German Engineers Join Hybrid Game
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 09. 9.07
Anticipation hangs palpably ahead of the Frankfurt International Motor Show: what will German engineers bring to the green table? After bucking the trend for several years in favor of the already well-established "clean diesel" technology, German car companies are promising a turn-around, starting next week in Frankfurt. But visitors in Frankfurt won't have to look far to find more green diesels either. Here is a sneak preview.
Where Mercedes leads, others will follow. Out of 19 cars to be shown next week, seven are hybrids and eight will feature the Bluetec clean diesel technology jointly developed by Daimler/Chrysler and VW. The king of the road: a Mercedes S-class with both Bluetec and hybrid. Reports promise that the car will perform like an 8-cylinder, but that the 224 HP out of four cylinders will sip a measly 5.4 liters per 100km (43.5 mpg), 30% better than the next-in-class.
The Germans are also picking up on another answer to the SUV vs. green conundrum: smaller SUVs. VW has pinned high hopes on the Tiguan, a smaller sibling to the Touran, and AUDI promises a Q5, several steps down from big brother Q7. But the AUDI cross-coupe concept debuted in Shanghai is expected to meet competition in Frankfurt. BMW has confirmed the development of the X6, which will meld the BMW X5 with the body of a smaller wagon. A hybrid variant of the X6 drive-train hiding in an X6 decoy will be shown next week; the real body design is expected to premiere next year, maybe in January in Detroit.
And can you discuss German engineering without mentioning Porsche? Porsche has been promising a hybrid Cayenne for several years now. The debut next week is eagerly awaited.
Quote of the IAA: credit Frank Dudenhöffer, industry expert from the technical school in Gelsenkirchen, who points out that auto buyers are still looking for sexy. He predicts that even in the future, we still won't be seeing "muesli-autos".
Dudenhöffer is also credited with a theory we believe might be the key to ending the dominance of SUVs as the "cool" car to have. He points out that people are buying SUVs because they have everything mid-lifers and seniors have always wanted -- spacious, luxury cars which are easy to get in and out of -- carefully packaged behind a facade of adventurousness. So for all of you commuting in your SUVs rather than using them to tend the sheep in the outback or deliver water in the Sahara: hope you're feeling good in your old-fogey-car!
Via ::Yahoo Autos, ::Automobilwoche and ::autobild
Interesting, but Mercedes Benz still makes some of the meanest vehicles, including the Maibach and their new giant minivan. Of course, they also make the smart, for which they deserve kudos.
They need to find a way to make small seem luxurious, and even Lotus is having a problem doing that. They should look at the great small cars of yesterday, the MGA and the MGB and the Morgan and the great old racing Bugattis, and their own immortal 190 and 240 SLs.
I like the concept.But put it in a utility vehicle.Truck or suv for rural use.I don't know how much abuse this could take.Perhaps stuff the engine in a jeep.
I like the concept.But put it in a utility vehicle.Truck or suv for rural use.I don't know how much abuse this could take.Perhaps stuff the engine in a jeep.
Ah memories courtesy of Rob. Many of the original economy cars make perfect sense in todays 'Energy Challenged' world.
The Crosley, The Playboy, The Messerschmidt, the Renault Dauphine, The BMW Isata. I can go on and on but alas, the lawyers and the 'Tort' legal system with the 'Lotto Mentality' Juries, brought all of the small economy cars to a demise far too early before they could be developed into great alternatives.
Keep up the 'Deep Pockets' lawsuits, they are great for the economy, not to mention the Professional Lawyer Politicians who will never change their own system.
"Porsche has been promising a hybrid Cayenne for several years now. The debut next week is eagerly awaited."
This is awful. Explain again how "green" is this Cayenne and how "green" is Porsche... Jez.
Perhaps you should have explained the word „Muesli-Autos“. Muesli doesn’t only mean the healthy kind of breakfast cereal. In German you can also call a person a Muesli. A Muesli is someone who lives healthy is political informed and cares for the environment. A real Treehuger. J
So a „Muesli-Autos“ is a treehuger car.
It is true German car manufacturers have overslept the green technologies. And worst of all we don’t even have a tempo limit on our highways, which could save much CO2 emissions.
But there are some small ambitioned companies filling the gap.
Best example is the Loremo that only consumes 2 litre of diesel per 100km and is even safer than other cars.
http://evolution.loremo.com/
Hi,
the name of the expert is "Ferdinand", not Frank. And he is Prof. at the University of Applied Science in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.
Best
Rob