Concepts

GENEVA--The financial woes of the last few years caused automakers to scale back on outlandish concepts, using their design resources for more immediate and practical work. But the 2010 Geneva auto show sees the return of at least a few interesting concepts.

Some are so heavily design-oriented that they don't resemble anything in the automaker's current stable, and probably never will. Features like touch screens running along the entire dashboard and cameras for side-view mirrors may only show up when we get flying cars.

Others do presage technologies slated for production cars. Most of these concepts are specified … Read more

GENEVA--Lotus Engineering brought an impressive hybrid to the 2010 Geneva auto show. Built into Lotus' Evora model launched last year, this hybrid uses two electric motors, one driving each rear wheel, a lithium polymer battery pack, and a 1.2-liter range extender engine.

With acceleration to 60 mph in less than 4 seconds and Lotus handling, the Lotus Evora 414E Hybrid sounds like one hell of a sports car. But you will never see it on the road--Lotus Engineering developed it just to show off its hybrid technologies.

The two electric motors combine to give the car an overall 408 … Read more

GENEVA--Reading the specs on the Porsche 918 Spyder concept shown at the 2010 Geneva auto show, we thought there must be some mistake, as 78 mpg and 3.2 seconds to 60 mph just doesn't sound possible. But the 918 Spyder achieves its numbers through massive horsepower, a lightweight body, and the effect of 16 miles of pure electric range on the New European Driving Cycle, Europe's equivalent to EPA fuel economy testing.

The 918 Spyder looks very cool, with a shape that evokes historic race cars. Borrowing modern race car build technology, it keeps its weight down … Read more

GENEVA--The city cars of Audi present and Audi future showed themselves at the 2010 Geneva Auto Show. The A1 is a small car designed to appeal to young urban dwellers, and is a response to the increasing urbanization of populations. The A1 e-tron is a concept version of the A1 driven by an electric drive train, with a gas engine as a range extender.

If the name e-tron sounds familiar, it is because Audi used it for concepts at the Frankfurt and Detroit auto shows. Those concepts were pure electric sports cars using multiple drive motors and sleek bodies. The … Read more

Someone at Honda's been watching too much "Akira," because the automaker's latest electric vehicle concept looks a lot like the main character Kaneda's bike with training wheels.

Created by Honda's research-and-design facility in Milan, the 3R-C concept is an inverted trike that is powered by a battery electric drive train and seats a single passenger. When parked, the driver's seat and controls are covered by a clear canopy for added security and protection from the elements. This canopy rises and slides forward to become a windshield when the vehicle is in motion, protecting … Read more

Hyundai has released preview images and details of its i-flow concept, which will bow at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. The concept will be powered by Hyundai's first diesel-electric hybrid power train and should slip through the air with a slippery 0.25Cd drag coefficient.

At the heart of the i-flow's power train his Hyundai's new 1.7-liter turbodiesel engine that shares motivational duties with a yet-undisclosed electric motor and a lithium ion-polymer battery pack. Hyundai also makes no mention of what sort of hybrid system the i-flow will use. Judging by the size of the engine … Read more

On the heels of announcing a hybrid power train for the Proton car company, Lotus released details of its own hybrid Evora concept. The Evora is the latest model from Lotus, and is slightly larger car than its other models that retains the company's sport driving capabilities. The Lotus Evora 414E Hybrid uses a newly developed series hybrid system, with an electric motor driving each rear wheel and a range extender internal combustion engine topping off the lithium polymer battery as needed.

Similar to the upcoming series hybrid Chevy Volt, the Evora 414E Hybrid will be plug-in capable, so … Read more

The Proton Concept will be a city car styled by Italdesign and unveiled at the Geneva auto show. Big deal, right? Euro-styled city cars will be a dime-a-dozen in Geneva. But what makes the Proton interesting is that it will be a plug-in series hybrid powered (a la the Chevy Volt) with a drivetrain developed completely by Lotus Engineering.

The system starts with an electrical drive system with single-speed transmission that provides twist to the wheels at all times. As long as the battery level is at an acceptable charge, the Proton will function as an EV. Once you approach … Read more

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--The American trucking industry could save as much as $10 billion, or 3.4 billion gallons of diesel fuel, a year if devices being tested in a joint public-private initiative at the world's-largest wind tunnel here are rolled out nationally.

Over the last few weeks, a partnership between the Lawrence Livermore National Lab, the U.S. Air Force, the NASA Ames Research Center, and the conglomerate, Navistar, has been conducting tests on the aerodynamics of tractor-trailer trucks. The findings indicate that new devices could be added onto the nation's thousands of trucks that could increase … Read more