Automotive News - January 21, 2008 - (Page 8)

8 • JANUARY 21, 2008 advertising DETROIT AUTO SHOW WANT RESULTS? NEED RESULTS? Dealers Prove Our Advertising Gets STOP BY BOOTH #3445W AT NADA (3RD FLOOR, WEST HALL) New Acura TSX will get a diesel Kathy Jackson kjackson@crain.com RESULTS! • KEYES AUTO GROUP • IRA MOTOR GROUP • TOM WOOD AUTOMOTIVE • CHECKERED FLAG • AUTONATION • DIEHL MOTOR COMPANY • CORAL SPRINGS AUTOMALL • RUSTY ECK FORD • AUTOLAND • HENDRICK CARY AUTOMALL • PATRICK AUTO GROUP • HUBLER AUTOMOTIVE • PLEASANTON AUTOMALL • DEPAULA CHEVROLET • WALLACE NISSAN OF KINGSPORT • SUPERIOR CHEVROLET DETROIT — Honda’s first U.S. diesel engine will debut next year on Acura’s redesigned TSX sedan. At the auto show here, CEO Takeo Fukui announced that Honda Motor Corp.’s new clean diesel will appear first on an Acura. He did not say which vehicle, but Honda sources say it will be the TSX. The small sedan will be redesigned this spring. Initially, the TSX may be powered by the same turbocharged four-cylinder that is on the RDX small crossover. The diesel will be added in 2009. “All along, we’ve said there would be a diesel in Acura,” said Dick Colliver, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co. “The whole direction is to separate Acura and Honda more. In five to six years, Acura will be a tier 1 luxury brand. The face of Acura will be totally different.” Honda’s new 2.2-liter, four-cylin- NSX design remains up in the air DETROIT — Acura designers still can’t decide on the look of the nextgeneration NSX sports car — and they’re running out of time. “All of the designers are working together on the NSX, but they can’t agree on the styling,” Dick Colliver, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co., said at the Detroit auto show. Colliver says the design is critical if the NSX is to compete in the highend sports car segment. “The original NSX was a great car, but we didn’t keep up with the design,” Colliver said. “We must get it right. We must have the right image. A lot of it is perception with the customer.” The NSX will be powered by a new 10-cylinder engine, but that’s the only thing that is firm. Colliver says the NSX is scheduled to arrive before a redesigned RL sedan. The RL is scheduled to be replaced in 2010. “The NSX is a little bit ahead of the RL,” Colliver said. “We still have time to get it together.” — Kathy Jackson der i-DETC clean diesel will be available on the redesigned Honda Accord in Europe this summer. The European Accord and the TSX are basically the same vehicle. Honda will introduce a V-6 diesel around 2010. That engine likely will go in the mid-sized Acura TL sedan and the MDX crossover as well as some Honda-brand vehicles. Acura sales fell 10.5 percent in 2007 to 180,104 units. Colliver expects sales to rise this year to just under 200,000 units. “We get the TSX in the spring and the new TL in the fall,” he said. “We knew going into 2007 that we were facing tough times because the product line was aging, and there was a lot of new competition. To compete with BMW, we must build cars in those segments. We need more crossovers and an image car.” Colliver said the top-of-the-line RL sedan, with only 6,262 sales in 2007, “was the wrong car.” “It is due to be replaced in 2010,” he said. “Directionally, that car will change.” Despite falling sales, Colliver said Acura dealers enjoyed record profits last year, mainly because Honda cut Acura production by 20,000 units to control inventory. He said Honda dealer profits were up about 4 percent, and Acura dealers “were up more than that.” c ■ Stylishly green Renegade The open-top Jeep Renegade concept is meant for dune surfing and rock crawling. An electric motor powers each axle, giving the Renegade an all-electric range of 400 miles. Extending the range is a three-cylinder, 1.5-liter Bluetec diesel. Jeep says the Renegade gets 110 mpg. It isn’t likely to be produced, but some of the technology could appear in other vehicles. JOE WILSSENS GET A COMPLETE MARKETING PROGRAM! Guerrilla TV Marketing Radio Print Hispanic Direct Mail Website Optimization Web Design Internet In-Store Toyota: We’ll crack 35-mpg CAFE before 2020 Mark Rechtin mrechtin@crain.com CALL, EMAIL, OR STOP BY OUR BOOTH TO RECIEVE A ONE ON ONE VIP PRESENTATION 1-888-878-ZADV zauto@zadv.com www.zadv.com or visit DETROIT — Toyota last week fired a series of broadsides at General Motors’ claim to environmental superiority. Toyota Motor Corp. CEO Katsuaki Watanabe and other officials made several announcements at the Detroit auto show concerning the company’s alternative-powertrain plans. Toyota said it will: Put lithium ion plug-in hybrid vehicles in demonstration fleets in 2010. Toyota already has two plug-in prototype vehicles being tested by the University of California, but those use nickel-metal hydride battery packs. Unveil Toyota and Lexus hybrid models at the January 2009 Detroit auto show. These vehicles will be offered only with hybrid powertrains. The Toyota-badged hybrid will be in addition to the Prius. Increase investment in cellulosic ethanol derived from wood waste, through a Toyota-affiliated company. Launch clean-diesel V-8 versions of the Tundra pickup and Sequoia SUV within 24 months. Expand Toyota’s battery joint ven- Toyota CEO Katsuaki Watanabe: “We will not wait until the deadline to comply” with CAFE regulations. ture plant with Panasonic EV Energy in Japan, adding an assembly line dedicated to lithium ion batteries. The plant’s Prius battery pack assembly line also will be expanded to 600,000 units annually from 500,000 now. Sell 1 million hybrid-powered vehicles globally per year by 2011 or 2012. Last year, Toyota sold 277,750 hybrids. Meet the new 35-mpg CAFE standard “well in advance” of 2020, when the rule takes effect. No waiting “We will not wait until the deadline to comply” with the regulations, Watanabe said. The Toyota boss said he wants a lithium ion plug-in hybrid in demonstration fleets no later than 2010. “I have asked my engineers to come up with a plug-in hybrid not at the end of 2010 but earlier than that,” Watanabe said. Meanwhile, he said scaling up production of lithium ion batteries won’t be easy. “As of today in the lab, the small volume of lithium ion we have already developed is closer to the (performance) level we are satisfied with, but that is only in small quality,” Watanabe said. “There is a huge difference between small volume and mass production of lithium ion.” Masatami Takimoto, Toyota’s head of r&d and powertrain, said it is “most difficult” to assure stable performance in mass production. “Unless you have a plant that can produce a large quantity of lithium ion batteries, we cannot verify if we have good technology or not,” he said. Takimoto said it would take “hundreds of thousands of batteries” to verify. Toyota officials declined to say how many lithium ion batteries would make up the battery pack of one car. But officials at Tesla Motors, an electric vehicle manufacturer, have said their fully electric car’s pack would require 6,831 lithium ion batteries. Toyota comments regarding scale could be taken as a swipe at GM’s recent alliance with battery maker A123 Systems, of Watertown, Mass. GM is relying on A123 to deliver the lithium ion technology for its Chevrolet Volt, but A123 has yet to develop a mass production assembly line. GM also is collaborating with Johnson Controls-Saft Advanced Power Solutions for lithium ion r&d work. GM has announced similar targets for lithium ion and cellulosic ethanol but is doing the research through small or startup companies that are not part of GM. In-house r&d Watanabe said Toyota will do the r&d in-house, which he said would be “faster and more efficient.” Toyota’s green public relations assault will continue through the year. The company “will be more prominent in our communication of environmental leadership,” said Bob Carter, Toyota Division general manager. “We need to be more proactive in talking about who we are and what we stand for.” c Leslie J. Allen contributed to this report http://www.zadv.com http://www.zadv.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - January 21, 2008

