Detroit - Performance cars are back
Print Edition
People still want to have fun when they drive.
That’s the message from automakers unveiling a bevy of performance cars in Detroit, such as the Corvette Z06, a trio of BMWs and the Mercedes-Benz GLA45 AMG small SUV. Despite the industry’s attention to fuel economy, these cars primarily want to make sure you enjoy the ride.
A recovery in discretionary income is giving consumers reason to spend more on cars. Gas prices have leveled off for the past three years, a level more and more drivers have grown accustomed to.
“Now we have the opportunity that people are going to buy the cars they really desire, that they really want,” says Jake Fisher, Consumer Reports’ automotive testing director, on the sidelines of the North American International Auto Show.
Fuel efficiency and price are major factors in car-buying decisions, but the improving economy is reinvigorating the market for high-powered cars. And it makes for some striking juxtapositions at the auto show, such as an all-electric version of Volkswagen’s compact VW Golf sharing the stage with the Golf R, which features a 290 horsepower, 2.0-liter turbocharged engine.
“They’re putting in the power,” Fisher said. “It’s not just the cars that people need.”
A common theme for the performance cars, though, is that power doesn’t have to mean pain at the pump. Even in its performance incarnation, VW estimates the Golf R’s highway fuel economy around 13.18 kpl with the six-speed manual transmission.
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