The New England International Auto Show that began on 12h January 2012 at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Centre introduced automobiles equipped with small and more fuel-efficient engines. Car manufacturers were prompted to go for smaller engines as this would fulfil their aim of downsizing, without compromising on style or performance.
The strict federal fuel economy regulations, is the reason why majority of automobile manufacturers are becoming frugal. BMW has taken out its inline-six cylinder engine from 328i and placed a turbocharged four cylinder instead. Likewise, General Motors has replaced V-6 by a four cylinder for its 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. This four cylinder engine gets extra power from a supplementary small electric motor.
Cars equipped with smaller engines have dominated other auto shows across the globe. Apart from small engines some automobile manufacturers have introduced simple and puny car models. Fiat unveiled the Abath, a sporty version of tiny 500, which includes hip-hugging seats. On this, Matt Davis, Head of Product Marketing stated, “We’re really going across the board, male, female, low income, and high income.”
As per the statement given by John Paul, Public Affair Manager, AAA Southern New England, “People have a choice of the power train they want in their vehicle. They’re going to have a choice of straight gasoline, electric, hybrid, or plug-in hybrid.”
According to Ford, they are planning to equip 90 per cent of its car models with high-mileage “EcoBoost” engines by 2013, which will work in combination with a larger engine (for enhancing performance) and a smaller engine (for reduced fuel consumption). The 2013 Ford Fusion will be equipped with five varied configurations - two hybrids and three gas-only options.
Automakers around the world are continuously struggling due to the global economic slowdown which resulted in low car sales in 2011. Therefore, it has become important to bring contemporary models to stay in the competition. For example, Ford has designed an all-electric model of the Ford Focus to give competition to the electric Nissan Leaf.
Though numerous auto shows are going on across the globe, it cannot guarantee a rise in car sales as people are still shying away from spending on newly launched automobiles. Global economic turmoil has led to low car sales that in turn has forced automakers to opt for downsizing.
