Their love affair with trucks and SUVs notwithstanding, Coloradans can expect to see more fuel-efficient vehicles arriving at local dealerships.
A contingent of local dealers attending the Detroit auto show this week said alternative-fueled cars and higher fuel mileage are the buzzwords.
“The cars we’re seeing here are very exciting,” said Don Hicks, owner of Shortline Auto Group in Aurora. “Everybody is on the fuel-mileage bandwagon. We’re all trying to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.”
Hicks on Monday used an indoor track at the Detroit auto show to test- drive a Mercedes-Benz that uses clean-burning hydrogen fuel to power an electric motor.
The fuel-saving prototype models introduced at the Detroit show — still at least a year or two away from mass distribution — encompass trucks and sport utility vehicles as well as compact sedans.
Hicks is part of a three-person delegation from Colorado sent to Detroit to bring back ideas for the Denver Auto Show, scheduled for April 7-11.
One idea that local dealers will consider is, for the first time, building a temporary indoor track at the Colorado Convention Center for low- speed test drives.
“We have a green light to do it, and we have the space to do it,” said Tim Jackson, president of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association. “Now we have to see if we have manufacturers who are interested.”
Steve Raabe: 303-954-1948 or sraabe@denverpost.com
