Spy Shots of Ford Focus Electric

Sometime in late 2011, Ford is supposed to start delivering electrified versions of its new Focus to dealerships. While Ford hasn’t given us any “official” pictures of the Focus Electric, these appear to be spyshots of the upcoming electric car.

Upon looking at these photos, your initial reaction is sure to be “So what? Looks like a new Focus to me.” Ahh, but the devil is in the details. While carmakers generally dress their cars up in camouflage to obscure design details, Ford long ago released lots of pictures of its 2012 Focus, and its hot-hatch cousin the Focus ST. So what is so special about this Focus?

Well for one, the lack of an exhaust pipe is a very clear indicator that what we are dealing with isn’t powered by petrol. Also notice that the location of the fuel-filler door has been obscured on both sides by camouflage. Probably because that is where the charging plug will be instead.

The Focus Electric should have a range of about 100 miles when it comes out in late 2011. Of course it will have plenty of competition from the likes of the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf, but I have faith that Ford will hold its own.-gas2.org

How Hyundai Will Reach 50 MPG Average by 2025

The 2011 Hyundai Elantra competes against compact cars, but due to its roomy interior, is classified by the EPA as a mid-size car. It goes on sale in December.

The 2011 Elantra was Hyundai’s major debut at last week’s Los Angeles Auto Show. The new Elantra is among the emerging class of small gas-powered cars that achieve better than 40 mpg on the highway. It achieves 29 mpg in the city and 40 mpg highway with both the six-speed automatic or manual transmission.

More importantly, the Elantra provides mounting evidence about how the company will reach its lofty goal of achieving a fleet-wide average of 50 MPG by 2025—way ahead of government deadlines.

Putting Gas Engines on a Diet

The Elantra’s Nu engine, developed to replace the 2.0-liter Beta engine from the previous generation Elantra, is smaller and weighs 74 pounds less—helping to achieve an 18-percent improvement in highway fuel economy. The Elantra’s hybrid-like low emissions allow it to be certified as a Partial Zero Emission Vehicle. “We’re trying to find solutions that are friendlier to the environment, but still give the kind of drive that customers expect,” said Mike O’Brien, Hyundai vice-president of production planning, in an interview with HybridCars.com. That’s a huge point for Hyundai as it pushes forward on its MPG goals—to provide fuel economy improvements with “typical” drive feel.

“We’re the first to the market with turbo gasoline direct injection four-cylinder engine that replaces our V6 engine,” O’Brien said. “In fact, it gives better horsepower, better driving performance, and better fuel economy than all our V6 competitors.” The same foundation was applied to the 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, which employs better aerodynamics, lighter-weight batteries, and more horsepower at levels that beat theFord Fusion Hybrid, Toyota Camry Hybrid, and Nissan Altima Hybrid.-hybridcars.com

Cadillac Unveils Batmobile Challenger

GM's air-powered concept and a car knitted by robot grannies tie for first place at the Design Challenge 10.

We've discussed the LA Auto Show's Design Challenge 2010 before. The concept competition this year featured a veritable host of alien-looking cars, built from the most ridiculous materials possible, using the most unconventional fuels in the market.

Well the numbers are in, and we finally have a winner. Is it the Mercedez Biome or the MaybachDRS? The Honda Air? Mazda's Anorexic Miata? Nope. First place is a tie, and goes to two cars we haven't featured yet: Cadillac's Aera and the Smart 454.

Let's start off with the Cadillac Aera. As the name suggests, it runs on compressed air, just like Honda's entry. However, despite being 200lbs heavier, the its range is 10 times that of the Air. General Motors claims that its highly-efficient Pneumatic Drive System and 10,000 PSI composite air tank will let the Aera go 1,000 miles before refuelling.

Its one-piece frame adopts the polyhedral lattice structure found commonly in nature, like in beehives and clumps of bubbles.  This lets the Aera keep off the weight while maintaining structural integrity. Further weight reduction is achieved with an all-in-one wheel system, which combines propulsion, steering and suspension in a simpler form.

The other winning entry is the Smart 454 by Weight Watch Technologies of Germany. The Smart's claim to fame and accolades is in its construction: the little modular car will be "knit" together out of carbon fiber using WWT's Smart Granny Robots. According to WWT, the proprietary construction method allows them to optimize the Smart's strength and weight.

