On the Move by Tallahassee Democrat

Monday, April 30, 2012

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Automakers unveil new models in Beijing The array of vehicles at the show designed with Chinese buyers in mind reflected this market’s huge and growing importance to automakers that used to sell the same models worldwide with few local changes.

By Joe McDonald The Associated Press

BEIJING — Ford unveiled a three-cylinder mini-SUV and Chrysler showed a dragon-theme Jeep on Monday as automakers rolled out models designed for Chinese buyers at the Beijing auto show amid tougher competition in the world’s biggest vehicle market. Automakers are looking to China to drive revenue amid weakness in the United States and Europe. But explosive sales growth that hit 35 percent in 2010 fell to just 2 percent in the first quarter of this year. Ford Motor Co. premiered the scaled-down EcoSport SUV, designed for “urban adventurers” with a 1-liter engine. It is due to be manufactured at Ford’s factory in the southwestern city of Chongqing. “This new SUV is specially designed for growth markets like China,” said Kumai Galhotra, Ford’s vice president of product development for the Asia-Pacific region. The array of vehicles at the show designed with Chinese buyers in mind reflected this market’s huge and growing importance to automakers that used to sell the same models worldwide with few local changes. Nissan, Toyota, Audi and China’s young but ambitious automakers also used Auto China 2012 to showcase luxury sedans and SUVs with China-specific features. The event, China’s biggest auto show this year, opens to the public on Friday. Chrysler Group L L C

Andy Wong/The AssociATed Press

BMW marketing chief Ian Robertson, center, and Olympic gold medalist diver Guo Jingjing, left, share a light moment after the company unveiled the new BMW 3-series long wheel base 335L model at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition in Beijing, China, on Monday. announced it will sell a dragon-themed Jeep, with gold-toned accents and dragon designs on headrests and elsewhere. “To be successful in China, we must tailor or vehicles to the specific tastes of Chinese customers,” said Mike Manley, Chrysler’s chief operating officer for Asia. Automakers are targeting both ends of the market,

rolling out luxury models for newly rich urban Chinese and economy models for the low-income but vast rural population. Japan’s Infiniti showed a new luxury sedan with a bigger back seat for Chinese businesspeople. Italy’s Fiat SpA, trying to rebuild its presence in China after withdrawing in the 1990s, showed the new Viaggio sedan, designed with its

local partner Guangdong Automobile Co. to appeal to Chinese buyers. The fourdoor sedan, with a 1.4-liter engine, goes into production in June at a factory in the southern city of Changsha. “The products that we are building today globally have a lot more attention paid to what the customer needs in China,” said Kevin Wale, president of General Motors

Co.’s China unit, in an interview ahead of the show. Chinese auto sales growth plunged last year after the government tightened lending and investment curbs to cool an overheated economy and inflation. Total auto sales rose just 2 percent in the first quarter of this year over a year earlier to 1.2 million vehicles, according to LMC Automotive, a research firm.

Global automakers kept their own sales growing faster than the market in 2011 by taking share from Chinese rivals such as Chery Automobile Co. and Geely Holding Group, though industry analysts and companies say that trend is unlikely to last. Sales by Volkswagen AG and its Chinese partners rose 12 percent in the first quarter, while Chery’s fell 22 percent, according to LMC Automotive. “I don’t think that’s a long-term trend,” said Wale. Pointing to the experience of Japan and Korea, he said, “You should never underestimate the ability of a major industrial market to generate globally competitive car companies.” China’s independent automakers, aiming to move up to higher-priced market segments, showcased luxury sedans and SUVs with more See BEIJING, Page 2

Page 2 / Monday, April 30, 2012

Tallahassee Democrat / OnTheMOve

Beijing

Attendees crowd around BMW 328i cars displayed during the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition in Beijing, China, on Wednesday.

