Breaking News: Ford of Europe declares independence!

In an unexpected development we got to the knowledge that last night the European branch of Ford declared independence. According to our sources the situation was triggered during a transatlantic videoconference meeting between the European and American top bosses to discuss the implementation of the new Fiesta as a global vehicle. Things started on a wrong note when the American crew asked for “more and bigger cupholders”, but reportedly it was when they requested “a bigger grille with more chrome” that an angry German-accent voice was heard: “zwe are tired of your inability, zwe are the ones that make profit, zwe don´t need you, zwe are now independent and zwe vill prevail!..”. The Americans were quick to react and threaten to sue, pursue and generally kick butts everywhere but at that point the Germans were pumping Euro dance music through the videoconference speakers… several Americans simply collapsed with the atrocious sounds.

The declaration of independence by Ford of Europe was unexpected unless one analyses it under the light of the recent events in Kosovo. We are not sure about the outcome of this new geometry and its effects in the auto-industry. But the shockwaves are spreading and making effects: a top VW manager has reportedly said “ah it would be so nice if now Seat declared independence from us, that would be really sweet!”

Edit: this story was published on 1st April of 2008 and yes, it's a fake. April fools can also be a way for one to express his/her wishes!

EV future: BMW's i-mobility solution

This is just a quick update on the issue of BMW's future "4th brand", "new iSetta" or whatever it turns out to be. The CGI below is not new and its origins are Auto-Bild. I'm showing it now because I got a sort of confirmation of its credibility both in design direction, packaging (rear-engine layout) and electric drive. By confirmation it means... you know what!... Obviously BMW wants to be the luxury choice in every segment and since we will have a new EV-urban-small-car segment BMW will say "present". And of course, establish another money-printing operation.

Future trends: Eco discounts

The European market is starting to present a new trend: to associate discounts to eco-value. This results from the manufacturers that are becoming interested in a "green" branding of their products (just notice the econetic, bluemotion, eco2... labels). But also because in several European countries the taxes applied to cars are now based on CO2 emissions wich favours lower pricing of more environmentally friendly vehicles. This trend is now starting in France, Spain and also in the UK due to the famous London congestion charge.

The example below is from a VW discount campaign in France. Being the king of mainstream discounts and regular promotions VW was very quick to adopt the new marketing strategies (and you can bet that the presented 3500€ discount can be further extended with adequate negotiation with the sales representative). Other brands are presenting similar campaigns that join together market-appealing promotions and image-boosting "eco" branding.

Renault Mégane III: coupe

The picture below is a reliable preview on how the next coupe iteration of the Megane family will look like. The image is actually older than the recent coupe-concept presented in Geneve by Renault but it already had shown some of the design lines of the concept, which point to its credibility. The new Megane III should be a very good machine building on a new platform (common with the Nissan Qashqai) with superb stiffness and passive safety as well as a new multilink suspension that will make the Peugeot 308 look like a jurassic machine from the torsion-beam era. Will the design of the new Megane work? It has to sell in order to overcome the cold reception of the new Laguna...

Auto-Future's Car of the Year 2008: Toyota IQ and also... the Star of Geneve Auto-Show

Yes, it's becoming a tradition: we don't expect until the end of the year to announce the most significant car of the year. Cuz we know the future. Yehaa baby, the future of automobile! So the Toyota IQ below is Auto-Future's Car of the Year. Because it's a very important car, an example of great downsizing, done with style, quality and several technical advances. For example, Toyota developed a new differential in order to achieve very small front overhangs in a FWD car. And worked on the packaging of the AC systems to make better use of space. In total, six innovations that made possible such a small car with a 3+1 seating configuration. But even better, it looks super cool, kind of an iPod of cars. Unlike the Smart that looks like a plastic toy car. Because it really is a kind of plastic toy car, unlike the IQ that promises a 5 star rating in EuroNCAP crash tests... I hope they deliver. On sale after the summer, the Toyota IQ is our car of the year!

