Posts Tagged ‘Concept’

Concepts: the Good, the Bad and the Crazy

Saturday, February 21st, 2009

By Nauman Farooq

 

One of the main attractions for many to go to an auto show, is to see concept cars.

 

Quite often, concept cars give an insight into what we might be driving in a few years time.

 

However, just like cars you can buy, not all of them are good. So here is a look at the ‘Good’, the ‘Bad’ and the ‘Crazy’ concepts from this years Canadian International Auto Show (CIAS)

 

In the ‘Good’ category,  there is the Nissan NV2500 which made its ‘World Premiere’ at the CIAS. This concept commercial vehicle is fitted with a host of gadgets to show what a commercial vehicle is capable of being. However, with its Cummins diesel engine and ZF-automatic gearbox, it shows just how production ready this vehicle also is. In fact, Nissan did announce that this vehicle will enter production next year, so you will be seeing plumbers and delivery companies driving around in this in the near future.

Honda FC-Sport

Honda FC-Sport (Photo: Isaac Adams-Hands)

The Nissan Forum minivan concept might take a little longer, as Nissan has not formally announced its production plans. I personally hope they do replace the quirky Quest with the Forum, as this futuristic minivan is quite attractive. With swiveling seats and zoned entertainment systems, this could be the family hauler we all would want on a long road trip.

 

My personal favorite concept was the Kia Koup. This stylish coupe looks great, and given Kia’s pricing strategy, I am sure it would be affordable too. It has a potent power-plant too, a 2.0 liter, turbo-charged, four-cylinder unit that produces 290hp. A Kia rep did confirm that a coupe will be offered by the automaker in the very near future. If it looks like the Koup concept, I am sure it’ll do very well.

 

However, not all concepts were good, and I have to say, that the BMW 7-series ActiveHybrid has to be placed under the ‘Bad’ category.

 

This concept is based on the 2009, 7-series, which is in showrooms now, only that the concept has a hybrid drive-train, and not a very good one in my view. You see it only has a mild-hybrid system, not a full-hybrid, so the electric motors just work as generators to run the cars electrical systems. So you can’t move the vehicle on electric power alone. This is disappointing, especially since Lexus offers full-hybrid sedans to the public already.

 

Also in the ‘Bad’ category, I have to place the Subaru G4e, mainly because it is revoltingly ugly. Sure its all-electric powertrain is very impressive, and its lithium-ion batteries would give this car a 200km range on a full charge. This is very good, but I ask, did it need to look this ugly, and why was it painted toxic green?

 

So the Subaru had a crazy color, but the ‘Craziest’ concept car award has to go to the Honda FC-Sport. This thing looks like a magnified HotWheels model, and which car enthusiast wouldn’t want that. It’s wild styling is complimented by its wild interior layout, a three-seater, with the driver sitting in the middle (like in the McLaren F1). Plus with its hydrogen fuel-cell technology (borrowed from the Honda FC Clarity, which has been put in limited production for certain markets), this is one concept car that shows that going green can also be cool as ice.

 

Chances are slim to none for the FC-Sport to go into production (make that none), but its technology is a reality, and that means one day we will be driving around in hydrogen powered sports cars. Can’t wait.

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Going green

Tuesday, January 27th, 2009

By Richard Russell

 

DETROIT, MI – Green was the unofficial theme at this year’s North American International Auto Show. Now that there are more than 20 hybrids on the market with plenty more unveiled here, pure electric power has become the hot button to come.

Cadillac Converj

Cadillac Converj (photo: Isaac Adams-Hands)

Like a lightning bolt from the black cloud currently hanging over the industry, hybrid-electric, plug-in electric and improbable electric vehicles appeared on stands or in news releases throughout the show. Whether by design or coincidence, virtually every major manufacturer touted efforts underway to put electric vehicles on the road starting next year. 

 

BYD
You might not have heard of this company yet, but you will. BYD (Build Your Dreams) is a Chinese upstart that said here it plans to have a range of pure electric and plug-in hybrid  vehicles on the North American market within two years.

