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Duality on display at Detroit auto show Alternative-fuel-powered cars and gas-guzzling trucks
Sunday, January 13, 2008
BY RICK HAGLUND
Ann Arbor News Bureau

A green theme has been sweeping auto shows across the globe, the result of higher gasoline prices, more stringent fuel economy and emissions regulations and worries about climate change.

But Detroit's North American International Auto Show, which opens for news media-only previews today and to the public on Jan. 19, will feature a panoply of product palettes.

There will be no shortage of alternative-fuel-powered cars, crossovers and compact trucks among the more than 50 new production and concept vehicles being introduced this week.

But high-performance vehicles and big, gas-guzzling trucks will be seen in abundance on the show floor at Cobo Center.

Ford Motor Co. today will unveil its restyled 2009 F-150 pickup, while Dodge will show off a freshened 2009 Ram truck. Despite falling sales of full-size pickups, the F-150 remains the best selling vehicle - car or truck - in the country.

"How can you ignore the F-Series launch? It's huge,'' said Erich Merkle, an auto industry analyst at IRN Inc. of Grand Rapids.

And it's one of the most profitable vehicles for Ford, which last year dropped to third place in U.S. sales behind Toyota Motor Corp.

"This show doesn't seem to have a theme,'' said Tom Libby, senior director of industry analysis at J.D. Power & Associates of Troy. "The products are all over the map. I think that's a reflection of the industry right now.''

Libby and others say uncertainty about the economy and a projected fall-off in vehicle sales this year have prompted automakers to display a diverse array of products, in an attempt to excite cautious consumers.

Analysts say U.S. car-and-truck sales could fall to around 15.5 million vehicles this year, the lowest level in a decade.


Source: http://www.mlive.com