New models fill the lots
Latest trends include sleeker look, amenities
Article published Oct 14, 2007


For auto dealers, it’s time for out with the old and in with the new. Vehicles are coming off the assembly line and into the showroom floors of local dealerships.
Those who are charged with selling the new lines have spotted a few trends for this season.
Mike Yates, new car sales manager at Hampton Toyota, said new models focus more on interior amenities, sleeker and stylish lines and many vehicle manufacturers are touting better gas mileage.

“A lot of your new cars have more standard features now, like extra airbags, power locks. The interiors are more ergonomical, more of a cockpit-type feel with more finger-touch styling,” Yates said. “These cars are looking very beautiful because they have more stylish lines in the car, more arcs, just more artisticness.”

Glenn Fritscher, the assistant general manager at Acadiana Dodge agreed, stating that many of the vehicles being designed now are sleeker and more “aerodynamic.”
Vehicles are coming equipped with navigation systems and rear-set video screens and DVD players, Fritscher said.

But he added that many designers are going back to old ideas and concepts for new vehicles.

“A lot of manufacturers are going back to retro-styling. They’re bringing back old looks, like with the Ford Mustang or the 2009 Dodge Challenger. They’re bringing back old nameplates like the Charger and the Challenger,” Fritscher said. “And with the new technology you can add more horsepower than the originals had.”

Fritscher said he’s seeing a trend among car manufacturers building sporty crossover vehicles.
“They’re not as big as SUVs, but they’re smaller, because of gas mileage.”

Many companies are finding themselves dealing with rising prices at the pump, Yates and Fritscher said, and companies are trying their best to keep cars fuel efficient without sacrificing something most car buyers love: horsepower.

“Manufacturers are looking at ways to not to lose horsepower and performance but keep the fuel economy so buyers don’t spend it all at the pump.”

Yates said he sees more car manufacturers attempting to make a car that can stand the test of time and truly be dependable.

“They’re making either longer warranties or making the cars last longer, more dependable,” he said.

Dodge is one of them. Fritscher said his company, along with Jeep and Chrysler and many other manufacturers, are extending their warranties to give customers more incentive to make drive off the lot in their vehicle.

“GM has a five year/100,000 mile warranty. Suzuki upped their warranty to seven years/100,000 miles,” Fritscher said. “Even we’re doing it. For Jeep, Chrysler and Dodge we have a lifetime powertrain warranty for our 2007 and 2007 models.
“It’s a new age. Manufacturers are putting their money where they’re mouth is,” Fritscher said.

 

So we are getting back to arrow dynamics again? I welcome the change for normal models. I like the muscle look for muscle cars, but like the Arrow dynamic look for other vehicles. I like that this time around power is not being hurt for the demand for better fuel economy. This way we get the best of both worlds.

 

I hope we do not get too nutty on aerodynamics because the ultimate shape is an airplane wing (bluntly rounded front end tailing to a point in the rear) & I really do not want to drive something that boring. [:'(]

 

It depends on how much effort is put into the front end. The LH cars like my Intrepid are quite aerodynamic; however, they still added a nice sized grille to keep it interesting. You are right though that aerodynamics can cause manufacturers to go to an extreme and the result can be ugly. Take the 96 Taurus for an example, it was pretty aerodynamic maybe more than the previous model was but it was not very easy on the eye. The 86-91 Taurus was very aerodynamic and wasn't the best looking car in the world, but it was a breathe of fresh air for its day and for its day not half bad looking.

The reason why I welcome the return of aerodynamics is I think some models are getting too boxy (Nitro, Escape, Dakota, Durango, etc.).