Ford's decision to hold its Probe until Chicago on the minus side. Once the display space is expanded, Detroit's remaining problem is timing: The show in L.A., America's other automotive capital, precedes Detroit's on the calendar and the Big Three won't want to hold back all their big announcements for the home crowd. But the foundations (both Cobo Hall's real ones and the philosophical ones) were being laid this year to give Detroit a status at least equal to the L.A., Chicago and New York shows. Isn't that as it should be?
LINCOLN MACHETE
Show car news interest focused by default on the Lincoln Machete debuting in Detroit. (The Cadillac Voyage was our Best in Show in Detroit, but we showed that luxury sedan concept to you last week in our coverage of the General Motors "Teamwork and Technology" show at New York's Waldorf-Astoria where it debuted.) The Machete's points of interest: "Deployable" aero-aids front and rear extend for downforce at speed and drag under braking, liquid-crystal technology varies tint of glass canopy, and "minicube" headlights are due in production a few years hence. Its dimensions suggest it might have been built on the datform slated for the new Thunderbird, due this fall, but no production plans were mentioned. Ford chief designer Jack Telnack says Machete proves "not all concept cars need to look alike ... (It) is just one more shape that future aero-designs can take. " A 0.25 Cd is calculated, but it has never been tested in a wind tunnel. Bizarre nose may be good for slicing and dicing through tight city traffic. More intriguing: "ergonomic sculpture" interior in which driver's seat and console are a unit, keeping control-to-driver relationships constant.
,
1
Machete was extreme departure from current design trends. Reactions to the boldly styled Lincoln, which featured a surprising amount of brightwork, were mixed but it drew a crowd, it made a statement. No plans for production
A U T O W E E K FEBRUARY I . 1988
PLYMOUTH SLINGSHOT
Somewhat akin to the IAD Alien design that made the European show circuit a couple of years back, this product of Chrysler design interns is intended as an inexpensive sporty car for the youth market. Built of modules for easy service/replacement, and with a concentration on safety, the Slingshot rates high on enthusiasm and oddity scales.
REAWA RAGTOP
Due for the '89 model vear, this convertible version of Buick's new two-seat image car will sell, we hear from an insider, for about $34,000-0r a clean $9000 more than the $25,000 introductory price on the hardtop coupe (see World News section). ASC is involved in design and engineering of the convertible, but that doesn't necessarily mean Heinz Prechter's growing design house will actually construct it for Buick: The Reatta Craft Centre may build the ragtops in-house.
mid-engine is,-predictably, a 2.2 liter 16-valve interckled turbo making 225 hp at 6000 rpm and 225 Ib ft torque at 3500 rpm. With rear-drive, all-independent suspension and off-the-shelf parts, it would make a good sports car for the '90s. Unfortunately, there isn't even a hint at production.
I
GMC SIERRA A/R 400
Think about the best all-around suspension for a truck that goes both on and off the road. Range Rover's long-travel coil,springs are considered the best compromise going, but GM is looking ahead. What better solution than active suspension, direct from GM-owned Lotus and its hydraulics-making partner Moog, Inc.? AIR stands for the Active Ride suspension, which-apart from some trick cosmetics--is the onlv difference between this full-size C pickup and the ones on G ~ dealer lots.
-
Chrysler touted its Lamborghini exotics to spice up the show, bringing the Portofino show car from Frankfurt (AW, Oct. 5, 1987) and Lambo's wild V12-propelled LM002 off-roader, coming soon to a country club near you.
AUTOWEEK FEBRUARY I . 1988
NOTCHBACK FlREBlRD GTA
It's real, it's in production, and it may help to staunch the declining sales of GM's F-body cars. Expected earlier, it's here now as a sort of semi-surprise. The aftermarket did it first, now GM does it in-house.
