CHICAGO - The spotlight at the Chicago Auto Show this week will be squarely on Toyota's redesigned 2007 Tundra - a bigger, bolder pickup aimed at the Ford F-150 and Chevrolet Silverado.

Toyota is so confident of the Tundra's success that two U.S. plants are being prepared to assemble the truck.

Trucks account for most of the world debuts at Chicago's McCormick Place:

Lincoln will unveil the re-engineered 2007 Navigator along with a new stretched version.

Dodge will expand its SUV line with the Nitro.

Hyundai will introduce its first minivan.

Nissan will unveil the Quest minivan with an upgraded interior.

Chevrolet spotlights the 2007 Avalanche.

A handful of new cars also will debut, including the redesigned Lexus ES 350 and the sporty Mitsubishi Galant Ralliart.

Press conferences are scheduled Wednesday, Feb. 8, and Thursday, Feb. 9. Here are the significant world debuts planned.

Chevrolet

General Motors will unveil its restyled and re-engineered Chevrolet Avalanche. The multifunctional pickup gets enhancements similar to those GM made on the 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe and Cadillac Escalade.

Dodge

Three world debuts are scheduled for the Dodge stand, including the Nitro SUV. (See story, at right.) Dodge also will unveil an SRT performance version of an unspecified existing model and a truck concept that executives say would take the brand in a new direction.

Honda

A concept car that is a variation of an existing model will be unveiled, but Honda is offering no details.

Hyundai

The production version of the 2007 Entourage minivan will be unveiled. The Entourage is a sibling of Kia's Sedona minivan.

The Sedona goes on sale this month in a long-wheelbase version. A short-wheelbase version arrives in late summer. The Hyundai edition will be in long-wheelbase format only, and will go on sale this summer. The Sedona will compete with the Dodge Grand Caravan, while the Entourage - with more upscale touches - goes against the Chrysler Town & Country.

International

Navistar International Corp. will take the wraps off two trucks: the redesigned 2007 International MXT, a large, four-door Hummer-like pickup and the production version of the four-door RXT concept that debuted at last year's Chicago show. The RXT featured a 22-foot pickup bed.

Lexus

The fifth generation of its ES 350 mid-sized near-luxury sedan will debut. The redesigned car, based on the Avalon platform, remains front-wheel drive. Lexus says the ES 350 will arrive in showrooms in late spring. There is no word on prices.

Lincoln

Ford Motor Co. is putting Lincoln front and center.

Lincoln will unveil the re-engineered 2007 Lincoln Navigator and its new companion, the extended-length Navigator L that targets Cadillac Escalade ESV buyers. The versions of the Navigator receive freshened front and rear styling, a new interior, a new frame and steering and handling improvements.

The Navigator and its sibling, the Ford Expedition, are the first vehicles on Ford's T1 architecture. The F-150 pickup eventually will move to this architecture and share front-end components.

Lincoln also will announce the availability of all-wheel drive and Ford's new 250-plus-hp 3.5-liter V-6 for the 2007 Zephyr.

Mercedes-Benz

The horsepower gets cranked up on Mercedes' six-passenger R-class crossover with the addition of a performance model, the 503-hp R63 AMG.

The 6.3-liter V-8 engine produces 465 pounds-feet of torque. Standard equipment includes awd and a seven-speed automatic transmission. Sales begin in August. This V-8 is the first engine developed entirely by AMG, Mercedes' performance arm.

Mitsubishi

The high-performance 2007 Galant Ralliart has a 258-hp, 3.8-liter V-6. The car features 18-inch wheels and a sport-tuned suspension.

Ralliart, Mitsubishi's motor sports group, also is responsible for the Lancer Evolution and Lancer Ralliart.

The Galant Ralliart has exterior styling changes that will be used in the restyled 2007 Galant. The car will be built at Mitsubishi's assembly plant in Normal, Ill.

Nissan

Nissan is counting on the 2007 Quest's new interior to boost the minivan's disappointing sales. One of the highlights of the interior is a new instrument panel, which positions the gauges in front of the driver. In the current Quest, gauges are in the center of the instrument panel. Some potential buyers said that was inconvenient and distracting.

Toyota

The most important introduction at the Chicago show will be the 2007 Toyota Tundra pickup.

The new Tundra, first seen as a concept at the Detroit auto show two years ago as the FTX, will be much larger than the current Tundra. Toyota is tired of criticism that the current Tundra is a seven-eighths-scale pickup. The new one is expected to be larger than existing Ford, GM and Dodge pickups.

The V-8 engine size is expected to grow from its current 4.7 liters to the 5.5-liter range, although there is a possibility of keeping the smaller engine as a price and fuel economy leader.

