Word: auto
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Vehicle vogue seems to have taken a decidedly luxurious turn, if this week's annual North American International Auto Show in Detroit is any indicator. Nearly a dozen automakers are unveiling new models or concept cars aimed at affluent buyers--the goal being to win a place on the open, prosperous highway of the American luxury-car market. Says Michael Dale, president of Jaguar North America: "The economy is wonderful, Wall Street is doing great, and people want to buy a car that feels like more than just transportation. Frankly, you're just not going to get that...
...auto industry had a good though uneven year in 1998, then many foreign brands had a great one. U.S. manufacturers continue to benefit from the popularity of light trucks and SUVs, sales of which grew 8.2% last year. But in a market in which sales of traditional sedans are stalled, car buyers have lately been going for upscale vehicles at unprecedented levels. In 1998 Mercedes' sales rose 39.2%, Jaguar's increased 15.4%, Lexus' jumped 60.2% (partly due to the addition of the RX300 to its lineup), while Audi's and Porsche's rose 39% and 33%, respectively. Overall sales...
Another gadget my car won't get is Clarion's Auto PC ($1,200). It's a dash-mounted computer that's designed to accept simple voice commands, and will do everything from tune the radio or CD player to retrieve and read aloud e-mail or dial your cell phone from a contacts list. Sounds cool, but wait for the kinks to shake out; the person who demonstrated it for me couldn't get it to work properly...
Meanwhile, the fad of corporate CEOs' promoting their own mugs with shareholder money becomes more brazen and absurd. Not so long ago, the sort of business executives featured in their own company's advertisements were local auto dealers and appliance-store owners. Then along came Victor Kiam (the guy who loved the shaver so much that "I bought the company") and Frank Perdue ("It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken") and, of course, Lee Iacocca. The distinguished silvery head of Iacocca's successor at Chrysler, Robert J. Eaton, is currently featured larger than life...
BEST-SELLING AUTO Toyota Camry (421,684 manufactured) PRICE $20,218 WORK REQUIRED TO BUY IT 6 MONTHS