eneral Motors' Saturn Division, which has been hiding in its dressing room for more than a year after suffering severe publicity burns under the limelight, is cautiously stepping back onstage. With word that the GM board has apSaturn early in its life was organized under the CPC (Chevrqlet-Pontiac-Canada) umbrella, but as of Jan. 1 will be a separate entity on a par
1
innovation and futuristic vision,
rest rumors its name might be changed) and execs are again speaking in public. Another factor shining more light on Saturn: The dramatic shift in the values of the dollar and yen has rendered the division's original goal of competing head-to-head with Japanese automakers' small cars atAUTOWEEK JANUARY 4, 1988
With the first Saturn car, a small sedan, scheduled to roll out of a new assembly plant in Spring Hill, Tenn., in the summer of 1990, Saturn president Richard G. LeFauve boasted to Detroit newspapers that the division aims to mqtch the Japanese automakers on quality of design and assembly and may even beat them on price. Saturn is
bines with letters like those in the logo of NASA, the U.S. space agency. GM would not c o n f i reports its board okayed Saturn funds in December, but, the burst of publicity lends credence to reports from insiders. GM trumpeted the cteation of Saturn early, then clamped down after adverse publicity during its formation.
.
sports car driver takes on the ultimate strset brsrCIe
WORT,D NEWS continued
1 Nissan's school of hard knocks
h, the life a show car caviar re0Champagne ofandcourt before ceptions. Holding
I Show cars damaged en route to L A . , Detroit shows
hundreds of reporters and photographers. Red carpet treatment wherever you go. Well, not quite. As Cecil Gold of California Custom Coach, manufacturers of the Auburn Boattail and Ferrari 365 GTB 4 replicars, will Bright lights and Bondo: The life of a show car tell you, two of Nissan's recent auto show offerings have had less than an the job. "We almost had the car ready for easy life. The Tuesday before the L.A. Saturday," said Gold, "but the fire marauto show he got a call from some people shall wouldn't let us in. We were only ten at Nissan. "It seems that one of the cars had minutes late." Sunday shown bright, howbroken loose inside the trailer carrying them ever, as both vehicles were ready for the to the show and damaged itself and the show. Said Gold, "We didn't do too badly other car." The Jura, a van-like prototype, considering that I pulled five guys off of our took the biggest hit. "The Jura's front was show car (a 365 GTB 4 replica built on a broken into five different sections," said 1988 Corvette) and we got both projects Gold, "but the rear had the most damage. done by Sunday." Our story doesn't end here, however. On The lower back was gone ... broken into three distinct pieces. What a mess. And it their way cross-country to the Detroit auto show, a turnbuckle on a tie-down strap had been damaged before. ' ' The Jura wasn't the only casualty, how- broke and both cars were once again daever. Nissan's ARC-X, said to be a close maged, this time more heavily than before. copy of the four-door sedan due from Nis- These bumps in the night didn't make the san's Infiniti division, was also damaged. people from Nissan feel all that great. You "It had a big dent in the top of the hood see, the vehicles were to be centerpieces at a and dents in three other places. The front special meeting of Nissan's top U.S. brass lens was broken in three spots, but it wasn't and the Detroit dealer body. But it's a little tough to put your best foot forward with as bad as the other vehicle. " Called in by Nissan representatives to re- damaged goods. Our last report had the two pair the cars to showcase splendor, Gold undergoing more all-night surgery. Maybe the life of a show car isn't all and his crew worked round-the-clock through the New Year holiday to complete champagne and caviar after all.
AUTOWEEK FEBRUARY 1,1988
Long a third-class citizen z the kingdom of auto shows, n the home of America's industry may soon bid for knighthood
By Kevin A. Wilson
Photos by Jeff Dworin, ~ h a r l e Krasner and Jim Frenak s
f there was an underlying theme to the 72nd Detroit Auto Show Jan. 16-24 it was "wait 'ti1 next year." Not that there was anything wrong with this year's show: It was just a mite thin on cars that hadn't already been seen in Los Angeles or at GM7sback-slapping party at the Waldorf (AW, Jan. 25). Detroit's hometown auto show continues to be a second or even third-class citizen. No American show compares with the extravaganzas st Frankfurt or Tokyo, but even by U.S. standards Detroit gets little respect from its hometown industry. L.A. is a natural focal point for Japanese makes, New York for Europeans, and, by default, Chicago gets the domestic limelight. That may change, perhaps as early as 1989, when expansion of Detroit's Cobo Hall exhibit area is completed. It may then compete with McCormick Place for major announcements and debuts by the Big Three. Such, at least, was the talk among the insiders this year. Consider: Had GM not been so eager to mine publicity in Manhattan, several of its stars would have debuted in Detroit, where they were at least seen by a wider public than at the "by invitation only" Waldorf event. Ford saved its odd-looking Lincoln Machete for Detroit and even Chrysler had a few volleys to fire at home. If major show cars denote a major show, then, Detroit came this close to a breakthrough this year. If major new production car debuts are the gauge, you could put the Buick Reatta (shown at L.A. but not priced and on sale until Detroit) on the plus side, Ford's decision to hold its Probe until Chicago on the minus side. Once the display space is expanded, Detroit's remaining problem is timing: The show in L.A., America's other automotive capital, precedes Detroit's on the calendar and the Big Three won't want to hold back all their big announcements for the home crowd. But the foundations (both Cobo Hall's real ones and the philosophical ones) were being laid this year to give Detroit a status at least equal to the L.A., Chicago and New York shows. Isn't that as it should be?
