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.

EV Future: Mitsubishi i MiEV Sport

This car is ugly and has some silly fans in the front to generate energy. But also has a photovoltaic top that could be more usefull and Li-ion batteries placed low in the floor to lower the centre of gravity. It's ugly but it's electric and for real, mitsubishi will sell a more conventional design in 2009-2010 although it won't have in-wheel motors like this concept.

Honda says won't build plug-in hybrids

In an interesting interview to The Wall Street Journal, Honda's chief executive Takeo Fukui told journalists that the "so-called" plug-in hybrid gasoline-electric vehicles didn't do enough for the environment, so his company isn't going to pursue them.

We find this statement very interesting because it reminded us of other statements from Honda some years ago. In case the reader didn't notice, this auto-future joint is based in Europe, and some 10 years ago we remember Honda saying that they had no interest in diesel engines and doing a lot of talk about the benefits and advantages of their Vtec gasoline engines. Eventually time proved how wrong they were and eventually Honda had to make a diesel engine for the European market. In the meantime Honda lost a lot of marketshare in Europe and today is out of pace in the modern diesel engine market.

So now Honda does a lot of talk, again... well at least they are pursuing pure Electric Vehicles but we are sure plug-in hybrids will have great market possibilities. In any case, if in the future the folks from Honda have trouble finding their direction in this competitive market, just send an email to auto-future and we will help for free.

Peugeot 408

Pictured below is a recent interpretation on how the Peugeot 408 could look like. We say it looks too good to be true, unless Peugeot has decided to colaborate again with Pininfarina studio, which would be a great idea. There is, however, a theme present in the CGI that could be for real: a toned down of the front design that in the 407 is too cartoonish. Cars should have an emotional appeal expressed through design, but should also stand the test of time and deliver sales and profit for several years. We believe that the current 407 is not well accomplished in this matter hence the need to refine the front end.

Renault Scenic III

Just a CGI image for now, with some recent Renault design clues. The Scenic is an important car for Renault, maybe the most important in profitability of the current range. Renault will not mess with the design and the general theme in this image could be a good replacement for the current car.

Prodrive working on new Focus RS?

The next Focus RS has been an elusive machine with conflicting reports on whether it will exist or not. Apparently it will, but resulting from the very specialized work of Prodrive, the race-proven automotive development company.

The new car will be based on the recently-restyled shell (hence the illustrating picture below is old news), adequately beefed up in tyres, brakes, stiffness, etc. for the task of delivering to the tarmac an amount in excess of 300hp courtesy of an inline 6 cylinder 3 litre turbo engine. Wow, that should sound glorious, we just love inline sixes! Of course it can not handle such power with FWD so a 4WD system will be available. Much of this stuff is based on existing Volvo offers (the engine and Haldex AWD system) but with extensive modifying by Prodrive engineers. There are also rumours that the new car could get a torque-vectoring rear differential but this last info is for now unconfirmed.

The development story of this new RS reminded us of the old Focus I RS and how at a certain point we believed that machine would never be made. It turned out a glorious car even if a bit unrefined. We expect that the new one will also be a bit rough around the edges but with that turbo inline six it should be epic.

Something for our american readers

The famous words “the grass is always greener on the other side” frequently apply to car offers. Very often American enthusiasts complain on how European models like the Fiesta, Focus II or Mondeo should be on sale in the USA. And here in Europe we frequently complain on how such models like the new American-derivative Opel GT should not be on sale in Europe. Wait, something doesn’t add up, errr… whatever!

A new comparison test by magazine Auto Motor und Sport further confirms the superb engineering of European Ford models. The article compares the Ford Mondeo 2.0TDCI and the Mercedes C-class C200CDI and… the Ford wins! Yes, it’s that good and AMS is no crap magazine, it’s the most respected German car magazine!

Not that the American Fusion is a bad car it’s just that in their latest models Ford of Europe really shines.

EV future: BMW's 4th brand could sell electric cars

It's not official yet (well the fact that BMW will have a 4th brand is), but rumours point to the possibility that BMW's new brand will compete in the small car category (think Smart or VW Up), focusing on new alternatives for urban mobility. A new architecture, new urban mobility, new design paradigm and... hybrid and full electric powertrains. Yes, full electric. Could use the name Isetta, an icon from BMW in the 60's, or get a completely new name.

There have been some indications about this new brand, even in Bangle's interviews and some famous marketing-related insiders have also hinted at the electric powertrain. We have a source from a tier-1 supplier that confirms the process is in motion. Just for illustration, an electric concept car from BMW in the 90's, the E1:

EV future: Mitsubishi i-EV

CAR magazine did a first drive of the electric version of the brilliant Mitsubishi i. They really like the car and report the possibility for it being on sale in the UK in 2008. We would bet more on 2009-10 but anyway this car is on the frontline for the beginning of EVs for mass market. Enjoy the article from CAR.

EV future: Toyota 1/X concept

Lots of electric juice lately, right? Well it's Tokyo show and back in January with the Volt presentation at Detroit show we already predicted that Tokyo would be the most interesting show of the year for electric vehicles and/or plug-in hybrids. And of course it turned out true with lots of concepts although no vehicles for sale, yet. The picture below shows the Toyota 1/X concept, a plug-in hybrid with a very small 500cc IC engine that moves the car because it is very light: 420kg only! However, the amount of carbon fibre used in the vehicle does not point to a future series production due to cost issues, even if (finally!) reducing weight is a new trend in the industry.

EV future: Subaru G4e

Still a concept, the G4e packs lithium-ion batteries for an expected 200km range. Well, who cares about the range since it´s not for sale! But we are geting closer and closer.

EV future: Nissan Pivo 2

This is why we love Tokyo show, just check the concept, the design, the litlle robot inside. Brilliant! We also like that it's electric, although still a concept car.

EV future: Volvo ReCharge Concept hybrid

Another series hybrid concept. The in-wheel motors are interesting but that feature proves that for now this is just a concept. In-wheel motors are for now a very difficult technology to master.

Seat Ibiza 2008

The picture below shows the next Ibiza, as presented in Auto Motor und Sport. Please visit their site for more photos and/or keep reading for more information. Lately we noticed CAR magazine uses a Q & A scheme in their articles. We are going to borrow that cuz we think it makes us look cool!

What is it?

It's the next Seat Ibiza at night in a road with snow. The car itself it's basically a Skoda Fabia with different body panels and interior. These cars are also closely related to the next VW Polo and even the Audi A1. Business as usual at VW group.

What are the differences then... any new engine?
The Ibiza will follow Seat's motto "sport and tacky" so the interior detailing and external design will be less classic than Skoda's or VW's. Nothing new on the technical bits, whatever is found on a Polo will have its place in the Ibiza. Maybe a more chip-tuned TDI with lots of red lettering in some sporty (and tacky) edition but that's it for technical differences.

Why should I care?
You shouldn't!