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"Two of the nation&amp;#039;s biggest auto shows, in Chicago and New York, find it hard to vie for attention when they are interleaved with huge international shows like Detroit and Geneva.   Still, both are vital selling shows with the largest attendance figures in North America. And while not as splashy on the concept-car front, often the news that comes from each provides a road map of future strategies.   This year, in Chicago, the two big themes were performance cars and the importance of the Korean connection. Chevrolet covered both bases with the launch of the Impala SS and Monte Carlo SS Supercharged, and took the wraps off the Daewoo-built Aveo entry-level car. And Suzuki, through its GM connection, showed two larger Daewoo models, called the Forenza and Verona, which will allow the diminutive importer to compete in the compact and midsize car segments.   Both Chicago and New York were absolutely critical to Ford in convincing both the public and Wall Street that it has a plan to reinvigorate the car side of its business as well as the flagging Lincoln and Mercury brands. In Chicago, it showed a revamped Windstar, now called Freestar, and a new Mercury variant called the Monterey as well as a sketch of the Montego, a Mercury version of the upcoming Ford Five Hundred. In New York, it showed a sketch of the Futura, a Mazda 6-based midsize Taurus replacement that will likely spawn a Lincoln variant. Mercury also showed the Mariner, its version of the Ford Escape compact SUV. Ford&amp;#039;s success hinges on whether the public sees these entries as specifically targeted models meeting individual needs or merely badge-engineered variants from the same old hash of products.   Also in New York and in the same vein, Saab announced that it is seeking to break out of niche-player status with a facelifted version of the Subaru Impreza 5-door called the 9-2 and an SUV based on the Chevy TrailBlazer.   Finally, the New York launch of the Chrysler 300C signaled that the Great Front-Wheel-Drive Revolution is dead. Begun in the throes of the 1979 oil crisis, American manufacturers decided en masse that front-wheel drive was the way to go for fuel economy and packaging. It didn&amp;#039;t quite prove to be the panacea. Just as one car size doesn&amp;#039;t fit all, neither do front-, rear- or all-wheel drive. The 300C shows that Detroit is now back in the rear-wheel-drive business in full-size cars. It&amp;#039;s about time. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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