And the star of Geneve Auto-Show is...

Actually, although being unveiled in Geneve the IQ was not the star of the show. In reality, the most talked about car in Geneve was available only for a few Very but really Very Important Persons to see. BMW was showing in a reserved VVIP area the new 7-series... and the reactions from people that saw the thing were great! There will be a new language at BMW, Bangle 2.0 is for real and will be spectacular!

Peugeot 408

A popular sight here at auto-future: the Peugeot 408. The CGI below is not a step in the right direction. Because the next Peugeot 408 needs to build on an emotional design but at the same time keeping timeless features that ensure a longer market-life and more profit in the long-term. Some of the latest Peugeot designs have been too cartoonish... but a company that can design the new Citroen C5 can certainly find a good path for Peugeot.

EV future: Project Better Place

One has to wonder why Israel was the first country to get involved with Project Better Place. In Project Better Place proposal electric cars will be able to travel throughout a network of charging spots and battery exchange stations, with easy access to electricity. A partnerships with car manufacturers and battery suppliers could also create huge benefits for a network subscribers, including lower car prices and batteries that cost far less than conventional fuel. Why the interest of Israel? Do they know something we don't? Well, these folks usually are well informed through their Mossad antenas but the truth is peak oil is not a secret anymore and we need to prepare ourselves for a change in our way of life. A network of charging stations and battery exchange stations to increase the range of electric cars could be a future viable proposition.

EV Future: Fifth Gear tests the Smart ED

An entertaining review. Do notice that the electric Smart is based on the previous generation model, unlike the petrol that is the current generation. This could explain the handling results.

EV future: Nissan Cube EV

Nissan will be showing at the next New York Auto Show a concept previewing an electric version of their Cube model. According to Nissan, the car will be on sale in the United States in 2010 (but limited to fleet sales) and for general public in 2012. Not a big fan of the design but at this point I wouldn´t mind a public selling real-life EV, even if it looked like a Seat.

EV future: New Th!nk concept Ox

This one looks like a real car unlike their production model Th!nk city. Th!ink is building momentum with new contracts with GE and battery manufacturer A123. Hopefully this will translate to a future production version of the Ox concept. Do check Th!nk site for more detais on the concept.

Auto-future revisited: Infiniti in Europe

The ongoing Geneve Auto-Show marks the announcement of Infiniti's arrival in Europe. To celebrate this fact I would like to revisit a previous post, from June 2006, on this great arrival. You can check the post here.

After reading the whole thing (actually, it was a sum-up of several previous thoughts) the reader can now hopefully understand the significance of this arrival better. And understand the importance of getting news about the future of automobile here, in Auto-Future blog. And also remember on how I used to write a lot back then, not just the one or two paragraphs per post as in the latest months.

However, there is still one thing that will keep Infiniti a rare sight in european roads. No diesels! Infiniti needs a good diesel offer to succeed here. And please, Renault, don't be afraid to use 4-cylinder diesels like the excellent DCI 175hp. It would suit the beautifull kind-of-SUV-thing below just perfect.

EV future: Audi A1

A recent report from German Auto-Motor und Sport indicated that the next Audi A1 will have available a plug-in electric version. These are great news considering that probably Audi will not be a pioneer in the area so others will have such technology even before. 2010 is now expected to be a great year for our EV future. The article also has other news bits on future Audis but it's all more of the same the EV related part is the most interesting of all.

Seat Ibiza

Some documents surfaced showing details of the new Seat Ibiza. The Ibiza is Seat's iteration of the B-class VW-Audi platform. The latest iteration is the Skoda Fabia, now in a few weeks we will meet the Ibiza, and next year the VW Polo. Later, the Audi A1 will arrive, being it essentially the same thing as its cousins although featuring a more robustness-perceived design and of course Audi's famous photo-perceived interior quality. The detail images of the Ibiza don't look pretty but don't worry because the final official pictures will show a much more accomplished design. Err... actually they won't, but then who cares!