From Page 1

powerful engines, navigation systems and other features to appeal to more prosperous buyers. New brands created by global automakers and local partners under pressure from Beijing to establish more indigenous Chinese brands showed some of their first lowpriced vehicles “To be aimed at successful loweri n c o m e in China, areas of we must China. Chery, tailor or the coun- vehicles to try’s top i n d i g - the spee n o u s cific tastes brand, p r e - of Chinese m i e r e d customone of its b i g g e s t ers.” s e d a n s Mike Manley yet , t he Chrysler’s chief Qiyun 5, operating officer w i t h a for Asia 1.8 -liter engine, which it says will be priced at $12,000-$16,000. BYD Co., China’s secondlargest domestic car brand, showed off an updated e6 electric sedan that it says can travel 190 miles (300 kilometers) on a charge and other models with more powerful engines. The company is 10 percent-owned by American investor Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Corp. “ I n t h e sh or t ter m , competition will be more fierce, especially when international brands are launching low-cost vehicles,” said Henry Li, general manager of BYD’s export division. “We try to create our own competitive edge to cope ... We are not only staying in a low segment but are creating new technologies and improving quality,” Li said in an interview. “That’s the way we have to respond.”

VincenT ThiAn/ The AssociATed Press

The AssociATed Press

Above, Ford’s new mini SUV EcoSports is shown on April 22 in Beijing, China. At right, Mini Senior Vice President Kay Segler speaks in front of a Mini Cooper S Hyde Park car after it was unveiled at the auto show Monday.

Andy Wong/The AssociATed Press

Monday, April 30, 2012 / Page 3

OnTheMOve / Tallahassee Democrat

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Tallahassee Democrat / OnTheMOve

GM to add 600 dealerships in China By Didi Tang The Associated Press

BEIJING — General Motors Co. chairman Dan Akerson said Monday the automaker plans to open 600 dealerships in China this year, and nearly double production capacity despite a slowdown in sales growth. China is the world’s biggest auto market by vehicles sold but sales growth slowed from 35 percent in 2010 to

just 2 percent in the latest quarter. Demand has been blunted by government credit and investment controls aimed at slowing an overheated economy. “We fundamentally believe in the strength of the Chinese market,” Akerson said during the Beijing auto show. GM will expand its dealership network from 2,900 last year to 3,500 by the end of this year, Akerson told reporters.

GM also plans to boost its production capacity in China to 5 million cars a year by 2016, Akerson said. That would be nearly double the 2.55 million cars and trucks GM and its Chinese partners sold in China last year. The company’s luxury Cadillac unit plans to introduce one new model a year in China, said Joseph Liu, executive vice president of GM China. He said the unit hopes to raise annual sales from

30,000 last year to 100,000 by 2016. For this year, it will be the all-new XTS sedan, and GM announced Monday it produce the model in China. Asked by a reporter whether GM would set up a dedicated factory to produce Cadillacs in China instead of sharing production with other GM models, Akerson said, “yes,” but gave no details. GM expects to complete a

deal to restructure its venture with its main Chinese partner and restore a 50-50 shareholding balance “in the near term,” Akerson said. The American auto giant sold Shanghai Automotive Industries Corp. 1 percent of their venture in 2009 before going through a restructuring in U.S. bankruptcy court. That gave SAIC a controlling 51 percent stake and the right to record the venture’s revenues on its own books.

GM says the latest deal calls for the two sides to create an operating unit that will be owned 50-50. A separate sales unit will be created, with SAIC holding 51 percent, allowing it to continue recording sales revenue on its own books. Akerson declined to say what GM was paying to recover equal ownership. The company said in 2009 the 1 percent stake sold then was valued at $85 million.

