Compact and Electric Cars Beat Muscle Cars at NY Auto Show

Attendees of this year’s New York International Auto Show, which starts today at the Javits Center in New York city, will notice a departure in the theme from those of previous years. Instead of pushing SUVs and muscle cars, this year’s show will focus on European-style cars.

For the 2010 NY Auto Show, the compact car takes center stage. Moreover, almost every major car maker is debuting a version of an ultra-low or zero-emissions car. And although these vehicles were formerly introduced only as concept cars, German, Japanese, and America car makers now seem focused on finding a wider market segment for their new low-emissions models, from completely electric commuter cars to a vehicle that operates completely on household natural gas.

The chief engineer at Ford, Lisa Drake, recently offered an example of this growing trend toward smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles—the 2011 Ford Transit Connect, already a best-selling work Van in Europe, where 600,000 units have sold. Starting this summer, Ford will offer the Transit Connect in a fully electric, plug-in version, an option unavailable in Europe.

Car Makers Plug Electric Vehicles

“At a lot of their depots where they do their own maintenance, they have 220-volt service, so they'll use that for charging the vehicle,” explained Drake. AT&T has shown interest in buying it for use during repair calls, and the NYC Parks and Recreation Department is also rumored to be interested. Drake hinted that the United States Postal Service is also interested, but she did not offer details.

The Transit Connect may be offered to private customers eventually, Ford says, if it generated enough interest. For now, Ford is staying busy promoting its hybrid models domestically, such as the Ford Fusion Hybrid and the brand-new Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, whose 41 mpg city fuel economy rating will make it the “most fuel efficient luxury sedan in America.” Ford is planning to use Microsoft's Hohm System to provide even better fuel efficiency with the futuristic energy management system.

But Ford can expect to have fierce competition in the electric-vehicle market from other automakers.

In late 2010, the Nissan Leaf will debut, which has a driving range of 100 miles on a single charge. Domestically, GM plans to show off the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, the vehicle that has a 40-mile driving range on a single charge. Mitsubishi will also introduce an electric vehicle, the i-MiEV, which drivers can recharge to 80 percent with a special quick charger.

Despite the deluge of electrically powered vehicles, it’s difficult to predict which fuel-saving technology will end up on top. For example, at the New York Auto Show, Honda will promote a new natural-gas-powered version of the 2010 Civic that is built in Indiana and sells for about $26,000. The vehicle, the Civic NGV, will tap into owners’ household natural gas lines for fuel. Similarly, Mazda will debut an electric vehicle with an internal battery charger that can run on either hydrogen or standard gasoline.

Electric Cars a Developing Market

“Right now, the whole market is kind of sorting itself out as to what is going to become the next, real, true alternative-fuel vehicle, whether it's fuel cells, or hydrogen, or electric," explained Mark Willett, a Mazda product specialist. "Who knows which way the market is going to go?"

Mazda just introduced the Mazda Hydrogen RE Hybrid that uses a small rotary engine for the sole purpose of charging the battery. Willett believes the RE Hybrid has the potential to corner the hydrogen-powered car market if consumers make hydrogen their fuel of choice.

For now, though, Mazda is aggressive marketing the Mazda2, a small, fuel-efficient coupe that debuted in other countries in 2007 but is just hitting the American market.

The theme of more fuel-efficient vehicles and engines with lower emissions is so pervasive at the New York Auto Show that even luxury brands are jumping on the bandwagon, despite the fact that their higher-income customer base typically does not worry about fuel prices.

BMW will showcase the 2011 ActiveHybrid 7, a sports sedan with a 0-60 time of fewer than five seconds and a retail price of $107,000. The Lexus HS 250h will also debut, with a 35 mpg city rating. In the Lexus booth, the automaker invites customers to venture into the “darker side of green.”