Hello, everyone!
This is Gary Player, reporting live from the Detroit Auto Show. I am using
a hijacked VW kiosk with a paper thin firewall! kinda hard to type since
the keyboard is more for show than go, but I'll be brief-- halleluyah, you
say--note the lack of parenthetical references in the post to follow, since
I can't find the shift key. . .
So--Full Disclosure--I do work for GM. GM Europe, to be exact. I currently
commute to Frankfurt, Sao Paulo, and Tokyo 5-10 days a month , but they keep
telling me we'll be relocating to Germany--I know, I've been saying that for
awhile--Meanwhile, I've had a chance to meet alot of people on this list,
which makes all the travel especially enjoyable.
So, this show is essentially about trucks. Or better, the beginning of the
end of the distinction between "cars" and "trucks" by anyone but government
regulators. For the U.S., this is merely the realization that we never
stopped liking big vehicles. For Europe, it is the need for maximum
interior space with minimum exterior dimensions, which means taller vehicles
like the new Focus.
The Mercedes Smart is not very. Neither is the Honda Insight. Two seater
vehicles don't cut it for most people, even if they are the only ones
driving. Personal vehicles are all about POTENTIAL. If its just you, ride
a scooter. I am also a big fan of public transportation. If it gets you
where you need to go, I will always choose it over a car. Both can and must
exist together, but we have to get smarter about using both.
Anyway, the Honda Insight is well-designed and technologically impressive,
but it will fail for the same reason the Smart is failing...no back seat.
More logical is the Toyota Prius, which uses the same "near zero emmissions"
philosophy, but does it with a car the size of a Corolla. Interestingly,
GM announced at the show that we will discontinue production of the EV1 and
start cooperating with Toyota on low-to-zero emissions vehicles. . .The EV1
is beautiful but doesn't have a back seat either.
Few things today can hope to beat the original Morris Mini for packaging
efficiency, but I wouldn't want to get T-boned in one full of people either.
The new mini cars can survive accidents better. And even with the safety
technology the package is getting better and better.
But I digress. Highlights of the show include the Jeep Varsity, a small-car
SUV response to the Pontiac Aztec, which is another "hybrid" truck-car. The
Chevrolet SSR is retro-pickup ala the Ranchero/El Camino. Hard-top
convertible, two seater--of course there is always a place for two-seaters,
as long as they can do something else as well, like haul stuff. But the era
of Lamborghini Diablo impracticality seems to be over--and a 6.0 liter V8.
A credible Camaro replacement, since no one is buying any pony-cars except
the Mustang.
I also like the new Volvo V70, although the fact that it is based on the V80
is pretty obvious. And its cheaper . . .
Disappointing no-show: I didn't see a New Beetle Convertible at the factory
stand or the Karmann-Ghia kiosk.
MSN's carpoint has a great virtual tour of the show.
Just to clarify, it is the CHEVROLET Metro, not the Ford Metro, but no big
deal. It's really a Suzuki anyway . . .
Gary Player
Future Product Planning
GM Europe
GM's Brands:
Opel
Vauxhall
Holdens
Saab
Suzuki
Isuzu
Subaru
Cadillac
Chevrolet
Pontiac
Oldsmobile
Buick
Saturn
GMC
Hummer
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