A Look At Scion's New Lineup

There are few car brands that can turnover their lineup with new models at just one auto show. But that’s what Scion did at the New York International Auto Show earlier this month, exactly eight years after it debuted its first concepts under Big Apple spotlights. For the 2011 model year, the Toyota spin-off brand debuted an all-new mini-car called the iQ, a fully redesigned version of its best-seller the tC coupe and a slightly refreshed version of the boxy xB. Its fourth model, the xD remained untouched, but three out of four is still an impressive feat.  

2011 Scion iQ

Jack Hollis, vice president of Scion, joked at his New York auto-show press conference that the Scion iQ is a "Minier and Smarter vehicle," which makes it pretty clear what the iQ will compete with. It's about as wide as the Mini Cooper, but taller — roughly as tall as a Smart ForTwo. From bumper to bumper, it's between the two at 120.1 inches. The ForTwo is 106.1 inches and the Cooper 145.6. In person, if you look at it from certain angles, the iQ looks sizable. Must be the height and width.

Crossovers Get Smaller as Category Grows

Several introductions at this year's New York International Auto Show certified that the class of compact crossovers is getting larger — with models that are getting smaller. Powered as much by increasingly stringent fuel-economy regulations as by customer demand, automakers are rolling out models that further blur the lines between crossovers and cars.

Models such as the top-selling Ford Escape, Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4, which J.D. Power and Associates classifies as compact crossover utility vehicles, combine the height, hatchback versatility and optional four-wheel drive of SUVs with the greater fuel and space efficiency of cars; this explains why their popularity has grown. According to J.D. Power, the compact "CUV" category made up 2.3 percent of the market in 2000. In 2005, it had grown to 6 percent, and despite declines in overall market volume in 2009, compact crossovers have reached a 10.5 percent market share.

Ironically, one of the auto show's highest-profile crossovers came from Mini, purveyor of one of the smallest cars on the market. The 2011 Mini Cooper Countryman crossover, which will hit U.S. dealerships in February 2011, is 15.7 inches longer than Mini's base car, called the Cooper, and 6.3 inches longer than its extended model, the Cooper Clubman. It's a few inches taller than its siblings and has the raised look of a crossover, as well as optional all-wheel drive. Though it's large for a Mini, the Cooper Countryman is relatively small as crossovers go, with roughly 12 cubic feet of cargo volume behind the backseat and a total of 41 cubic feet once the backseat is folded flat. This puts it in league with cars such as the Mazda3 four-door hatchback, as well as two other downsized crossovers introduced in New York, the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport and Nissan Juke Sport Cross.

Chrysler at the Auto Shows: Presence Without Products

By Kelsey Mays, Cars.com

While Chrysler execs talk a good game about breaking even in 2010 and rolling out at least three new models in the next year, little has changed at Chrysler's auto show displays. This season, the automaker had only the due-in-early 2011 Fiat 500 on hand for its new products.

Amassed beyond it was the rest of the continuing lineup; one that, with a few exceptions, remains uncompetitive. Absent new products, are these displays even necessary? For the sake of the public, analysts think they are, and until the new products arrive, Chrysler's marketers will have to push hard to maintain consumer interest.

We talked during last week's New York International Auto Show with John Wolkonowicz, a senior analyst at industry forecaster IHS Global Insight. The media care chiefly about forthcoming products, Wolkonowicz said, but consumers want to see what they can buy.

"If I was John Q. Public, and my favorite brand wasn't at the local auto show, I think I'd be afraid that it was going away," he said. "And you don't want to buy a car from a company that's going away."

This Week's Most-Read Stories

The New York auto show may be ending today, but the stories we filed from the Big Apple remain the most read on the site, especially the Winners and Losers recaps. One non-auto show story broke into the list. Perhaps saving money is on top of car shoppers’ minds, too.
 
1. 2010 New York Auto Show: Winners and Losers, Cars
2. 2010 New York Auto Show: Winners and Losers, Crossovers and SUVs
3. 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid: Up Close
4. Ford's 'Swap Your Ride' Runs Through May
5. 2011 Kia Optima: Up Close

2011 Scion tC Video

With its redesign for the 2011 model year, the Scion tC has a chance to improve on the formula that made it a sharp car that disappointed in the market, according to Cars.com senior editor Joe Wiesenfelder. Can a new, more mature look and small improvements around the edges of horsepower and fuel economy make the difference? Watch this video for Wiesenfelder’s take.

2011 BMW 5 Series: Up Close

The 5 Series amends much of its predecessor’s cutline-and-eyebrow styling. In my estimation, it looks as good as the beloved 1997-2003 E39 5 Series – all the reserved elegance of the 7 Series without that car’s pointlessly wide lower air dam. The taillights, in particular, are a job well done.

2011 Scion iQ Video

Scion brought a production model of the 2011 iQ micro-subcompact to the 2010 New York International Auto Show, and Cars.com senior editor Joe Wiesenfelder was on hand to take a look. With a price tag below $16,000, the iQ comes fairly well equipped, as you’ll see in this video. Watch it, if for nothing else than to see if Wiesenfelder can fit into the tight “+1” of the iQ’s 3+1 seating scheme.

Luxury Segment Changing, Not Slowing Down

Don't believe anyone who tells you the luxury-car market is dead. Despite the economy's struggle to get moving again, you only have to visit the New York International Auto Show to know there's plenty happening in this segment.

From SUVs and crossovers to wagons and sedans, the auto show played host to numerous luxury models including the U.S. debut of the redesigned 2011 Porsche Cayenne, 2011 BMW 5 Series and 2011 Volvo S60, which were joined by newcomers like the 2011 Acura TSX Sport Wagon and 2011 Lexus CT 200h hybrid.

The features and technology available in these and other luxury models will no doubt drum up interest among people shopping for their first luxury car, but it may well be social considerations that keep current luxury-car owners in the fold.

"It's awfully hard to leave luxury once you're in luxury," said Rebecca Lindland, director of industry research at IHS Global Insight. "You just get used to projecting a certain image and you're used to a certain look in your vehicle, a certain touch and feel.

2011 Hyundai Sonata Turbo and Hybrid Video

Cars.com editor Kelsey Mays hits the floor of the 2010 New York International Auto Show to check out two variants of the 2011 Hyundai Sonata. The Sonata Turbo offers a 274-horsepower turbocharged engine, while the hybrid’s estimated EPA rating is 37/39 mpg city/highway. Mays takes you through the perks of each vehicle.

2011 Kia Optima Video

With an aggressive look and major changes to the interior, the new 2011 Kia Optima isn’t redesigned so much as overhauled, according to Cars.com Editor-in-Chief Patrick Olsen. The new Optima is “leaps and bounds” ahead of the previous model. Whether it’s ample backseat room or more refined interior materials, the Optima makes a good first impression. Check out this video for more details.