Every decade or so, it seems, a major new segment opens up in the U.S. auto market. Although Detroit has had its successes-pioneering minivans in the 1980s and SUVs in the early 1990s-other times, it is nowhere to be found. In the 1980s, it didn't see the move to small, high-quality cars such as the Honda Civic. Then, in the late '90s, it missed a turn as Japan developed carlike SUVs such as Toyota's RAV4. Such miscalculations go a long way toward explaining Detroit's loss of U.S. market share, from 84% in 1978 to 61.6% today. Now you can add hybrid gas-electric vehicles to that dubious roster. Ford's hybrid Escape, the first domestic vehicle to sport the high-mileage hybrid technology-and the first hybrid SUV, period-was due out this year. But problems perfecting the battery and software have delayed its debut until late next summer. As for its Motown rivals, GM is giving hybrids short shrift while betting on the eventual benefits of hydrogen-powered cars. And Daimler-Chrysler's cash-strapped Chrysler Group killed plans for a hybrid Durango SUV in mid-2002. Instead, it is counting on improved diesel engines. Both GM and Chrysler are more than a year away from introducing "mild" hybrid trucks, where an electric motor provides a smaller mileage boost. Says Mark Rikess, CEO of consultants Rikess Group in Bur-bank, Calif.: "Detroit is missing the boat."
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