Buick Verano brings class, heft to segment By Terry Box The Dallas Morning News

Beat-down Buick finally found chrome and curves again about five years ago. Can I get an amen? It must have been like waking up to new muscle rippling across a battered old body. For decades after its fall around 1980, Buick sadly plied the bingo-parlor and quilting circuit in cars with less shape than a bar of soap. They came standard with Wayne Newton CDs, I think. Danke schoen, not-so-Regal buyer. Those frumpy, faceless sedans shared absolutely nothing with the dazzling ‘56 Roadmaster or the stunning ‘63 Riviera or any number of once-great Bufords. Moreover, most of Buick’s owners looked as, uh, seasoned as me — no offense. But when Buick somehow conceived the big, stylish 2007 Enclave crossover — a last-chance vehicle with enormous toothy presence and broad-shouldered grace — everything changed. Sales shot up. People with dark hair could occasionally be seen in dealerships. And Buicks rarely sported bum-

per stickers proclaiming: “Polka rocks.” The Enclave was followed by the LaCrosse, a crisp, good-looking midsize sedan with a slick character line that vaguely resembles the chrome trim on a classic Roadmaster. That sedan, in turn, prepared buyers for the compact Regal, which sort of paved the way for the slightly smaller Verano. I hope Buick is not running out of room. Through the first two months of the year, its sales dropped 16.6 percent, and many 2011 models offer $3,000 incentives. Maybe my white 2012 Verano can help. Like all the new Buicks, it won’t go unnoticed. In keeping with the brand’s new-old design language, the Verano wore a big blunt grille flanked by large graceful headlamps — sort of mature Las Vegas. Though relatively short, the Verano rode on a longish wheelbase, its good-looking 18-inch wheels stretched to the corners of the body and shod with beefy 235/45 tires. Its mostly smooth sides looked lean as a gym rat, with a lower character line along

GM/MCT

The 2012 Verano is a new compact sedan from that near-luxury nameplate, Buick. the rocker panel adding some more subtle muscle. A slightly raised hood flowed sleekly into a steeply raked windshield and nicely curved top. (Just ignore the fake portholes on the hood, which still rank slightly above fake bullet holes.)

In back, the Verano seemed even more German, with a high trunk and large wraparound taillamps. A big Buick crest — in chrome, of course — reminds those behind the Verano that this frankfurter is seasoned with real American mustard.

If the Verano looks surprisingly substantial for a compact, your eyes don’t deceive you. It is. At about 3,400 pounds, the Verano is several hundred pounds overweight, and it shows in its below-average fuel economy.

The current 2.4-liter fourbanger in the car — which will be replaced in the 2013 Verano with a more-modern 2.5-liter motor — returns only 22 miles per gallon in the city and 32 on the highway. But there are good reasons for the Verano’s heft. Items like laminated side glass, triple door seals and an isolated engine cradle keep the cabin unusually quiet — a Buick trait. Although the Verano’s engine produces a reasonable 180 horsepower and spins through a modern six-speed automatic, the car often feels slightly overwhelmed. Zero to 60 mph passes in a leisurely 8.3 seconds, according to Motor Trend, though the engine feels smooth and refined in all but its upper ranges. It accelerates reasonably well at lower speeds and through the mid-range but gets a bit coarse and winded as it moves past 5,000 rpm toward the 6,500 red line. Once it gets the new engine later this year and an optional turbocharged two-liter fourcylinder engine after that, the Verano may have some serious market punch — maybe enough to help keep highstepping Buick moving.

Monday, April 30, 2012 / Page 5

OnTheMOve / Tallahassee Democrat

Fiat 500 Abarth brings sizzle to the street By Mark Phelan Detroit Free Press

There’s plenty to criticize about the 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth, but the little Italian runabout is irresistible. The Abarth would be a guilty pleasure, if it weren’t so hard to feel guilty about a sporty car with EPA ratings of 34 mpg on the highway, 28 in the city and 31 in combined driving. Abarth — pronounced “Ah-barth” — is Fiat’s performance-tuning brand. It was founded by Carlo Abarth, who specialized in turning inexpensive little Fiats into hotshot road racers. The 500 is the first model to bear the enamel scorpion Abarth badge in the U.S. It adds power and an air of menace to the already delightful Fiat 500. The main drawback is that the $26,200 Abarth I tested cost more than bigger, more powerful sporty cars like the Honda Civic Si and VW GTI. “But I’d never drive those cars. I’d drive this,” my friend Cathy, a stylish woman with exquisite taste in cars and clothes, announced after a giggle-inducing spin in the Abarth. The car business is the fashion business. Automakers forget that at their peril. The 500 Abarth is tres chic, tres quick. That’s its edge vs. more practical competitors. Prices for the 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth start at $22,000. All Abarths have a fivespeed manual transmission and turbocharged 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine that produces 160 horsepower. I tested a nicely equipped Abarth with a power sunroof, leather seats; 17-inch aluminum wheels and a removable TomTom navigation unit. It stickered at $26,200. All prices exclude destination charges. In addition to the Civic Si and GTI, the 500 Abarth competes with compacts and subcompacts like the

