Downsizing the Minivan
As Big SUVs Lose Favor,
Makers Push Smaller Models;
43 Crossovers to Choose From
The next-generation family vehicle is starting to take shape.
Auto makers are developing new models designed to guzzle less gas but still provide enough room to haul adults, kids and their gear. The new offerings run from compact minivans like Mazda Motor Corp.'s Mazda5 and even-smaller hatchbacks like Nissan Motor Co.'s Nissan Versa to mixes of wagons and sport-utility vehicles like DaimlerChrysler AG's Mercedes-Benz R-Class.
Mazda5
The search for something new and family-friendly comes as sport-utility vehicles and minivans are losing favor. SUV sales have slumped as gas prices hover near $3 a gallon. U.S. car and light-truck sales sank 7.6% last month due to slow-selling traditional SUVs, and minivan sales have been hurt by the "soccer mom" stigma and are relatively flat.
About 28% of new cars this year will be purchased specifically for the purpose of hauling around families, second only to buying a car for daily commuting, according to auto-research firm CNW Marketing Research in Bandon, Ore. But with some of the new models, families will have to sacrifice passenger and storage space to go farther on a tank of gas.
While there are a few seven-passenger vehicles on the horizon, some of the new offerings can seat five or six people at most -- and not always comfortably -- compared with the seven to eight people many minivans can fit. But many of them do feature the higher seating and driving position that helped attract consumers to minivans and SUVs in the first place.
Mercedes R-Class
The new Mazda5, which resembles a miniature minivan complete with sliding doors, is scheduled to start going on sale again this week in the U.S. at some dealerships and to be available across the country in full inventory by Nov. 15. (Mazda earlier had to recall the vehicle due to exhaust-system safety issues.) The Mazda5 is smaller in every dimension than Mazda's traditional MPV minivan -- in essence a mini minivan. With an automatic transmission, it is expected to get 21 miles per gallon in the city versus 18 mpg for the MPV. Mazda plans to stop making the MPV after the 2006 model year in the U.S.
With a sticker price of about $18,000, the Mazda5 is part of a push by some car makers to bring to the U.S. what families in Europe and Asia have enjoyed for years: highly space-efficient and fuel-efficient vehicles. It falls in a class of "multipurpose" or "multiactivity" vehicles popular in Europe and Asia. These look like compact minivans and have shorter hoods and higher roofs than wagons to boost cargo and passenger space.
General Motors Corp. also says it is "not ruling out" bringing to the U.S. from Europe its vehicle in the same class, the Opel Zafira, says Paul Ballew, GM's chief of industry analysis.
Meanwhile, other car makers are going even smaller. Nissan has announced plans for a compact five-passenger hatchback called Versa, which is designed for young families, among others, and for which fuel economy is estimated at a combined city/highway 38 miles per gallon. Versa, slated to go on sale early next summer for the 2007 model year at around $12,000, joins a host of other compact entry-level hatchbacks launched in the U.S. in recent years such as the Chevrolet Aveo.
Old School: 1960 Dodge station wagon
Nissan says the Versa model line, which also includes a sedan, is named for "versatile space" because the vehicles feature an interior the length of or longer than some full-size luxury sedans. Still, to attract families with more children or who are concerned with practicality, Nissan plans to redo parts of the interior of its Quest minivan for 2007.
Perhaps the best evidence of car makers' current experimentation are the many new offerings in the "crossover" vehicle category, into which many of the new offerings, like the Mercedes R-Class, fit. Crossovers are generally vehicles that combine the handling and fuel efficiency of car frameworks with the utility, style and high-seating position of SUVs and the space of wagons or minivans. "There is kind of a blending going on," says Orth Hedrick, a product planner at Nissan.
For the 2006 model year, there are 43 crossover models offered, up from 25 in 2003, according to consumer-automotive Web site Edmunds.com, which defines a crossover as any "multiplatform" vehicle. According to Autodata Corp., 1.82 million new crossover vehicles were sold last year, up from 1.17 million in 2002.
Ford Fairlane Concept Car
But different models mix elements of existing designs to varying degrees, which is why the category includes everything from luxury car-based SUVs like Lexus's RX to midsize sport wagons like the Chrysler Pacifica and smaller sport wagons such as the PT Cruiser.