New VW Polo minivan

The image below presents a possible interpretation of the minivan version from the next VW Polo. It shows predictable influence from the Up concept car. From the picture it does not seem like the next Polo minivan will be the first atractive car of this genre. Renault Modus, Opel Meriva, Peugeot 1007... all of these cars look like crap because of the poor proportions (the height is too big compared to the width). However, these cars frequently offer added capacity for cargo and more space for occupants. Rationally, very good cars, unfortunately it's very difficult to make an atractive design. Maybe the next Opel Meriva with its suicide doors will improve desirability.

Ford Focus III station

Is it station what Ford calls the Focus station these days?... or is it break, or touring, or sportback, or lifestyle van... maybe they could try with acronyms in BMW's fashion: PAS-Progressive Activity Sedan. In the Focus case it could be PAH-Progressive Activity Hatchback. BMW will be using more acronyms for internal designations of future cars, other than the PAS, there is the CS concept and also the next SAS (Sports Activity Sedan, that is, the X4... a coupe-ish version of the next X3). One can expect other brands to start doing the same, as usual. I also invented a new acronym, in this case applied to the litlle MINI Clubman station: it's the POS.

Whatever name they call it, the next Focus station will borrow the great design of the 3rd generation Focus, if some of the CGIs turn out accurate... I sure hope they do, because the only thing Ford needs to improve in the Focus is to get a more emotional design, The recent restyling was a good move but Ford can do better.

Auto-future revisited: Diesel in America

Just recently it got to my knowledge that in the first months of the Mercedes E-class diesel availability in the United States, 12% of the cars sold were of the diesel version. That's a great number, particularly considering the total lack of momentum from previous diesel offers at Mercedes. This reminded me of a text on auto-future from September 2006 where the issue of diesel in America was discussed. Revisiting the text let's remember that a boom in diesel sales in the USA can be linked to the availability of diesel versions from European luxury brands (BMW and Mercedes) instead of the second rate "Mexican-made ratlleboxes", European-brand available previously... Next step is the mainstream-diesel from Honda that Americans can buy shortly in the Accord. However, diesel engines will face stiff competition from hybrids, particularly since GM and Ford will have new models available. Remembering the article from 2006 it seems the only thing that missed the target was related to Chrysler since Mercedes got rid of this manufacturer so now Chrysler will have a difficult time finding good diesel engines for their cars.

2009 BMW 5-series

Please take note of the keyword for future BMW sedans: sleeker. If you remember well, in 2001 BMW added a layer to the 7-series (as explained by Bangle) and initiated a new design language that included other features, such as the flame design that BMW's master of sheet forming techniques allowed. The design language spread to such cars as the 5-series and 3-series that became bolder and more complex. Future conventional saloons will bring a new direction towards sleeker designs and more elegance. Several reasons are on the basis of the shift: new emission regulations favour the research of more aerodynamic shapes, hence the cars will become longer, which makes it easier to reduce Cx coefficient. And also will provide for more interior leg space. Furthermore BMW has new offers in the range: new SUV, compact-SUV and coupe-SUV plus the "lifestyle" versions of the 5-series (Progress Activity Sedan)... this opens space for further differentiation by making the design of the classic sedans more sleeker and elegant. The concept BMW CS is a clear indication of the new direction, both in overall proportions and some of the detailing. The next BMW 7-series will be the first (again) to present the new language with the 5-series (see CGI below) following.

Peugeot SUV-like vehicle (3008)

What could be the perfect small-SUV? It should look like the image below, have just good-enough off-road capabilities, great on-road manners, efficient diesel engines and measures to lower CO2 emissions, and priced like a Ford Kuga/VW Tiguan. However, the next 3008 will not quite match those features: it won't look like the image below (it will resemble a compact monospace) and according to some inside information it won't even have AWD available. Pathetic, right? Don't really care...

