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CNN Live At Daybreak

SUVs Take Over Popularity, Auto Shows

Aired January 07, 2002 - 05:41   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: If you're into cars, you'll want to see this.

Our Jeff Flock walks the floor at the 2002 Northern American International Auto Show in, where else, the motor city of Detroit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The doors have just opened at the North American International Auto Show and we are strolling the aisles with maybe the smartest man when it comes to cars. Csaba Csere is the Editor and Chief - has been for the past decade or so - of "Car and Driver."

What is your headline as we look at the show this year?

CSABA CSERE, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, CAR AND DRIVER: Well, the battle lines have really formed up in the truck segment. And that's where the - well, that's where the profits have been in the last 10 years, and everyone's jumping in there. So every different type of truck, SUV, minivan, has dozens of competitors.

FLOCK: Okay. So what kind of things are we talking about? Like, what's under this wrap, for example?

CSERE: Well this is the new Honda Pilot. It's a mid-sized SUV from Honda. A homegrown product from them, not a re-badged Isuzu. It's based on the Odyssey Minivan. It has three rows of seats; it's going to be priced under $30,000. The usual Honda quality and it's hitting the market this summer.

FLOCK: So, basically, the headline on what we're seeing here is almost every variation between car and truck. All of the different hybrids and combinations, yes?

CSERE: Well, particularly, on the wagon segment. Here we've got a Mazda Protege 5, and it's a compact wagon, very useful, you can pull down the back seat. But it's sporty, it's good suspension, big engine.

FLOCK: And people can't make up their minds. They don't know if they want an SUV, a wagon, a car. They kind of want it all.

CSERE: Well they want it all, and depending on what kind of height they want, they're going to have it. What we're seeing here is the Volvo XE 90. It's going to be unveiled tomorrow; Volvo's first sport utility, and it's the Volvo cross country wagon.

Made a little higher, roof raised, third row of seat added. And, of course, the cross country wagon is already the Volvo station wagon simply jacked up a little bit. So we see three of those varieties in one brand.

FLOCK: Csaba Csere, I appreciate all the insight here at the North American International Auto Show. A lot of wraps coming off in the next few days, so stay tuned.

I'm Jeff Flock, CNN, Detroit.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And we will stay tuned.

When it comes to wheels, what do women like to drive? It's no longer cars. The latest research shows women prefer SUVs. For the first time, sport utility vehicles are the number one choice among women buying new cars, narrowly edging out mid-sized cars. And according to R.L. Pulp and Company, the Ford Explorer is the most popular SUV among women, followed by the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

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