Chicago Auto Show: Calm Before the Storm
February 10, 2009
By Bill Visnic
This week's Chicago auto show isn't expected to be chock-full of prominent concept- or production-car introductions, as automakers hunker down to evaluate how best to absorb still-disintegrating auto sales.
More important, Chicago comes after a definitely somber Detroit auto show - and just before General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC are scheduled to present the next phase of their restructuring "blueprints" to federal officials on Feb. 17. From there, the two automakers must present the full case by March 31 that they are "viable" and worthy of more government investment - a cash infusion both say they need to avoid bankruptcy.
So the Chicago show will make the most of introductions that are, for the most part, likely to reflect these less-ebullient industry times.
- Chrysler shows the heavy-duty versions of the all-new Ram pickup line, mainly flaunting new sheetmetal and leveraging the improved interior trimmings of the '09 light-duty Ram.
- Ford unveils a version of the new Taurus sedan powered by its long-touted Ecoboost twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6. Some say the magic letters "SHO" will be revived for the hot Taurus variant.
Also at the Ford display will be the American-spec, production version of the Transit Connect commercial van. Ford, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. and others are banking on a major overhaul of light-commercial vehicles toward a more European footprint to fuel profit in this sleepy segment.
And there is to be yet another in the tiresome line of F-150 pickups teamed and themed with Harley-Davidson.
- Hyundai Motor America de-sheets a tuner-baiting "Spec R" version of its pending Genesis Coupe. The Spec R variant will show off some bodywork modifications, new wheels (of course) and other mods for the base 2-liter Genesis Coupe.
- Mazda Motor Corp. unveils the 2010 version of the MX-5, the car everyone learned to call the Miata. The 2010 model is facelifted and brings slight revisions to the 2-liter 4-cylinder and 6-speed manual and automatic transmissions, not to mention an interior upgrade.
- Suzuki Motor Corp. shows modified versions of the Equator midsize pickup that debuted at last year's Chicago show. The Equator is a Suzuki-ized version of the Nissan Frontier pickup.
Photos by manufacturers
1 - General Motors displays the 18-foot-tall Autobot Bumblebee from the next Transformers movie at the Chicago Auto Show.
2 - Ford showcases the 2010 Ford Transit Connect.
3 - Mazda displays the 2010 Mazda MX-5 Miata.
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 2:18 PM under Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (1) | digg this | Seed Newsvine
Seems to be more talk going on at the Chicago Show than in year's past.
Posted by: sylvia | February 12, 2009 at 4:41 PM