ARCHIVED  October 20, 2000

Car, truck? Something between?

SUVs mix function, form; stay hot in 2001

Think Swiss Army knife – on wheels.

That’s Ferrero Auto Center general manager Ryan Ferrero’s take on the crop of 2001 cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles.

SPONSORED CONTENT

Ways to thank a caregiver

If you have a caregiver or know someone who has been serving as a primary caregiver, March 3rd is the day to reach out and show them how much they are valued!

“There’s more features and functions than they’ve ever had,´ said Ferrero, whose Loveland dealership sells Jeep, Chrysler and Dodge automobiles. “People are looking for more out of their cars.”

Auto manufacturers are trying to give them more, too.

There’s more power outlets to plug in laptop computers and handheld vacuums, more hooks from which to hang shopping bags, more adjustable and removable seating and more consoles that look more like mini offices than a place to throw loose change and compact discs.

Center consoles are now like working consoles, Ferrero said, with compartments for pens and laptops instead of cup and change holders.

“People really want a lot out of their vehicles,” he said. “They spend a lot of time in them, especially in the West.”

Gone are the days when shopping for a new car meant choosing between form and function. And gone, too, are the days when shopping for a new car meant looking at two-door coupes and four-door sedans. SUVs have replaced cars as the hottest thing on the road, and nearly every auto manufacturer from Detroit to Germany to Japan is trying to get in on the act.

SUV crazy

“The SUV market will be very, very competitive,´ said Terry McLeod, sales manager at Pedersen Automotive in Fort Collins.

Toyota for example has two new SUVs this year – the Highlander and the Sequoia. There also are redesigned RAV4 and four-wheel drive standbys the 4Runner and the Land Cruiser.

Ford introduced the Escape this year, making its mark on the compact-SUV market. It is new territory for Ford, which has made its name with trucks. Ford, too, has its SUV standbys with the Explorer and the larger Expedition.

“The Escape is the most exciting vehicle we’ve got on the ground right now,´ said Gerry McFarling, general sales manager for Garnsey Wheeler Ford in Greeley. “It’s taking off really well.”

But those are just a few of the new SUVs from which to chose. The choices run the gamut, from upscale manufacturers such as BMW, Porsche and Audi to more economical companies such as Kia and Saturn. Volkswagen has one coming. Nissan makes them. Pontiac does, as well. Mitsubishi, Honda, Lincoln, Suzuki – the list goes on. You name the company, they probably manufacture at least one SUV or all-wheel drive vehicle.

“From a survival standpoint, you have to be in that market,´ said Chris Carlson, a sales consultant at Ed Carroll Motors in Fort Collins. “That’s why Mercedes is in it. It’s just amazing what’s out there and what’s coming. SUVs are still the hottest seller out there. In our area, they’re over 50 percent of sales.”

And the SUV craze is not the passing fashion some may have thought it would be, said Paul Barrow, vice president of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association.

“As much as the press likes to say it’s a fad, I truly think in Colorado it’s a lifestyle issue,” Barrow said.

Children, pets, weekend trips to the mountains and cars don’t fit together well, he said. Instead, SUVs give families the space and comfort needed to enjoy the amenities of the state.

The latest phase of the SUV craze are hybrids – a mix of the carlike comfort and pickup truck hauling capabilities. Watch for more SUVs with pickup beds on them, Barrow said.

Ford has one such model. The Sport Trac is a version of the Explorer with four doors and a 5.5-foot bed on the back, said McFarling.

Drive for fuel efficiency

But SUVs aren’t known to be the most fuel-efficient vehicles. A recent Environmental Protection Agency study found that the average fuel economy for 358 SUV variations on the market got an average of 18 mpg, according to an Associated Press report. In comparison, the nearly 500 cars included in the study got an average of 23.6 mpg.

Many automakers are working to make SUVs more fuel-efficient.

SUVs aren’t the only vehicles that auto companies are looking at making more fuel-efficient, either.

“We’re seeing many manufacturers advertise and market better gas mileage,” Barrow said, “obviously because of current fuel prices. Manufacturers are trying to make more efficient engines; technology is allowing them to do that.”

McFarling said because of the cost of fuel “we’re seeing a strong resurgence toward economy.”

With that resurgence, there has also come alternative-fuel hybrids.

Toyota has the Prius, which runs on half electric and half gasoline power.

“It gets 68 mpg,´ said McLeod. “It’s not really a commuter car, it’s more of an in-town, in-city car.”

For the stop-and-start drives across town, the Prius runs on electric power, he said. When on the highway travelling at faster speeds, it switches to gasoline power.

Honda also has an electric-gas hybrid. The Insight gets 64 mpg, according to the EPA study. The two-seater was atop the EPA’s list of fuel-efficient vehicles for combined city and highway driving. The Prius was second, followed by three Volkswagen models, according the Associated Press report.

Two seats, four and more

The Insight’s two seats are also indicative of a trend.

“We’re seeing more two-seater sports cars,” Barrow said. “That’s becoming a popular trend that will continue.”

Two-seaters are one end of a scale, station wagons are the other. Barrow said wagons also are becoming increasingly popular. European automakers have a lot of wagon choices, he said.

“Some people with less need for a four-wheel drive and more need for a sporty car are switching from SUVs to wagons,” Barrow said.

Another trend to watch for, Carlson said, is speed.

“Performance has been a trend over the last five to eight years,” he said.

And just because they’re getting faster, doesn’t mean they’re getting rougher. Gone are the days when speeding down the highway feels like riding a bicycle through an earthquake. European models are getting smoother as they get faster, Carlson said.

There’s more great things to come, too, dealers say.

“We’re pretty excited about next year,” Ferrero said.

Maybe drivers will be, too.

SUVs mix function, form; stay hot in 2001

Think Swiss Army knife – on wheels.

That’s Ferrero Auto Center general manager Ryan Ferrero’s take on the crop of 2001 cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles.

“There’s more features and functions than they’ve ever had,´ said Ferrero, whose Loveland dealership sells Jeep, Chrysler and Dodge automobiles. “People are looking for more out of their cars.”

Auto manufacturers are trying to give them more, too.

There’s more power outlets to plug in laptop computers and handheld vacuums, more hooks from which to hang shopping bags, more adjustable and removable seating and more consoles that look more like…

Categories:
Sign up for BizWest Daily Alerts