VW Touareg

The image below has been around for some weeks but only now it becomes interesting because we got confirmation that the front design of the CGI will be featured in the next Touareg (so the image is reliable) and other VW models, namely the restyled Passat (yes, the full chromed grille has to go!). A simpler execution will be found in the Golf VI and Polo, with less chrome horizontal bars.

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!

Toyota Avensis 2008?

Maybe yes, maybe no, but the picture could reveal a litlle of the next Avensis. The new European mid-size Toyota will continue to increase its market share against local models, with strong points in reliability, safety and comfort. The design will follow several themes from recent European Toyota models: nothing very exciting, but solid designs that assure profitability in the mid-term.

Mercedes GLK

GLK: G-Leicht-Kompakt. The small G is actually a uber-G, a modern interpretation of the old G design in a small package. The picture below links to a Auto-Bild article with plenty of information and more great quality pics of the small-uber-G-SUV. The car was caught in its natural habitat, in a posh place and in the company of movie stars. Its looks, quality, versatility and space will assure commercial success, at least while the X3 is not updated. The biggest drawback of the G-class is that future versions of the X3 will have available a superior AWD system with torque vectoring features. And also the Efficient Dynamics package that has assured superior performance in fuel economy and emissions for BMW. But until then, the new GLK will be the king of the luxury small-SUV class. Other followers will follow, other wannabes will wannabe, but for those that can afford the GLK and the X3 will be the benchmarks of this type of vehicles for many years.

EV future: Chevrolet Volt

A great video with some insight on the Chevrolet Volt, one can see it's face and a little bit more. Great stuff, it seems GM is really going to make this car. Fingers crossed on another step of the electrification of automobile.

BMW F5

This one will come with an all new acronym for BMW: PAS, that's Progressive Activity Sedan. It's a 5-series based hatchback that's a bit lower than a SUV (and also a bit lower and more athletic than a R-class) and will seat only 5. The real purpose of this thing?... don't really know, I just feel that BMW is very good at finding new automotive ways for people to flash their cash and therefore finding new money-printing operations for BMW. The CGI below looks really nice and the new car will find its place in a new future BMW range where their new sedans will be a bit more sleeker and elegant than today.

Auto-Future's best of the year II: stuff and people

Technical feature of the year: Nissan’s GTR architecture
The image below shows the architecture of the new Nissan GTR. This new and incredible machine uses a turbocharged V6 longitudinally placed as it should be and normally sending 100% of power to the rear wheels, as it should be. It also uses a transaxle, so the gearbox is in the rear for better weight distribution. When needed it also sends power to the front wheels so it uses a central differential that needs to be close to the gearbox, so it’s in the rear too… but it needs a shaft to send the juice to the front… hence the two big shafts you see in the middle of the car!... It’s amazing, brilliant, very effective and makes for a very impressive image like the one below.

Car name of the year: Reventon
And also best car name in all the history of cars! The Lamborghini Reventon is named after a bull that killed some famous bullfighter… we wish more bulls would have that spirit, that stupid spectacle would end very soon! The names is great but the car is not bad either… and I can see myself making conversation with some latina supermodel if I owned a Lamborghini Reventon… “si es el nombre de mi coche pero a mi tambien me llaman reventon…”. In Spain Reventon is also a nickname for some versions of the VW TDI engine that are used in the Seat Ibiza and Leon FR/Cupra models. Don’t ask why!...

Men of the year
The person below is not in the car industry, his name is Jose Barroso and he is the president of the European Commission. So is he like the President of Europe? No, his job is more like that of a burocrat, most of the time… Now in the end of last year he came up with this idea of limiting average CO2 emissions in cars to a mere 120g/km. Car manufacturers were not happy so they made a very strong lobbying against that. We are not sure what the final version of the regulation will be, but during this year something must have happened that convinced car manufacturers that Mr. Barroso’s ideas are for real. Let’s focus on the effects: Porsche made strong moves to buy VW group… VW started developing a new small-car platform…BMW decide on making a new brand focused on small cars and alternative mobility solutions… BMW and Mercedes started negotiations about sharing development of small engines… ECO labels and lower CO2 versions are everywhere in mainstream car brands… All of this is at least partially related to the need to lower CO2 emissions. We thank Mr. Barroso for exerting political leadership in this matter and we hope the response from the European car industry meets the new standards.

