Yes! (that's the name) Roadster coming to U.S.

ByABC News
February 8, 2008, 1:04 AM

CHICAGO -- Other automakers have a variety of models top show, including sleek coupes and updated sedans.

Here's the hot stuff making its debut at the Chicago show, open to media representatives Wednesday and Thursday and to the public Friday through Feb. 17.

Yes! Roadster: German automaker Funke & Will will sell its two-door Yes! Roadster in North America for the first time starting this summer, the company announced at the Chicago Auto Show.

Yes! sports cars, which are handcrafted in Germany, have been sold abroad since 2001. The distinctive Roadster has gullwing doors, a rounded hood and wedge-shaped sides. It comes with a soft top and/or an optional removable hard top.

The standard Roadster 3.2, which starts at $77,995, has an Audi 3.2-liter, V-6 engine with 225 horsepower. For $97,995, there's a turbocharged version with 355 horsepower that can hit zero to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds. An extra $7,995 upgrades the Roadster 3.2 Turbo with a 415-horsepower engine that hits top speeds of 200 mph.

The company will announce the locations of its North American dealers in the next few weeks.

Volvo goes to the dogs: Volvo didn't unveil any new products at the Chicago Auto Show, but it won some hearts anyway with a campaign about pet safety.

With dogs hopping in and out of the XC90, which was fitted with an optional, factory-installed cage that can help protect pets, Volvo says Thursday it is teaming up with Bark Buckle Up, a San Diego-based group that promotes safer pet travel.

The group wants to educate consumers on using cages while pets are traveling or pet harnesses that can be threaded through safety belts.

Bark-BuckleUp says that even if a car is going just 30 miles per hour, a 60-pound dog can cause an impact of 1,200 pounds.

2009 Acura RL: The remade Acura RL gets the largest engine every to grace the upscale Honda brand.

The new 3.7-liter V-6 develops 300 horsepower. It has a five-speed paddle-shifting automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. The RL also gets bigger wheels 18-inch instead of the 17-inch rims in the current model.

It goes on sale in the spring. No price yet.

2009 Volkswagen Routan: German automaker Volkswagen's flat-nosed, rear-engine Transporter (a.k.a. VW Bus) introduced the USA to the idea of a minivan about 50 years ago, even though Chrysler's 1984 vans often get the credit.

Now, VW says, it's time to sell a van again. And this time it's ... a Chrysler minivan. With a VW-styled nose and rump, a typically classy VW interior and, VW is quick and forceful to note, a Volkswagen suspension.

Chrysler will build it for VW at Chrysler's Windsor, Ontario, minivan factory. VW says partnering with Chrysler is a way to get into the van market quickly and relatively inexpensively, and to be sure the van can be produced in large volumes if it catches on. Expect it in showrooms in the fall, starting at less than $25,000.