 

They will include the F3DM claimed to be the world’s first mass-produced plug-in hybrid sedan and the battery-powered e6, a mid-sized, five-passenger crossover with a claimed range of more than 400 km on a single charge.

BYD

BYD (photo: Isaac Adams-Hands)

BYD is the world’s largest producer of rechargeable batteries supplying those used in cell phones by Nokia, Motorola, Samsung and others. It is now China’s largest independent produce of automobiles and plans to combine its battery and production expertise to expand around the globe.

 

Chrysler LLC
Chrysler showed four different electric concept vehicles at the show including a sports car, SUV, minivan and four-door sedan. Chrysler says it will put one of them, the two-seat Dodge Circuit into production next year.

 

Based on a Lotus chassis the Circuit is said to be capable of a to speed of 200 km/hr and accelerating from rest to 100 km/hr in less than five seconds. To these eyes the best-looking electric vehicle, hands down, is the rear-drive Chrysler 200C EV.

Dodge Circuit

Dodge Circuit (photo: Isaac Adams-Hands)

This elegant blend of style and technology is a source of great pride for Ralph Gilles, Vice-President of design for Chrysler. He told me it was his favourite among the various Chrysler concepts on display here “so beautiful you would never know it is an electric car “ he said. Chrysler is calling its electric technology ENVI.

 

Ford Motor Company
Ford says it will have an all-electric four-door sedan on the market in 2011 that will be capable of going more than 150 km before requiring recharging.

 

It will be part of a multi-prong electric effort that begins with a new battery electric commercial van in 2010, the aforementioned small car in 2011 developed in conjunction with Canada’s Magna International, and next-generation hybrid vehicles, including a plug-ion version in 2012.

 

“Next-generation hybrids, plug-in hybrids and pure battery powered vehicles are the logical next steps in our pursuit of greater fuel economy and sustainability,” said Derrick Kuzak, Ford’s group vice president of Global Product Development. 

 

General Motors
The Chevy Volt has a target painted on it’s back. The topic of immense publicity and scheduled for production late in 2010, the Volt will go more than 65 km on a charge with a tiny auxiliary internal combustion engine to recharge the batteries while the car is on the move.

Chevrolet Volt

Chevrolet Volt (photo: Isaac Adams-Hands)

A further development of this “Voltec” powertrain is promised for other similar projects including the Cadillac Converj concept unveiled here. The unit envisioned for the Converj would be comprised of a 16-kWh T-shaped battery with 220 lithium-ion cells, an electric drive unit and a small four-cylinder engine-generator to recharge the batteries as needed.

 

With 273-lb. ft. of torque from idle, acceleration would be very strong and GM says top speed would be in the order of 160 km/hr. Like the Volt the actual propulsion would be from the electric motor at all times. GM says recharging from the grid will take about three hours at 220-volts and eight from a regular 120-volt outlet. 

 

Toyota
Toyota  says it will launch an small urban electric vehicle -the FT-EV, by 2012. It will share a platform with the company’s tiny iQ four-seat A-Class car currently available in Japan.

Toyota FT-EV

Toyota FT-EV (photo: Isaac Adams-Hands)

The FT-EV will have a range of up to 80 kilometres. It will be joined by 10 new gasoline-electric hybrids in the next three years. Toyota has entered into a partnership with Panasonic to develop and produce the lithium-ion batteries.

 

With fuel prices currently at very low levels, interest in vehicles that use very little of the commodity may be low as well. But there are few people who believe fuel prices will stay this low. By the time these vehicles hit the road they may have a very receptive audience.  

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Hydro-Québec and TM4 at the leading-edge

Monday, January 26th, 2009

By Marc Lachapelle

 

The latest sports cars and exotics are always a great attraction at any auto show, but the biggest news at this year’s Montreal International Auto Show might very well be about a tiny Indian electric car that is powered by components and technology developed by Hydro-Québec and one of its subsidiaries, a few dozen kilometres from downtown Montreal. 

 

State-owned Hydro-Québec, the world’s largest producer of hydroelectric power, has a long history of research on electricity and its virtually infinite uses. Teams within its research institute have been working on automotive applications for almost two decades and some of this research and development work has been spun off to smaller and potentially more agile subsidiaries. 

