In Big Apple, Cars Are Stars

Pickup trucks are about as out-of-place in New York City as Chicago-style pizza, so it makes perfect sense that the Big Apple's annual international auto show celebrated the car in its fundamental 4-door form.

Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., laying claim to creating the first modern sport sedan, unveils its 8th-generation '09 Maxima.

Nissan puts Maxima back in contention with the SR version that offers a 290-hp 3.5L V-6 and 19-in. wheels. It goes on sale this summer with two additional trim lines: S and SV.

The new Maxima features an aggressive stance and muscular shoulders, a return to a more conventional styling approach after an experiment with a swoopy roofline in the current car.

With fuel economy a priority, small cars are the rage, particularly the Honda Fit. Oddly, however, many Americans who bought the Fit because of its diminutive dimensions ironically ended up saying the car was, well, a tad too small.

So the '09 Fit introduced in New York is bigger than the first-generation model, which arrived in Japan in 2001 and in the U.S. in 2006. Since 2001, Honda has delivered 2 million Fits.

Honda says it has improved the Fit's functionality, suspension, safety and steering. The new car goes on sale in fall.

American Suzuki Motor Corp. is returning to the midsize sedan market by 2010 with a production version of the Kizashi 3 concept, shown in New York.

Suzuki was a bit player in the segment when it pulled its mundane Korean-built Verona from the U.S. lineup in 2006. This time, however, Suzuki is lavishing attention on its new entry in an effort to establish the sedan as the company's near-luxury flagship for North America.

The sedan, meant to be an aspirational flagship, is set for 2010 production.

For the utility minded, General Motors Corp.'s Pontiac Div. unveils a 2-door G8 sport truck — as yet unnamed — that instantly draws comparisons to the Chevy El Camino of the 1970s.

El Camino loyalists roamed the New York show wearing badges encouraging GM to resurrect the El Camino name for the rear-drive sport truck, which arrives next year from GM's Holden Ltd. plant in Australia as a '10 model. GM is inviting the public to help name the vehicle.

Other GM unveilings in New York included the '09 Pontiac G8 GXP and Saab 9-X BioHybrid concept.

Also on the sedan front, Honda's Acura division debuts its all-new TSX entry-level premium sedan, designed to win the hearts and minds of young professionals.

Other New York unveilings included:

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