New Mitsubishi Raider will debut at the NAIAS

   With the Mondial de l’Automobile in Paris now concluded, all eyes are on the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) 2005 in Detroit. The NAIAS has long been a popular venue for not only worldwide and North American debuts of new production and concept vehicles, but also entirely new brands.
   In 1989, the first year the Detroit show was international, Toyota launched its luxury Lexus brand and displayed its first car, the LS 400 there; Nissan also introduced its Infiniti brand and its flagship Q45 luxury sedan.
   Mercedes Benz will use the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) 2005 in Detroit as the launching pad for Smart, its newest, youth-oriented brand, and to unveil a concept version of its upcoming newest model, the Formore. The Formore, a four-door, four-seat (thus the name) vehicle, is the Smart brand’s fourth model and first to be sold in the U.S. The Formore is a small, all-wheel-drive utility vehicle that goes on sale in the U.S. in the second half of 2006 and will be priced around $20,000. Other models will follow later.
   Mercedes has been selling the distinctive Smart cars in Europe since 1998 and has been accepting dealer applications for the brand in the U.S. It will announce the 80

Smart Formore, will go on sale in the U.S. in 2006

Smart dealers in early 2005.
   Not to left out, Mitsubishi will hold the worldwide debut of its new midsize truck — the Raider. Based on the Dodge Dakota, the Raider goes on sale next fall.
   Ford has announced it would hold the worldwide debut of its newest midsize sedan, the Fusion, which shares its architecture with the Mazda6 and a number of new midsize models from the Dearborn automaker.
   Chevrolet will also unveil the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 convertible and its new Monte Carlo coupe to the world at the NAIAS. Meanwhile, European automakers are bringing their latest offerings shown at the Paris show to Detroit.
   German automaker Audi will hold the worldwide debut of its A6 Avant station wagon. The A6 sedan, unveiled last spring in Geneva, is significant in that it is the first car to feature the new face of Audi, with its large, single-frame grille. Audi also will display its other new models, which share their facial characteristics with A6, the A3 Sportback and the A4 sedan and wagon.
   The A3 Sportback borrows its platform with the Volkswagen Golf, and will be sold as a five-door in North America in 2005. The A4, redesigned only three years ago, got a substantial makeover for 2005 to match the rest of the family and to outfit it with a more powerful 2.0-liter turbocharged engine.
   

New Ford Fusion will greet the world at NAIAS 2005 in January

Korean automaker Hyundai will hold the worldwide debut of new concept vehicle, details of which are being kept secret. It also will use the NAIAS 2005 for the North American debut of its fifth-generation Sonata sedan, which goes into production in the U.S. in spring 2005.
   Mazda brings to Detroit from Paris its Mazda5, a compact seven-passenger people mover. It offers sliding doors and innovative “six-plus-one” seating, as Mazda calls it, that provides for either a seventh seat or storage.
   Porsche will hold the worldwide debut of a new production model, though the German automaker is hush on details for now. It will confirm, however, that it will display the newest generation 911 Carrera and Carrera S as well as the Boxster, redesigned for the first time in eight years and on sale just after the NAIAS 2005.
   Volvo will display its XC90 sport utility equipped with the Swedish automaker’s first-ever V-8 engine, based on thae one under the hood of the Jaguar.
   Many more worldwide and North American introductions of both production vehicle and concepts are planned for NAIAS 2005, but automakers are keeping some details quiet for now.