Hydro-Québec CEO Christian Vandal and Québec Energy Minister Claude Béchard

Hydro-Québec CEO Thierry Vandal and Québec Energy Minister Claude Béchard

 

TM4 Electrodynamic Systems is among these and it had important news during press day. TM4 announced that the company had been chosen by Miljø Innovasjon, a subsidiary of giant Indian carmaker Tata Motors – also the owner of Jaguar and Land Rover – to provide electric motors and systems for an electric car ‘demonstration’ and testing program to be conducted in Norway over the next two years. 

 

Electric car to brave Scandinavian winters

For this program, Miljø will build a hundred all-electric versions of the Tata Indica Vista minicar using components developed by TM4 over the past decade and trademarked as the MФTIVE series. Among these components are a permanent-magnet, 37-kilowatt electric motor with “the best power-to-weight ratio in its class and industry-leading efficiency”, according to its maker, and a Lithium Ion SuperPolymer battery at the forefront of development for this critical element of electric propulsion. 

PHET battery

PHET battery

The Miljø Indica EV, a prototype of which was on display in Montreal, is claimed to accelerate from 0 to 60 km/h in 9 seconds and reach a top speed of 110 km/h. It should have a range of up to 200 kilometres and can be fully recharged in 8 hours through a 16-amp, 220-volt outlet. And of course, it can reclaim kinetic energy through regenerative braking and coasting, like any good hybrid. The Indica can carry four adults and their luggage and it has airbags and ABS brakes. 

 

Norway’s climate is much like Canada’s. TM4 pins great hopes on its successful completion and notes that its 37 kW electric motor can be used not only on pure electric vehicles but also on classic or extended-range hybrids with a conventional internal combustion support engine.

 

Is the long-awaited miracle battery finally here?

Right next to the Indica EV in the TM4 booth within the ‘Green’ section of the MIAS, scientist André Besner, head of the materials science department at Hydro-Québec’s research institute, was proudly extolling the exceptional virtues of a small green box with a clear cover. It contained a battery made up of a series of small, individual electrical cells and developed by Hydro-Québec’s ‘battery team’ under the direction of Karim Zaghib. The Lithium-iron phosphate battery (C-LiFePO4), Besner explained, is safe, durable, powerful and both environmentally-friendly and relatively cheap to produce since it mostly uses iron, a chemical element that is extremely abundant but also much less toxic and costly than other chemicals such as nickel and cobalt used in other lithium-ion batteries. 

 

According to Besner, you can literally drive a nail through a C-LiFePO4 battery – a standard industry safety test – and temperatures will go up to about 130 degrees and the battery will keep working as if nothing happened: “the same ‘nail-test’ with some lithium-ion batteries with cobalt, for instance, will trigger a short circuit and an intense temperature gain of up to 400 degrees in only 1/10th of a second and then reach the point of combustion.” Hydro-Québec also holds 90 per cent of the world intellectual rights to safe, non-flammable ‘dissolved salt’ ion liquids for batteries, another area where huge developments should be expected in the near future.

Hydro-Québec chief of materials research André Besner

Hydro-Québec chief of materials research André Besner

 

The Lithium-Phosphate Iron battery (LiFePO4) was invented in 1995 at the University of Texas by John Goodenough, a Ph.D. in physics, and subsequently developed by Hydro-Québec at its research institute in Varennes, Québec, from 1997 to 2001. This work led to a substantial improvement of the battery’s conductivity – the weak point of the original design – through the addition of carbon molecule to the iron phosphate particles, turning it into the C-LiFePO4 battery displayed in Montreal. The PHET ‘environfriendly’ C-LiFePO4 battery is currently made by Pihsiang Energy Technology, a Taiwanese company that holds exclusive mass production rights from Phostech inc. the Québec-based licensee of the world patent for the Carbon-coated Lithium Iron Phosphate battery jointly held by Doctor John Goodenough, the University of Texas and Hydro-Québec. Doctor Besner also mentioned that the next generation of the Tesla electric sports car would use a C-LiFePO4 battery pack made by Pihsiang.

