thegriffon

Demographic Groups Rank Most Buzz-Worthy New Vehicles Domestic Launches Creating Most Buzz, Mercedes-Benz CLS Universally Viewed as Sophisticated IRVINE, Calif., May 10 /PRNewswire/ -- New-vehicle launches creating the most buzz differ greatly by demographic and vehicle consideration groups, according to the 2006 AutoVIBES Demographics reports, now available from online research leaders Harris Interactive® and Kelley Blue Book Marketing Research. The annual AutoVIBES Demographics series of reports provide significant insight into the diverse vehicle shopping preferences and opinions of different age groups, ethnicities and segment consideration groups. Most Buzz-Worthy New Nameplates Among Demographic/Vehicle Consideration Groups Demographic New-Vehicle Nameplate Seen as Having the Most Buzz Generation Y (Born from 1977-1986) Chevrolet Cobalt Generation X (Born from 1965-1976) Hummer H3 Baby Boomers (Born from 1946-1964) Dodge Charger Pre-Boomers (Born 1945 and earlier) Ford Five Hundred Hispanic Ford Shelby Cobra GT 500 Asian Lexus 400h African-American Dodge Charger Luxury Considerers Mercedes-Benz CLS Minivan Considerers Ford Freestyle Truck Considerers Dodge Charger SUV Considerers Hummer H3 Sporty Car Considerers Ford Shelby Cobra GT 500 Sedan Considerers Ford Five Hundred Hybrid/Alternative Fuel Considerers Dodge Charger AutoVIBES examined 49 new-nameplate launches in 2005, 25 of which were domestics. Car-buyers in 14 demographic/vehicle consideration groups rated 12 domestics and only two imports as being the most buzz-worthy. "Domestic manufacturers have recently introduced some exciting new products that are catching the eye of many consumers," said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and market analyst for Kelley Blue Book and kbb.com. "The highly-anticipated Dodge Charger is making waves among buyers in many different demographics." The new AutoVIBES study also shows vehicle shoppers of all generations see domestic vehicles as the most buzz-worthy, although each generation rates a different domestic vehicle in the top spot. The youngest age-group surveyed, Generation Y, and the oldest age-group surveyed, Pre-Boomers, had only one vehicle in common on their top five buzz list: Dodge Charger. Different Generations Weigh In: The Top Five New-Vehicle Nameplates with the Most Buzz Rank Generation Y Pre-Boomers (Born from 1977-1986) (Born 1945 and earlier) 1 Chevrolet Cobalt Ford Five Hundred 2 Dodge Charger Buick LaCrosse 3 Ford Shelby Cobra GT 500 Cadillac DTS 4 Hummer H3 Ford Freestyle 5 Pontiac G6 Dodge Charger While different groups chose a variety of vehicles as most buzz-worthy, there was universal agreement among all that the Mercedes-Benz CLS was the most "sophisticated." In addition, the Pontiac Solstice was rated high by all groups for being "exciting," "youthful" and "imaginative."

Who says they won't?

BTW those hp figures are actually PS.

The Saturn won't have to be shipped anywhere near as far, and market conditions are different in NA.

They are all 160s. The Chevy Buick and GMC versions under a cloud are beyond the scope of recent planning documents, so it would be best to say they are "not current programs". Replacements for the Equinox and Torrent have priority.

The NG Vue is not growing in size very much at all, just an inch longer and wider perhaps. I believe the 160s in question (for Chevy, GMC and Buick) were being re-evaluated for competitive reasons, although both Chevy and BPG could use at least one each below the midsize Equinox and Torrent. The other 160s are still on track.

The current G35 Coupe, Saab 93-Cabrio, and CLK are all within a couple of mm if each other in length (183"). The new 3-Series Coupe and C70 and A4 Cabrios are at 180", The Maserati Coupe at 178", the Alfa GT at 177", the 911 and RX8 at around 175". While closer in size to the larger 6- and XK-Series (189-190"), I would expect the CTS Coupe would be closer to the CLK-Class in style and price, with a similar emphasis on V8 engines. The lower sales (still miuch higher than the 6- and XK-) are more than made up by the increased revenue per unit.

First the camry does not have 270 hp. second the Flexfuel V6 is unchanged. The 3.9 L loses power in order to increase fuel-economy.

