Posted on: Sunday, February 1, 2004

Small cars take spotlight at industry show

Advertiser News Services

DETROIT — Small is big again.

U.S. automakers and Toyota unveiled small cars at a recent international show. The only major truck and sport utility premieres came from foreign automakers.

If little-car plans prevail, roads soon could be filled with more small cars than in the mid-'60s, when Volvo's 1800 competed with the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia, the Fiat Spider and the MG.

The most prominent introduction was the Pontiac Solstice, a two-seat sports car. Its starting price will be under $20,000, compared to the Mazda Miata's range of $21,000-$30,000.

The sporty Chevrolet Nomad station wagon could be a rival for BMW's Mini Cooper. The two-door Dodge Slingshot has a smaller engine than the Solstice's.

The Chevrolet Nomad, Saturn Curve and Dodge Slingshot could be on the road by 2006.