Detroit's auto show is akin to the May Day parades of the old Soviet Union, a chance for automakers to show off their latest and most powerful armaments: the new cars and trucks they are bringing to market and the fresh designs they want to run up the flagpole. þþBut the 2004 show, which opens to the public on Jan. 10, may seem as if it is being fought with live ammunition. The scene may be a little less belligerent in laid-back Los Angeles, where the auto show skirmishes begin Jan. 2. Either way, the year ahead is crucial for domestic and foreign-based auto companies alike.þþDetroit's Big Three head to the North American International Auto show in Detroit vowing that 2004 will be their comeback year. And come back they must: though sales volume was pumped up by a constant stream of incentives, 2003 looks to have been their worst year yet, in terms of market share.þþThrough November, General Motors, Ford Motor and the Chrysler operations of DaimlerChrysler held 60 percent of the American car market, having given up another 1.9 percentage points to foreign companies. Each of the Detroit companies was on track to lose market share for 2003, barring a sales avalanche (not out of the question, given the generous deals the companies were offering as the year came to a close).þþDetroit's battle will be fought with a fleet of new cars: six from G.M., including a new Corvette; four from Ford, a new Mustang among them; and from Chrysler, the all-important Chrysler 300C and Dodge Magnum, which are bringing back rear-wheel drive to big American automobiles.þþBut foreign companies are not yielding Detroit the right of way. In August, Toyota passed Chrysler for the first time in monthly sales, and for the third quarter, it passed Ford in global sales to become the world's No. 2 carmaker, behind G.M. And Honda gobbled more than a point of share in 2003, thanks partly to two sport utility vehicles, the boxy Element and the conservative family-friendly Pilot.þþBoth those companies will have news at the Detroit show concerning pickup trucks, a segment of the market that Detroit has long controlled. On the heels of the new Titan truck from Nissan Motor, which went on sale in December, Toyota plans to show off a concept version of its biggest pickup yet at the Detroit show. Meanwhile, Honda is going to display a sport utility truck, its first-ever entry in the pickup wars.þþMateriel won't be the only newsmaker at the Detroit show. On hand to lead their battalions will be generals from every corner of the globe, from Rick Wagoner and Robert A. Lutz at G.M., to Helmut Panke of BMW and Carlos Ghosn at Nissan. þþAll those high-powered executives would do well to fasten their helmets and buckle their flak jackets. It's going to be a bumpy ride.þþþþ
Source: NY Times