Both these cars, along with the non-winning participants, are probably the most fanciful concepts their respective manufacturers have created. We might not see any of them in our lifetimes, but it's comforting to know what our automotive future has in store.-tomsguide.com

2010 Los Angeles Auto Show: Winners & Losers, Concept Cars

This year’s 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show is about real-world production cars. We have extensive posts about the Winners and Losers for cars andSUVs, crossovers and minivans, but our editors also tackled the intriguing concepts under the lights of the Los Angeles Convention Center.

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Subaru Impreza Design Concept

David Thomas: Winner
For a company with such a small lineup, it’s strange that Subaru’s vehicles don’t have a uniform look. If the next Impreza takes on the design of this concept, it'll look similar to the larger Legacy sedan. The silver color didn’t add any wow-factor to the concept, but it's a clean look that I can’t wait to see on a production car.

Joe Wiesenfelder: Winner
When you look at this thing, there’s a lot going on – more than we’ll ever see in a real car – but it all works as a package: the wicked face, the various grilles and vents, and the multifaceted rear end. Among the hard edges, I’m especially pleased to see the curved fender flares. The recent WRX enhancements have brought overly squared-off flares, which are also a bit too wide for the car. Even though this concept is a busy design, nothing seems out of place.

Kelsey Mays: Winner
Turbo variants notwithstanding, the current Impreza boasts solid drivability but marginal appeal in terms of styling and interior quality. This concept suggests Subaru is addressing both issues – and how.

Mike Hanley: Winner
Subaru lost its way a bit with the recently redesigned Legacy, but if this concept is what the next Impreza will resemble it appears they've found their way again. This is one sharp-looking car – even when you discount the overly aggressive bumper styling.

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Honda Fit EV

DT: Winner
When I wrote our First Look post on this concept I said it reminded me of something out of “Tron” because of its chrome band wrapping around the front. The interior gets an upgrade that puts it on par with the new Honda CR-Z hybrid, and you still get all that Fit practicality with a 100-mile range. The upcoming production version of this car could make people hold off on rushing out to get a Nissan Leaf or Mitsubishi i-MiEV.

JW: Loser
Even if this thing were a design study, it would be a yawner. But it’s supposed to represent a future product, and as such, it fails. Its interior was mocked up, and the drivetrain wasn’t integrated, so we don’t know how it might affect interior space. A battery-electric car based on the roomy Fit will be a winner. This concept’s a loser.

KM: Winner
I’m not convinced an electric drivetrain will exact any serious detriment to the Fit’s cabin. Until we learn otherwise, the concept bodes well.

MH: Loser
While the idea of the Fit EV holds a lot of promise, as an auto-show concept car it fell flat.

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Nissan Ellure

DT: Loser
I didn’t like the current Maxima’s design when it debuted a few years ago, but it's grown on me. This, however, would take decades to grow on me. I’m just glad Nissan openly said this design is not on the short list for future production models. Phew.

JW: Loser
A lot of things can make an auto-show car a winner. If it’s a production-intent concept or prototype, you can look at the interior design, the roominess and the real-world styling. When it’s a traditional concept car with a far-out interior and exaggerated features that would never make it to production, it just has to be stunning, at first glance and the 100th. This simply isn’t.

KM: Loser
Nissan’s reticence to attribute any production intentions to this car loses it points, and like the others said, I’m not blown away by the car’s styling.

MH: Loser
Some of the Ellure's angles work for me, like its taut profile, but the front-end looks like Nissan put a Maxima in front of a blast furnace for a few hours before dropping it into a wind tunnel on full bore. The styling is stretched.

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Mazda Shinari

DT: Winner
This is the best-looking concept car of the show, and I really hope Mazda incorporates this design theme into its lineup faster than it did with the smiley-face grilles we now see everywhere. Hurry, Mazda. Hurry.

JW: Winner
What Dave said, times 10. Granted, the real products won’t look like this, but time has proven we’re not alone in our distaste for the smiley grilles. Mainly, as a show car, it’s a winner. You can just watch it turn on a turntable two or three times before thinking about moving on.

KM: Winner
The RX-8 should be so lucky to have a successor that looks like this. I still see a bit of the Mazda smile, but it’s joined by menacing headlights that look much more serious.

