Chicago Auto Show highlights

2003 Dodge Ram and Cummins turbodiesel.

Two pickup trucks headlined the new-for-2003 production vehicles.

The new Dodge Ram 2500 and 3500 trucks represent the first heavy-duty pickup applications for side curtain airbags, power adjustable pedals (whether automatic or manual transmission-equipped), and pretensioning, constant-force seatbelt retractors. Following the frame footprint of the 2002 Dodge Ram 1500 (1/2-ton) truck, the new 3/4-ton and one-ton pickups ride on hydroformed box sections, making their frames stiffer than their predecessors'. Steering differs on two- and four-wheel-drive versions of the new trucks: two-wheel-drive models use a new rack-and-pinion setup, while the four-wheel-drive trucks have a redesigned recirculating-ball system. The trucks have new transfer cases (manual shift and electric shift) and beam axles aimed at improving off-road performance. A new suspension system on four-wheel-drive models is a refinement of the five-link, coil-spring configuration used on the previous generation. Rear suspension architecture is common to all models, with longitudinal leaf springs about 75 mm (3 in) longer than the 2002 models. A dual-rate vacuum booster, first seen on the 2002 Dodge Ram 1500, addresses stopping behavior at high brake pedal loads. And for the first time on a Dodge Ram, the one-ton model offers a single-rear-wheel option.

The standard engine on the new heavy-duty pickups is a new 5.7-L Hemi Magnum that produces 257 kW (345 hp) at 5600 rpm and 495 N•m (365 lb•ft) at 4400 rpm. The 90° V8 gasoline engine was subjected to more than 7.5 million "customer-equivalent" miles as part of its testing program. It features cross-flow aluminum cylinder heads with hemispherical combustion chambers; cast-steel rocker arm actuated splayed valves for high airflow; two spark plugs per cylinder; and a new direct-ignition system with high-power coils for more consistent, complete combustion. A nodular-iron crankshaft running in cross-bolted main bearing caps reduces deflection and vibration). Other highlights are a composite integrated air/fuel module and electronic throttle control. The optional gasoline Hemi engine is a sequential, multi-port, electronic 8.0-L V10 that produces 227 kW (305 hp) at 4000 rpm and 610 N•m (450 lb•ft) at 2800 rpm.

The trucks' new high-output Cummins turbodiesel tones down the noise level. Compared to the predecessor, the noise reduction is eight to 10 decibels, according to Martha Brooks, Vice President of Engine Business Sales and Marketing, Cummins, Inc. The decrease in engine noise is attributed to the high-pressure common-rail fuel system, the engine block sculpting, and a bedplate that ties the two sides of the block together. The 5.9-L, inline six-cylinder also gains fuel efficiency due to its air handling, electronics, electronic control module, and fuel system. With 227 kW (305 hp) at 2900 rpm and 752 N•m (555 lb•ft) at 1400 rpm, the high-output engine is more powerful than the previous turbodiesel. A standard-output turbodiesel with high-pressure common-rail injection is also offered, with 186 kW (250 hp) at 2900 rpm and 624 N•m (460 lb•ft) at 1400 rpm. The Cummins inline six is said to have 30-40% fewer parts than typical V8 diesels. The common rail provides injection pressures up to 23.2 ksi (160 MPa).

2003 GMC Sierra.

More than 40 new features or improvements adorn the 2003 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickup trucks. Alterations include a new driver information center reporting on the status of up to 34 vehicle functions (nearly double the previous count), a new rear-seat DVD entertainment system, a Quadrasteer four-wheel electromechanical steering system (first employed on the GMC Sierra Denali), and the first industry application on full-size pickup trucks of a Bose audio system. The trucks' multiplex system is a departure from previous generation electrical architecture. It enables wire count in the driver door (handling aspects like power windows/mirrors/locks) to go from 40 to 16. Fewer wires, splices, and connectors equal less mass, increased reliability, and cost savings. "It's in dollars per vehicle, not pennies per vehicle. So that adds up," said Bruce Aiello, Assistant Vehicle Line Executive for GM full-size pickup trucks. The new electrical architecture also enabled additional features like a multi-zone HVAC system.