Among other crossovers coming on the market, Ford Motor Co. plans to debut a production version of its new 2007 Lincoln Aviator in January. The new Aviator will be redesigned from a traditional SUV into one based on a car's framework.
Elsewhere, Ford, which is facing lackluster minivan sales, might replace one or both of its minivans within the next few years with a vehicle along the lines of the Ford Fairlane, a "Range Roveresque" six-passenger, three-row concept design shown in Detroit this year that features side doors that open in the French style. Ford describes the Fairlane as "a new type of people mover" that has roughly the same amount of interior space as a minivan. Ford's minivan sales fell 27% year-to-date through September from a year earlier.
Also seeking to move away from the minivan design, Hyundai Motor Co. plans to launch a six- to seven-passenger vehicle in about three years inspired by a design concept, called Portico, which looks like a cross between a minivan and a wagon. The Portico concept, shown in Chicago earlier this year, features a round, wagonlike shape and two rows of three seats with middle seats slightly staggered back to create more shoulder room, along with side doors that swing out from the middle but without a pillar.
Hyundai Portico Concept Car
"The idea is to break the tyranny of the boxlike shape of the minivan," says John Krafcik, Hyundai vice president of product development and strategic planning. Hyundai, whose biggest vehicle now seats five, hopes its new larger offerings will help it sell more cars to families with three or more children.
Even luxury brands are pushing the boundaries -- though at a higher price tag. Mercedes-Benz's new three-row, six-passenger R-Class "sports tourer," which is similar to a minivan inside but from the outside is sleeker and more stylish, went on sale last month. Aimed at parents who still want to drive a luxury car, the Mercedes R-Class begins at a suggested sticker price of $48,000 for the V6-powered R350 and $55,500 for the 302-horsepower V8 R500.
Other car brands coming out with new blends include Honda Motor Co., whose Honda Pilot is popular with families because it can seat eight passengers. Some companies are also working on making the interiors of sedans bigger, and adding a higher seating position similar to that in minivans and SUVs, to make the sedans more appealing to families.
多功能车渐成家庭新宠
下一代家庭用车已经初露端倪。
