Carmakers sail into uncharted territory

0 Comments | USA TODAY, January, 2004 | by James R. Healey, Earle Eldridge and David Kiley

DETROIT -- Mapmakers of yore would sketch the known world and account for unexplored areas by writing, "Here be dragons."

Dragons, indeed, lurk in the unknown regions for automakers gambling prestige and profits this year on unusual models, untried ideas.

A Honda pickup? A Chevrolet-badged Daewoo? A non-Saab Saab? All are on display at the important North American International Auto Show here, signaling a determination by the manufacturers to meet the challenge.

If the dragons are only phantoms, the risks could bring big rewards to the chance-taking automakers. They should be able to sell their new designs without big discounts, because they are the freshest faces in the class. Car and truck buyers, meantime, benefit from additional choices and stepped-up...