Peugeot 408

The image below presents a possible design for the replacement of the Peugeot 407. Some of the features in the CGI are consistent with known points for improvement in the 407: the doors that are the now of recessed type and the front design that is a bit more mature and could ensure a better aging of the vehicle's design. Although these issues are improved in the CGI below it doesn't necessary mean that the image is reliable, still too soon to know. Other interesting future development is to find out how Peugeot is going to improve the design to be on pair with the "brother" Citroen C5... I find it difficult to improve on the wonderfull design of the new Citroen!

EV future: Shell admits peak oil and makes future predictions

According to these news oil company Shell will present energy scenarios for the first half of this century. Just to start, the company basically admits peak oil, according to Shell Chief Executive Jeroen van der Veer: “After 2015, easily accessible supplies of oil and gas probably will no longer keep up with demand.”

Now that the difficult part of finally dealing with the truth is done, Shell embraced the task of presenting scenarios for dealing with the problem. Auto-Future believes that the transportation part of the problem can be solved with an increasing number of plug-in hybrids and pure EVs as the battery issues are improved and electricity generation through alternative sources increases.

Peugeot small SUV (3008)

If Renault prototypes are dressed in white, the Peugeot models are covered in black plastic bags. Just so we don't make a mess confusing the two brands, right? The car below is the next small SUV from Peugeot, the 3008. Better hurry up Peugeot, because until this thing arrives the Tiguan, Kuga and Qashqai will be making big waves in the market. Peugeot needs to work even harder because so far this car's platform is not 4WD-friendly unlike the ones from the other models. This means extra-cost and more time for development.

Renault Laguna sedan...

... or saloon, whatever. Things are not looking pretty for Renault. The new Laguna is not a smash hit amongst mainstream players (unlike the new Mondeo) and very soon the new Citroen C5 will be hurting Renault in their own home sales in France. Something needs to be done, how about a new derivative like a 4-door saloon? So here it is in typical Renault-white camouflage. Is it going to make a big difference? Not really... How do we know?... We just know these thing, it's the future, the auto-future. The prospects are brighter for the coupe version, better hurry that one and also work really hard on SUV derivatives. The new small-SUV that Renault is getting ready to fight the Kuga-Tiguan will also not work very well against the Ford and VW... see, another future-thing we know. Just don't ask about stock-market crashes cuz this has not been a good week!...

EV future: we are bored!

Last year the star of Detroit Show was the Chevrolet Volt concept. We acknowledged that right away and awarded the car our concept Car of the Year 2007 right in January! Now this year in Detroit we got a bunch of concepts that are series hybrids like the Volt or plug-in hybrids, or pure EVs: Dodge Zeo; Dodge EcoVoyager; Saturn Vue PHEV; BYD F6-DM; Cadillac Provoq; Fisker Karma; Saturn Flextreme; Jeep Renegade... so many, compared to last year's show!

So now, we are bored, we don't care for any of these vehicles, we want real cars on sale. Pure EVs or plug-in hybrids, it doesn't matter! Please Toyota, GM, Mitsubishi, Subaru, make it happen, the race is on!

The Chevrolet Volt: on test very soon, still our car of the show

2008 Ford Fiesta

If it's shaped like an egg and white like an egg then it must surely be a... new Ford Fiesta. The new supermini will look almost as good as the Verve concepts. A new leader for the sub-compact segment in Europe.

2008 Audi Q5

What's with this crappy picture... an oficial image disguised as a small photoshop to avoid angry emails? The image below shows how the next Audi Q5 could look like, however, we already know that it will have a great design and will be a major success. Actually, speaking about predictions, it's quite easy to say that the Q5, the Mercedes GLK, Ford Kuga and VW Tiguan will be stars this year with great sales.

2009 Mazda 3

The CGI below shows a possible design for the next Mazda 3. The current model is still enjoying success and it's a display of Mazda's ability of making true world cars that work really well in different markets. The new model will not feature major changes in suspension and platform but will be lighter and have improved engines, aerodynamics and fuel saving features. The only thing Mazda needs to improve sales, particularly in Europe, is to add some "weight"... that is visual presence and stance, a feature much appreciated in european models.

Porsche Panamera architecture

Good news from Porsche, the German manufacturer officially confirmed that the next Panamera will have a hybrid version. Ok, we already knew about that, the real good news is about the architecture of the new 4-door saloon visible in the image below. The Panamera will have a RWD architecture with possible AWD implementation as found in most Mercedes and BMW cars. There were rumours that Porsche could use something similar to Audi's architecture with the engine hanging ahead of the front axle, this considering the liasion between the two brands. This type of architecture is clearly inferior in weight distribution although cheaper and making possible to use lots of parts from even cheaper cars. Fortunately Porsche will use the superior BMW-Merc-Lexus architecture thus achieving real luxury status. The image below also confirms that the Panamera will not use a transaxle setup such as the one used by Maserati.

EV future: Bollore and Pininfarina team on new electric car

The video shows the Bollore Bluecar that uses Ly-po batteries developed by the French company Bollore. Pininfarina and Bollore announced a collaboration for the production of a new electric car. Hopefully it will have a great Pininfarina design, maybe like the Nido urban concept car. More great EV news!