Sports utility vehicles lead the sales pack.

Even Lexus joins the move toward such vehicles

If there is any doubt the 1990s are the decade of the sports utility vehicle, the 1996 model year lineup seems to offer ample proof.

The four Asian automakers with U.S. sales operations headquartered in Los Angeles County are introducing seven new or redesigned vehicles in 1996. Four are sports utilities. Two are rebadged versions of existing models the automakers believe can stretched into new niches.

"I'm looking down the road, and by the year 2000, every automaker is going to have sports utilities," said Dave Kalmus, vice president of business development for The Dohring Co., a Glendale-based automotive consulting firm. "It's almost as if this can be considered a completely new segment for the industry."

Indeed, sports utilities - which are currently counted as light trucks in sales statistics - accounted for 7.3 percent of the total U.S. automotive market in 1991. That rose to 12 percent in 1994. Some consultants, such as Dohring, are projecting sports utility sales could eventually make up 20 percent of the market.

Kalmus noted that aside from their current popularity, sports utilities are also going upscale. Luxury marques such as Jaguar, Mercedes, Lincoln and BMW, once unlikely platforms for sports utilities, are planning launches within the next three years.

Utility Lexus

Lexus, the luxury division of Torrance-based Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., will become among the first of the upscale Japanese automakers to break into the sports utility market with the LX 450. A date has yet to be announced for the launch of the vehicle, which will be a rebadged Toyota Land Cruiser with amenities such as wood trim, wiring for cellular phones and a softer suspension. It will retain the Land Cruiser engine, a 4.5 liter inline six-cylinder tuned for maximum torque.

"We want to compete with (Land Rover's) Range Rover," said Lexus spokesman Mike Michels. He noted pricing would be higher than the $40,000 Land Cruiser, but slightly lower than the Range Rover, the British-built luxury sports utility, which retails for about $58,000. Annual sales in the U.S. are expected to be small - between 3,000 and 5,000 units.

On the lower end, Toyota plans to introduce the RAV4, a subcompact sports utility that drew widespread attention at last year's Greater Los Angeles Auto Show. Toyota officials did not return phone calls last week seeking comment, but had previously disclosed plans to sell up to 20,000 units a year in the U.S. Pricing was to be in the $15,000 to $18,000 range.

Calmus predicted the RAV4 will be a big hit, projecting sales of 25,000 to 30,000 a year, and that Toyota may not be able to initially meet demand.

Meanwhile, Acura, the luxury division of Torrance-based American Honda Motor Co., will introduce the SLX, a rebadged version of the Isuzu Trooper, on Nov. 30. No additional information was available as of last week.

Redoing the Civic

Honda will introduce a restyled Civic sedan later this month and a hatchback version in December. Both versions will be slightly larger and have more interior space. The base HX model's 1.6 liter four-cylinder engine will be boosted from 92 to 115 horsepower. The EX model will have a 127-horsepower engine.

Gardena-based Nissan North America Inc. will introduce a redesigned Pathfinder sports utility in December. Few details about the new vehicle have been released.

Nissan spokesman Bill Garlin projected annual U.S. sales of the redesigned Pathfinder at between 55,000 and 60,000 a year - similar to current numbers.

City of Industry-based Isuzu Motors America Inc. will introduce a new subcompact pickup truck, the Hombre, in December and the Oasis minivan some time in calendar 1996.

Kalmus believes the Hombre will do little to revive Isuzu's reeling pickup truck sales, which were down 40 percent through August. Company officials have said the decline is due to the shift in production from the U.S. to Japan, subjecting the vehicles to a stiff tariff. The Hombre will be built at Isuzu's plant in Shreveport, La.