Auto-Future's best of the year I: cars

In a not original move Auto-Future presents its awards for the best cars/concepts/stuff of the year 2007. But, considering how special this blog is, some of the winners are already known for some time...

Concept car of the year

The Chevrolet Volt was awarded Concept Car of the year back in January. Please read the original post for the reasons, of course this concept is highly relevant and was the most talked car of the year. In 2008 it will be one of the most photographed mule/prototype... and later our car of the year 2010... unless Toyota arrives first with a plug-in hybrid in the market.

Car of the year

In June 2007 we awarded the Audi R8 as Car of the Year. See the original post for the reasons. We also decided that the R8 is the sportscar of the decade. We totally forgot about the Nissan GT-R... but it is not actually on sale in 2007 and it will have its own very special award in about 5 years... wait and see!

Best surprise of the year

That will be the new Citroen C5. I believe Auto-Future didn't even cover its development phase or presented spy-shots of the prototype. And plenty were available... the thing is the current C5 is so boring that we didn't really care about its replacement. But when the official photos were made available...WOW!... what a gorgeous car. Clearly a follower of the 4-door coupe trend that Auto-Future predicted almost a couple of years ago. This car is really what Citroen needs right now.

Biggest disappointment of 2007

The new Hyundai i30 was an easy task to report: it would be more upscale that its twin, the Kia Ceed, with more mature styling, improved interiors, etc. However, the Hyundai model turned out with a front design clearly uninspired and old-school Korean, the same interiors with just some blue light scheme, and unlike the Kia it only got a 4-star rating in the EuroNCAP crash test.

Lancia Delta 2008

Definitive, we guess. Not bad...although we see too much Bravo in the profile. But what about Lancia's future? Does this car really matter?... wouldn't something much more impressive be needed?

VW Polo CGI

Autozeitung presented a new article on "VW vs Opel" dealing with future cars of the two German mainstream manufacturers. Amongst several CGIs this one of the next Polo looks really good, the new car (if it turns out like that) should have no problem fighting against the Opel Corsa. The Golf VI vs Astra will be a different story considering how VW is working hard right now on incentives and campaigns in Europe to keep the Golf in the top 3... can the next model win against the next Astra in the big German mainstream battle?

Auto-Future's public service: Eco labels

Lately we noticed, particularly in Europe, that several manufacturers are using Eco labels and making special editions of cars that are frienly to the environment. Examples: ECO2; Ecomotion; Econetic; bluemotion... We would like to warn the interested consumer about these labels and a general lack of real improvements, unless at the expenses of safety and/or driver enjoyment.

For example, Renault uses the ECO2 label for cars with emissions of CO2 lower than 140g/km, amongst other features. Is that a really big improvement?... many cars from the competition achieve better emissions than 140g/km and don't use any Eco label...

Other example: the VW Passat bluemotion gets better fuel consumption and 136g/km by using a diesel 105hp engine(!)... wow, better call this thing the Passat blue-slowmotion...

A particular worrying example is concerned with safety: recently, tyre manufacturer Continental suggested that new low rolling resistance tyres could have bigger stoping distances loosing on safety in order to achieve lower emissions. We checked the target of these statements, the new Michelin energy saving tyres, and had a look at recent comparative tests of the Peugeot 308, one of the first cars to have the new Michelin tyres. And guess what, the Peugeot 308 performed really well in both handling and braking tests being amongst the best of its class. So, not to be worried about Michelin energy-saving tyres, but be worried about Continental's Public Relation stunts...