MH: Winner
The evolution of the smiling grille into one that more closely resembles a shield is a welcome change, but beyond that it's one sinister-looking concept car. If the Shinari had been around a few years ago, it would have been the perfect car for the Joker in "The Dark Knight."

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Jaguar C-X75

DT: Winner
Sure, it has a not-gonna-happen twin-turbine hybrid powertrain, but that’s just for engineers to take part in what is otherwise a design masterpiece. The C-X75 reminds me of the classic supercars of the 1960s and 1970s, with swoops and curves that are generally absent in cars of any stripe today.

JW: Winner
Photos simply don’t do this thing justice. The front view is a little more challenging than the Mazda and Subaru concepts, which look unified at a glance, but I think it’s a design that will grow on you. You’ll hear that about any design that’s not easily digested at first, but here I think it’s true. The profile is dynamite, and I have no idea what’s going on with that ducktail rear end, but I like it.

MH: Loser
The twin turbines are cool concept-car features, but the design doesn't seem to break a lot of new ground. If the front end foreshadows future Jaguars, I'm unmoved. This is the type of car that should be able to wow, but it didn't.

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BMW 6 Series Concept

JW: Winner
I liked the previous 6 Series generation overall, but the trunk had that dormer look that had failed on the earlier 7 Series. This concept does a remarkably good job of preserving some degree of the previous 6’s tall hood while wisely going more conventional with the trunklid. I was concerned because the current 5 and 7 Series look pretty similar, but this one is definitely distinct.

KM: Winner
It’s too bad BMW probably won’t bring the 6 Series concept’s Bang & Olufsen stereo here – there's no sign of it in the production 6 Series convertible – but the automaker has a decent track record for stereo quality. Apart from that, the 6 Series is a sharp car that builds on the good looks of the redesigned 5 Series. I haven’t said this in a while, but stay the course, BMW.

MH: Winner
Agreed. With the 6 Series concept, BMW has refined what was already one of its better-looking cars. That sound you hear is BMW fans rejoicing at the company's new design direction.-cars.com

PROTON has announced its new partnership with a dealership in Blakesley near Towcester.

The Garage at Blakesley’ will now represent Proton in the area, in sales, servicing and parts.

The dealership boasts the latest diagnostics equipment, an MOT test centre 4, servicing and repairs for all makes of vehicles, as well as a breakdown recovery service, collection and delivery service, Find-A-Car service, and sale or return service for Carsales.

Colin Hilbourne, Dealer Principal for The Garage at Blakesley, said:  ‘We are delighted to have become Proton’s main dealer for the area, and hope this reflects our strong reputation as the garage that cares and retains our independence.

‘We have a lot of passion about the Proton brand – thanks to their Lotus inspired design, Proton’s cars are very stylish, fun to drive and have fantastic handling – it’s also a brand that offers motorists great value for money, coupled with the reassurance of delivering reliability – especially with the three year warranty available.’

The garage, originally built back in the early ‘60s, was then known as ‘Tanswells of Blakesley’ and was the local Morris dealer, for the area, which in later years became “Rover dealership” until the garage finally closed in 1994.

In 1995, Dealer Principal Colin Hilbourne and a group of loyal friends re-opened the derelict garage, re-naming it ‘The Garage at Blakesley Ltd’.

Five years ago ‘The Garage at Blakesley’ started to specialise in Daihatsu, but with stock difficult to source they turned to Proton.

Commenting on the new partnership, Simon Park, general manager of sales & marketing for Proton Cars (UK) Ltd, said:  ‘We are pleased to welcome The Garage at Blakesley to our expanding network and offer customers more choice in the area.  With a growing demand for more cost-effective motors, Proton makes for a sensible choice of car.’-cardealermagazine.co.uk

Infiniti to show small 3-door concept at 2011 Geneva Motor Show

Infiniti Essence Concept

According to “well placed sources” that spoke with UK publication AutoCar, Infiniti is scheduled to show a new small car concept at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. The model will hint at a stylish 3-door from Infiniti that will have some coupe-like cues.

Insiders said that at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, showgoers will see a crucial model that is aimed at the European market. A production version of the car is expected to follow. The concept that will be shown at Geneva will be “close” to the production car.

“Next year’s Geneva concept will be something pretty special, and pretty different,” said a source. “It’s a small car, but not what you might expect.”