The car business is the fashion business. Automakers forget that at their peril. The 500 Abarth is tres chic, tres quick. That’s its edge vs. more practical competitors. Ford Fiesta hatchback, turbocharged Chevrolet Sonic and Mini Cooper S. In addition to 58 percent more horsepower and 73 percent more torque from the base 500’s naturally aspirated 1.4-liter engine, the Abarth has revised gear ratios and rear suspension, new front shocks, lowered ride height and wider tires. The car I tested had excellent grip. The ride got a little choppy over closely spaced bumps, but that’s not unusual in cars with short wheelbases like the 500’s 90.6 inches. The electric power steering is fast and responsive. The Abarth heads into turns quickly and holds them well. Its relatively tall height and narrow track lead to more body roll than lower, wider cars like the Mini Cooper S. The Abarth darts through traffic, nipping in and out of small gaps thanks to its responsive handling and torquey, free-revving engine. The 1.4-liter turbo has the sweetest note I’ve ever heard in a small engine, with an appealing back-pressure burble when you back off the throttle. The engine’s 170 poundfeet of torque available from 2,500 to 4,000 rpm provides plenty of muscle. The Abarth’s EPA rating of 31 mpg in combined city and highway driving tops sporty competitors like the

Fiat/MCt

The 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth has an EPA rating of 31 miles per gallon in combined city and highway driving. GTI, Civic Si and Cooper S. It approaches the 33 mpg rating of mainstream subcompacts like the Sonic, Fiesta and Hyundai Accent. The transmission has short, precise throws and a light clutch. A six-speed manual would make the Abarth even more appealing by improving fuel economy and acceleration. Wind and road noise are noticeable. The black Abarth I tested included a rear spoiler, red

caps on its side mirrors, red side stripes and Abarth’s scorpion badges. Lightning bolts in Italian tricolor — red, white and green — next to some of the badges struck me as overkill. The interior offers plenty of front-seat head, leg and shoulder space. The back seat is best reserved for short trips and shorter people. There’s a useful 9.5 cubic feet of storage space behind the rear seats; 26.8

cubic feet with them folded flat. The Abarth has a chunky, f lat-bottomed leatherwrapped steering wheel and more black leather wrapping the shifter and the cowl over the gauges. Attractive leather bucket seats are optional. The car had a good Bose stereo and Fiat’s fine Blue & Me voicerecognition for phone calls and audio. The Abarth could use

more interior storage spaces. The glove box is useful, but the cupholders are inconveniently placed on the floor, and there’s no good place for sunglasses and other gear. Those shortcomings would be a problem in a car that was boring to look at and drive. They’re an afterthought to the sheer pleasure of walking up to a Fiat 500 Abarth and hearing its powerful little engine spring to life.

Page 6 / Monday, April 30, 2012

Tallahassee Democrat / OnTheMOve

Shipper profits in unbalanced times By Steve Alexander Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

