ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 28, 1997 TAG: 9703280072
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW YORK
SOURCE: BRIAN S. AKRE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mazda is displaying a more muscular pickup and a meaner 626 at the New York Auto Show.
Chevrolet showed off its 1998 Prizm subcompact sedan Thursday, the first to carry the Chevy bow-tie logo in place of the import-sounding Geo name.
Mazda, meanwhile, displayed the next generation of its 626 sedan and B-series pickup as the media preview of the New York International Automobile Show concluded.
General Motors' Chevrolet division said in December it planned to drop the Geo name from the three small vehicles that carried it and rebadge them as Chevrolets starting with the '98 model year.
Geo was created in 1988 to lure import buyers into Chevy showrooms. It was thought that the separate name was needed to distance the then-Japanese-made model line from Chevrolet's then-tarnished image.
Today, Geos are made in North America in joint ventures with Toyota Motor Corp. and Suzuki Motor Corp. And Chevrolet says its improved image means its nameplate carries more ``brand equity'' with consumers than Geo.
The Prizm is made alongside Toyota Corollas (they are largely the same car) at the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. plant in Fremont, Calif.
The new model maintains the conservative look of the current one. Thomas Kibbey, Prizm program manager, said Chevrolet's research showed Prizm owners - 65 percent of whom are women - liked the styling and didn't want any major changes.
Chevrolet hopes to sell 60,000 to 70,000 of the new Prizms next year. That's down from around 85,000 last year but up from the 50,000 to 60,000 units anticipated this year. Prizm brand manager Richard J. Scheidt said Chevrolet has cut back on fleet sales of the Prizm and lost some sales to the larger Cavalier compact, which was redesigned for 1995.
The Prizm goes on sale in October; prices have not been set.
Mazda's new 626 and B-series pickups also go on sale in the fall.
The 626 is larger and more powerful than the current model. Its styling is more aerodynamic and borrows some cues from the larger Millennium luxury sedan.
Mazda's best-selling model is built in Flat Rock, Mich., solely for the North American market, at a joint plant with Ford Motor Co. Ford owns one-third of Mazda.
Mazda's B-series pickup is built at the same Edison, N.J., plant as the Ford Ranger pickup. Like Nissan's new compact Frontier pickup introduced Wednesday, the Mazda has a more muscular look than its predecessor.
The Japanese automaker has been struggling at home and in North America. It plans to introduce one new model annually through decade's end as it overhauls its entire product line.
LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS. Rick Sheidt, brand manager of Prizmby CNBfor General Motors, shows the subcompact to reporters Thursday. The
New York International Automobile Show runs until April 6. color