Crave

The Los Angeles Auto Show wraps up this weekend. I drove down to the Los Angeles Convention Center last week to check out the new BMW M3--which I hope to buy next year--and get a look at all the other new cars debuting there.

There were two clear trends at the show: higher performance and increased environmental sensitivity. The best new vehicles show improvements in both areas.

The 2008 BMW M3 sedan

(Credit: BMW AG)

The new M3, for example, delivers 24% more power (414 hp!) from its new four-liter V8 along with 8% better gas mileage, along with more interior room than its predecessor and many new features. I had the previous version, a 2002 model, and it was a great car.

Now that the new M3 is available as a four-door sedan, I hope I'll be able to get one next year. The M3 will go on sale in the spring, but for me, there's another issue: I want to get the car through BMW's European Delivery program, which I used for my M3 as well as the 1999 540i that I still drive.

I think European Delivery is the best way to get a BMW--or an Audi, Mercedes, Porsche, Saab, Volvo, or other car available through such a program. There's a special reason to get pick up your new BMW in Munich around the beginning of August--the annual driving school at Germany's Nürburgring racetrack. The school is operated by independent European BMW car clubs, with American participation coordinated through the BMW Car Club of America. I attended this school with my M3 in 2002, and it was just incredible-- the most fun I've ever had in a car. BMW, however, doesn't always offer the European Delivery option on recently introduced models, so I'll just keep my fingers crossed.

The new M3 will sell on the strength of that 17% power increase more than the 8% boost in fuel efficiency. For real fuel economy, we have to look beyond traditional gasoline engines. General Motors, eager to regain the position of sales leadership it lost to Toyota earlier this year, was showing off a wide range of hybrid-powered vehicles, more models capable of running on E85 (blended ethanol/gasoline), and two kinds of electric-powered cars.

The Chevy Volt concept sedan

(Credit: General Motors)

One of GM's "electric cars" is the Volt concept sedan--which is actually a new type of hybrid. Power is delivered to the wheels exclusively by an electric motor, but the car carries a small internal-combustion engine or hydrogen fuel cell to charge the batteries when needed. This configuration is called a "series hybrid" as opposed to the "parallel hybrid" approach used in Toyota's Prius, where drive power can be provided by an electric motor, a gasoline engine, or both together. The Volt has a much larger battery pack than the Prius, allowing a 40-mile driving range between battery charges, so most commuters can charge the vehicle from AC power overnight and never use the car's engine or fuel cell. GM promises to bring out a production version of Volt by 2010.

GM also showed its Equinox hydrogen fuel-cell car in L.A., a true all-electric design. Although the Equinox design is unlikely to go into production in the next several years due to the lack of hydrogen-fuel infrastructure, GM's Project Driveway will test Equinox in several markets nationwide.

Honda's FCX Clarity fuel-cell car

(Credit: Honda)

Honda will be testing its own fuel-cell car, the FCX Clarity, in 2008.

Honda also has a plan to solve (or at least address) the infrastructure issue by developing a hydrogen generator that can be used at home. The experimental Home Energy Station reforms natural gas into hydrogen, like the system from UTC Power that I wrote about here back in August.

Honda's system can also be used to provide heat and electricity for the home where it's installed. This approach is probably the best hope for hydrogen-powered vehicles in the next 10 to 20 years, since the infrastructure problem would otherwise be very expensive to solve.

Porsche was showing a hybrid drivetrain under development for the Cayenne SUV, which may be the same design Porsche is rumored to be considering for its forthcoming Panamera sedan--I blogged about this rumor in August.

Porsche Cayenne hybrid concept

(Credit: CNET Networks)

The hybrid Cayenne on display in L.A.--the same shown in this CNET photo gallery--was the first I've seen in person that combines the gas engine and electric motor into one assembly--the so-called "integrated starter alternator" design I described in that blog post. The result is a hybrid drivetrain barely any larger than a conventional gas engine. (Batteries not included.)

This type of design is more suitable for high-power vehicles since it works with a gasoline or diesel engine of any size, and offers better parts commonality with traditionally powered vehicles than other hybrid approaches. The engine, motor, and battery pack can all be scaled independently to achieve a desired balance of performance, efficiency, and range.

Incidentally, Porsche was also showing a 107-year-old electric car known as the "Voiturette System Lohner-Porsche" developed by Ferdinand Porsche, father of the founder of the Porsche company. This car was the predecessor of a true gas-electric hybrid developed later in 1900 by adding a pair of gasoline engines and electric generators to drive the car's electric wheel-hub motors.

Saving the planet is all very well and good, but we might as well have fun while we can. I was more interested in the 2008 Porsche 911 GT2, which I would have to say is the best sports car available for under $200,000. Aww, heck, I think it's the best sports car available for under $500,000, too. But if you want to go faster than the GT2's nominal 204 mph top end, there were plenty of options for you at the L.A. Auto Show. One company-- the revived Vector Motors-- was even projecting a 300+ mph top speed for its new WX8 supercar, courtesy of a 2,000-hp engine the company has yet to build. At least that was Jalopnik's take; Autoblog only got the company to promise an 1,850-hp, 275-mph version. Personally, I thought the WX8 looked rough and unfinished.

The Lamborghini Reventón

(Credit: Lamborghini)

At the other end of the supercar spectrum was Lamborghini's Reventón. Priced at $1.4 million, only 20 of these cars will be built. It's based on the same mechanical platform as the company's LP640--a 640-hp V12 engine and all-wheel drive delivering a 0-100 kph (0-62 mph) time of 3.4 seconds and a top speed over 211 mph--but over a million dollars more expensive than that model. Admittedly, it has a dramatic new design both inside and out, but it seems to me that the Reventón isn't so much a new model of Lamborghini as it is a test of the company's most loyal customers.

