clarinews@clarinet.com (JAN A. ZVERINA, UPI Auto Writer) (02/10/90)
CHICAGO (UPI) -- Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. bid into the rapidly growing family minivan market Friday by unveiling an all-new model called the Previa, to go on sale later this month as a 1991 model starting at $13,998. The U.S. subsidiary of the Japanese carmaker said at a preview for the Chicago Auto Show it expects to sell about 40,000 Previas during the remainder of this year, with sales to rise to about 50,000 a year beginning in 1991. Typically equipped versions of the aerodynamically styled Previa, which means `preview' in Italian, are expected to cost about $16,000 -- slightly less than similarly equipped minivans from Chrysler Corp. or General Motors Corp. An all-wheel-drive version of the Previa will be priced at $16,400. ``This is reasonable pricing that keeps the Previa right in the thick of the market,'' said Robert McCurry, head of Toyota Motor Sales, noting the minivan market has been one of the fastest growing segments of the entire U.S. vehicle market. Unlike Chrysler's or GM's minivans, the Previa, designed in Toyota's California studios, retains a rear-drive layout which Toyota says enhances balance and towing capacity. Its 16-valve, 2.4-liter, four-cylinder engine is canted 75 degrees on its side and placed amidship under the cargo floor to provide nearly 158 cubic feet of passenger space, or more than Chrysler's extended-length minivans. Other unique features include a third rear seat that folds into the side walls instead of having to be removed to open up cargo space. A V6 engine, offered as standard in other minivans, will not be available. A cargo version of the Previa also will not be offered, since it is aimed at the passenger market. But while it meets certain passenger car safety standards in terms of crush standards, safety belts and head restraints, it does not have any passive restraints and does not meet the bumper standards. Toyota also showed its completely redesigned MR2 sports car, billed as a 1991 model but to go on sale later this year. It will have a starting price of $14,898 for the base model, and $18,200 for the turbocharged version. On other matters, McCurry said: --Toyota still is studying the possibility of entering the large pickup truck market, an area in which he believes the carmaker would do well. --Toyota's share of the U.S. car market during 1989, including its new Lexus luxury division, was 7.3 percent, allowing it to nudge out Pontiac as the No. 3 nameplate in the nation behind Ford and Chevrolet. However Toyota, which expects its share to grow to 7.8 percent this year, is also counting among its car sales its 4Runner sport utility vehicle, McCurry acknowledged.