The Wall Street Journal-20080129-Eyes on the Road- Speed and Power Win Hearts

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Eyes on the Road: Speed and Power Win Hearts

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The votes are in. The winners can rejoice, while the losers lick their wounds and weigh whether to fight another day. In the end, it will come down to who has the money, and the determination, to win.

What, you thought I was talking about the presidential primaries? No, this is about the results of the Eyes on the Road "Build It or Bag It" poll, a totally unscientific effort to gauge reader reaction to some of the ideas for future vehicles shown at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit during the past two weeks.

It turns out that Eyes on the Road readers don't consider a petrol- conscious super sports car to be an oxymoron. By a nearly 2-to-1 margin, Eyes readers said "Build It" when asked about the idea of a fire-breathing, V-12 diesel-powered Audi R8 sports car, and an ethanol-burning Ferrari 430.

Audi may or may not offer a 12-cylinder diesel in the U.S., but the company is "darn serious" about offering a wide array of diesel power in this country, says Jeff Kuhlman, who runs Audi communications in the U.S. He notes that "90% of our concepts become reality."

Audi is aiming to launch a diesel version of its Q7 sport-utility wagon late this year or early 2009, when it can get the engine certified to meet clean air standards in all 50 states. "America isn't going to be convinced that diesel is the right thing just for people movers," Mr. Kuhlman says. "We've got to come with vehicles that are still exciting and still emotional."

Ferrari officials said during the auto show that they don't have plans to offer an ethanol-burning 430 model, but do aim to reduce by 40% the carbon-dioxide emissions from Ferrari cars by 2012. That's a proxy for better fuel efficiency.

Our survey also suggests that the public is warming up to the idea of compact, car-like vehicles bearing names formerly associated with large SUVs with military pedigrees.

The Hummer HX concept, Land Rover LRX and Jeep Renegade -- a Jeep reimagined as a compact off-roadster -- collectively got a "build it" vote of 59% (1,759 "Build It" to 1,223 "Bag It" as of Friday morning.)

Woe to the marketing and product planner who takes our survey too seriously, but this result calls into question the notion, which I still hear from Detroit executives, that Americans won't accept small vehicles as substitutes for big ones. It looks like some folks are prepared to embrace a compact Hummer that runs on ethanol, or a Jeep that looks like a dune buggy.

The poll has bad news for Toyota Motor Corp. The Japanese auto titan's A-BAT gas-electric hybrid pickup truck concept got a big thumbs down. The A-BAT showcased not just the hybrid drive system, but also the concept of building a pickup truck on the lighter, but less- rugged chassis of a car. In the current economic climate, this idea looks great on paper. Evidently it doesn't look so brilliant when translated into a physical vehicle.

The A-BAT got a "Bag It" vote from 73% of those who took our survey.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Toyota try the idea of a gas-electric hybrid truck again. But it does appear that Americans who want a pickup truck want a "real" truck .

What about the Nissan Forum, a concept minivan designed to show how Nissan Motor Co. might rethink its Quest mom-mobile as more of a dad- mobile?

Well, our readers by a 65% to 35% margin say,: "Bag It." The result is consistent with the broader market shunning of minivans. Sales in the segment fell 18.3% in 2007 to just fewer than 794,000 vehicles.

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