Don`t look now, but the Japanese have gone American.
Little high-mileage, low-cost economy cars have given way to larger, high-priced luxury and sports models as the Japanese have decided to take on the domestics at their own game–big cars.
And if the concept cars on display at the Chicago Auto Show in McCormick Place are any indication, even larger, higher-priced cars soon will be on the boats headed here from Tokyo.
”We saw it coming,” replied Roger B. Smith, chairman of General Motors Corp., when asked if Detroit automakers were concerned they would find themselves embroiled in the same battle to ward off big Japanese cars as they had the little ones.
”We saw it happening in big Japanese cars two years ago and that`s why we decided to meet them head on with new technology,” Smith said in an interview while here for the auto show and a glimpse of the competition.
”This is a byproduct of the import car restraints,” he said. ”When under limitations on the number of cars they can ship here, they decided in order to make money on the cars they did send, they had to move upstream. But like I said, we saw it coming and this is why we`ve concentrated so much in the last two years on our larger cars–new C`s (Olds 98, Buick Electra), H`s
(Olds 88, Buick LeSabre) E`s (Olds Toronado, Buick Riviera, Cadillac Eldorado) or upscale versions of small cars like the N`s (Olds Calais, Buick Somerset, Pontiac Grand Am).
”This is one reason we spent big money on these cars, put our money in larger cars, while bringing in the smaller joint-venture cars from Suzuki and Isuzu of Japan, and are building the Nova with Toyota,” he said.
Japanese car officials in town for the auto show have disclosed plans for more larger and luxurious cars in the near future. Rod Hayden, senior vice president of Mazda Motors of America, said the Mazda 929, a large car sold in Japan that`s equal in size to what the domestics offer, will be sold here in 1988.
Robert McCurry, senior vice president of Toyota Motors Sales, U.S.A., said he hopes to bring a large sedan into the United States shortly that would be quite similar to a concept car at the auto show called the FX-V.
C.P. ”Chuck” King, senior vice president-sales, of Nissan Motors Corp., said his company wants to import a full-size luxury sedan similar to the CUE-X concept car on display at the show within two years, if not sooner.
And Honda of Japan, through a separate Acura network, is preparing to market a luxury sedan called Legend this spring.
Not only are the Japanese preparing new sizes, those new models will feature technological innovations such as four-wheel drive, four-wheel steering, and four-wheel, antiskid or antilock brakes.
”We are looking into these systems, too,” Smith said. ”We are starting to offer antilock brakes on some of our `86 cars this spring and that brake system is the next big thing on the horizon at GM. Within 5 years, you`ll see antilock brakes on 50 percent of our cars.”
In addition to the limited number of GM cars with that system, which prevents wheels from locking in a skid and allowing the car to come to a straight stop regardless of the road conditions, Mercedes-Benz offers such a system on most of its cars and Ford Motor Co. does on a few of its luxury models.
”Such things as four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering won`t come as fast,” Smith said.
Turning to a broad range of auto issues, Smith said plans are on target for the Saturn project car to be built in Spring Hill, Tenn. Meanwhile, F. James McDonald, GM president, confirmed the automaker intends to bring out a small Saturn car first, but will follow that up with a series of Saturn cars, small to big. ”It will be a family of cars, like Pontiac,” he said.
Smith also said the government`s corporate average fuel economy (CAFE)
laws that mandate each automaker average 26 miles per gallon from its cars in the 1986 model year, ”is getting in the way of what people want in terms of cars.”
”There`s a need for federal regulations for emission and safety systems, but not for fuel economy,” he said. ”The customer should make that decision. People don`t want diesels, they want V-8 gas engines and gas isn`t at $2.50 a gallon, in Detroit it`s 97 cents for regular.”
Smith said he wouldn`t be surprised if the government eventually drops CAFE requirements. However, he said, rather than campaign to abolish the laws, GM will focus first on ensuring the 26 m.p.g. standard for the 1987-88 model year.
Among other GM executives in town for the auto show, Robert Burger, Chevrolet division general manager, and Michael Losh, Pontiac division general manager, said their divisions will offer versions of the GM-200, the front-wheel drive minivan the automaker has planned for the 1989 model year. A prototype of such a vehicle is on display at the auto show at the Pontiac exhibit dubbed the Trans Sport.
