Midsizers Rule

摘要

Compacts will soon catch midsize cars in popularity in the U.S. as in Western Europe-or so the theory goes. If you measure all C-segment models, including such crossovers as the Ford Escape and Honda CR-V, compacts already are there. Ford says the average new vehicle buyer now cross-shops C-segment crossovers with C/D-segment sedans. With heavy incentives, its aged, soon-to-be-replaced Escape had its best year ever in 2011, passing the Honda Accord, Civic, and CR-V; Toyota Corolla; Ford Fusion; Ram pickup; Hyundai Sonata; and Chevy Malibu for fifth-place overall in sales. We Hear The rollout for the C7 Chevrolet Corvette will look like this: The standard coupe will launch in late 2013 or early '14, with the convertible coming three to six months later. The Z06 is next, a full year after the standard coupe. Then comes Gran Sport coupe and convertible, with the ZR1 the last of the next-gen Corvettes to hit showrooms. Rumor has it that the ZRI's supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 will shrink in displacement slightly, for corporate average fuel economy reasons, and there will be a 3.6-liter V-6 version of the base Corvette, though not at launch.