By Eric Mayne and Ed Garsten
Chrysler's concept sports car, the Firepower, boasts a 6.1-liter Hemi engine. Despite ever-rising gas prices, consumers have shown a desire for more horsepower under the hood.
More power for the people.
Corvette Z06 That's the message automakers are delivering at the 2005 North American International Auto Show this week as they pack more and more muscle under the hood of the latest cars, trucks and SUVs.
Gas-electric fuel misers grabbed some attention this week, but the display of over-the-top horsepower is dizzying, from Mercedes-Benz to Chevrolet and Ford, and even Land Rover.
At the GM display in Cobo Center, just steps from the minuscule,
103-horsepower Chevrolet Aveo, the beastly Corvette Zo6 sports car is proudly displayed with five times the muscle.Even Toyota Motor Co.p.'s reserved Lexus brand is brandishing a sports car concept that packs more than 500 horsepower.
Automakers are selling dreams at the Detroit auto show. Much like SUVs drivers who rarely scale boulders and ford creeks, muscle car enthusiasts love the idea of power but don't really have a need for speed.
"We buy watches that cost thousands of dollars and don't tell time better than a $20 Swatch," said Bob Lutz, vice chairman of General Motors Corp. "Same thing with high-horsepower cars. You don't move any faster in traffic than you do with a Chevy Aveo, but it's knowing you have all this power and potential at your disposal."
Automakers seem convinced that high fuel prices won't reduce consumer interest in cars that go from a standstill to 60 miles per hour in a blistering six seconds or less.
In 2003, U.S. consumers who desired a car with 500 horsepower or more had just four choices. This year, they will have 18.
"There is a bit of a horsepower battle going on," said Jeff Schuster, director of forecasting at J.D. Power and Associates.
At the top of the hill is manufacturer Saleen Inc. of Irving, Calif. On Tuesday, it unwrapped the 2005 S7, a $550,000 shark-like machine that boasts a 7.0-liter, V-8 engine that produces 750 horsepower.
The 2004 model had 575 horsepower and sped from 0-60 miles per hour in just 3.3 seconds. Apparently, that just wasn't quite fast enough.
"This car hasn't been tested yet," said Fred Blum, vice president of sales for Saleen. "I'll let your mind do the calculations."
High-performance is no longer limited to a two-seater. The 2005 BMW M5 sedan, packed with a 500-horsepower V-10 engine, debuted at the show.
"This engine offers the power of a real sports car in the shape of a sedan, so it's something really unique in the world of cars," said BMW spokesman Friedbert Holz.
And not every high-performance car is a car. DaimlerChrysler AG's Dodge brand is showcasing a 500-horsepower pickup -- the Dodge SRT-10.
"It's about performance, power and in-your-face attitude," said Joe Eberhardt, executive vice president of global sales and marketing for DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group.
Land Rover is coming out with a 400 horsepower version of its flagship Range Rover SUV.
Consumer interest in performance vehicles is also reflected in the growing number of publications devoted to the subject. Edmunds.com, which tracks incentive trends and other industry data, has just launched Inside Line, a Web site for car enthusiasts.
"The market for enthusiast information is growing phenomenally." said Michael Benavides, director of business development and syndication. The proliferation of road rockets is more about image than huge sales numbers. In theory at least, a high performance car can enhance the brand's overall image. Ford Motor Co is fond of saying the supercharged GT is the pace car for an entire company. Shoppers may visit showrooms to look at the $130,000 GT and buy a more affordable Mustang.
The horsepower race is drawing attention from federal regulators.
Dr. Jeffrey Runge, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, is concerned whether safety is considered when horsepower is boosted.
"It makes me wonder if there is a tacit assumption that they are going to make safe vehicles regardless of their horsepower," Runge said. "I'd like to think that's the case."
Automakers say there's room to sell horsepower alongside safety.
"In addition to performance, one of our very main concerns is safety," Eberhardt said. "It's one of the six overriding criteria when we develop our vehicles."
The company has installed electronic stability control devices on its high performance cars that prevent drivers from living too dangerously.
"If you want to race the car on a track, we'll take it out for you," said Eberhardt. "If you're on a public road, we feel we have the responsibility to not just you as a driver, but to the rest of the traffic."
Traffic congestion will also affect how people drive the latest high-powered cars, said Richard Parry Jones, Ford Motor Co.'s group vice president of product development and chief technical officer.
"I predict you'll see huge growth in track days," Parry-Jones said. "Track days are huge in Europe."
And if someone has more than $400,000 to join the waiting list for a
612-horsepower Mercedes Benz SLR McLaren, they can afford to rent a racetrack.Similarly, they can afford to pay the federal government's gas guzzler tax -- which can be as high as $7,000.
Among 2005 models, there are 75 vehicles subject to the gas-guzzler tax, up from 47 in the 2004 model year.
Lutz believes drivers who can afford such vehicles are not likely to abuse them.
"They appeal to people who are relatively mature and have good driving record and know how to drive the car and aren't going to do anything foolish in it," said Lutz.
But automakers mustn't get carried away by the excitement, warned J Mays, Ford's group vice president of design.
"Let's not get lost in thinking that that is a major part of the volume of this business," Mays said. "To a certain extent, the industry can get lost looking at horsepower."
With the gleaming Ford GR-1 concept vehicle over his shoulder, Mays added: "We've also got stuff coming on horsepower. But we've got our eye on the core business, which is where the volume and the bottom line is."