automobiles occasions

Mini Bimmer
BMW also confirmed the Mini's long-rumored return to the United States in fall 2001. Company officials wouldn't say whether the Mini would be sold through BMW or Land Rover stores, but our sources said it would most likely be BMW's. Others say it could be offered through both dealer networks.
BMW's stand included a current (old-style) Mini to remind Americans of the new car's heritage.
Two years to top-down
There was nothing on the show floor to support the news, but Volkswagen finally announced officially that it will build the long-awaited New Beetle ragtop. automobiles occasions It arrives in 2002 and was developed with Karmann, which built the old Beetle convertible. VW probably will build the new one in Puebla, Mexico, along with all the other New Beetles.
Volkswagen also announced, after delaying it for the North American market for a year, that it has begun offering its 4Motion all-wheel-drive system on all V6-powered Passats this month.
Civic responsibility
Honda will expand the IMA hybrid engine technology used in its new Insight to other, much higher volume models (in other words, Civic), president and CEO Hiroyuki Yoshino said. IMA will be applied to Honda's 2.0-liter gas four engines, which debut in the 2001 Civic line.
They'll meet SULEV levels and Honda claims the engines will be 10 percent to 20 percent more fuel efficient than the company's current fours. automobiles occasions
The new engines will debut in Japan this fall and will be introduced in the United States next year.
The new fours will replace all of Honda's four-cylinder engines worldwide by 2005. Yoshino also said Honda will have a fuel-cell vehicle on the market by 2003.
Fuel-celled Precept
General Motors' vice chairman Harry Pearce unveiled a hydrogen-powered, fuel-cell version of the Precept concept vehicle (AW, Dec. 6, 1999).
Pearce said GM believes hydrogen is the fuel of the future, and that fuel-cell technology can make the best use of hydrogen. The Precept's drive system is a 400-cell stack operating at 260 to 340 volts.
Pearce said the Precept could deliver more than 100 mpg (a 500-mile range) and a 0-to-60-mph time of a bit more than nine seconds.
Unlike the diesel-electric Precept that GM showed us last year (Headliner, AW, Jan. automobiles occasions 3), which was slower (0 to 60 mph in 12 seconds) and less efficient (80 mpg), the Detroit show car also had real trunk space.
Forester's facelift
Subaru unveiled its mildly facelifted Forester at Detroit. The 2001 model has new front and rear bumpers, headlamps and grill.
Subaru president and COO George Muller said the car will go on sale in March. No prices were announced.
Fore!-d
This should help change the impression that alternative-power vehicles are, well, golf carts.
As part of Ford Motor Co.'s new Th!nk Group brand that is charged with "providing innovative solutions for environmentally responsible products," the Th!nk Neighbor is intended for intra-neighborhood travel, with a 25-mph top speed. automobiles occasions Ford, er, Th!nk also showed two electric bicycles, the Fun and the Traveler.
All three will be available late this year at thinkmobility.com. The Th!nk City electric, urban-car/pod, available in Norway, will eventually make it to the United States. A fuel-cell-powered Focus, that also was part of the Th!nk display, won't.
Correction
AutoWeek was pretty sure that the Mustang in the movie Bullitt (Headliner, AW, Jan. 17) was a 1968 model, but the local video store was out of Bullitt. So we accepted the Ford Motor Co. press release's word that the original Mustang was a 1967. Two days later, we found the video. The car was a '68.