MINNEAPOLIS — Transportation broker C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. thrives when the world is a bit off balance. As the summer peach harvest approaches, for example, trucks needed to move the fruit to market will become scarce in Georgia. As oil prices rise, as they are doing now, demand for freight trains tends to go up while demand for truck transportation dips. To solve those imbalances, shippers turn to the lowprofile Eden Prairie, Minn.based company that owns no trucks, trailers, ships or rail cars to get their goods to market. At Robinson’s headquarters, workers match thousands of ready-to-go freight shipments with available transportation around the world as if they were buying and selling commodities — which, in fact, they are. In industry jargon, this is called “third-party logistics” and Robinson has gotten very good at it, regularly growing earnings by 15 percent annually. But the main question at Robinson these days is whether the 107-year-old firm has peaked. A global recession and slow recovery have delivered a shortage of shortages for Robinson to exploit. The stock, which hit an alltime high of $82 in July 2011, has dropped almost 20 percent since then and closed at $66.14 Thursday. “We haven’t achieved (historic goals) in the last couple of years because the world has been a pretty choppy place,” said Robinson CEO John Wiehoff. “A lot of people ask if something has changed, if our run of success is over. We feel strongly that’s not the case. We believe there are at least a couple more decades in which we can achieve those long-term growth rates.” Some analysts aren’t so

Kyndell HarKness/Minneapolis star tribune/MCt

John Wiehoff is CEO of C.H. Robinson in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, which handles freight logistics matching companies that ship with road, rail and air freight companies. sure. Today’s slow economy doesn’t create the kind of transportation shortages on which Robinson thrives, they say. “The company is going to have difficulty growing at 15 percent on the earnings line, given its size and the balanced supply and demand in the truckload market,” wrote John Larkin of Stifel Nicolaus after Robinson’s fourthquarter report in January. Profit margins on trucking declined and the company slightly missed Wall Street expectations. The company has missed three of the last five earnings per share estimates, Larkin noted. Robinson reports first-quarter earnings on April 24. Ben Hartford, an analyst with Robert W. Baird & Co. in Milwaukee, says Robinson can return to 15 percent growth, but only if it consistently takes market share away from its trucking industry competitors. The

“We haven’t achieved (historic goals) in the last couple of years because the world has been a pretty choppy place. A lot of people ask if something has changed, if our run of success is over. We feel strongly that’s not the case.” John Wiehoff CEO, C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc.

reason? Trucking accounts for 75 percent of its revenue, Hartford said. Despite Robinson’s international reach, the U.S. trucking business remains its bread and butter. The company has only a small trucking presence in China and Europe. For 2011, earnings and revenue both increased 11.5 percent, and the company earned $431.6 million, or $2.62 per share, on revenue of $10.3 billion. What sets Robinson apart is its worldwide scope and proprietary technology.

Its website offers nine languages. Its 8,350 employees understand both the micro and macro aspects of the global transportation markets. Although it doesn’t own trucks or trains, its trading rooms are packed with computers linked to global networks and loaded with company-written logistics software. “We have thousands of competitors, but not anybody who’s close to being like us,” Wiehoff said, noting that the company competes against everybody

from FedEx to railroads to thousands of smaller brokers who also bring shippers and transportation companies together. “In a fragmented competitive industry, we’re unique.” Karen Donohue, an associate professor of supply chain and operations management at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, calls Robinson “an asset-light” company that doesn’t own as much of the supply chain as some third-party logistics companies do. “Because Robinson isn’t asset-intensive, it can be more flexible,” she said. “As the economics of shipping by rail versus truck change, Robinson is better able to make those tradeoffs quickly.” Ryan Pettit, Robinson’s director of technology strategy, agrees. “We’re not trying to bend someone’s supply chain to fit

what we have to offer,” he said. “Instead of approaching customers as a trucking company, we approach people as strategic partners. We can see the supply chain and the problems in it, and we can offer tips for improving their business.” Robinson earns the most for its services when either shipments or trucks are in short supply. For example, during Georgia’s annual peach harvesting season from mid-May to midAugust “everyone fights to get their hands on a truck,” Pettit said. “Trucks are cheap in Georgia the rest of the year.” As a result, Robinson’s best results in recent years occurred “when the country was growing fast in 2005 and 2006, and most shippers had more freight than expected and less than enough trucks to haul it,” Wiehoff said. “That’s when what we do is most valuable.” T h e c o m p a ny h a s achieved success by adhering to its roots. It began in 1905 as a hauler of fresh produce, a business it remains in today, although it is only about 8 percent of net revenue. As a shipper of food, the company was exempt from federal trucking regulations out of concern that food might spoil if it were subject to regulatory delays. When the trucking industry was deregulated in 1980, Robinson expanded into other types of freight. The company went public in 1997, and its revenue has grown more than fivefold since then. Employment is growing, too, although Robinson is vague about how many people it currently plans to hire and where they’re needed. It is constructing a new $20 million office building on its current headquarters site in Eden Prairie, which will both replace another building in the city and accommodate future growth.

