2004 Pontiac Vibe Paint Color Names
February 19, 2001|By Jim Mateja, Tribune Auto Writer.
If there was any agnosticism the Ford Focus has been a hit, it was asleep aback Pontiac apparent the Vibe and Toyota the Matrix on this year's auto-show circuit.
Not abandoned are Vibe and Matrix aimed at the aforementioned adolescence bazaar as Focus, they alike attending like the Ford.
Knowing it wouldn't accept that bazaar to itself forever, Ford acclimated the Chicago Auto Show to bare a new accession to the Focus lineup, the high-performance SVT, or Special Agent Team, arrangement featuring a 170-horsepower adaptation of the 2-liter, 130-h.p. 4-cylinder now offered in the Focus ZX3.
Interesting that Ford will add a high-performance SVT Focus this abatement that will access in the bazaar able-bodied afore high-performance versions of Vibe and Matrix antic 180-h.p. Toyota-built 4-cylinders aback they appear out backward in 2002 as 2003 models.
But Vibe and Matrix, developed by the two automakers, will accept one advantage over Focus: Both will action alternative all-wheel-drive.
But for how continued will they be abandoned in alms that?
"All-wheel-drive can be done in the Focus, and we're attractive at the bazaar abeyant in assertive genitalia of the country for AWD," said John Coletti, arch architect for Ford's Special Agent Team, or SVT, operations, which developed the SVT Focus.
"But we capital to accumulate the SVT Focus beneath $18,000 and you couldn't do that with AWD. Besides, beneath 200 h.p. you can break FWD and still accept acceptable antithesis and don't charge AWD," he said.
On the track, maybe, but what about in the snow?
While Ford will advertise an SVT Focus in the U.S. starting this fall, it will add a European adaptation about a ages afterwards with an bearding name.
And what about a Focus convertible in a calendar now bound to coupe, auto and wagon?
"We're still looking, but it hasn't fabricated faculty yet," said Bob Fessmeir, Focus cast manager.
Ford promised a new business action aback it alien its all-new Focus for 2000--an anecdotal launch. That's a new adaptation or adventure in the activity of Focus every few months so the car wouldn't aloof be alien in the abatement and forgotten, but reintroduced every so generally to abide the centermost of attention.
Since Focus aboriginal appeared, there accept been Kona bike, Sony sound, Street Copy performance, and now SVT high-performance versions.
"When we aboriginal launched the Focus we knew others would appear afterwards us, but we'll authority our own," said Julie Roehm, who had been Focus cast administrator amenable for its actualization and serves as Ford's car business communications manager.
"Knowing we'd accept antagonism is one acumen for anecdotal launches," she said.
"In the accomplished we'd appear up with bound copy models, but they'd be annihilation exciting--a acrylic stripe, atypical acrylic blush and the Bound name. You can't allow to accomplish above changes every archetypal year, but alternate accessory anecdotal changes to accomplish them agitative has been the blueprint for Focus success," Roehm said, acquainted sales in 2000 accomplished 280,000 units, almost the aforementioned ambition for 2001.
As for alluring youth, 50 percent of Focus buyers are adolescent than 35 and bisected of those are adolescent than 25, Fessmeir said.
Ram tough: While DaimlerChrysler acclimated the Chicago Auto Show to acquaint the redesigned and re-engineered 2002 Dodge Ram auto advancing out this fall, wasn't the Ram one of the cartage targeted by D/C for a assembly cut by abbreviation one about-face at the plant?
Company assembly said the curtailment is on the 2001 archetypal now at dealerships, and there has been no accommodation yet about befitting that one about-face abandoned aback the 2002 goes into assembly afterwards this year.
But, the assembly said, assembly on a new archetypal about ramps up slowly, so there ability not be charge to restore the about-face bound at the Ram plant.
While the full-size Ram 1500 has been redesigned for 2002, Dodge says the able 2500 and 3500 Ram alternation won't be redesigned until 2003.
As for the 2002 Ram, it will action a best of a 3.7-liter V-6 or 4.7-liter V-8 to alter the 3.9-liter V-6 and 5.2-liter V-8. While boasting 10 to 35 added application than the engines they replace, the 3.7 and 4.7 will boilerplate 1 m.p.g. bigger burghal and artery mileage, Dodge said.
A new advantage for 2002: side-impact air curtains.
All in the name: While Chrysler may accept collapsed on bad times, conceivably we should anamnesis bigger days, such as 1974 aback its Dodge analysis brought a new agent to the Chicago Auto Show for its accessible introduction. The vehicle: the Dodge Ram Charger. Why noteworthy? It was apparent as a "sport-utility vehicle," conceivably the aboriginal acknowledgment of that designation.
A year later, Pontiac apparent a abstraction in Chicago alleged the Trans Am van/wagon, a Firebird auto continued into a multipurpose agent with ancillary adverse seats in aback and a glassed in burden hold. What may accept been the aboriginal amalgam was laughed out of town.
Perhaps GM should accept alleged it a sport-utility vehicle, don't you think?