 

Interestingly and ironically, the electric concept car and hybrid production cars shown by Chinese carmaker BYD (Build Your Dreams) at the recent North American International Auto Show in Detroit also use iron phosphate batteries which BYD laconically calls its ‘Fe’ batteries. According to Hydro-Québec’s André Besner, the battery technology used in these vehicles by BYD – reportedly also the world’s biggest lithium-ion battery manufacturer – is effectively identical to the C-LiFePO4 battery for which it jointly holds world patents: “No patents were originally filed in China (for this technology) so they are legal as long as they operate within China, but when they decide to sell outside the country they will have a problem.”

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BlueSport concept returns VW to populist roadster roots

Friday, January 23rd, 2009

By Michael Goetz

 

One of the few genuine surprises at Detroit was the world premier of the Volkswagen Concept BlueSport, a mid-engine, minimalist roadster. BlueSport was created to forward several propositions; that a fun-to-drive car can be made in a sustainable format; that a compact roadster is equally suited to thrive in both urban and “winding road” settings; that VW’s design language will return to simple and emotional shapes.

 

There can be no denying that this car would be fun to drive. Its 2.0-litre TDI diesel produces 258 lb-ft of torque from 1,750 rpm. It’s light and short, with a 45:55 front/rear weight distribution. It’s fitted with a six-speed dual clutch transmission. VW says the car can accelerate from 0-100 km in 6.6 seconds, and has a top speed of 226 km/h. 

VW BlueSport concept

VW BlueSport concept (photo: Isaac Adams-Hands)

The sustainability aspect is covered off by this fact: average fuel consumption is rated at 4.3 L/100. Some of this is achieved by the auto-stop feature, which shuts the engine down in traffic, and regenerative braking, which means the engine can spend less time and effort producing electricity. 

 

The face of BlueSport is an interpretation of a new VW design language, which was introduced for the first time on the Sirocco and the new Golf.

 

Immediately after its unveiling in Detroit, we spotted the car’s principle exterior and interior designers, Christian Felske and Peter Witt, in the crowd.

VW BlueSport concept

VW BlueSport concept (photo: Isaac Adams-Hands)

 

A quick Q&A ensued, excerpts of which follow….

What is the essence of VW’s new design language?

Felske: “During the last 10 years, we risked losing a clean automotive design language, so we’re coming back to that. A clean, simple design is better able to summon feelings and emotions. We don’t want to fall back into what we did in the 1990s.”

 

Was it difficult to achieve a clean design with this concept?

Felske: “A clean design is always difficult, you run the risk of being too banal. In this case the package was very good. It was very easy to make a very clean design over this package. The most difficult aspect was the foldable (manually operated) soft-top, because, when folded, it needs to sit on top of the engine. We needed it be thin, but a modern soft-top needs sound dampening and insulation. We worked together with Kharman, they ultimately completed the design – it’s a working unit.”

 

Roadsters are often created to celebrate something retro. How retro did you want to go with BlueSport?

Felske: For sure we didn’t want to make a retro design. Of course, when one thinks of mid-engine roadsters and VW, one thinks of the Porsche 914. We didn’t want to repeat any feature of that car. We wanted to make a modern car.

 

Where was the car designed?

Felske: The team at our studio in Berlin designed it, with lots of involvement with our main studio in Wolfsburg. 

 

Did you show the car to focus groups?  

Felske: “No we didn’t. We were quite sure we were on the right track. People like our earlier mid-engine concept, Eco Racer. We are quite confident we can do a production car based on this concept, and that’s where were put our focus … demonstrating that we could make this car at an affordable price.

 

How close is VW to confirming a production version?

Felske: “I don’t want to say anything, just that we made it look possible.”

 

Explain the design philosophy for the interior?

Interior Designer Peter Witt: “We wanted to take it back to a simple shape, because today, dash and instrument panel design is out of control. I like the simple stuff. Emotional and simple. We came up with the very compact centerpiece. This helps its sporty nature too; helps reduce things to the basic relationship — man and machine. Of course the interior must match the exterior, and not be too expensive to produce, as this would be an inexpensive car. The overall focus is simple, compact, and sporty.