Monday, April 30, 2012 / Page 7

OnTheMOve / Tallahassee Democrat

Analysis: Newest innovations in automobiles By Larry Printz The Virginian-Pilot

NEW YORK — When was the last time you bought a new car or truck? If shoulder pads were fashionable, you’re in for a surprise when you walk into a new car showroom. Even if it’s been only five years since your new set of wheels, you’d be amazed at the technology missing in your car. Today’s cars can tell you the exact tire pressure on each wheel or report your average fuel economy. But that’s small potatoes given that on average, new cars and trucks have 23 CPUs on board. Knowing that, you may not be surprised that your next car will be able to read your text messages, adjust the suspension on a windy day, or recharge itself wirelessly. And if you’re looking

for a button on the center console to control the climate you might not find any; some vehicles have touch sensitive panels like an Apple iPhone. These are some of the options you’ll find on upcoming cars and trucks: n Hands-free text messaging: Nissan introduced Nissan Connect, which uses the driver’s Bluetooth phone to provide connectivity to streaming audio and the Web. Nissan Connect will include a hands-free Text Messaging Assistant, which can read incoming texts out loud. The driver can respond via voice recognition, or through the steering wheel switches that have pre-set answers such as “driving, can’t text” and “on my way.” Other automakers, such as General Motors, BMW and Ford, offer similar systems. Offered on 2013 Nis-

san Altima; Ford, GM and BMW models. n Rear-seat iPad docking: This new option holds an Apple iPad in place behind the front seat headrests. The iPad docking station tilts and rotates up to 90 degrees, charged by the vehicle’s electrical system. It fits most Mercedes-Benz models, including the redesigned 2013 GLK SUV. n Wireless induction charger: While drivers are only now wrapping their heads around refueling a car by plugging it in, Infiniti’s 2014 LE electric concept car can be recharged using a built-in wireless charging system. Simply park the LE over a charging pad, which is connected to a power source. A coil encased in the pad creates a magnetic field that excites electric current in a second coil in the car, recharging

the battery pack. n Ambient night lighting: Low-level LED lighting illuminates at night, bathing the car’s cabin in a soothing glow, not unlike a fashionable nightclub. More a function of fashion than safety, it’s now common on many luxury cars and is trickling down as an option on less-expensive vehicles. n Automatic start-stop: First seen on gas-electric hybrid vehicles, this fuel-economy feature is spreading to conventionally powered vehicles. The system shuts off the car’s engine when the vehicle comes to a stop. Once the driver’s foot lifts from the brake pedal, the car restarts. While the engine does shut off during a stop, accessories such as climate control and audio systems still function. Offered on various GM, Porsche models among

others. n Capacitive switching: If you’ve used an Apple iPhone, you’ve used a capacitive switch; it’s a type of touch screen that’s replacing conventional automobile switches. For instance, when you touch the flat surface of the instrument panel with your finger on the air-conditioning label, you’re changing the charge of an electromagnetic field, which instructs a processor in the car to make the air cooler. Offered on 2013 Cadillac XTS and various Ford models. n Cross-traffic detection: Ever backed out of a parking spot only to narrowly miss being hit by a car coming down the aisle? This feature, first seen on Volvo and Ford vehicles, uses sensors arrayed around the car’s exterior to sense when

a vehicle is approaching yours from the left or right. The same sensors are also used for such options as blind spot detection, to warn when a car is in your blind spot; and automatic cruise control, which slows down or speeds up automatically to a preset speed and following distance. Offered on 2013 Toyota Avalon and other new models. n Crosswind stabilization: This new feature adjusts the suspension to stabilize the car when a crosswind is detected. The amount of damping applied by the suspension varies depending on the force of the wind. It’s part of Mercedes-Benz’s optional Active Body Control system, which has been available on Mercedes-Benz S-Class and CL-Class models. It’s now offered on the 2013 GLClass SUV.