Finally, a word of advise on this new ECO-movement. Be carefull of claims and check the facts, as exposed with the unfortunate Continental statements. And be ready to wait a litlle bit until real energy saving technology becomes cheaper... many of the stuff BMW is using in their "Efficient dynamics" portfolio is really good and provides lower consumption and emissions without loosing driving pleasure... but it's expensive! However, expect during the next two years for several of BMW's pioneered technology to be available in mainstream cars as prices go down.

Ford Fiesta

Autoexpress presented new spy-shots and reliable CGIs of the new Fiesta: it looks great, as expected. Click the picture for the original news. We would like to give opinion on the following: the article refers that the Fiesta uses the same platform as the Mazda 2, as expected. However, we hope the new car is bigger than the Mazda equivalent that we believe looks a bit small compared to its competitors. The other thing is that Ford people are referring weight-saving in the new car and future cars from Ford. We believe that, at this stage, it's not wise to make a lot of PR talk about weigh-reduction. We believe customers are not prepared yet to embrace the concept. If that weigh-saving means CO2 emissions are smaller then great, have your marketing people bragg about that... but don't mention weight. Just focus on reduced CO2 emissions and consumption because that's what customers want to hear.

Renault Scenic 3

The poor image below shows a different angle on the next Renault Scenic. Currently the Scenic is the money-maker in Renault range, something Ghosn said would like to change in order to be less dependent on a single model. Unfortunately it doesn't seem like the new Laguna is going to change that... and seeing the new design of the Citroen C5 we feel that Renault will have a hard time in its home market.

Concerning the next Scenic, whatever the design of the Megane from which it is based, the Scenic will be carefully toned down to please everyone... no weird lines and creases in the family's favourite. It will be interesting to follow how the European market develops for family cars: cars like the Scenic/C-Max/Picasso have been hugely popular but the main brands will be pushing small SUVs like the Tiguan/Kuga... will image factors of the SUVs prevail or environmental responsability will keep people choosing compact minivans?

Smart Fortwo achieves Audi safety standards

Or put in other words, the new Smart Fortwo got a 4-star rating for occupant safety in the EuroNCAP crash test the same as, for example, an Audi Q7. The two cars are not directly comparable, of course, and the EuroNCAP always highlights that cars from different classes are not directly comparable. However, another key difference is that in the Smart class of vehicles 4-star is a very good rating since neither the 107/C1/Aygo or the Renault Twingo have 5-star results. The same can not be said about the class of cars where the Q7 competes... unless the Q7 is in a class of its own... a 4-star class of car.

Another interesting bit is that we can safely guess that the Smart will not get a 5-star rating in the future... but then we predicted long ago that Audi would improve the Q7 to get a 5-star rating but since then that prediction failed to materialize. And we hate to fail our future predictions.

Fiat Bravo SUV

The previous post on the Bravo SW reported on a bland design but the SUV version should be much more interesting. Actually we are not even sure if this generation Bravo will get the break version, in a couple of years many customers in this class of cars will prefer the SUV or a compact minivan. This Bravo-SUV proposal looks great and will be a major contribute to lower CO2 emissions and... wait, oh dear!

Fiat Bravo break

The CGI shows a possible interpretation of the next break version of the Fiat Bravo range. At this point can't really say if the Bravo will be a great success like the Grande Punto... certainly the design is very good but Fiat always had a difficult time in this segment. The break version could help sales although this design seems too bland for the latest practice in fiat design.

Renault Mégane III

A really nice CGI of next year's Mégane III has surfaced. It looks very good in this image, but as usual, it's not likely that Renault makes the car with such small windows. Wich is a pity really, Renault should look at the citroen C5 and check how wonderfull that coupe-ish design looks while just reducing window size a bit... a much more elegant profile than the new Laguna!

Technically the Mégane III will present a new entry-level diesel engine: a reworked version of the current 1.5DCI enlarged to 1.6. This will be the norm in this class of cars, considering the future small diesels from VW, Fiat and of course the ubiquitous 1.6HDI. Another interesting technical feature is related to suspension: the new Mégane will actually have a more sophisticated rear suspension than the new Laguna, because it will use the same multilink setup has the Nissan Qashqai. However, no rear-wheel steering is available with such system.