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Subaru Legacy Concept

Tuesday, January 20th, 2009

By Marc Lachapelle

Going against the current at this year’s Detroit show, Subaru was riding the wave of an excellent year that saw a rise in sales as well as market share. Officials had stories of “honest long-term value, reliability and strong retained value” and of customers coming to the brand while moving from large SUVs to more efficient vehicles such as the Outback. But there was also mention that “people forget we have been making sedans.” The carmaker’s core model is indeed the Legacy sedan which is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2009.

Subaru Legacy Concept

Subaru Legacy Concept (Photo: Isaac Adams-Hands)

More than 3.6 million of these cars have been built in Subaru’s plants in Japan and Indiana since 1989. To underscore the importance of the Legacy sedan, Subaru unveiled the Legacy Concept, a virtual giveaway of an upcoming all-new Legacy.

 

Introduced as “a global mid-size sedan with interior space to fit four adults in comfort” this concept is built around versions of Subaru’s trademark boxer engine – in 3.6-litre form – and “symmetrical” all-wheel drive system. Painted in gleaming “Ultimate Silver”, the mid-size sedan has muscular flanks with strongly-accentuated wheel arches and front grille that looks disturbingly Chevrolet-like, in spite of Subaru’s claim that it conveys its new graphic signature. One has yet to detect a coherent design theme with the carmaker’s recent creations.

 

With its “striking four-seat layout” and the interior, as often in concepts, is pure design hyperbole not very likely to make it into the production model. The seats are draped in Pearl White leather “with a blue sheen” while the black metallic leather on the door trim creates contrast. The center console features a large touch-screen display that groups controls for the major systems. In all likelihood, the production version of the Legacy will be introduced at the New York auto show next spring.

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Kia Soul’ster

Tuesday, January 20th, 2009

By Marc Lachapelle

Weeks only after launching the production version of the highly-promising, streetwise, urban-chic Soul compact at the Los Angeles auto show, Kia shows yet another concept variation on this theme in Detroit. Introduced as ‘soul-stirring’, the Soul’ster (get it?) is a fun-focused, two-door version of the Soul with most of its steel roof lopped off and replaced by solid-looking black roll bars.

Isaac Adams-Hands)

Kia Soul'ster (Photo: Isaac Adams-Hands)

Described by Kia US Chief designer Tom Kearns as “an efficient front-wheel drive car rather than an aggressive off-roader”, the bright yellow Soul’ster is dead-aimed at young buyers. In this spirit, it shuns ubiquitous power accessories and instead offers components such as a two-piece top that is removed using “elbow-grease technology” and visible window cranks that have been conspicuously turned into design features. There are storage bins below each of the fold-flat rear seats and additional compartments under the cargo floor at the rear.

 

Running on chunky, five-spoke, 19-inch alloy wheels, the Soul’ster could be powered by a variety of engines, according to the requirements of each market. These range from four-cylinder gasoline engines with displacements of either 1.6 or 2.0 litres to a 1.6-liter turbodiesel powerplant, mated to either a five-speed manual gearbox or a four-speed automatic, in the case of the 140-horsepower 2.0-litre unit. No production plans were announced but designer Kearns sees “another category buster” in the Soul’ster.

Isaac Adams-Hands)

Kia Soul'ster (Photo: Isaac Adams-Hands)

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Chrysler Electric Vehicles

Monday, January 19th, 2009

Author: Marc Lachapelle


While major competitors are locked into a race to bring a single extended-range electric or even a plug-in hybrid car to market, the beleaguered Chrysler Corporation has introduced no fewer than five different electric-drive vehicle platforms in Detroit. Furthermore, the first vehicle to be spun off one of these platforms would be produced for North America in 2010 and three more by 2013. Such announcements, mere days after the approval of the TARP financial rescue agreements, have a taste of vapourware. Yet, Chrysler is adamant about its plan and goes even further by stating its goal of having 500,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2013, a number that includes its market-leading GEM neighbourhood electric vehicles.

