Showroom Savvy

There are some intriguing questions for 2008. General Motors is betting on the Malibu stealing market share from the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. Supposedly, the small sedan is better than last year's Saturn Aura. The question is, is it better than this year's Accord or Camry? Hmmm… Tough call.

And what about that Accord? Honda thinks this is the one that will reverse the trend of declining sales in recent years. Grab as many as you can. This is a car with some attitude — it'll move fast out of the showrooms.

Meanwhile Chrysler's new minivan should be a steady seller as Ford and GM both have left the segment.

If you have European brands, your sales staff better develop that sales pitch for diesels. Next year is just the beginning of what could be a dramatic resurgence in the North American market.

We might be asking the question in 2009, which is better, the diesel or the hybrid?

There also is the question of size. Is bigger actually better? Depends on your perspective. The industry seems enamored with smaller cars now, but will customers buy them? The trend still is toward bigger vehicles, but that's going to change, right?

On the following pages, you'll likely find the answers to these and other questions for '08.

And be sure to check out our vehicle reviews at www.wardsauto.com/testdrive/.