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EuroWire – March 2012
35
Transatlantic cable
noted by Lawrence Ulrich of the
New York Times
. He wrote that
the venerable show, which for years “served as a stage for the
gas-guzzling truck-based pro t centres of hometown brands
like General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford, now ts more snugly in
the rmament of international auto shows, where smaller but
high-content models have traditionally been the stars.”
He cited as evidence the debut of the 2012 Dodge Dart, based
on a platform taken from Alfa Romeo; and that of the Acura ILX,
an entry-level luxury sedan based on the Honda Civic.
Another
Times
reporter, Phil Patton, surveyed the designs
unveiled at the show and found a movement toward a style
that could be called American Global. He noted the ‘decidedly
globalist approach’ of the Chevrolet Code 130R Concept, whose
designer mentioned multiple inspirations: “not just bits of the
Corvette, Corvair, and Camaro, but also the BMW 1 Series; the
1960s Ford Anglia, from Europe; and Japanese subcompacts
with gold wheels.”
It fell to yet another
Times
man, Paul Stenquist, to write about
the many technical innovations on display at the big show, now
in its 24
th
year.
Here, much abridged and lightly edited, are some of the
emergent engineering trends identi ed by Mr Stenquist (“A
Bu et of Canny Tweaks in Hot Pursuit of Mileage,” 13
th
January):
Lightweight luxury. Like Mercedes-Benz SL sports cars of the
past, the 2013 SL550 showcases the German auto maker’s
technical prowess. Among its features is a body made almost
entirely of aluminium and 308 pounds lighter than that of
the previous model.
Innovative forming and welding techniques were employed
to create a structure which the company claims sets a
benchmark for torsional rigidity in roadsters;
Transatlantic sharing. With Fiat in control of Chrysler, the two
companies increasingly function as one. The partnership has
yielded dividends in the form of the Dodge Dart compact,
which is built on a longer, wider version of Fiat’s Alfa Romeo
Giulietta platform – underpinnings that will be used as a
starting point for other Chrysler compacts;
Plugging in. Ford’s Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid, using a
2-litre 4-cylinder engine, is expected to deliver 100mpge
(electric-equivalent fuel economy). According to Ford, this
goes the Chevrolet Volt some 8mpge better.
Ford also introduced a plug-in hybrid version of its
C-Max compact crossover. Honda, Volvo and other auto
makers will follow the path of the Toyota Prius plug-in
to showrooms;
Unlikely pairing. The E300 BlueTec Hybrid sedan from
Mercedes-Benz upends standard practice by combining
a 201-horsepower 4-cylinder diesel engine with a
27-horsepower electric motor. Fuel economy is estimated at
56mpg on the European test cycle. For now, the car will be
available only in Europe;
Turbos and batteries. The Volkswagen Jetta hybrid couples a
turbocharged 1.4-litre 4-cylinder engine of 150 horsepower
with a 27-horsepower electric motor. Volkswagen estimates
combined fuel economy at 45mpg and 0-to-60mph
acceleration time at less than nine seconds;