16B .she Michigan Daily - W end, etc. Magazine- ThurMay, ,ebruary 2A,2
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qw -qw I I I 1 11 ''.W -
For a week,
CHICAGO,
Continued from Page 11B
year's show did boast impressive1
attributes. Acura finally threw its
name into the pool of SUV contes-
tants with the Multi-Dimensional X-i
Trainer (MD-X). Set to go into pro-
duction sometime this fall, Acura
ciaims the MD-X combines virtuallya
all the off-roading, rugged capabili-
tv of a SUV with the smooth han-
dling attributes of a sedan. It's the1
"first SUV to meet the stringent
ULEV (Ultra Low Emiissions
Vehicle) emission laws, a break-
through for a vehicle in that market
segment. The complete details of the
vehicle were still shrouded in secre-
cy as Honda/Acura officials refused
to let reporters see what engine was
under the hood of the "X"
Toyota introduced the Sequoia, a
new vehicle meant to fall into the
price range between the enduring
4Runner and massive Land Cruiser.
The Sequoia could give hot pursuit
to Ford's sty ongly favored
Expedition/Navigator line. "In
response to what is emerging as one
of the most diverse buyer segments
in the industry... this will be the
Year of the Truck and SUV,"' said
Toyota Division group vice presi-
dent and general manager, Don
Esmond.
Other SUV's dominating the
floors of the McCormick Center
included the Chevy Traverse - a
4WD cross between an SUV and a
Chicago s
hatchback with two rows of full-size
seats. Fashion-conscious attendees
seemed very displeased with the
overcast plaid interior, hardly fitting
for a vehicle designed to project a
sporty and youthful image.
I he no-hassie folks at Saturn
unveiled a minivan/bus hybrid, the
CVI, a bold departure for the con-
servative minds of the GM-based
company. Volkswagen also showed
off its HAC, a four-door, four-wheel
drive pickup truck with a shortened
bed, large V-8 engine and lots of rear
seat room.
Mazda officials judiciously real-
ized that less than five percent of all
SUV owners ever use their vehicles
off-road. With that in mind, they
released the Nextourer concept car.
It looks like a sport-utility, but real-
ly performs like a sedan. The most
unique feature of this crossover is
Mazda's patented AHC, or Active
Height Control. When driving at
highway speeds, the suspension
automatically lowers the vehicle by
two inches to reduce drag. Similarly,
the Nextourer is raised up to four
inches at slow speeds in situations
where ground clearance may
become necessary.
Honda arrived at the show with
two SUV concepts, the Sprocket and
the FCX. The Honda Sprocket uses
exterior design cues from the Audi
TT Coupe, but applies them towards
an avant-garde SUV. Sitting atop
large tires, it boasts vertical open-
ing, DeLorean-style doors. Not too
contrastingly, Honda also unveiled
hares something with Ann Arbor
'
Courtesy of General Motors
Rides like this 2001 Chevrolet Triax may look like science fiction, but they're endless permutations of the same SUV idea.
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the FCX, the first sport-ute of its
kind to be powered solely by electric
propulsion generated from a reac-
tion between stored hydrogen and
oxygen. The FCX is a right-hand-
drive vehicle, implying the concept
may have been geared more for the
European market. Both the Sprocket
and FCX did a good job of high-
lighting Honda's commitment
towards low-emission, "'green
friendly" vehicles.
These environmentally friendly
trends are not surprising to those
keeping a watchful eye on the pulse
of the auto industry. As manufactur-
ers have started to release behemoth
SUV's and trucks, the federal gov-
ernment has toyed with the idea of
raising or revising CAFE (Corporate
Average Fuel Economy) standards.
These standards are used to impose
guidelines limiting the sale of low
fuel economy vehicles. In a nutshell,
CAFE laws state that the average
fuel economy of a given manufactur-
er must be at a specific value, 27.5
mpg for cars and 20.7 for light
trucks. In other words, for every
fuel-hungry Chevrolet Suburban
that General Motors sells, it must
also sell enough thrifty Cavaliers to
balance the loss of its CAFE value.
While GM might love to drop low-
profit, high fuel economy cars like
the Cavalier, it cannot because of the
heavy fines it would then face from
the government.
Though these environmental
trends are promising for altruistic
reasons, truck and SUV platforms
still retain their sluggish handling
characteristics and lack of sensation
between the driver and the road.
What they lack in feel for the pave-
ment they make up for in off-road
capability. Ironically, very few of
these all terrain vehicles are used for
this potential. This may suggest that
esteem is now associated a great
deal more with size and sticker price
rather than with performance, han-
dling and overall drivability. In an
effort to constantly be "bigger, bad-
der and tougher," the Chicago Auto
Show exemplifies how the American
consumer may slowly be losing
interest in the reason it once fell in
love with the automobile: a simple
passion for driving.
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