Automotive News - June 30, 2008 - (Page 4)

4 • JUNE 30, 2008 Leaner engines Mazda wants 30% better mileage by 2015 with help of better engines. All-new gasoline engines will have direct injection starting in 2011. A line of clean diesels debuts in 2011 with direct injection and turbocharging. A next-generation rotary engine is being developed for launch in the early 2010s. Mazda goal: Get 30% better mileage in 7 years Hans Greimel hgreimel@crain.com YOKOHAMA, Japan — Mazda Motor Corp. aims to boost average fuel efficiency 30 percent in the next seven years with new and reworked engines. The company will upgrade almost all its gasoline engines by 2015 and roll out a stop-start idle system, a gasoline rotary engine and new diesel engines. Plans to trim 220 pounds from all new vehicles starting in 2011 will help Mazda achieve the goal. Seita Kanai, Mazda’s r&d chief, outlined the strategy here June 23. He did not give an average fuel efficiency figure for Mazda’s fleet, but the automaker already has improved fuel efficiency 30 percent since 2001, he said. More efficient engines will account for about two-thirds of the increased fuel efficiency. The stop-start idle system, which Mazda calls Smart Idle Stop, will be introduced next year. It restarts the engine with direct fuel injection into the cylinders, which Mazda says is an industry first. The technology allows fast, quiet restarting and as much as 8 percent better fuel economy. All gasoline engines introduced after 2010 will have direct injection to boost power 15 percent and squeeze out 20 percent better fuel consumption. Mazda’s new line of diesel engines will feature direct injection and turbochargers. The company also is working on a rotary engine, called the 16X. It will debut in the early 2010s and have direct injection. c Chevy to launch Traverse ads during Olympics Jamie LaReau jlareau@crain.com DETROIT — Chevrolet plans to launch its new Traverse crossover in a TV commercial during the summer Olympic Games in August. The commercial, which is being created, likely will be 30 seconds. Chevrolet’s marketing plan for the Traverse bucks tradition. Typically, an automaker waits until it has about 10,000 to 15,000 vehicles on dealership lots before advertising it, said Don Butler, executive director of Chevrolet truck marketing. This launch comes two weeks before the Sept. 2 start of production but is necessary to create buzz, Butler said. “We’re introducing an all-new ve- hicle for Chevrolet — a new name: the Traverse — so we really think it’ll be important to kind of get out of the gate quickly,” Butler said during an interview with Automotive News. While saying Chevrolet’s advertising budget is “competitive,” Butler declined to disclose the amount. “We need to spend enough to get our message out, which we think we’re going to do,” he said. “But we’re also going to be clever in terms of how we do that so that we make noise beyond the budget that we’re spending.” General Motors is advertising the Traverse on Chevrolet’s Web site this month. GM will ratchet up digital advertising into July, Butler said. As for TV commercials and print © GM CORP. To generate buzz, Chevrolet will advertise the new Traverse two weeks before production starts. ads, Chevrolet’s agency, CampbellEwald, is developing the creative content, Butler said. “The fuel economy story will be one of the main components of our messaging,” Butler said. “But our messaging will be about a vehicle that can do everything that you need it to do and even a little bit beyond what you expected.” GM executives hope the Traverse will sell 100,000 to 150,000 units annually. The two-wheel-drive base LS model is priced at $28,990, including shipping. The crossover will be built on the Lambda architecture in GM’s plant in Spring Hill, Tenn. GM’s three other Lambda-based crossovers — the Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook — are assembled at GM’s Lansing Delta plant in Delta Township, Mich. Butler said the Traverse is targeting families and couples in their mid40s. c Mercedes sees 15% share for diesel SUVs, crossovers Diana T. Kurylko dkurylko@crain.com 50-state diesels European automakers will roll out diesels that meet emissions standards in all 50 states. WHEN? WHAT? PREMIUM