DETROIT -- Are we reaching cross-overkill?

Not if the Detroit auto show is any indication. The show brought several new crossovers that will go on sale during the next 12 months or so.

The segment has been one of the fastest-growing parts of the market in recent years. Customers like the combination of trucklike styling and carlike handling and fuel economy. The Detroit debuts indicate that carmakers expect consumers to continue snapping up crossovers.

Currently, the market is split about evenly between cars and light trucks. The latter includes pickups, SUVs and minivans. In the future, though, "Crossovers will be half the U.S. light-truck market," predicts Koichi Kondo, CEO of American Honda Motor Co.


Replacing SUVs
Indeed, the Buick Enclave crossover will replace the Buick Rainier, a traditional body-on-frame SUV. It is expected to go on sale in early 2007.

The Enclave crossover concept unveiled at the Detroit show is "99 percent" similar to the production version, says Robert Lutz, GM's vice chairman and global product chief. Pricing is not available, but it aims to compete with the Lexus RX 330 and Acura MDX.

Honda's Acura Division unveiled its RDX Prototype, a near-production version of a crossover that will go on sale this summer. It will be built at Honda's Marysville, Ohio, plant. Acura expects to sell about 35,000 to 40,000 a year.

The RDX meets "another unserved need that we see. It's fairly small now, but we see big growth," says John Mendel, American Honda's senior vice president of automobile operations. Indeed, he cited industry forecasts that the crossover segment will explode "500 percent over the next five years."

Joining the rush, Ford Motor Co. unveiled the Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX crossovers that will go on sale in the fourth quarter. Ford did not disclose prices. The MKX will take on the Lexus RX 330 and Infiniti FX35. The Edge will compete with the Nissan Murano, Subaru Tribeca and Toyota Highlander.

Mazda Motor Corp. priced its CX-7 crossover, which debuted at the Los Angeles auto show this month, at $24,310, including shipping. The CX-7 is targeted to go on sale in the spring but could be out as early as February.

Mazda projects sales of 40,000 units a year. But John Parker, Mazda's executive vice president, says they could go even higher.

"I don't see any reason CX-7 can't be 50,000," he says.


14 to 41 in 5 years
The new models will add to a segment that has grown significantly in recent years. From just 14 models in 2000, the crossover segment grew to 33 models in 2004 and 41 in 2005, according to Ford Motor Co. data. Ford expects crossovers to outsell traditional SUVs for the first time this year.

As the segment becomes more crowded, newcomers are seeking to differentiate their vehicles through styling. The Ford Edge "and the Murano are the only ones trying to leverage design," says Wayne Rogers, vehicle engineering manager for the Edge.

Mazda design chief Moray Callum disagrees. The CX-7 is "more of a sports crossover," he says. "It's more than an SUV on a sedan platform."