My apologies to Gerardo. GM announced at the end of March that it will sell the new Astra in Mexico, imported from Belgium, along with the new-generation Zafira from Bochum in Germany. The Mexican Chevrolet Astra 5-door gets a 123 hp 1.8 L Family 1 engine (the old 1.8 L, not the new 138 hp Dual-CVVT engine), and the old cast-iron Saab 2.0 Turbo in 200 hp tune (not the new aluminum engine used in Epsilon sedans).

The 1.25 L TDCi gets 60 mpg hwy, the 1.4 gasoline would get maybe 45 mpg hwy with the 5-speed manual. Personally with the older less efficient 1.4 I have gotten at least 34 mpg combined, with quite aggressive driving.

By the end of 2007 the Astra will be nearly 4 years old, it won't be around for much longer. If they are going to do this I would expect them to do it sooner, but I'm not surprised volumes will be limited. Although GM Manufacturing in Europe would welcome the extra volume I expect the UAW is only accepting this as a short-term, low-volume stop-gap measure until the next gen is ready for a US debut. GM will also be gauging how well the 3- and 5-door models are accepted in the sedan-biased US market.

Sorry Gerardo, the Mexican Astra is the previous generation imported from GM do Brasil. The Vectra is imported from Europe, with 250 hp 2.8 L turbo EPS Plus and CDC (for 1/3 more than a V6 Malibu).

As a luxury car the Phaeton flopped, priced at a reasonable price with a V6 and V8 engine only (30-45K) in the swb model and they may have sold more than they could build.

for just a couple of years? Isn't worth it.

Expect about 60 mpg (US) in the highway cycle. You can expect a lot more variation in the urban cycle. Curiously the 90 hp 1.25 L uses less fuel than the 75 hp. The new Corsa is much bigger than the old model and uses completely different gasoline engines, so further comparisons are difficult. I would probably go with the 1.4 with Easytronic manual for economy, the 1.6 as standard volume model and two performance models, the 140 hp 1.8 as top trim model, and the 180 hp turbo as a Redline in the 3-door.

The A8 is an aluminum space frame, the Phaeton and Continental a new steel structure seperate to the Audi's lineage.

The new model will probably still be built by General Motors España, and Opel Eisenach GmbH (a low-cost East German plant on the site of the original BMW car factory). Production will eventually expand to GM do Brasil (as a Chevrolet) and GM South Africa (Chevy models badged as Opels). The new Mexican factory could build either Aveos and Optras, or more likely low-cost models based on the current Corsa and the previous Astra.

The limited capacity is a direct result of GM attempting to avoid a business disaster. The problem was "How can we build a very low volume vehicle and still make money?" This is the result. Adding flexibility and the potential for much higher capacity would have cost miuch more money, and in that case Kappa wouldn't have happenned at all. Sales are strong now but they can't be expected to stay that way for very long. In a few years they have to expect sales to fall to several hundred a month, so the addition of the Saturn and later the Opel GT will just help sustain volumes, as does the 2.0 Turbo. The business case for Kappa was completely unproven, as is the build process. If it all works and they can make money, then maybe they will look at expanding flexibility with a second generation and spending money on addressing the current architecture's shortcomings. Then again they may change tack altogether and base the next gen roadsters on a new small rwd platform underpinned by higher-volume models.

I don't believe there are any global sales planned beside the Opel GT. Any other vehicles shown are simply concepts to add a little excitement to autoshow displays, much as was done with the Opel Speedster, also shown with Holden and Daewoo badges, but never produced as such. With capacity limited by the production process there really isn't any gain with expanding export markets unless US sales tank.