 

The carmaker had already unveiled three rechargeable electric prototypes last fall and presented updated versions in Cobo Hall. The sports car, now called Dodge Circuit EV, a four-door Jeep Wrangler and a Chrysler minivan. To these, Chrysler now adds the Jeep Patriot EV and the all-new Chrysler 200C EV sports sedan concept. Both are ‘range-extended electric vehicles while the Dodge Circuit, built on a version of the Lotus Elise chassis, runs on electric power exclusively.

Isaac Adams-Hands)

Chrysler 200C EV (Photo: Isaac Adams-Hands)

Looking at the Circuit and 200C on display, Chrysler design chief Ralph Gilles spontaneously says: “they look so good, you wouldn’t think they are electric vehicles.” Asked about his favourite, Gilles immediately replies: “The 200C, no doubt. It is a sign of where I want to take Chrysler design. Basically back to its prominence in the mid-90s.” One can only wish the passionate Gilles, who grew up in Montreal and went on to design the smashing Chrysler 300C sedan, to succeed again.

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Volvo S60 Concept

Monday, January 19th, 2009

Author: Marc Lachapelle


If you squint just a little while gazing at the Volvo S60 Concept, you can be quite confident that you are looking at the all-new car that will soon bow as the long-awaited successor to the S60 as a 2010 model. The current model has been around since 2001.

 

The sleek, wind-cheating lines are a clear giveaway of the upcoming car’s exterior shape, said new Volvo Cars President and CEO Stephen Odell, but you shouldn’t count on the concept’s striking interior to make it to the production line intact.

 

The S60 Concept is at once perfectly recognizable as a Volvo and infused with radically modern elegance. Designers were inspired by “Scandinavian design and the Swedish coastline’s cliffs and seas” while shaping it, Volvo design chief Steve Mattin poetically says. The body lines ‘forge a continuous flow pattern inspired by the fast sweeps of a racing track” says Mattin, adding that we should expect to see more of this in upcoming Volvos.

 

The interior is an even more daring projection to the future, with its four, flowing thin-backed seats and the cabin’s “jewel in the crown”, a suspended centre console made from the famous Swedish Orrefors crystal. Light-coloured leather and birch wood is everywhere insides, in true modern Scandinavian style.

Volvo Interior

Volvo S60 Concept

The S60 Concept is also replete with innovative safety components, including a system that detects pedestrians and can apply full braking power if the driver does not respond quickly enough, a feature that will be found in the new S60. The concept is powered by a 1.6-litre four-cylinder gas engine with turbocharged direct injection (GTDi) that produces 180 hp, a technology that will be introduced later this year. It also features a ‘start-stop’ function and a “Powershift” transmission, basically two manual gearboxes that work in parallel, each with its own clutch, according to Volvo.

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Audi R8 V10 and Sportback concept

Friday, January 16th, 2009

Author: Nauman Farooq


This is a big year for Audi, as in the summer of 2009 they’ll be celebrating their 100th birthday.

To start of their celebrations, they gave not one, but two World premieres at this years North American International Auto Show.

 

First up was the R8 V10. This latest version of the R8 supercar features a 5.2-liter, 10-cylinder engine, which produces 525hp thanks to its clever FSI fuel-injection technology.

Audi Sportback Concept

Audi Sportback Concept (Photo: Isaac Adams-Hands)

With its extra punch comes extra speed, the latest version will accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 3.9 seconds, and will top out at 310 km/h, when the O.P.P. officer isn’t looking that is. The R8 V10 will go on sale in June this year.

 

The second unveil was for their Sportback concept, which many believe will be badged A7 when it eventually goes into production.

 

This four-door coupe concept however featured Audi’s 3.0-liter, V6 clean-diesel engine. This motor produces 225 hp, but more impressively Audi claims this car is capable of averaging 5.9-liters/100 km. For a spacious, stylish, luxury vehicle, that is not bad at all.

Audi R8 V10

Audi R8 V10 (Photo: Isaac Adams-Hands)

Other notable features on the Sportback concept is its seven-speed tiptronic transmission and that its ultra slippery shape has a drag coefficient of just 0.30.

 

No word yet on when it will go into production, but don’t be surprised if Audi decides to show a production version of this car at the Frankfurt Auto Show later this year.

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