The 3-door car, which will be based on the next-generation Mercedes-Benz A-Class platform, is one of the first vehicles to come out of the recent tie-up between Daimler and Renault/Nissan.-egmcartech.com

Porche 911 Becomes 3D Fantasy

We recently played with our minds by studying a set of spyshots of the next generation Porsche 911. This made us a bit nostalgic, but in an unusual way. Let us explain. The current generation of the 911 (codenamed 997) is a wonderful creation that still has plenty to offer.
While we’re anxious to see what Porsche is preparing for the future, we are by no means ready to let go of the 997.

Of course, neither is Porsche and this is why the German company has been launching one special model of the 911 after another, creating a huge family tree - We guess that the next 911 will be able to say that it has a family woods, not just a tree.

Anyway, as you know it doesn’t matter what shape the 911 takes, from the visual point of view you get an almost identical package. This is why we decided to turn to the virtual world in a quest to find a 911 that really looks different. As you can see, we came across a creation that uses “bended” proportions, offering a truly interesting view. The most eye-catching element is the set of over-sized rims that come with razor-thin tires, turning the car into a rear-engined visual puzzle.

The vehicle has also been fitted with an exterior kit that uses complex aerodynamic elements, running from the front bumper, through the side skirts and to the rear of the car, which was gifted with an extended wing, reworked fascia and air diffuser. Before we end the story, we must end a web used who goes by the nickname of BarneyHH for offering us this view of the 911.-autoevolution.com

Audi's autonomous Audi TT conquers Pikes Peak - how long before it betters a human driver?

Not long ago, there was informed debate on whether a purpose-built computer would ever beat a chess master. Nowaday, a HTC mobile phone can achieve Grand Master status. Computers continue to get exponentially faster, not to mention considerably smarter through improved software, whereas humans are effectively nearing their limits. Hence, it’s arguably only a matter of time and R&D focus before computers (plus improved sensors and software) surpass any specific human capability. This week Audi revealed that its Autonomous TTS research car had completed the 12.42-mile Pike’s Peak mountain course in 27 minutes. An expert driver in the same car would take around 17 minutes – now we have a benchmark, the race is on, and it's almost inevitable that a computer will one day outdrive the best of our species, and it may be sooner than you think.

Humans are not very good at driving cars, as is evidenced by our ability to destroy 1.3 million souls on our roads each year. Our deficiencies for the task of safely controlling a car on public throughfares are many. We are almost incapable of driving safely while multitasking, are ridiculously easily distracted, take all manner of mind-altering substances before we drive, continually take imprudent risks and our situational awareness is largely restricted to our field of vision, which is but a sliver of the ideal 360 degrees.

By comparison, computers can monitor a full 360 degrees plus thousands of variables simultaneously, are diligent and attentive in the extreme, and calculate each and every risk, erring on the side of caution to exactly the degree to which they are programmed.

That’s why Toyota, General Motors and Volkswagen are spending so much money in the field of autonomous vehicles – autonomous vehicle expertise is already being used to make us safer in our cars and over the next few decades, the deployment of more and better intelligent automotive systems will help to stop us committing genocide on such a grand scale.

Hence the ascending of the demanding Pikes Peak mountain course by Audi’s autonomous TTS in September is a significant achievement in that it sets the benchmark, visible for the first time, as to how close autonomous vehicle are to the best human drivers.

It might seem like a lot of difference in the times between an expert driver and a computer in the TTS (17 minutes compared to 27 minutes), but I must confess to being staggered that the autonomous vehicle was immediately so close to the theoretical best – roughly an extra 59% over the fastest time of the best human driver. In Grand Prix racing, where the best drivers and riders in the world compete, lap time differentials of 7.5% are allowed by regulation, and quite often greater differences are tolerated. The difference in lap times between an expert driver and an average commuter would also be dramatically different, so the Audi TTS might already be much closer to the average person's driving ability than the figures suggest.

The 265 bhp research car has been cooperatively developed by Volkswagen/Audi in conjunction with Stanford University and Oracle, and it is unquestionably progressing at a phenomenal rate. The 27 minute time was achieved the first time the vehicle achieved the 14,110-foot summit in Colorado without stopping. Five other times during the week-long testing, the car ran the complete course, pausing briefly to verify route data. It is most likely to get much faster very quickly.

