Utilitarian Leanings in Big Apple
If you can make it here, you'll make it anywhere, as Frank Sinatra famously sang, and OEMs gathered in the Big Apple in April for the annual auto show needed all the encouragement they could get as industry sales continued unraveling. But New York is no place for the weak, and auto makers did their best at the Jacob Javits Convention Center to remain focused on new products the lifeblood of every
May 1, 2009
If you can make it here, you'll make it anywhere, as Frank Sinatra famously sang, and OEMs gathered in the Big Apple in April for the annual auto show needed all the encouragement they could get as industry sales continued unraveling.
But New York is no place for the weak, and auto makers did their best at the Jacob Javits Convention Center to remain focused on new products — the lifeblood of every recovery cycle.
The sheet metal on display definitely tilted toward the utilitarian.
Chrysler LLC rolled out the 4th-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee, scheduled to debut next year as an '11-model and migrating to a true unibody platform.
The upscale off-roader also showcases new features such as an adjustable air-suspension and variable-terrain 4-wheel-drive system. The show also provided the first peek at Chrysler's new 3.6L V-6, which joins the 5.7L Hemi V-8 in the Grand Cherokee's powertrain lineup.
Honda Motor Co. Ltd. showed a prototype of the all-new Acura ZDX, billed as a cross/utility vehicle that looks like a 4-door coupe. The auto maker considers the ZDX a revolutionary CUV with a provocative exterior design done by 25-year-old Michelle Christensen.
Production versions go on sale this fall.
BMW AG premiered the X6M sports/activity vehicle.
Cranking out a whopping 555 hp and 500 lb.-ft. (678 Nm) of torque, the new M's V-8 has twin scroll turbochargers that help it accelerate from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 4.5 seconds.
Also displayed in New York:
Mercedes Benz ML 450 hybrid CUV, going on sale later this year in the U.S. and Canada with a hybrid-drive system that is a product of a joint venture between Daimler AG, BMW AG and General Motors Corp.
Fourth-generation '10 Subaru Outback, which has 8% more interior volume, while shrinking overall length. It goes on sale in the U.S. in late summer.
Audi Q7, powered by a 3.0L TDI V-6 diesel. It will base at $50,900, not including an $825 destination charge or $1,150 federal tax credit.
Mitsubishi Outlander prototype, which provides directional clues of the redesigned CUV, which goes on sale in November.
Scion iQ concept, which could represent a long-discussed fourth vehicle for Toyota Motor Corp.'s youth brand lineup.
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