http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/19290/story.htm
For automakers, California holds a key Mail this story to a friend | Printer friendly version USA: January 6, 2003 LOS ANGELES - Toyota Motor Corp., which on Thursday unveiled the second model in its Scion brand, will for the first nine months of the new line's life aim for only hip and young buyers who happen to live in California. It's an acknowledgment by Toyota that California sets the pace in automotive trends that the rest of the country follows. The automakers who unveiled new models at the Los Angeles auto show this week know there's still a lot of gold to be made in the Golden State. Nearly 20 percent of new vehicles bought for personal use in the United States are sold in California, according to CNW Marketing Research. It has 28 million vehicles and 22 million licensed drivers, more than any other state. Chrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche noted in a speech Thursday that if California were a separate country, it would rank as the fifth largest economy in the world, with an annual gross domestic product of $1.3 trillion - more than France, Italy or Canada. But if California were a country, its Big Three automakers might be Toyota, Honda Motor Co. Ltd. and Nissan Motor Co.. Import automakers capture 58 percent of California buyers, and the top five selling cars in southern California are Japanese. Detroit automakers worry that, like other trends, the affinity of California buyers for imports could spread eastward. Zetsche said he has set a goal of increasing Chrysler's California market share to 9.5 percent from 8 percent by 2004. California has also led the nation in setting tougher pollution controls on automobiles, often clashing with automakers over the remedies for southern California's smog. "We respect and admire California for taking the lead in driving environmental improvement," Zetsche said. "From the perspective of the auto industry, however, our concern is for the potential of creating state-by-state interpretations of regulations nationwide." POWER FIRST, AIR SECOND There were a few low-emission vehicles unveiled during media previews for the auto show, but most of the important new cars were designed to appeal to street racers more than environmentalists. Chrysler showed off a concept Dodge Magnum with a 460-horsepower supercharged V8; the production version of the rear-wheel-drive wagon will offer a 5.7-liter V8 with more than 300 horsepower. Ford Motor Co. showed a supercharged Thunderbird roadster concept, saying it was considering it for production. GM last week unveiled the revived Pontiac GTO, a reworked version of an Australian coupe with a 340-horsepower version of the V8 engine from the Chevrolet Corvette under its hood. GM plans to import only about 18,000 GTOs a year, but hopes the car will cast a muscle-car luster over other Pontiacs. "We have to get people who own imports back into our cars," said Lynne Myers, general manager of the Pontiac-GMC brand. "We have to rebuild our credentials." Import automakers answered back. Mitsubishi Motors Corp. unveiled the newest version of its Lancer Evolution rally car - a small, turbocharged, all-wheel-drive sedan with 271 horsepower that can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in under five seconds, with a base price of about $29,000. Pierre Gagnon, the head of Mitsubishi's U.S. arm, said at least 4,500 Lancer Evolutions should sell this year, and Mitsubishi might import more if they can. The Lancer Evo has never been sold in the United States, but has been a mainstay of racing video games for years, and Mitsubishi executives are convinced the car will create a buzz in the right crowd. Their evidence? A year ago, Gagnon drove the previous version of the Lancer Evo to his California home for a night, then drove it back early in the morning. The next day, two carloads of teenagers knocked on his door, asking where the Evo went. Story by Justin Hyde REUTERS NEWS SERVICE Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://archive.nnytech.net/ Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
