Windy City debut for new Odyssey concept

Chicago auto show is sometimes overlooked but trucks, utility vehicles popular draws

Jan 30, 2010

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Special to the Star

Sandwiched between January's Detroit and April's New York auto shows, the Chicago show is sometimes overlooked.

With the largest venue of the major U.S. automotive gatherings, the Windy City's annual show, held from Feb. 12-21, still draws many world debuts.

Based in the heart of the American Midwest, Chicago has always been a popular venue to debut trucks and utility vehicles.

One of the large utility vehicles scheduled to be unveiled at Chicago: the 2012 Honda Odyssey minivan. Due in 2011, the new Odyssey arrives about a year after the heavily revised 2011 Toyota Sienna hits showrooms.

As per the Acura MDX it shares many mechanicals with, the new Odyssey is expected to get a version of Honda's 3.7-litre V6 and a new six-speed automatic transmission.

A gasoline-electric hybrid version has also been rumoured.

Speaking of hybrids, Korea's Kia will unveil its first gasoline-electric model, at least in concept form.

Reportedly based on the same mechanicals as the Blue Will from sister company Hyundai, the Kia Ray plug-in concept will sport a 1.6 L direct-injection fourmatched to an electric motor powered by a lithium polymer battery pack.

No fantasy, the Ray's powertrain is expected this fall to show up in the 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid.

TWO MAZDAS WILL DEBUT

AT GENEVA MOTOR SHOW

The big news for Mazda Canada this year will be the arrival of its 2 subcompact this summer.

But two other Mazdas are due for a refresh: the 6 mid-size sedan and 5 compact minivan, both set to make debuts at this year's Geneva Motor Show in early March.

All new in 2009, the Mazda6 receives the typical mid-cycle enhancements. Expect new front and rear styling, updated suspensions and several new active safety features, such as adaptive front lighting and hill start assist.

Inside, new "piano black" trim replaces most of the existing aluminum details.

Six engines will be available in international markets, including a new direct-injection 2.0-litre four-cylinder gasoline engine that uses less fuel and produces fewer emissions than the 2.0-litre it replaces.

No word if it will be made available in Canada.

Unfortunately, the Mazda6 wagon – which will receive similar upgrades – will still only be sold abroad.

The 2011 Mazda5, also being shown for the first time in Geneva, arrives with some adventurous bodywork.

The 5 will be Mazda's first production vehicle to fully incorporate the "Nagare Flow" design language the automaker has been touting on various show cars the past few years.

Highlights on the 5 include bold waves cut into the sides of the minivan's body panels. Mazda says the styling contributes to fuel efficiency through a low drag coefficient, and optimal "lift and air-swirl characteristics."

Details of Canadian versions of these vehicles should arrive closer to their respective on-sale dates later this year.

Honda CEO wants new hybrid to beat Prius on fuel

Apparently, the Insight wasn't Honda's "Prius fighter" after all.

Admitting that the Japanese automaker has been disappointed by sales of the Insight since its North American launch last Spring, Honda CEO Takanobu Ito has challenged his engineers to develop a hybrid that exceeds the fuel economy of the 2010 Toyota Prius.

Ito said a new hybrid would not necessarily be a next-generation version of Honda's recently launched Insight hybrid. Instead, he suggested it would be a new vehicle in Honda's lineup.

"We want to develop and expand our hybrids," Ito, 56, told Automotive News. "We made some major sacrifices to shift people and resources to do that."

Although the Insight undercuts the Prius by about $4,000 in Canada ($2,500 U.S.), the Prius outsold the Insight in the vitally important U.S. market – 139,682 to 20,572 last year.

Some critics have sighted the Insight's relatively lacklustre fuel economy, rated at 4.8 L/100 km city, 4.5 L hwy., versus the Prius's 3.7 L and 4.0 L ratings.

Whatever new hybrid Honda responds with, it may have to tackle yet another small hybrid from Toyota.

At the Detroit auto show this year, Toyota unveiled its FT-CH concept, a car that suggests a production five-door hybrid smaller than the mid-size Prius.

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