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CNN Live Sunday

Car Lovers Turn to Auto Show in Detroit

Aired January 06, 2002 - 15:57   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 LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Fashion lovers may look to the cat walks of Milan for the latest creations. But for car lovers, all eyes turn to Detroit, home of the North American International Auto Show.

CNN's Jeff Flock looks at some of the things we may soon be seeing on the road.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): This hour, we're talking about concept cars. You may wonder what happens to the concept cars that you see at auto shows. Well this is one, this is the Chevy SSR, super sport roadster. This was a concept at the 2000 New York auto shows. You can see it's kind of a retro feel roadster.

Someone said it's sort of like a fancy El Camino, because it's got a pickup in the back. This was a concept then. It is now in production. And you'll have it about mid-year this year. Here's another one that was a concept at that 2000 New York auto show.

This is it, Mike DiGiovanni? I know you're the general manager of Hummer. What do they call this one?

MIKE DIGIOVANNI, GENERAL MANAGER, HUMMER: It's a Hummer H-2.

FLOCK: H-2. So the other one's the H-1, right?

DIGIOVANNI: Correct.

FLOCK: How is this different?

DIGIOVANNI: Well, this is what we would call a more civilized version of the H-1. It's -- the interior, as you can see, is rugged luxury. Yet the vehicle can seat five to six people for a family. It's got a lot of the power features you'd expect on other SUVs.

FLOCK: So this has a lot of what the old one has, but it's a little more user friendly maybe?

DIGIOVANNI: Absolutely, it's, as I said, it's got eight-way power seats, CD player. It comes with a largest sunroof we've ever offered called the sky roof. Yet, it's an authentic Hummer. It's got 10 inches of ground clearance. Wheels are going to corner for off-roading. It's really an authentic Hummer. FLOCK: Actually, because it looks like one. I mean, first you got -- of course, you got nicer colors, too. The other thing I want to ask you about, because, obviously, the H-1, that's $100 grand.

DIGIOVANNI: Right.

FLOCK: What about this one?

DIGIOVANNI: This one's about half the price, about $50,000, which is comparable to other luxury SUVs.

FLOCK: So it enables families, really, to kind of get involved in the Hummer?

DIGIOVANNI: Absolutely. It should appeal to Gen-X and Baby Boomer families, affluent families, some with young children, some with older children.

FLOCK: And no doubt, can take it mountain climbing on the weekends?

DIGIOVANNI: Absolutely.

FLOCK: All right, Mike DiGiovanni, thanks very much. Appreciate it. Concept cars. Sometimes they actually come to fruition. That's the latest this hour from the North American International Auto Show.

Jeff Flock, CNN, reporting from Detroit.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: What a concept.

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