Campi will move fast to buy global Ford rolls out new F series — but will it stay No. 1? GM will push metro megastores BMW: We may need a 'green' brand Competition claims traditions German summit Toyota: We have enough plants for now Chinese pitch innovation, not just price Mercedes in, Cadillac out as sponsor of Masters golf tournament Auto show walkaround: Chasing the YIPS around Detroit New Acura TSX will get a diesel Toyota: We'll crack 35-mpg CAFE before 2020 Audi predicts 1 million global sales in 2008 Toyota crosses over into tricky segment LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Digital edition is a 'quantum leap' KEITH CRAIN: Here they come, ready or not EDITORIAL: Incentives war isn't the answer to sales downturn LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Toyota over Chevy? Don’t be too sure DIGITAL EDITION: You did your homework Chrysler concepts show brand tweaks Chrysler: 'Hemi is not powertrain of the future' Some of what we heard at the Detroit auto show Corvette has a future — but maybe a lighter, greener one Nissan exec: Cube is coming to America Subaru relies on new Forester Farley: Ford must groom the market Ford still funds Jag, Land Rover product development Ford will probably develop its new rwd cars in the U.S. Volvo considers North American production Good design: Solving problems, making a statement Horbury wants a more aerodynamic F-150 Hyundai upgrades next Sonata's interior M-B could build C class in U.S. VW hints at vehicles for new N.A. plant Customer demand for CTS sedans strains production capabilities at Cadillac GM to test ZR1 carbon fiber weight savings Honda Pilot has more room, power Indiana plant will boost Honda's flexibility Zetsche sees 20% diesel mix for Mercedes-Benz GM hopes to have E-Flex test vehicles ready by June GM to increase Enclave output Cadillac aims high with Provoq Pontiac to launch G8 marketing in March Big-truck sales fall 43.5% in Dec. Personnel Buckle up for a rocky '08, economists warn Canada sales up 2.4% in '07 Gioia: Ford hybrids will be profitable by year end American Honda opens workplace diversity office Dealers From CDs to Sync: Auto industry races to adapt in-car IT trends Microsoft exec sees a car as 'another room in the house' China's Geely plans plant in Mexico Chrysler exec: China exporters need time Murtaugh: Nissan deal won't affect Chrysler-Chery venture Strike by writers makes TV iffy for auto marketers Super Bowl auto advertisers get pre-game jitters Final Say GM bumps buyout total to 46,000 GM considers U.S.-made Astra Good Karma: Mean, green, fighting machine Purves confirms it: The end is near Rehab for designers: A change can do you good Tata's achievement: Redefining 'cheap' Fans remember auto commercials with sports themes Which brand is stronger — Scion or Prius? Engine advances bring cleaner emissions a step closer Suppliers to the 2008 Ford Focus Varable compression ratio makes a comeback Change the engine's stroke Integrate components to boost efficiency Reduce the size of the engine Eliminate the cams and count the savings ZF expects surge in new orders American Axle's rising son may be another Dauch Honda taps Web for workers Trelleborg unit adds tech center Kia restricts hiring at Ga. plant to Web applicants Magna pursues Ogihara Supplier personnel Age of intelligent transportation is getting closer Plastic spoiler saves weight Automotive News' cartoonist looks at 2007 8 will enter European Automotive Hall of Fame Pininfarina lifted family business to new heights Merciless cost cutter Calvet rescued PSA Opel boys turned bicycle venture into automaker Giacosa fathered the Fiat 500 JCI to supply batteries to Chinese automakers Automakers will spend more on digital ads Ford snares star role in return of 'Knight Rider' GM Certified markets online to Hispanics Writers' strike could benefit auto marketers

Automotive News - January 21, 2008

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