Oh, I'd like to give special recognition to Aston Martin, which distributed its press kit for the show in the form of a hardcover book, not the usual folded cardstock portfolios with loose-leaf press releases handed out by other makers. Wow.

Click the image to view the gallery

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Honda released the production version of its latest hydrogen fuel-cell car at this week's 2007 LA auto show. The FCX Clarity develops the technology and exterior styling found in Honda's FCX Concept in a car that will be produced and leased to retail customers in 2008. The Clarity also has some unique cabin gadgetry to go with its advanced drive train. Check out our images of the latest entrant to the hydrogen highway here

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Honda used the first morning of the 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show to unveil a production version of its FCX fuel cell vehicle. Dubbed the "FCX Clarity," the four-door sedan is powered by the same V Flow fuel cell platform found in Honda's FCX Concept, which is connected to a lithium-ion battery pack that, in turn, powers an electric motor. This drive train enables the car to run solely on compressed gaseous hydrogen with zero emissions. As in the Concept, the Clarity's fuel cell powertrain, which is 45 percent smaller than Honda's current-generation FCX, is mounted longitudinally between the car's front seats, enabling the designers to make the car look more like a car and less like a toaster.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

According to Honda, the FCX Clarity, which will be made available to a limited number of retail customers in summer 2008, has a range of 270 miles on one tank of hydrogen and a top speed of 100 mph. Stylistically, the FCX Clarity draws on many of the design cues of the FCX Concept with a swooping roofline and a short front overhang, made possible by the absence of an internal combustion engine. Inside, the FCX Clairy features a range of advanced cabin tech, including a navigation system programmed with hydrogen-station locations, climate-controlled seats, and Bluetooth hands-free calling. The Clarity also marks the production debut of Honda's Bio-Fabric, a plant-based material used for the car's seat coverings.

The production version on the Honda FCX will be based on the FCX Concept

(Credit: Honda)

Amid the excitement of the 2007 Tokyo auto show, Honda has confirmed that it will be unveiling a production version of its much-anticipated 2008 FCX hydrogen fuel-cell car next month in Los Angeles. Why the Japanese auto maker chose LA for the unveiling rather than its own back yard may have to do with the fact that a considerable number of the production FCXs will be leased to customers in the United States beginning next year. According to USA Today, Honda has not decided on the final number of models bound for the U.S. market, although it quotes Honda CEO Takeo Fukui as saying that the number will be "several 10s; under 100."

Based on the design of the FCX Concept, which makes use of a small, vertically mounted fuel-cell stack, the production version of the next-generation FCX will be the only fuel-cell car to meet all applicable federal government emissions and crash-safety standards, according to Honda.

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)

Arnold Schwarzenegger kicked off the second day of the LA Auto Show here today by telling carmakers that clean energy is the future of the auto industry. Surrounded by a collection of alternative-fuel vehicles, including BMW's Hydrogen7, Tesla's electric-powered roadster, and Honda's hydrogen fuel cell-powered FCX Concept, the California governor said that it was time for automakers to "get on the train" to alternative energy.

He also thanked car manufacturers for what they have done to date in their efforts to produce vehicles that run on alternatives to gasoline. A troupe of automotive executives joined Schwarzenegger to unveil their alternative-fuel cars. Before unveiling the Hydrogen7, a 7-series BMW that can run on either gasoline or liquid hydrogen, Michael Ganal of BMW said that hydrogen was the only solution to the automotive alternative-fuel question. He called the Hydrogen7 a big step toward the future. We'll be getting a closer look at the car on the show floor later this morning. Today's kickoff event follows a presentation yesterday by GM's chairman Rick Wagoner, at which he announced that GM has begun development on a plug-in hybrid version of its 2008 Saturn Vue Green Line.

(Credit: Kevin Massy/ CNET Networks)

(Credit: Kevin Massy/ CNET Networks)

Placing a great deal of trust in a bunch of automotive journalists, Honda let about 20 of us loose today in their next-generation hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles on the Laguna Seca racetrack in California. Only two models of the Honda FCX Concept exist, and we got a chance to put the futuristic sedans through their paces while admiring the sleek styling and high-tech drive train components that enabled us to blast around at 80mph with no emissions besides water.

The FCX Concept runs entirely on hydrogen, has a range of 270 miles per tank, and represents a significant advancement for Honda's hydrogen fuel-cell program, which to date has taken the shape of toaster-shaped compact cars with horizontally mounted fuel-cell stacks that take up a large amount of space in vehicle's floor. By contrast, the FCX Concept packs its compact fuel cell (pictured) along the spine of the car, giving the designers far more room to play with interior space and exterior design.

Like GM's Sequel fuel-cell vehicle that we test drove in the California desert earlier this year, the Honda FCX Concept uses regenerative braking to charge an onboard lithium-ion battery that assists the car's electric motor in periods of high acceleration. Unlike the Sequel, the FCX Concept uses only one coaxial motor, which is mounted under the front hood to drive the front wheels and can propel the car to a top speed of 100mph. The interior of the FCX Concept is almost a parody of futuristic styling, with a concave instrument panel displaying a kaleidoscope of multicolored virtual gauges, including one circular display that expands, contracts and changes color according to the level of hydrogen being used.

Honda says it will have a production model of a hybrid fuel-cell car, closely based on the FCX Concept, in 2008. Looks like the future is about two years away.