2003 Kia Sorento.

As the ninth new U.S. model for Kia, the Sorento is a 3.5-L, V6-powered compact sport utility vehicle that is larger and more powerful than the automaker's other SUV, the Sportage. The 143-kW (192-hp) engine mates to an electronically controlled four-speed automatic transmission and two- or four-wheel drive. The 4x4 model can be equipped with part-time or torque-on-demand all-wheel drive. The Sorento offers an Eaton Corp. limited-slip differential that transfers torque between the rear wheels. The SUV utilizes a ladder-frame body construction with nine crossmembers, a double wishbone front suspension, and multilink rear suspension. It also has an available load-leveling system. As for other spin-off vehicles from the new platform, anything is possible. "This platform certainly gives up opportunities that we've not had," said Peter Butterfield, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Kia Motors America, Inc. The Sorento is being built in Asan Bay, South Korea, the same site where the Sportage and Spectra are assembled.

2003 Subaru Forester.

The second-generation Subaru Forester has an altered suspension (an internal rebound spring is added in the front struts, and the front and rear stabilizer bars have larger diameters), larger-diameter front brake rotors, and aluminum (instead of steel) hood. Overall vehicle mass decreases by about 40 kg (90 lb) with more use of aluminum parts, including the bumper beams and roof rails. The Forester now employs a hydroformed front subframe. The five-speed manual transmission model revives Subaru's Hill Holder clutch system. "When the vehicle is on enough of an incline, a small ball rolls back and closes an orifice in the brake chamber. The ball releases by a mechanical actuator when the clutch pedal is released," said Mike Whelan, Senior Manager of Public Relations for Subaru of America, Inc. (The hill-holder clutch system was last utilized by Subaru on the 1995 Legacy.) Carried over is the 2.5-L four-cylinder boxer engine, which produces 123 kW (165 hp) at 5600 rpm and 225 N•m (166 lb•ft) at 4000 rpm.

2003 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra.

The only new 2003 cars introduced at the event, the Ford Mustang SVT Cobra sports coupe and convertible are powered by a 4.6-L V8 equipped with an Eaton Roots-type supercharger (same as the SVT F-150 Lightning pickup truck). The engine produces 291 kW (390 hp) at 6000 rpm and 529 N•m (390 lb•ft) at 3500 rpm and mates to a six-speed manual transmission. (The 2003 SVT Cobra joins the 2000 Cobra as the only Mustangs with factory-installed six-speed gearboxes.) Aluminum four-valve cylinder heads are new for the Cobra. The car's independent rear suspension receives revised bushing, mount, and spring rates, as well as an additional tubular cross-brace attached to the differential. Unlike previous model years, the coupe and convertible each has unique suspension tuning; the coupe's spring rates are 105 N/mm (600 lb/in) front and rear, while those of the convertible are 88 N/mm (500 lb/in) in front and 82 N/mm (470 lb/in) at the rear. The rack-and-pinion steering system obtains a new low-lash intermediate shaft and a higher rate steering gear bushing. The hood was redesigned (now with flow-through scoops), and the rocker panels reshaped. The hood and rear deck are made of composite materials.

Pontiac G-Force.

One of two General Motors concept vehicles was the Pontiac G-Force with a supercharged V6 engine producing 209 kW (280 hp) and 380 N•m (280 lb•ft). On the skidpad, the car reaches 0.85 g lateral acceleration. "That's extremely impressive for a front-wheel-drive sedan," said Robert Lutz, Chairman of General Motors North America. The G-Force shows the possible direction of the next-generation Grand Prix, which had its last major exterior and interior changes in 1997. The 2004 model year is pegged for the overhaul of the four-door sports sedan. The G-Force features 19-in tires, carbon-fiber front and rear lower fascias, and rear bucket seats.

Saturn Sky.

The other GM concept was the Saturn Sky convertible roadster that provides either two- or four-person seating. When the steel-unibody car is a two-seater, the rear seats stow underneath the tonneau cover. The Sky applies the same rear access door (a third door) that is used on the Saturn coupe, and its taillights use LED technology. The concept sports a low-boost, supercharged, 2.2-L four-cylinder engine mated to a five-speed manual transmission. Its interior features center-mounted instrumentation.

