DETROIT -- It isn't hard to see where automakers are tossing their darts in an effort to pin down customers' future whims.

Several manufacturers unveiled coupe concepts or coupe versions of existing cars at the Detroit auto show, taking the stage from the crossover sport utility vehicle rage of the last two years.

In-car electronics took the spotlight when Ford did a live teleconference with Microsoft chairman Bill Gates to announce Sync.

Automakers trotted out their vehicle designers in front of the international automotive press to discuss the design of the cars and trucks, individual dissertations on "line," "stance" and "face" of vehicles.

Those darts landing on the right spaces in style and amenities will mean new-car buyers, fueling the turnaround of the Detroit-based automakers that have been struggling in recent years.

As Ford has been shedding thousands of workers to cut its costs, the company's turnaround will be based on its products, said chief executive Alan Mulally.

Mulally said Ford will be accelerating the pace of new product introductions with an "expanded commitment to small cars, more crossovers, more capable and efficient trucks."

Mulally said he wanted more "striking" designs, better fuel efficiency and better value.

"We've had some challenging times lately, but my optimism for Ford Motor Co. is unwavering," said company chairman Bill Ford Jr. "2006 was a difficult year for us, and 2007 will be a pivotal one. I believe we've laid a foundation for a stronger Ford, beginning this year."

The company will display its resilience this year, Ford said.

In Cobo Arena on the first day of the North American International Auto Show, Ford officials started their dart game.

Small and sporty

Small cars are back.

Small cars are the leading sales segment in country, said Mark Fields, Ford's president of the Americas. "With gas prices on consumers' mind, we expect that growth to continue going forward." Sales of small cars are expected to grow by 5 percent this year and next year.

The industry shifted a lot to trucks in the 1990s. "The two vulnerable vehicles we've had a lot of interest in over the last 20 years have been the minivan and truck-based mid-sized SUV," said David Cole, head of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor. "Those markets are iffy. You've seen major shrinkage there."

Crossover sport utility vehicles have taken up that slack.

A lot of profits were made on the truck and SUV, said Sean McAlinden, the economist at the research center. McAlinden said the GMC Envoy and Ford Explorer might be gone by 2010.

John Mendel, a senior vice president for Honda of America, agreed the market is coming back to cars, and sales are now more even with the truck. Honda got into the truck business two years ago with Ridgeline, but it pulled out a new style for its coupe version of the Accord as the big announcement at the Detroit auto show.

Baby Boomers as car and truck buyers are moving through, Mendel said, leaving Generation X and Y as the next groups.

"The emotional contents of the style of the car we hope will attract a lot of attention. It will draw younger buyers to the Accord segment and younger buyers into Honda," Mendel said. "As people bring more exciting style to the vehicles, I think it would attract some people who never would have normally thought of a coupe."

Mendel said only 12 percent of Accord buyers are under age 30. In considering the sales of the existing Accord coupe, however, 39 percent of those buyers are under 30.

"Research shows the coupe segment will once again experience growth, as much as 34 percent between now and 2011," Mendel said.

Chrysler unveiled a coupe concept vehicle, the Nassau. The Lincoln concept car, the MKR, was a coupe.

When Ford unveiled its 2008 model Focus, it also rolled out a coupe version, the first time there's been a coupe version of the Focus.

"It is all part of our plan to grow the Ford small-car offering," Fields explained.

In Sync

That product-led comeback for Ford is going inside the car's dashboard.

Cole said Ford and Microsoft simultaneously announcing Sync marked the official merging of the worlds of automobiles and information technology.

It puts Ford on the map in the car electronics war. General Motors has OnStar safety and communications. Automakers and electronics companies offer GPS-based map and direction systems.

"Since we know a lot of people spend a lot of time every day in their car, we need to bring the car into the equation," said Microsoft chairman Bill Gates.

Sync, based on Microsoft Auto, links digital music players and cellular smart phones to the car's controls.

An iPod or Zune, or another brand mp3 music player, is plugged into the dash through a USB port. It also allows people to play music stored on a simple flash drive. Drivers will be able to pick songs or playlists using voice activation or controls on the steering wheel.

It is compatible with Bluetooth-capable phones or personal assistants. Voice recognition software allows the driver to make a call.

"If you get a text message, Microsoft Auto will read it back to you using that text-to-speech technology," Gates said. The read-back will be over the car's audio system.

Microsoft Auto is upgradeable so that it will be compatible with the phones and devices as they evolve, Gates said.

Sync is exclusive to Ford Motor Co. until 2008.

Fields said Sync will come out initially in the Focus but will also be in 11 other Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models by the end of the year.

And it is multi-lingual. Sync is fluent in French and Spanish too.

"We're focusing on the products and the technologies that consumers are moving to every day," Fields said.

Fields said most of the Ford line up will be new by next year. All the models will get a makeover by 2010.

Ford's under-the-hood performance is getting a technology boost.

Duratec 35 injection

V-8 performance out of a V-6 motor is the promise. The engine driving the concept Lincoln MKR coupe concept vehicle is the TwinForce engine, a Duratec 35 with twin turbochargers and direct injection.

The TwinForce technology unveiled in the Lincoln MKR represents Ford's first application of direct injection on a sixcylinder engine. It already has several direct-injection equipped four-cylinder engines in production, including a 1.8-liter launched in the 2003 Ford Mondeo and the 2.3-liter turbocharged engine developed by Mazda for the 2006 MazdaSpeed6.

"Our TwinForce engine technology is a key element of how we're going after fuel economy gains without asking anyone to give up performance," said Derrick Kuzak, Ford's group vice president for global product development.

TwinForce uses direct injection technology and turbocharging. These technologies are common in diesel engines but have only recently been combined for use in gasoline engines, Kuzak said.

TwinForce's direct-injection fuel system is different than conventional fuel-injected gasoline engines. Instead of squirting gasoline into the engine cylinder head, it directly injects gasoline into the engine's cylinders at high pressures.

The technology would be able to deliver 415 horsepower out of a Duratec 35 engine, which has a displacement of 3.5 liters. To achieve this type of performance from a V-8 would require an engine displacement of 6 liters or larger.

Ford officials said that means the power of an eight-cylinder engine is pumped out with better fuel economy.

TwinForce will appear in future Lincoln and Ford vehicles. Details on that will be available later this year, said Ford spokesman Said Deep.

Deep said TwinForce is technology that will be added to existing engines.