GM goes electric in Frankfurt
We're not convinced about the wisdom of this one. GM is using this
week's Frankfurt auto show to reiterate its commitment to
alternative fuel cars with the unveiling of the Opel Flextreme, a
concept plug-in car that builds on the buzz of the E-Flex drive
train from the Chevy Volt. The car itself relies on a series hybrid
drive train, which combines a lithium-ion powered-electric motor
with a biodiesel combustion engine that is used solely for running
the electric motor when the battery's charge runs out.
However, as blue-sky as the vehicle's power train may be
(lithium-ion batteries have a long way to go before they're ready
for production vehicles), that is not the main cause of our
concern. What troubles us is the fact that the GM has integrated
two Segways into the back of the Flextreme--presumably to highlight
its electric-mobility message. Now, we're no marketing mavens, but
we suspect that a company trying to promote a fledgling technology
would try to avoid association with a device that ended up
falling--commercially and physically--flat on its face.
The very flexible Opel Flextreme
GM goes flex-crazy with the Flextreme concept, throwing around its
new favorite marketing term like a flexy flexible flyer. This
Opel-branded concept runs on GM's new E-Flex powertrain. It has
FlexDoors for the passengers and a FlexLoad rear gate. But the only
thing anyone will pay attention to are the two nonflex Segways
stowed in the rear.
Mercedes-Benz onslaught
As we reported earlier, Mercedes-Benz promised 19 cars in 15
minutes at the 2007 Frankfurt auto show, and damn if they didn't
deliver. The German automakers press conference resulted in a fleet
of cars out on the show floor. As one might expect, Frankfurt is a
huge auto show for Mercedes-Benz--the company gets a whole concert
hall in the fair grounds to show off its cars. It filled the lower
level of the hall with everything from the new F700 research
vehicle to the Smart Micro-Hybrid. There were also quite a few
variations on the hybrid theme, from regular gas-electric hybrids,
such as the ML450 SUV, to diesel-electric hybrids, such as the C300
wagon.
We will follow up with more detailed information on these models in
our continuing coverage from the 2007 Frankfurt auto show.
Up with Volkswagen
Volkswagen dropped a bomb at the 2007 Frankfurt auto show in the
form of an unexpected little concept called Up. Actually, it's more
of a grenade, as the Up is a city car--small but able to hold four
people. What makes the Up interesting is that the engine is in the
rear, a configuration Volkswagen used with the original beetle. And
from its press materials, Volkswagen suggests that the Up could be
as iconic. That remains to be seen. Although we like the clean look
of the Up, it doesn't stray far from the Golf's design.
It uses some interesting innovations to take advantage of the space
inside. First, all of the seats except the driver's seat are
removable, to make lots of cargo space. But, since the seats are
thin, they can be stacked in the car without taking up all the
extra space. The padding on the seats is inflatable, so they are
supposed to adjust to whoever is sitting in them. Because the
engine is in the rear, there's some storage space under the
hood.
The tech interface in the Up is particularly interesting. The
driver gets an 8-inch LCD in the instrument cluster, which shows
vital car information. A 7-inch LCD sits on the center stack and
has controls for music, navigation, telephones, and other car
functions. The center LCD has a proximity sensor and will show
available functions when you put your hand near it. For accessing
different functions, it has what Volkswagen calls the main menu
carousel, a set of icons that slide across the screen until you see
the function you want and tap it.