汽车厂商们正在开发出耗油少但空间宽敞，足够容纳大人、孩子和他们所携物品的新车型。它们包括紧凑型的微型面包车，如马自达(Mazda Motor Corp.)的马自达5，还有更小的掀背式轿车，如日产汽车(Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.)的Nissan Versa，以及兼具旅行车与运动型多用途车(SUV)特点的混合车型，如戴姆勒-克莱斯勒(DaimlerChrysler AG)的奔驰R-Class。
由于人们追求新鲜以及适于全家出行的车型，SUV和微型面包车逐渐失宠。随著汽油价格在每加仑3美元附近徘徊，SUV的销量骤减。上月，由于传统的SUV销售迟缓，加之微型面包车因家庭主妇用车的名声而销量平平，美国轿车和轻型卡车的销量下滑7.6%。
据汽车研究公司CNW Marketing Research就汽车购买理由所作的调查，今年购买的新车中，约有28%将专门用于家庭用途，这一比例仅低于人们购车的首要理由──日常上下班。但是，一些新车型为了节省油耗，牺牲了乘坐和储物的空间。
虽然也有一些可乘7人的车型即将上市，但一些上市的新车型最多只能乘坐5、6个人，而且和可乘坐7至8人的微型面包车相比，乘坐起来也并不舒适。不过在许多新车型中，配备了微型面包车和运动多功能车最吸引顾客的高坐椅。
新上市的马自达5看起来很像是装有滑门的微型面包车。这款车型将于本周在美国一部分经销点再次发售，到11月15日将面向全美销售（马自达之前由于排气系统的安全性问题曾召回这款汽车）。
马自达5比马自达传统的多功能车(MPV)要更为小巧。而且该车有自动排档，在城市里每加仑汽油可以跑21英里，而传统的MPV每加仑只能跑18英里。马自达计划在2006车型年之后在美国停止生产传统的MPV。
马自达5在美国的推出是一些汽车厂商将多年来欧洲和亚洲家庭钟爱的大空间节油车型带到美国市场的举措之一，其标价约为18,000美元。马自达5属于欧亚市场畅销的“多功能”车，这些车看起来有点像紧凑型的微型面包车，比传统的旅行车引擎盖短、车顶高，从而增加了储物和乘坐空间。
通用汽车(General Motors Corp.)的行业分析负责人保罗?巴鲁(Paul Ballew)表示，该公司不排除将在欧洲市场销售的同类车型Opel Zafira投放美国市场。
与此同时，其他汽车厂商则在开发体积更小的这种多功能车。日产汽车宣布，打算生产名为Versa的紧凑型五座掀背式轿车，这款车型是专门为年轻家庭度身定做的，而且油耗很低，据估算在市区和高速路上行驶38英里仅需消耗1加仑的汽油。2007年款Versa定于明年夏初上市销售，价格在12,000美元左右。最近几年来，入门级掀背车陆续在美国市场推出，如Chevrolet Aveo等。
日产汽车称，Versa系列车型的寓意为“多变空间”，因为其内长相当于甚至超过一些标准尺寸的豪华轿车。不过，为了吸引那些子女较多或者看重实用性的家庭，日产汽车计划对其2007款Quest多功能车的内部设计做部分改动。
或许最能体现汽车生产商这种尝试的是形形色色“混合型”汽车的大量涌现，如奔驰R-Class等。混合型车通常是指兼具轿车的驾驶性能和燃油效率、SUV的样式和高坐椅设计以及旅行车或微型面包车宽敞空间的汽车。融合各种功能的汽车已渐成潮流，日产汽车的产品设计师奥斯?海德克(Orth Hedrick)表示。
汽车资讯网站Edmunds.com的数据显示，在2006年款的汽车中共有43种新款混合型车，高于2003年的25种。Autodata Corp.称，去年混合型汽车的销量达到了182万辆，高于2002年的117万辆。
但是，不同的车型融合现有设计元素的程度有所不同，这就是为什么该门类中既包括以豪华车为设计基础的运动型多用途车，如雷克萨斯(Lexus)的RX，也包括Chrysler Pacifica这样的中型运动旅行车，同时还包括PT Cruiser等小型运动旅行车。
在将要面市的各种混合型汽车中，有一种是福特汽车(Ford Motor Co.)计划明年1月推出2007年款Lincoln Aviator。新款Aviator一改以往的SUV式样，是在轿车的基础上重新设计的。
此外，福特汽车可能在今后几年淘汰一两款老车型，代之以福特Fairlane系列的车型。在今年的底特律车展上，福特展示了3排6座对开门的Fairlane新型概念车。该公司将Fairlane描述为内部空间相当于一辆微型面包车的“新型交通工具”。福特汽车正在陷入微型面包车销售疲软的困境，截至9月，该公司这种车今年的销量较一年前下降了27%。
现代汽车(Hyundai Motor Co.)也正在调整微型面包车的设计，它计划在大约3年之后推出一款6座或7座的新车型。该车的设计灵感来自名为Portico的概念车，它的外形介于微型面包车和旅行车之间。今年早些时候在芝加哥展示的Portico概念车外形宽大、酷似旅行车，设有双排六座，每排中间的座位都可以略微后移，以避免乘坐拥挤，同时车门采用对开无B柱设计。
“其设计思路是打破微型面包车箱式外观的禁锢，”现代汽车负责产品开发和战略规划的副总裁约翰?克拉夫茨克(John Krafcik)说。该公司希望尺寸加大的新车型能吸引3个子女以上家庭的购买兴趣。现代汽车目前最大的车型仅能容纳5人。
就连豪华车品牌也在突破边界──虽然标价高昂。梅塞德斯-奔驰(Mercedes-Benz)新的3排6座R-Class运动旅行车上月投入市场。该车的内部和微型面包车相似，但外形要更流畅、更时尚一些，目标受众是那些仍希望驾驶豪华车的家庭。奔驰R-Class配备V6发动机的R350型车的建议零售价为48,000美元，配备V8发动机的R500型车的零售价为55,500美元。
本田汽车(Honda Motor Co.)等公司也推出了新的混合型汽车。本田的Pilot广受家庭欢迎，因为它可以乘坐8个人。一些公司还在努力增加豪华轿车的乘坐空间，并增加了一个类似于微型面包车和SUV中的高坐椅，以便增强豪华车对家庭的吸引力。
