Green machines are the future
Since the start of the auto show circuit last September in Frankfurt, auto makers have been rolling out their visions for where this business is headed.
If the concepts are any indication, there is no one single view of the future shared by all the global auto makers. Quirky concepts such as the Nissan Pivo 2 suggest we’re headed for a world of city cars with talking robots residing in the dashboard.
Other concepts, such as Ford’s Explorer America, point to a future without giant sport-utility vehicles — truck-based SUVs are going the way of the Edsel, thanks to rising fuel prices, safety problems, and buyers’ growing environmental concerns.
In the past 10 months we’ve seen diesel-electric hybrids and Toyota A-BATs (for Advanced Breakthrough Aero Truck). Audi showed us an Audi R8 concept sports car with a monstrous 6.0-litre, 12-cylinder diesel similar to the engine Audi used to win the recent 24 Hours of Le Mans race. Heck, even Ferrari has unveiled a Ferrari Biofuel 430 concept to symbolize the Italian exotic car maker’s intent to reduce the carbon dioxide output of its high-performance cars by 40 per cent by 2012.
Enlarge ImageThe Dodge Zeo An electric muscle car with a 400-kilometre range, 268 horsepower and a 0-100 km/h time of about six seconds. (CHRYSLER)
From Stuttgart to Toyota City, from Auburn Hills to Maranella, Italy, the design houses of auto makers big and small each year roll out show cars and concepts that hint at their plans and stir excitement in the buying public, while also garnering feedback from show goers.
Clearly, this year we’ve seen spiking fuel prices and environmental worries reflected in a range of fuel-efficient and alternative-fuel show cars.
The Volkswagen Space Up! blue concept — first shown last November at the Los Angeles auto show — is a good example of that trend. It is a four-seat, rear-drive mini-minivan powered by a hydrogen fuel cell and electric motor. VW calls it the world’s first high-temperature fuel cell and says it is cheaper and weighs less than other fuel cells. A diesel-powered version could be on the streets in two to three years.
We’ve also seen a series of concepts intended to lay bare the design direction of an entire brand for the next decade. Case in point: Mazda, a subsidiary of Ford. Mazda last fall in Tokyo showed the last of four concept cars (from November, 2006, through October, 2007) that together tell the story of what the next full generation of Mazdas will look like.
The last of them, the Taiki, is a far-out, slippery-looking coupe shown first in Tokyo. Others in the series, including the Nagare and the Hakaze, collectively demonstrate what Mazda designers think about combining the attributes of several seemingly unrelated product segments. Is it possible to have a sporty car with a removable roof that also has the utility and higher seating position of a small SUV? Perhaps.
Already, auto makers are actively blurring the lines between product segments. For instance, the Mercedes-Benz R-Class combines the characteristics of a station wagon with that of a minivan and an SUV. Mazda, like Mercedes and others, clearly is thinking that tomorrow’s vehicles are less likely to fit into neatly ordered categories, as has been the case for nearly a century.
At show after auto show these past months, designers and product planners all have said there has never been a better time to be designing show cars and real ones, nor has there ever been a more difficult time. Everyone saw the so-called “green” movement coming years ago, but no one expected it to resonate so quickly and so powerfully with so many consumers and by extension government regulators.
Of course, something very practical — spiking fuel prices — have had a lot to do with that. But so did Al Gore and other high-profile environmental types. What really has startled so many in the car business is how quickly the market has changed.
Just last week, Ford announced a delay in the launch of its new 2009 F-Series pickup. Fuel-efficiency concerns and the U.S. economic slowdown have done their work.
These developments are putting more pressure than ever on car designers to conjure up the next home run. The concepts resonating most are ones that mesh technology with attractive, functional designs in an affordable package that uses lightweight materials.
It is now obvious now that future cars and trucks will be much more eco-friendly and look the part. Green vehicles — ones that offer excellent fuel economy and low emissions — have moved from fashion statement to mainstream.
Take a look at the concepts that hit home most this past year. They clearly indicate that in the coming years, cars and trucks will certainly get smaller, lighter, more efficient and much more interesting. The days of auto shows and city streets laden only with flashy (and often non-functioning designs) and big, thirsty horsepower are just about over.
just go with it on June 26th 2008 in Exotic Car Rental