Boston, Detroit Auto Shows Get Season Rolling
It’s auto show time on both the national and local fronts. Tomorrow is the start of a series of global debuts and other media events at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
Back at home, the 58th New England International Auto Show opens to the public Thursday afternoon. The show is at the Boston Convention & Exposition Center and runs through the Martin Luther King Day holiday Jan. 19.
Show hours are: Thursday, 2-9 p.m.; Friday, noon-9 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; and Monday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Admission is $15 for adults and $6 for children 6¬–12. Children 6 and under are free.
Continuing the trend of recent years, four manufacturers—Ford, Kia, Scion, and Toyota—will be offering Ride ‘n Drives at the show, allowing attendees to not only ogle cars on the display floor but also to drive them for a loop around the Expo Center’s ring road. Driving hours are Saturday–Monday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Toyota has a distracted driving simulator that will encourage you to take a “Don’t Text and Drive’’ pledge.
Reflecting the diversity among alternative-fuel choices on the market today, there will be more than 100 diesels, electrics, hybrids, and fuel cell vehicles.
“Overall, we’ll have more than 600 vehicles from 36 manufacturers worth more than $20 million,’’ says Barbara Pudney, vice president of the Paragon Group, which presents the show. More show details are at paragonexpo.com.
The Boston Globe and Amica Insurance are the presenting sponsors.
Pickup Trucks
One of the big automotive stories to watch in the coming year is how things develop in the profitable pickup segment, a competition that will evolve on several fronts.
No. 1 is how the buying public accepts Ford’s new F-150. Will the aluminum bed, available LED headlights, increased towing capacity, locking tailgate, and EcoBoost engines be enough to keep the F-Series in its position as the country’s best-selling vehicle for a 34th consecutive year and best-selling truck for a 39th in 2015?
No. 2 will be the looming battle in the midsize pickup segment. GM has garnered accolades for its new Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon entries. Those trucks hit the market last fall just as the segment-leading Toyota Tacoma was due for a redesign.
That advantage should end tomorrow. Toyota is scheduled for a high-profile unveiling in Detroit of the new Tacoma.
The “Toyota Way,’’ which has proven to be successful and profitable, is for gradual evolution in its models; however, the company has had a decade to think about the new Tacoma. Early hype has been very low-key, but the feeling here is that Tacoma fans are going to enjoy what they see tomorrow.
No. 3 is that Nissan is in the act with a new generation of its aptly named Titan full-size pickup. That, too, is scheduled for an introduction in Detroit, and it will be available with a V-8 diesel.
No. 4 is that Ram’s successful 1500 pickup gets a freshening. The Ram keeps gaining market share, and dealers have trouble keeping the EcoDiesel version in stock.
No. 5 is wondering—and this comes directly from the wishful-thinking department—if Jeep might bring a pickup version of the Wrangler to market. Previous concepts have been critically acclaimed.
2015 Story Lines
Jeep: The brand’s sales were up 41 percent in 2014 with Wrangler, Compass, and Patriot recording their best sales years. However, Jeep’s big show news is the debut of its new Renegade, a small SUV that will bring off-road capability to the subcompact segment.
Chevy Volt: Chevy missed the boat by not getting the original Volt to market at least a year sooner, losing momentum with three years of “it’s coming’’ hype. This version is a bit bigger with a different battery configuration and upgraded drive train.
Performance cars at Detroit: FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) made a big splash last year with Challenger, Charger, and Viper introductions. This year, Ford is expected to show a 50th anniversary Ford-GT, a Mustang GT350R, and F-150 Raptor. In addition, Cadillac has a 640-horsepower CTS-V; Acura will show its NSX supercar; and Mini has a 228-HP John Cooper Works version of its hardtop.
SUVs: There will be lots of small talk over the subcompact Jeep Renegade, Honda HR-V, and Fiat 500X. In the midsize ranks, Buick launches its Envision, Lincoln is hoping the MKX has the same success as last year’s compact MKC, and Volkswagen is showing an SUV concept its dealers desperately need for the US market.
Wither Volvo? The company has an all-wheel-drive version of the V60 crossover coming to market soon as well as the new luxury XC90 SUV. Volvo is heavily invested in cutting edge autonomous-driving safety systems.
Acura’s TLX. How will the company fare as it sends one car (the TLX) out to replace the TSX and TL in the competitive entry-level luxury sedan segment?
Eclectic Electrics. Tesla is rolling out an AWD version of the Tesla S. Toyota is launching its Mirai fuel cell vehicle, and Honda is showing a five-passenger version of its second-generation fuel cell vehicle at Detroit.
Finally, two economic questions: 1. How will low fuel prices hurt sales of hybrids and alternative-fuel vehicles while helping SUV and performance car sales? 2. Will the high value of dealerships encourage some dealers to cash out and other groups to expand their operations?
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