Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 6, 1993 TAG: 9302060151
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder/Tribune
DATELINE: CHICAGO LENGTH: Medium
AUTO SHOW TAKES READING OF INDUSTRY'S VITAL SIGNS
The Chicago Auto Show traditionally serves as a barometer of consumer health.Hidden among the customers are professional snoops who get paid to stand around and watch people kick tires and slam doors to determine whether they are doing so out of expectation or frustration.
In other words, are consumers going to buy or are they simply going by?
This is probably where the Detroit and Chicago shows differ most. The North American International Auto Show, held in Detroit at mid-January, gives industry executives a venue to issue a state-of-the-industry report card on themselves and their competition.
The Chicago show, which opens today and runs through Feb. 14, concentrates on the products and vehicles to entice consumers out of their wintertime stupor and into a spring buying mood.
It isn't always easy. There have been auto shows at which placards on hoods and deck lids advertised the amount of cash rebates offered instead of fuel efficiency, anti-lock brakes or air bags.
This year - the 85th - the mood is festive, partly because the industry has put some rather startling finery on display: Plymouth Prowler, 1995 Hyundai Scoupe convertible, 1993 Toyota Supra, Pontiac Grand Am GT show car.
The Prowler is one of those return-to-yesteryear models, much like the Dodge Viper. It's a mood machine, reminiscent of a '50s hot rod, but being developed for the '90s. Any person at the show caught saying, "They don't make cars like they used to," should be sent to the Prowler display. If visitors to the Chicago show give enough thumbs ups, the Prowler will join the Viper as a limited-edition niche vehicle in Chrysler showrooms in three years.
Another mood machine is the Scoupe convertible for top-down motoring - with spring just a few weeks away. You'll have to stay in the open-top mood for some time with this car, however, because it's a very early look at what's coming for 1995 from Hyundai.
The Supra and Grand Am GT are mood reinforcers, offering proof that the industry is fully aware of and committed to boosting fuel economy to conserve that resource. But it doesn't mean the death of performance for those who equate success with going from 0 to 60 mph in less than 10 seconds.
Then there are early debuts of vehicles coming in the fall, such as the '94 Dodge Ram pickup and van and the '94 GMC compact Sonoma pickup - plus the Oldsmobile Aurora luxury sedan that's coming out in spring 1994 as a 1995 model.
There also are some rather unusual machines that are simply meant to entertain, such as the Ford Ghia Focus convertible and Ford Ranger Jukebox pickup. Some features on such vehicles may be offered someday, but not the vehicles themselves.