LINCOLN MACHETE
Show car news interest focused by default on the Lincoln Machete debuting in Detroit. (The Cadillac Voyage was our Best in Show in Detroit, but we showed that luxury sedan concept to you last week in our coverage of the General Motors "Teamwork and Technology" show at New York's Waldorf-Astoria where it debuted.) The Machete's points of interest: "Deployable" aero-aids front and rear extend for downforce at speed and drag under braking, liquid-crystal technology varies tint of glass canopy, and "minicube" headlights are due in production a few years hence. Its dimensions suggest it might have been built on the datform slated for the new Thunderbird, due this fall, but no production plans were mentioned. Ford chief designer Jack Telnack says Machete proves "not all concept cars need to look alike ... (It) is just one more shape that future aero-designs can take. " A 0.25 Cd is calculated, but it has never been tested in a wind tunnel. Bizarre nose may be good for slicing and dicing through tight city traffic. More intriguing: "ergonomic sculpture" interior in which driver's seat and console are a unit, keeping control-to-driver relationships constant.
,
1
Machete was extreme departure from current design trends. Reactions to the boldly styled Lincoln, which featured a surprising amount of brightwork, were mixed but it drew a crowd, it made a statement. No plans for production
A U T O W E E K FEBRUARY I . 1988
PLYMOUTH SLINGSHOT
Somewhat akin to the IAD Alien design that made the European show circuit a couple of years back, this product of Chrysler design interns is intended as an inexpensive sporty car for the youth market. Built of modules for easy service/replacement, and with a concentration on safety, the Slingshot rates high on enthusiasm and oddity scales.
REAWA RAGTOP
Due for the '89 model vear, this convertible version of Buick's new two-seat image car will sell, we hear from an insider, for about $34,000-0r a clean $9000 more than the $25,000 introductory price on the hardtop coupe (see World News section). ASC is involved in design and engineering of the convertible, but that doesn't necessarily mean Heinz Prechter's growing design house will actually construct it for Buick: The Reatta Craft Centre may build the ragtops in-house.
mid-engine is,-predictably, a 2.2 liter 16-valve interckled turbo making 225 hp at 6000 rpm and 225 Ib ft torque at 3500 rpm. With rear-drive, all-independent suspension and off-the-shelf parts, it would make a good sports car for the '90s. Unfortunately, there isn't even a hint at production.
I
GMC SIERRA A/R 400
Think about the best all-around suspension for a truck that goes both on and off the road. Range Rover's long-travel coil,springs are considered the best compromise going, but GM is looking ahead. What better solution than active suspension, direct from GM-owned Lotus and its hydraulics-making partner Moog, Inc.? AIR stands for the Active Ride suspension, which-apart from some trick cosmetics--is the onlv difference between this full-size C pickup and the ones on G ~ dealer lots.
-
Chrysler touted its Lamborghini exotics to spice up the show, bringing the Portofino show car from Frankfurt (AW, Oct. 5, 1987) and Lambo's wild V12-propelled LM002 off-roader, coming soon to a country club near you.
AUTOWEEK FEBRUARY I . 1988
NOTCHBACK FlREBlRD GTA
It's real, it's in production, and it may help to staunch the declining sales of GM's F-body cars. Expected earlier, it's here now as a sort of semi-surprise. The aftermarket did it first, now GM does it in-house.