EV future day: Subaru G4e concept

G4e actually means "Good for earth"! But what's with the video, no sound? And about that green colour... oh wait, now we got it! Green colour besides this concept actually looks very good. And we particularly like those sharp creases in the front, it reminds us of the... Toyota IQ concept.

EV future day: Denmark and electric vehicle plans

More interesting and relevant news on our EV future: Denmark has plans to promote the use of electric cars, suppported by a network of about half a million charging stations around the country that would work as gas stations in a way that users wouldn't notice significant differences. The Government of Denmark is also looking for a formula via tax exemptions to make the plan attractive both to the public and to investors. We know how Nordic countries favour the environment so we have great hopes that these plans go ahead.

EV future day: Fuel cells

What all of this lithium batteries news bring to fuel cells? It means that what was once the next big thing and the biggest promise for future clean transportation could be totally scrapped, at least for some years.

This week Ballard sold their fuel cell business to a consortium of Daimler and Ford (!). This news bit is relevant because for many years Ballard was THE (that's right, capital and bold) fuel cell company. In the last years almost every fuel cell concept-car presented by manufacturers used a cell from Ballard. Now it seems the company lost breath regarding this technology.

Also recently a VW senior engineer said that "fuel-cell cars are not going to live up to the hype that is surrounding them" and that these "are not the future of alternative power and are only getting so much attention because of the strict emissions laws in places such as California". We wouldn´t totally scrap the idea of fuel cells (at least they are used to power electric cars) but now it seems the development of batteries will at least delay fuel cells for some years.

EV future day: VW and Li-ion batteries

Today it's EV day at auto-future. Only EV related news, because in the last days a lot of interesting stuff surfaced.

Starting with the news that VW is joining forces with other German companies (including Bosch and BASF) to develop lithium ion battery systems. That's a good move by VW because, if Li-ion is going to be important in the future, it's better for car companies to master the development process and develop its own technology. By the way Toyota is pursuing the same route. This news bit also gives further credit to the rumours that the future Up small car family would have electric drive available. Of course, this is highly relevant, except for auto-future that has been covering EV news obssessively since more than one year.

Are other German car companies working with Li-ion batteries? Well, Mercedes will be the first company to actually sell a hybrid with lithium batteries, while recent rumours of BMW wanting to buy a major component manufacturer could be related with EV interest? What, you didn't know about that rumour? We are asking for trouble on this one!

BMW X1

A new CGI of the BMW X1 has surfaced, originated from CAR magazine. It looks really nice although it's still too early to assess its reliability. Currently the new small SAV from BMW is in early development stage and some weird-looking "structures" have been spotted in Germany testing basically weight distribution, handling, stiffness prior to development of mules and prototypes. Business as usual for BMW that usually spend a lot of time testing their new cars. The X1 should use most of the bits from the next 1-series platform that is as such optimized for allowing this new element in the family.

5-door Volvo hatchback

The CGI below previews how a new 5-door C30-derived Volvo could look like. It looks like a V50, so expect the final version to be a bit different from this image. The good people at Volvo must be very happy with their S40-V50-C30 line. These cars are successfull in different markets and bring a nice profit. Remember, these are essentially modified versions of the Ford Focus platform, adequately packaged with smoother looks, improved perceived quality and more high-scale marketing investment and targets. The usual strategy of Audi that manages to make a lot of profit from "Seats in disguise". We wonder why people don't choose the offers from Mercedes or BMW that are real luxury cars, not just mainstream-derived premium, and don't cost that much more... Anyway, who cares, it works for Volvo and Audi.

The new 5-door hatch should use the same engines as in the current Focus platform as well as any new offer, like DSG gearbox smaller turbo engines, etc. We would like to see a plug-in hybrid like a recent C30 concept from Volvo but such version is not in the program, at least not now.