2008 Detroit Show Premieres Announced: Ford, Mazda, Mercedes, Subaru & More

From NAIAS’ October Newsletter:

Ford will unveil a new small concept vehicle for the U.S. market that will share the underbody with a concept that Ford unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. The Ford Verve, revealed in Frankfurt, is a crossover vehicle carried on a small B-segment platform.

The Detroit concept will use the same platform, which is smaller than that used for the Ford Focus. But the Detroit concept will have a different body, details of which are not being revealed. Ford executives say the Verve and the upcoming Detroit concept hint at the automaker’s new design direction for future compact cars. The company plans to gauge public reaction to its proposed “super-mini generation,” a vehicle segment Ford anticipates will grow substantially in the future around the world.

Kia has announced it will hold the worldwide debut of its new seven-passenger sport utility in Detroit. The SUV, which goes by the codename HM until the real name is announced, is derived from the Mesa concept. It will be a 2009 model built in Korea and will have three rows of seats, making it larger than Kia’s current Sorento.

Mazda Always to be counted on for unveiling innovative concept cars, Mazda will do it again at NAIAS 2008. The automaker will hold the debut of a new concept car, the name of which has not been revealed, that takes its Nagare design theme to its “most realistic level yet,” company officials said.

Hyundai will unveil to the world the produc-tion version of its flagship Genesis sedan. It will be similar to Concept Genesis, revealed last spring. The 2008 Genesis rides on a rear-wheel-drive pre-mium sports sedan architecture and is powered by a V8 engine – both rear-drive and V8 power are Hyundai firsts in the U.S. Executives at Hyundai have said the car will start at “well under $30,000.” Always to be counted

Mitsubishi plans two worldwide debuts –one a concept car and another a production car. Details on those debuts will be available in December, the automaker said.

Suzuki will hold the North American introduction of a global concept to be first unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show in late October. More details will become available at that time.

Subaru plans a global debut in Detroit.

Mercedes-Benz will hold the worldwide debut of a new production model, details of which are being withheld.