Developing Trends Promise To Reshape Auto Industry

The just released Kia Forte sedan will soon be joined by the Forte Koup, a stylish two-door model arriving later this summer.

We’re right at the middle of the year which is a good time to take a look at the auto industry and what is coming down the pike over the coming 6 to 18 months. The first six months of the year were very active as both GM and Chrysler went bankrupt with Chrysler already emerging through its proceedings and is now part of Fiat. The rest of the industry is awaiting for the market to rebound, but the auto landscape will continue to change in the months ahead.

The following are some of the changes on the horizon:

Near term – This summer, Ford will release the all new Ford Taurus a nicely redesigned full sized sedan for the Blue Oval. Ford will also be introducing its highly anticipated EcoBoost technology and will roll out its Lincoln MKT crossover by late summer. GM has a pair of Cadillacs in the pipeline – the SRX crossover and the CTS wagon. Buick will get a new LaCrosse sedan while GMC inherits the Terrain which is based on the Chevy Equinox. Chrysler has nothing coming up while Acura will stick a V6 engine in the TSX. The Kia Forte KOUP should be in showrooms by late August.

This fall – The remaining 2010 models will be out, a model year that began right after the new year when the Mercedes GLK was introduced. A hatchback BMW 5-Series is on its way, while a small X1 crossover is being introduced.  A restyled Audi A8 hits the market while the S4 makes its return. Hyundai introduces a restyled Tucson while the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution will be welcomed back. A hybrid version of the Porsche Cayenne will be introduced. Mahindra will be selling their first trucks this fall.

Next spring – 2010 will have several watershed moments including the introduction of the Ford Fiesta subcompact. Throughout the year beginning in the Spring, automaker will be rolling out several pure electric and plugin hybrid models. Mitsubishi and Nissan appear to be leading the way with Ford and Toyota following.

Summer 2010 and Beyond – The Chevy Volt will likely hit showrooms by November but there will be lots of new models from new manufacturers including Coda, Fisker, Th!nk, Smart, MINI and perhaps V-Vehicle if the latter doesn’t turn out to be a bad case of vaporware. By the end of the year the Fiat 500 should be ready for the US. Tata Motors could be bringing the Nano to the US by year end, but 2011 looks like a better bet.

There is really very little uniformity in the auto industry as consolidation means some brands will disappear or be companies merged while new ones will continue to pop up especially if government money plays in as it is doing now in the US. China and India with their vast consumer societies are forces to be reckoned with as their cars begin to appear on American highways.

Thus, the forecast I gave is just a generalized overview, with room for additional changes too.

See Also — Coda Automotive Introduces All Electric Sedan

GMC Terrain Proves Badge Engineering Is Alive And Well

All new for 2010, the GMC Terrain is a twin to the Chevy Equinox. The newest GMC model, available in front and all wheel drive, will be in showrooms this September.

General Motors (GM) is in for the fight of its life, working diligently to restructure in the midst of bankruptcy by overhauling the way that it does business. One thing that won’t be changing all that much is the automaker’s predilection for badge engineering, the sort of practice whereby a company creates a model for one brand and then rolls it out in some other form for one or more other brands.

Copying The Chevy Equinox

The most recent example of this practice is the Chevrolet Equinox which will share its body with the GMC Terrain, the latter expected to go on sale this September. But that shouldn’t be surprising because mostly everything sporting a GMC insignia is also sold as a Chevrolet, with trim level differentiations and external badging offering the other distinctions between the two.

GM has priced the GMC Terrain from $24,995 for the front wheel drive model and $26,745 for the all wheel drive version, destination and freight charges included. For its thoughts about the Terrain GM says, “The Terrain allows us to build on the evolution we started with the Acadia, applying the distinctive styling and capabilities that have always been a part of the GMC DNA to smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles that customers are seeking in today’s rapidly changing market,” said Susan Docherty, GM North America Vice President, Buick-Pontiac-GMC. “We think Terrain is a bold statement of GMC’s key role within the reinvented General Motors.”

Bold statement? Not hardly. A welcome change? Perhaps.

Walking Out The Company Talk

Ms. Docherty, who will be soon dropping the Pontiac portion of her job title, is clearly amplifying the company line. Not that she has much choice because GM is bent on standing with four brands – Cadillac, GMC, Buick and Chevrolet – while ditching four others – Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Hummer (plus Opel) – which leaves GM with fewer models to work with. The Terrain might work for the simple reason that it won’t be aped by Buick, at least not yet and it does, as GM says, look awfully like the Acadia which is its larger brethren.

Chevrolet is GM’s largest selling brand by far with GMC a distant second. Third place belongs to Pontiac which means that newly-minted Buick-GMC dealerships will have sell more Buicks and GMC models to make up for Pontiac’s demise. Oh, just in case you were wondering, GM is in the process of testing a new compact Buick which will be based on the upcoming Chevy Cruze sedan.

Source: General Motors

See Also – Equinox Gas Mileage Should Encourage Cruze Faithful