{"id":70419,"date":"2014-01-15T13:57:14","date_gmt":"2014-01-15T18:57:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/?p=70419"},"modified":"2014-01-15T13:57:14","modified_gmt":"2014-01-15T18:57:14","slug":"muscling-up-at-the-detroit-auto-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/2014\/01\/muscling-up-at-the-detroit-auto-show\/","title":{"rendered":"Muscling Up at the Detroit Auto Show"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
The new Corvette Z06, dubbed "The Big Nasty" by GM's global product development chief Mark Reuss.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What a difference a year can make.\u00a0 When the doors opened at Detroit\u2019s Cobo Center for the 2013 North American International Auto Show, visitors were greeted by an array of new hybrids, plug-ins and pure electric vehicles, and even got the opportunity to drive some of the latest green machines on a special course in the sprawling convention center\u2019s basement.<\/p>\n

While there are a number of green machines on display as the 2014 auto show gets set to open to the public, the spotlight is shining in a different direction.\u00a0 Nowhere is that more apparent than at the Toyota stand.<\/p>\n

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Power to the People!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Only last November, the Japanese giant detailed plans to put a new hydrogen car into production by 2015. But while a prototype is on display, Toyota\u2019s big news for Detroit is the FT-1 sports car concept<\/strong><\/span><\/a> which, the maker notes, was outfitted with a classic, high-performance internal combustion engine, not one of its many hybrid drivetrains.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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The Toyota FT-1 makes its debut.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And Toyota\u2019s by no means the exception.\u00a0 Muscle cars were in abundance during a two-day media preview earlier this week, with barely a word spoken about alternative fuel technology. But for those who might fret about a return to the auto industry\u2019s old, gas-guzzling ways, manufacturers did take pains to note that their newest performance cars are more fuel-efficient than in the past, the 450 horsepower Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, for example, getting as much as 30 miles to the gallon.<\/p>\n

(<\/em>Click Here<\/span><\/a> to check out the new Corvette Z06.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Chevy is back for more at the 2014 auto show with the unveiling of an even more potent version of the \u2018Vette, the new, 625-horsepower Z06.\u00a0 Across the Cobo floor, Ford will be giving the public a first look at the all-new, 50th<\/sup> anniversary Mustang.\u00a0 But Detroit makers are by no means the only ones bulking up, as the Toyota FT-1 demonstrates.<\/p>\n

(For more on the 2015 Mustang, <\/em>Click Here<\/span><\/a>.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Japanese maker\u2019s U.S. design chief Kevin Hunter told reporters that the show car \u2013 its name an abbreviation for \u201cFuture Toyota\u201d \u2013 is \u201cemblematic\u201d of the direction it plans to go in the future, spurred on by CEO Akio Toyoda, a serious performance fan and occasional race car driver.<\/p>\n

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The Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge concept is likely to return in production form.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Then there\u2019s Nissan.\u00a0 Perhaps no industry leader is more passionate about battery power than the second-largest Japanese maker\u2019s own chief executive Carlos Ghosn. But plans to produce a high-end version of the Nissan Leaf electric vehicle for the company\u2019s upscale Infiniti division have been put on hold \u201cuntil late in the decade,\u201d revealed Johan de Nysschen, a former Audi executive who took over the helm at Infiniti in late 2012.<\/p>\n

(For more on Infiniti’s plans, <\/em>Click Here<\/span><\/a>.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In Detroit, the Nissan subsidiary focused on its Q50 Eau Rouge, a high-performance version of the midsize luxury sedan it launched for 2014.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe question (is) whether you can be a serious global luxury brand without a performance division,\u201d said de Nysschen, quickly offering the one-word answer, \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, a quick check of the offerings at other high-line stands would support that position.\u00a0 BMW is using the North American International Auto Show, or NAIAS, to introduce its new M3 and M4 high-performance models.\u00a0 Mercedes-Benz is launching a new 12-cylinder version of its big S-Class<\/a> sedan and a new, high-powered S-Class Coupe<\/a>.\u00a0 Lexus, the Toyota subsidiary that, in past years, rolled out a number of hybrids in Detroit instead is debuting its new RC F, a 450-horsepower screamer <\/a>meant to compete with the new BMW M4.<\/p>\n

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The new 450-horsepower Lexus RC F<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cEverybody is trying to come up with a halo car for their brand,\u201d says Dave Sullivan, senior analyst with AutoPacific, Inc., pointing to Lexus as an example of why this is important. While hybrids may have given the maker a green sheen, it also earned Lexus a reputation for building stodgy, appliance-like products.<\/p>\n

There are other factors at work, suggests Sullivan, including the general revival of the U.S. automotive market.\u00a0 And with more money in their pockets, many buyers are looking to add a little excitement to their lives \u2013especially with fuel prices down from last year\u2019s peak and looking likely to stay stable for awhile.<\/p>\n

Industry analysts caution that, by their very definition, halo cars tend to be low volume. But there\u2019s significant demand for some models.\u00a0 In fact, the U.S. accounts for nearly half of the sales for Mercedes\u2019 ultra-powerful AMG models, with Southern California alone generating nearly a quarter of worldwide demand, according to U.S. CEO Steve Cannon.<\/p>\n

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BMW's new M4 coupe uses a six-cylinder turbo to produce 431 horsepower. Photo credit: Len Katz.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sales in the so-called Premium Sports segment are expected to roughly double from 2011, when recession-racked demand bottomed-out, to around 62,000 in 2016, according to an AutoPacific forecast.\u00a0 Among more mainstream models, the consultancy expects the new Mustang to drive a 20% boost in demand, to 91,000 that year.\u00a0 Even little Subaru has big expectations for the all-new WRX STi \u201chot hatch\u201d it is showing off in Detroit.<\/p>\n

The good news is that by cutting out mass, improving aerodynamics and using new technologies, most all of these models are getting markedly better mileage than before. The engine in the Corvette Stingray, for example, uses direct injection and can even shut off half its cylinders when power demand is light. Most new Porsches have a Stop\/Start function in which the engine shuts off instead of idling, firing up automatically when the driver\u2019s foot lifts off the brake. And new double-clutch and 8- and 9-speed automatic gearboxes further improve efficiencies.<\/p>\n

(Stop\/Start likely to be an industry norm by 2022, says new study. <\/em>Click Here<\/span><\/a> for more.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

So, while the revival of the muscle car may frustrate environmentalists, regulators and insurance actuaries, fans are pleased to be getting what is for them the best of all worlds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A year ago, the North American International Auto Show media preview was filled with hybrids, plug-ins and battery cars. The spotlight has shifted this year and Detroit’s Cobo Center is filled with high-performance models, from the little Subaru WRX STi to the Lexus RC F, BMW M4 and Corvette Z06. What’s happened and why is muscle back in style? This report from TheDetroitBureau.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":70141,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"make":[],"post-state":[],"category_old":[151],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70419"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70419\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70419"},{"taxonomy":"make","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/make?post=70419"},{"taxonomy":"post-state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-state?post=70419"},{"taxonomy":"category_old","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category_old?post=70419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}