Admittedly, it's still a long way from cracking the ten minute mark being approached by Monster Tajima in his 900 bhp Suzuki, but a significant start has been made and the approach has been far more cautious than the way humans tackle timed courses. It's an old racing adage that it's a lot easier to make a fast driver who crashes safe than to make a slow driver faster. The penalty for error on Pikes Peak is massive as the edge of the circuit is often a massive cliff. Audi is logically taking a cautious and considered approach because the negative publicity of a car plunging over a fatal drop would hinder the development.

Volkswagen’s Electronic Research Lab and Stanford have been at the forefront of autonomous driving research for several years, having won the second DARPA Grand Challenge and finishing second in the most recent DARPA Urban Challenge held in Victorville, California in 2007.

From the Audi press statement: The Autonomous Audi TTS Pikes Peak reflects the ERL-Stanford strategy of conducting research in tiers that thoroughly investigate technologies needed to perform different autonomous driving tasks ranging from low-speed maneuvering in urban environments to high-speed handling on varied road surfaces on a challenging course like Pikes Peak.

When research began on the Autonomous Audi TTS Pikes Peak research project just over a year ago, the direction was clear: employ emerging software, algorithms and electronics to help everyday drivers stay in control, and safely on the road, even during extreme driving conditions.

The aim of the Autonomous Audi TTS Pikes Peak research was to develop a technology that would enhance a driver's abilities, much as computerized systems of passenger jetliners assist skilled pilots.

"We are not trying to replace the driver," said Professor Chris Gerdes of Stanford University, "Instead we want to learn how the best drivers control the car so we can develop systems that assist our robotic driver and, eventually, you and me." Working together, Audi, Stanford University, the Volkswagen Group Electronics Research Lab and Oracle developed a distinct engineering achievement. The Autonomous Audi TTS Pikes Peak integrates advanced algorithms, the Oracle Java real-Time System (Java RTS), Oracle Solaris and GPS with safety and navigation systems found in stock Audi TTS models to maintain control at a physical performance extreme.

Java and Oracle Solaris provide a significant advancement over traditional execution models in terms of reliability, transparency, debugging capability, programming model, predictable response-time characteristics, and cost. Using the standard Java programming model and memory management functionality, developers were able to program the Autonomous Audi TTS to easily differentiate processes based on their importance and precisely determine when time-critical functions should be executed.

"Oracle Java RTS is the first enterprise-class solution to formally address the issues of latency and unpredictable response times for Java applications and we're thrilled to be part of this research project," said Greg Bollella, chief architect, Embedded Java, Oracle. "For the Autonomous Audi TTS Pikes Peak, Java was used to acquire GPS position coordinates and distribute those coordinates to all of the other components in the system. It also served as the safety controller for the vehicle, responsible for gracefully bringing the car to a stop if any of the traditional systems malfunctioned."

Deciding on a location to prove the technology was an easy choice as the Pikes Peak route offered steep inclines, switchbacks and varied road surfaces for the autonomous Audi TTS to navigate. Pikes Peak is also the place where Audi technology became legendary in the rally racing world a generation ago thanks in large part to the distinctive quattro® technology, which this year celebrates its 30th anniversary as a technological all-wheel-drive breakthrough exclusively on Audi vehicles.

The Autonomous Audi TTS Pikes Peak achieved this year's goal on the mountain. The next stage of the research project will involve autonomous high-speed handling on paved surfaces. The research team is evaluating race tracks where they can conduct the next phase of this research.

In keeping with all trials of the technology, the Autonomous Audi TTS Pikes Peak research team worked with local authorities to conduct the mountain testing during closed-course runs that emphasized public safety.

To celebrate its accomplishment, Audi is featuring the Autonomous Audi TTS Pikes Peak at its inaugural display at the SEMA Show, which begins today in Las Vegas. ENDS

This is just the start. It’s an enormously significant event and a milestone on the road to much safer automobiles. Hats off to Audi, Stanford and Oracle for the achievement. We look forward to watching the progress and wonder not just how long it will take for a suitably equipped car to be able to best a Sebastien Vettel or Lewis Hamilton, but how long before drivers are judged by how close they can get to the "ideal time" set by a computer.

Indeed, it's a fascinating mental exercise to imagine the future of racing altogether - do computers have a place in motorsport? We're increasingly seeing F1 teams such as Ferrari employ simulators to hone their drivers and to test changes - it's not such a big step from advanced driving aids to fully autonomous any more.-gizmag