Resurgent sedan muscling past SUV
Royal Ford
The Boston Globe

Almost since the invention of the automobile, the large, elegant sedan dominated the nation's highways, symbolic of America's success and power. But the oil crises of the 1970s put a serious crimp in that gas-guzzling style, and Americans went through the '80s driving smaller, high-mileage cars, often compact and subcompact imports.

In the '90s, when abundant fuel and a good economy might have spawned a comeback of the family sedan, SUVs and pickup trucks became the muscular status symbols of drivers -- and the profit center of US car companies.

Today, tastes are changing again. SUV and minivan buyers are realizing they don't need off-road capabilities, 10 inches of ground clearance, or third-row seating anymore. But they still want all-wheel drive and cargo space. So the US manufacturers are building more powerful, more elegant, and, at the same time, more utilitarian sedans than ever.

Meanwhile, as gas prices rise again and boomers are hauling more groceries than children, sedans are increasingly appealing to a broader population, thanks to better aerodynamics, lower weight, and modern, more economical technology, such as V-8 engines that run on four cylinders when not under heavy demand. Most of these sedans deliver far better gas mileage than your typical SUV -- in the low 20-mile-per gallon range as opposed to the SUVs' 14 to 16 miles per gallon.

Chrysler's hot-selling sedan introduced last spring, the 300 series, helped boost overall sales at the company, despite sagging truck and SUV receipts. Ford Motor Co. -- which has declared 2005 the "year of the car" -- is right on Chrysler's wheels. The company is rolling out sedans from Ford and Mercury, and the industry rumor is that a hot-rod Lincoln is in the works. Buick is counting on a faster, classier sedan, offering a LaCrosse model for 2005 with a 3.6-liter, 240-horsepower engine. Cadillac, with its CTS and STS sedans priced from $30,000 to $50,000-plus, will have to compete with the new Ford Five Hundred and its stable mate, the Mercury Montego. Pontiac has a new model called the G6; the Dodge Charger will be reborn, likely a muscle car version of the Chrysler 300.

These are not the land yachts of the past. They use interior room far better (gone are the long hoods and endless rear decks of 1960s Cadillacs), making them roomier than their predecessors. The Chrysler 300, for instance, is just under 198 inches long, almost a foot longer than a midsize sedan such as the Subaru Legacy. The Ford Five Hundred has a trunk that will hold eight golf bags. It also features high-sitting front seats for the view SUV drivers favored and even higher rear seats -- so-called stadium seating.

Manufacturers are appealing to "a strong section of the population that wants a powerful, comfortable, luxurious ride with some of the attributes of SUVs," said Scott Slagle, senior brand manger for Chrysler passenger cars.

Cadillac's STS is just now appearing, but its slightly smaller predecessor, the CTS, plenty large at more than 190 inches long, accounted for 34,497 sales in the first seven months of 2004. The car the STS will replace, the Seville, generated only 2,569 sales during that period.



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