Mercury Marauder convertible.

A variant of the 2003 Mercury Marauder four-door performance sedan, the two-door Mercury Marauder convertible concept uses a supercharged SOHC V8 engine previously shown on the 1998 Marauder sedan concept. The 2003 Marauder sedan uses a normally aspirated, all-aluminum 4-valve, 4.6-L DOHC V8 that produces 224 kW (300 hp) and 420 N•m (310 lb•ft). The concept Marauder convertible employs a two-valves-per-cylinder engine with belt-driven Eaton Gen 4 supercharger Model 90 that produces 250 kW (335 hp) at 5250 rpm and 481 N•m (355 lb•ft) at 3000 rpm. The Roots-type supercharger is mated to a dual-core air-to-water intercooler. If the convertible became a production car, the lined top would be a power-folding unit that would store under a hard tonneau cover. According to Mercury officials, as many as six new vehicles—including a multi-purpose vehicle—are planned from the brand over the next five years.

Hyundai HCD-7.

With an exterior design inspired by aircraft fuselage, the Hyundai HCD-7 concept car employs wraparound windshield glass to hide the A-pillars. "This, along with the clamshell roof design, provides a sleek aerodynamic package and results in less wind noise in the cabin," said Roger Flores, Senior Designer at the Hyundai California Design Center. The concept car, a vision beyond the current XG350 flagship sedan, has vertically stacked projector-beam headlamps with vertically stacked taillights. Door panels, curved in a concave arc, are free of switches or buttons. The sole adornment on the door panel is an armrest that doubles as a pull-handle and an opening latch. A 7-in LCD flat-screen color monitor pops from the dashboard when an ignition "card" is inserted in a dash slot. A horizontal paddle (located below the screen) and steering wheel devices serve as the interface for selection and control of navigation, climate, and audio functions. The HCD-7 rides on 21- x 10-in wheels.

- Kami Buchholz

Honda four-strokes challenge two-strokes

Honda's CRF450R production motocrosser has a mass of only 102 kg (225 lb) dry.

The late Soichiro Honda's early products, auxiliary engines to power-assist workhorse bicycles and a small motorcycle, were powered by two-stroke engines. Mr. Honda was said to have developed an avowed dislike of the smelly, noisy, smoke-belching engine—simple, lightweight, inexpensive, and powerful as it was—and quickly began converting his products to the cleaner, less noisy, though more complex four-strokes. His stratospherically high-revving multi-cylinder racing motorcycles dominated the '60s world Grand Prix racing scene.

This changed with the two-stroke movement later heralded by Honda's Japanese rivals Yamaha, Suzuki, and Kawasaki. Honda engineers tried to turn the tide for the four-stroke, with the extraordinary oval-piston NR racers, but to little avail. They, too, had to join the two-stroke brigade, and began winning races again and successive world championships.

The aluminum twin-spar frame of the CRF450R is Honda's third-generation motocrosser frame, the durability and performance of which were proven in the racing CR250R.

On the motorcycle, marine, and power equipment front, Honda has been accelerating its conversion to the environmentally friendly four-stroke. Its outboard engines, up to the new 131-kW (175-hp) V6 (courtesy of the Accord), are all four-strokes. Honda has also introduced its first personal watercraft, the Aquatrax, which is powered by a four-stroke. President Hiroyuki Yoshino said that 97% of its motorcycle products would be four-strokes, including those produced in the developing countries. By 2005, all the two-wheeler engines will be breathing through poppet-valves.

On the motorcycle racetracks and off-road courses, it is still the two-stroke that's winning, including Honda's. Environmental concerns are, however, becoming more acute, especially with motorcycle sports contested outdoors, and the world's governing bodies are turning favorable eyes on the four-stroke. Honda is responding with its typical zeal.

The liquid-cooled SOHC four-valve 449-cm3 engine of the CRF450R produces 41 kW (55 hp) at 9000 rpm.

In the Japanese 2001 motocross season, Honda raced a factory CRF450R four-stroke machine, winning the first race it entered and finishing the season as runner-up. The over-the-counter version of this machine is now available to serious-minded consumers.