Bigger, substantially bigger. A/B-segment wheelbase length width height front and rear track Toyota Vitz 2460 96.9 3750 147.6 1695 66.7 1520 59.8 1480 58.3 1470 57.9 Toyota Yaris 2460 96.9 3810 150.0 1695 66.7 1525 60.0 1480 58.3 1470 57.9 B/C-segment Honda Fit 2450 96.5 3845 151.4 1675 65.9 1525 60.0 1455 57.3 1445 56.9 Chevrolet Aveo 2480 97.6 3880 152.8 1670 65.7 1495 58.9 1450 57.1 1410 55.5 Scion xA 2370 93.3 3915 154.1 1695 66.7 1530 60.2 1455 57.3 1430 56.3 Kia Rio 2500 98.4 3990 157.1 1695 66.7 1470 57.9 1470 57.9 1460 57.5 Honda Fit (US) 2450 96.5 3998 157.4 1681 66.2 1525 60.0 1455 57.3 1450 57.1 Fiat Grande Punto 2510 98.8 4030 158.7 1687 66.4 1490 58.7 1473 58.0 1466 57.7 Hyundai Accent 3dr 2500 98.4 4045 159.3 1695 66.7 1470 57.9 1470 57.9 1460 57.5 E10 Toyota Corolla 2465 97.0 4095 161.2 1685 66.3 1380 54.3 1460 57.5 1450 57.1 Suzuki SX4 (wagon) 2500 98.4 4100 161.4 1730 68.1 1565 61.6 1495 58.9 1495 58.9 C/D-segment VW Golf 2578 101.5 4204 165.5 1759 69.3 1479 58.2 1540 60.6 1518 59.8 Nissan Tiida 2600 102.4 4205 165.6 1695 66.7 1535 60.4 1480 58.3 1485 58.5 Opel Astra 2614 102.9 4249 167.3 1753 69.0 1460 57.5 1488 58.6 1488 58.6 Opel Astra GTC 2614 102.9 4290 168.9 1753 69.0 1435 56.5 1488 58.6 1488 58.6 Suzuki Reno 2600 102.4 4295 169.1 1725 67.9 1445 56.9 1480 58.3 1480 58.3 Nissan Versa 2600 102.4 4295 169.1 1695 66.7 1535 60.4 1480 58.3 1485 58.5 Note that the Versa, Yaris and the US Fit simply have the equivalent of a bodykit to meet US crash standards, they aren't really any bigger than the equivalent Vitz, Tiida and Japanese Fit. For completeness I've included the SX4 even though it is somewhere between a wagon and a standard hatch. The Scion xA has cosmetic changes that put it between the standard Toyota ist and the bodykitted ist S in overall size. The E10 Corolla is the '92 model, the 3rd generation with fwd (the current is the E12/E13). The upcoming Corsa will be similar in size to the Fiat Grande Punto, although official specs aren't yet available.

Kazakhstan

Latest spy photos from Lehmann Photo Syndication and Photographe Ewans-Kelly reveal almost all details of the near-to-production X4400 Corsa. Abandoning the Opel Junior-inspired design of the last two generations, the new Corsa looks very much like a smaller Astra in both 3- and 5-door forms, and shares much of its under-skin components and systems with the popular Fiat Grande Punto. Go to spyshots of the 5-door at German Car Fans Go to spyshots of the 3-door at cars-prototypes Substantially bigger than the Yaris and the shoulder-pad–wearing Fit, so much more stylish than the Korean twins (Rio and Accent), the new Corsa has everything it takes to dominate the small-car segment in North America (especially with a probable 180 hp turbo version). Is GM ignoring a potential hit by not bringing the Corsa to the US? Scion xA sales are continuing to rise, Yaris sold over 6000 in April, and even the expensive Aerio is up 50% this year. With the Aveo showing its age against newer entries, does GM need a fresh new entry, or is demand for small compacts not strong enough?

They are, but that is for the next generation, starting with the replacement for the Aveo and smaller cars such as the Matiz.

No. The new Corsa ws developed with the Grande Punto on a "Common Systems and Components" basis. The architecture seems to be a shortened version of the Fiat Stilo compact. The Aveo uses a Daewoo evolution of the T-body Astra/Kadett platform of the last Pontiac LeMans. Using the Grande Punto as a template, the new Corsa should be about 6" longer than the Aveo hatch, with wheelbase more than an inch longer. Front track is an inch wider, rear track 2" wider, with a similar width to the 2007 Aveo sedan. The Kia Rio5 and Accent SR are similar-sized products on the US market.

For compact and smaller cars GM has a two-prong strategy. In most international markets manual transmissions are still by far the most popular option, with an increase in the popularity of automated (clutchless) manuals (MTAs). GM Powertrain Austria is currently rolling out an ever-expanding family of 6-speed manuals including MTA versions which are likely to used in the future Global Compact Car and Global Small Car architectures. These automated manuals will be supplemented by 6-speed autos from Aisin AW, which has already begun. In addition GM Powertrain is working with GM Daewoo Powertrain on a new family of 6-speed autos to replace the current 4-speed units GM Daewoo licences from ZF (Daewoo Transmission was an independent supplier owned by Daewoo Telecom before being acquired by GM Daewoo). It is possible these 6-speed autos could also be used in North America as GM Daewoo increases use of the updated GM Family 1 and Family II engines and is expected to switch from the Daewoo J-body to the Global Compact Car architecture.