All-American cars make a comeback

By ALASTAIR SLOANE

Once upon a time, an American car was just that. American cars stood out. They were mostly as big as Texas and covered in chrome. They had big motors in the front, big boots in the back and big bench seats in between.

Some had fins, swept-back things designed to give the car the same presence on land as a great white shark has in the water.

These made some cars look hideous - even to Americans. The fins later came to symbolise American excess, in car design and in everyday living.

Classic Americans included the 1949 Ford, 1955 Chevrolet with its small block V8, and 1963 Buick Riviera. The Riviera was inspired not from anything Detroit could dream up but by a foggy night in London.

General Motors' designer Bill Mitchell was standing outside the Claridge Hotel when a Rolls-Royce appeared out of the fog. The sharp corners of the car coming through the mist gave him the idea for the Riviera.

That was the golden age of American cars, in the 1950s and 1960s, when Detroit designers ruled. Then came the 1970s Arab oil embargo and new federal laws, and carmakers were forced to rethink fuel efficiency. American cars got smaller. New safety standards were introduced. Somehow in all of this American cars pretty much became boring.

As a result, Japanese and European carmakers have captured half of the American car market and and are gaining in sport utility vehicles, or off-roaders.

General Motors now has about 28 per cent of the US market - down from a peak of just over 50 per cent in 1962. Ford has about 23 per cent, the Chrysler division of DaimlerChrysler just under 14 per cent.

Toyota has 10 per cent and Honda 7 per cent. The Toyota Lexus is the most popular luxury car, just ahead of BMW. America is Subaru's most important market. Nissan has a loyal following. Land Rover is planning an assault with new models. Mercedes-Benz has priced its C-Class coupe to lure America's young.

Most Japanese brands sold in America are built from parts made in America. Eight out of 10 Hondas sold in America are built in American factories. About 90 per cent of the parts for those Hondas are made in America, too.

Detroit is under seige. GM has just hired Robert Lutz, the former chairman of Chrysler, who presided over development of the PT Cruiser and the Plymouth Prowler, to help to turn its share around.

Hiring Lutz is seen as a tacit admission that GM wasn't producing cars that American buyers wanted.

Critics are asking why Detroit won't revive more old designs, like Chrysler did with the PT Cruiser. But the bestselling Cruiser is a car all its own - it just looks like the old Ford Pilot.

Ford is building a 2002 version of the 1950s Thunderbird (see the Good Oil) but it will sell only 20,000-30,000 a year. Low-volume retro designs like the Thunderbird will win friends but they won't influence an industry inherently gun-shy of such models. Executives point to falling sales of the Volkswagen Beetle in America as an example.

Chrysler, on the other hand, has hit the retro jackpot with the PT Cruiser. It is expanding its Mexican plant to increase annual production to 260,000 units.

It has just unveiled two new versions of the PT Cruiser, hoping to keep the popular car's momentum going in a brutally competitive market.

The Woodie plays off the wood-panelled Chrysler stationwagons of 50-odd years ago, while the Dream Cruiser Series 1 looks as if it were carved out of a gold brick. There is a panel van in the pipeline and a convertible is expected to be signed off, too.

The Woodie will be available as a stand-alone option starting in America in November, with a factory-installed laminate veneer made to resemble medium-dark oak and light ash that can be put on any colour PT at any trim level.

The Dream Cruiser Series 1, on sale in January, sports a custom "Inca gold" colour for its exterior and bumpers, along with interior gold-leather accents on seats and steering wheel. Only 7500 will be made, each numbered with a dashboard plaque.

The PT Cruiser has provided a much-needed boost to the sagging fortunes of Chrysler, torn by internal disputes with its new German owners at DaimlerChrysler and seeing rivals eat away at its most profitable segments: minivans and large pick-up trucks.

Its Voyager people-mover sits in the profitable van segment and, like the Cruiser, is all-American. More than 9 million have been sold since it was launched in 1983 and the vehicle has won 150-odd awards. Its development has been called "one of the shrewdest business decisions in modern automotive times".

The fourth-generation long-wheelbase Voyager was launched in Auckland the other day. It is a major update, with a stronger, safer body, better brakes, more interior space, a 10 per cent boost in power and torque from the 3.3-litre V6 engine, and a smoother, quieter operation on the road, thanks to suspension changes and better insulation.

It comes with all the bells and whistles - including cupholders and shopping bag-holders - and is more user-friendly overall.

The redesigned dash is a big improvement and the driving position is comfortable, but there are some messy bits left over from the conversion to right-hand drive. The column-change gear-lever is one - it remains on the right.

There are three Voyager models - the SE at $67,990, the LX at $76,990 and the LTD at $83,990.

A standout feature is the power-operated tailgate and sliding side doors, controlled by a remote on the ignition key.