The CRF450R has a mass comparable to that of a similar-displacement two-stroke machine, at 102 kg (225 lb) dry, of which the liquid-cooled, single-overhead-camshaft, four-valve, single-cylinder engine accounts for 29.5 kg (65 lb). The engine is all-new and purpose-designed and -built for winning races. It has a large 96-mm (3.78-in) bore to the 62-mm (2.44-in) stroke, obtaining a total displacement of 449 cm³ and producing 41 kW (55 hp) at 9000 rpm and 49.8 N•m (36.7 lb•ft) at 7000 rpm.

The cylinder "barrel," a separate component from the block bolted onto the crankcase, is aluminum with its bore surface NiCaSi-coated, thus dispensing with a heavy iron liner. The crankcase is vertically split and incorporates a lightweight—lighter by 145 g (5 oz)—rotary oil pump and a gear-drive balancer shaft system. The crankshaft is made of high-strength, low-carbon steel with carburized main journals for maximum durability and high-rpm work.

The CRF450R engine's Unicam has three cam lobes, the outer two operating intake valves and the inner lobe operating two exhaust valves via rocker arms.

The valvetrain is the new Unicam single overhead camshaft design, with the camshaft driven by single-stage chain. The camshaft has three cam lobes; the outer lobes directly act on two titanium intake valves of 36-mm (1.42-in) diameter, while the inner lobe operates two 31-mm (1.22-in) diameter exhaust valves via rocker arms with roller contacts. Each titanium intake valve has a mass of 24.8 g (0.9 oz), about 15.2 g (0.5 oz) lighter than a comparable-size steel valve. All together, the Unicam reduces the valvetrain mass by as much as 340 g (12 oz) versus a conventional DOHC design, according to Honda. The Unicam allows a narrow included angle of 21.5° between the intake and exhaust valves, allowing a compact combustion chamber shape and enabling a high 11.5:1 compression ratio and rapid flame propagation.

The forged aluminum piston has a "mini skirt," and a height of only 36 mm (1.42 in) to a 96-mm (3.78-in) diameter. It has a mass of 267 g (9.4 oz), some 108 g (3.8 oz) lighter than a conventional piston. It employs two rings. The forged connecting road is double-carburized for strength, and has a needle-roller-bearing on its big end.

Fuel supply is by a proven Keihin FCR carburetor, with the flat slide supported on either side by large friction-free rollers. Ignition is electronically controlled by an 8-bit digital CPU. The spark plug is placed centrally in the combustion chamber. The exhaust system contributes significantly to the motorcycle's total mass reduction, with a titanium pipe and aluminum silencer. Dual aluminum radiators are employed for engine cooling.

The aluminum cylinder of the CRF450R engine has a NiCaSi-coated bore.

The CRF450R's 102-kg (225-lb) frame is based on Honda's third-generation, aluminum, semi-double-cradle, twin-spar design as used in the factory CR250R. The front suspension employs twin 47-mm (1.85-in) diameter telescopic forks with inverted shock absorbers. The rear Prolink suspension comprises angular aluminum arms connected by a large-section forged crossmember, with the spring/shock absorber unit having 17-stage rebound and 13-stage compression damping adjustments.

On the top Grand Prix road-racing category, Honda will field the RC211V powered by the new quad-camshaft, 20-valve, V5 engine of just under 990-cm³ displacement, pitting it against the 500-cm³ two-stroke competitors including Honda's own championship-winning NSR500. FIM, the international governing body, stipulates that a four-stroke engine has a displacement less than 990-cm³ versus the two-stroke's limit of over 350 and under 500 cm³. Minimum mass for a machine with less than three cylinders is 135 kg (298 lb), with three and four cylinders 145 kg (320 lb), and over six cylinders 155 kg (342 lb).

The RC211V engine is mounted transversely, with the three-cylinder bank facing forward and the two-cylinder bank rearward to provide the rider's foot space. The engine is liquid-cooled and produces over 149 kW (200 hp). The motorcycle has a mass of over 145 kg (320 lb).

- Jack Yamaguchi