The pickup will be assembled in Princeton, Ind., and San Antonio. Sales are scheduled to begin early next year.

Mary Connelly, Rick Kranz, Jamie LaReau, Mark Rechtin and Amy Wilson contributed to this report

A concept car that is a variation of an existing model will be unveiled, but Honda is offering no details.

The horsepower gets cranked up on Mercedes' six-passenger R-class crossover with the addition of a performance model, the 503-hp R63 AMG.

Toyota is tired of criticism that the current Tundra is a seven-eighths-scale pickup. The new one is expected to be larger than existing Ford, GM and Dodge pickups.

Honda's "Top Secret" Chicago Introduction Is Tomorrow

Date: February 07, 2006 16:27
Submitted by: Jeff
Source: TOV News
Credibility Rating: 10

Well, I've just arrived in Chicago and Tuan will be arriving later this evening. This is in preparation for Honda's "top secret" World Introduction tomorrow at 3PM.

If you've been paying attention to the news section and our forums here for the last few months, the introduction is not a secret. We're not sure why Honda's trying to keep such a tight lid on it, but I guess it's to keep everybody wondering until the last minute. Over the past few days I've looked around the web and apparently we're the only folks who are aware of what's being shown, or the other outlets know but are being subjected to blackmail tactics to keep a lid on it.

We're going to do our best NOT to ruin the surprise for Honda - it's only 24 hours away, but if you look around here enough I'm sure you'll figure it out.

DING DING DING!! IT'S THE CIVIC SI SEDAN!!!

Paul A. Eisenstein
Publisher

Biggest Story: Could it be anything other than the new Toyota Tundra? TheChicago show was once the nation's biggest, and it's beginning to regain some traction lately, than to previews like this one.

Best New Concept: Dodge Rampage. Reports of the death of the domestic pickup could be greatly exaggerated - at least if this is a sign of things to come.

Best New Vehicle: The 2008 Toyota Tundra. During Detroit's winter of discontent, could anything be so distressing as the sight of the first Japanese truck with the potential to really become a mainstay in the domestic-dominated pickup segment?

Predictions: With Toyota and Honda clearly in the lead in the hybrid market segment, the Big Three need something to prove their own environmental credentials. Well, Kermit the Frog was right: it isn't easy being green. Unless we see a big surge in the number of E85 fuel pumps across the U.S., and fast, Detroit 's sudden passion for ethanol will prove little more than a short-lived flash in the pan.





Marty Padgett

Editor and producer



Biggest Story: By my internal sensors, it was the "well, okay" reception for the Tundra. As one fellow journalist put it, "Well, it's important for them." The not entirely handsome Tundra surely will come in hybrid and heavy-duty versions, so there is reason for concern. But the domestics are already planning on those models and are rolling out updated versions of their own segment leaders. For now, it seems, the most likely victim of the new Tundra's success will be the Nissan Titan.

Best New Concept: Honda's Civic Si four-door is a natural. So why haven't they done one before? Oh, wait, it's because this is the first four-door to actually look the Si part. Never mind.

Best New Vehicle: A split vote between the Chevy Avalanche and Hyundai Entourage. The Avalanche gets good marks for taking the right idea and thoroughly vetting it in the second generation. Take a look inside and you'll see how serious GM is about good interiors. With the Entourage, it's easy to see the minivan and the cloned Sedona taking over for Ford and GM in the minivan race they can't seem to compete in - at a lower price with a better look than the updated Nissan Quest or the dowdy Sienna. That market game is down to Odyssey, Caravan, and Sedona/Entourage, by most any measure.

Predictions: The Chicago show has spent 16 years trying to end-game around Detroit 's first-tier status, and they just may do it in the next two years with the addition of more space at McCormick Place . The domestic brands have outgrown Cobo and there's no solution in sight. Meanwhile, Chicago 's convention center is cavernous, convenient, and it's surrounded by a first-rate city. With the move of the L.A. show to November, my prediction is that Detroit will get de-emphasized and the auto industry will move more in the direction of year-round introductions, beefing up their presence at Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and maybe even Miami to avoid the hassles of wedging themselves into Cobo right after the holidays.

Predictions: The Chicago show has spent 16 years trying to end-game around Detroit 's first-tier status, and they just may do it in the next two years with the addition of more space at McCormick Place . The domestic brands have outgrown Cobo and there's no solution in sight. Meanwhile, Chicago 's convention center is cavernous, convenient, and it's surrounded by a first-rate city. With the move of the L.A. show to November, my prediction is that Detroit will get de-emphasized and the auto industry will move more in the direction of year-round introductions, beefing up their presence at Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and maybe even Miami to avoid the hassles of wedging themselves into Cobo right after the holidays.