ABOVE GASOLINE MODEL MANCHESTER VILLAGE, Vt. — Although diesel fuel tops $5 a gallon in some areas, Mercedes-Benz USA is confident that its new clean Bluetec 50-state diesels will account for at least 15 percent of its SUV and crossover sales. Three new Bluetec vehicles go on sale in October with a new V-6 diesel: the 2009 320 ML crossover, GL SUV and R-class crossover. The major reason for the diesels is fuel economy: A diesel is 20 to 33 percent better than a comparable gasoline model, say Mercedes-Benz executives. And the payback period is about two years faster than that of a hybrid SUV, they say. Mercedes will charge a sticker premium of about $1,000 for its new diesels — comparable to what it charges on current diesel SUVs that can’t be sold in eight states, Stephen Cannon, vice president of marketing for Mercedes-Benz USA, said at a press event here. “If we threw on a giant premium, we would be hobbling ourselves before we even got out of the gate,” Cannon said. The premium for rival hybrids is upward of $3,000, he said. For example, the Lexus RX 400h all-wheel drive hybrid starts at $42,980, including shipping, while the RX 350 all-wheel drive starts at $39,865 — a difference of $3,115. Aug.-Sept. October November March 2009 VW Jetta TDI sedan, SportWagen; possible Tiguan SUV diesel Mercedes-Benz Bluetec 320 ML, GL, R-class crossover BMW 33d sedan, X5 xDrive35d SUV Audi Q7 TDI SUV; possible A4 diesel Mercedes-Benz Bluetec 320 E class (next-generation model) VW Touareg TDI $2,000 $1,000 approx. TBA TBA $1,000 approx. TBA In a print campaign, Mercedes will color its Bluetec diesel vehicles green. Luxury brands whose diesel models are coming in late 2008 and early 2009 aren’t the only competition. Cannon said the Chevrolet Tahoe and Ford Escape hybrids also are rivals. Mercedes expects conquest sales from owners of full-sized SUVs “who can’t just downsize into a compact car,” said Cannon. cent diesels some months of the models we now have, which can’t be sold in big markets like California and New York,” said Cannon. He added that 15 percent of the ML, GL and Rclass vehicles sold through May — without incentives, lease subventions or advertising — have been diesels. Today’s Mercedes diesel light trucks can’t be sold in eight states because they don’t meet emissions standards first adopted by California, but the new Bluetecs can. Thomas Ruhl, director for the R class, SUV hybrid and Bluetec, said Bluetec will “make diesel engines as clean as gasoline engines.” With a highway consumption level of 24 mpg for the M- and R-class vehicles, “they offer 20 to 33 percent greater fu- Late springearly summer ’09 Source: Companies Shrinking price gap? Mercedes also believes, citing studies, that in the next two years, the gap between premium and diesel fuel will shrink, said Cannon. According to the AAA fuel gauge report on Thursday, June 26, the average price for regular gasoline was $4.47 a gallon, compared with diesel at $4.77. “We’re already selling nearly 20 per- el efficiency than comparable gasoline engines.” Cannon said sales in California and New York are expected to be big. Both states have what he calls “extreme commuting” because of high real estate prices, “and that plays right into the strength of diesel. “Hybrids perform less well in highway drives, and Bluetec beats them every time, so we have to educate them.” ‘Green is not going away’ Final prices won’t be disclosed until shortly before launch. The ML price will rise more than the GL or R class because the 2009 model gets a mild midcycle freshening with new lights and rear taillights and an upgraded interior. Mercedes will market the Bluetecs as “responsible luxury,” starting in the fourth quarter with a print campaign, Cannon said. “Green is not going away, and it is growing in the consciousness of our customers,” said Cannon. “We would like to give that Bluetec logo as much cachet as the term hybrid has.” To promote Bluetec, Mercedes will participate in and sponsor green conferences throughout the United States. It also has a fleet of diesel SUVs that it will lend in key areas such as Aspen, Colo., and in Vermont. In Hollywood, 15 Bluetec vehicles will be lent to celebrities. c

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