The last engine you’d expect could change auto industry By Mark Phelan Detroit Free Press

There’s a new class of super-engine on the road, and it’s not what you expect. The most exciting, technically intriguing engines I’ve tested in the past six months weren’t throbbing V-8s, exotic V-12s, trendy electric-gasoline hybrids or post-modernist hip European diesels. My heart — and my eager right foot — belongs to the 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. Engines that size were long dismissed as weaklings fit only for little economy cars. Americans weren’t inclined to take an engine seriously if the total displacement of its cylinders was the same size as a 99-cent bottle of Coke.

That was then. Today, 2.0-liter engines propel high-powered sport sedans, elegant roadsters and roomy crossover SUVs. “This is a huge transformation in the industry,” said Tom Murphy, executive editor of Wards AutoWorld magazine, which publishes the influential 10 Best Engines list. After building mediocre four-cylinder engines for years, General Motors and Ford are at the forefront of the trend, offering high-powered smalldisplacement engines with the likes of Audi, BMW and Volkswagen. Japanese automakers have been slow to join the party, but Korea’s Hyundai and Kia are firmly on the bandwagon. North American use of

four-cylinder engines will grow 74 percent from 6.9 million to 12.2 million in the next 10 years, according to IHS Automotive. IHS predicts V-6 and V-8 use in North American-made vehicles will fall 17 percent to about 6 million over the same period. The new four-cylinder engines produce as much power as six- or even eightcylinder engines, but use less fuel and emit fewer pollutants. They achieve this thanks to turbocharging, high-pressure injection of fuel directly into the cylinders, electronic controls and new transmissions. “Americans are willing to accept smaller engines as long as there’s power,” IHS analyst Aaron Bragman said. “This is where

the industry is headed.” The 2.0-liter directinjection turbo won me over when I tested a Buick Regal GS last year. The engine’s 270 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque and 27-mpg highway EPA rating proved equally delightful on a long, fast trip. The next generation of the engine debuts in the Cadillac ATS sport sedan this summer. “The power is off the chart. GM has polished that engine to a fine sheen,” Murphy said. Three of Wards’ 2012 winners are turbocharged, direct-injection 2.0-liter engines from BMW, Ford and GM. A fourth engine on the list, from Mazda, has 2.0 liters and direct injection sans turbo.

“The trend to 2.0-liter engines is a phenomenon,” Murphy said. “Certain brands have decided they don’t even need to offer a V-6 in their midsize sedans. The new four-cylinder engines can power the vast majority of passenger cars and crossovers. This is the next generation of muscle cars.” There are limits, however. The early consensus seems to be that Ford’s 2.0-liter works well in the 3,998-pound Edge crossover but struggles in the larger 4,500-pound Explorer. Today, 2.0 liters is the sweet spot, but even smaller engines are coming. Ford — which calls the combination of turbocharging and direct injec-

tion EcoBoost — will offer it on a 170-horsepowerplus 1.6-liter engine in the upcoming 2013 Escape crossover and Fusion midsize sedan. Ford reserves its 237-horsepower 2.0-liter engine for performance models of those vehicles. “Automakers are pushing displacement down and power up,” said Bill Visnic of Edmunds.com. Witness the 160-horsepower turbocharged 1.4-liter Chrysler will offer in the new 2013 Dodge Dart compact sedan. The odds are there’s a small, powerful four-cylinder engine in your future. I’ll take those odds and bet that you’ll love it. —Mark Phelan is the auto critic for the Detroit Free Press. He can be reached at mmphelan@freepress.com.

Page 8 / Monday, April 30, 2012

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