Beware seeing every car at the Detroit show through the lens of recession. It wasn’t until about four months ago that anyone saw this crisis coming. It takes at least six months to do a concept and two years for a production car. So everything here was conceived in pre-meltdown times.
And yet here’s a thing. Two of the most interesting concept cars were fuel economy-minded efforts from of all people Lincoln and Cadillac. Both are the size of a Focus. Holy cow, these guys usually wouldn’t blink at building concepts the size of a bendy bus.
The Lincoln C (above) is even based on the 2010 Focus platform. There’s a bit of Fiat Multipla about the idea (short, wide, vertical side windows to get three abreast), and a bit of Renault Clio V6 about the rear three-quarter. Which makes it sound bonkers, but to me it’s convincing. Low, wide, planted, bullish.
The Cadillac Converj coupe is all the proof you need that not all hybrids need look like a bloody Prius. It’s based on the Chevy Volt platform and electric-petrol powertrain. But with more power.
Both the Cadillac and Lincoln could well go into production, though the Lincoln would suffer a severe watering-down of its interior.
If they do make it into showrooms, then obviously America is at last getting the idea that there’s something to be said for being small.
They’re very different from each other. But what I most enjoy is that each of them says something new and premium about the proportions small car. That makes them an imaginative leap ahead of say the Audi A3, a car whose proportions are no different from any vanilla hatch.
As an American, I think that the death of “bigger is better” is kind of sad. The car industry does need to head in that direction though.
about time GM, Ford et all saw the light! However I forsee one problem. American cars in general have pretty poor interiors so you will end up with small cheap badly made cars. USA the new Italy of cars?
@ Mark, #2: That’s slander. If anything, the cheap American cars will (actually, already do) look like SsangYong-GM collaborations. Korean cars might also remind you of American cars, if American cars looked really boring but were decently built and reasonably reliable. As opposed to looking really boring but being poorly made and reliably unreliable.
I didn’t respect much about the beauty of American Cars. For me the sexiest cars in the world come from Britain or Italy. Japanese cars are somewhat cute^^. But when the American move from large SUV to small cars, their small cars are certainly become more attractive.
HEI, CLARKSON YOU DESTROY MY PERODUA KELISA.
IT’S FAMOUS IN MY COUNTRY.
YOU IDIOT PEOPLE IN THE WORLD
I WANT TO SEE YOU CRASH YOUR LAMBORGHINI WITH YOU HAMMER.
Hey people. I know this is off topic but….
I am doing an advertising course. Want i would like to know is your true views and opinions on Eco-friendly cars. Please tell me if you hate, love, loath or crave them.
Your thoughts will really help me
daniel see comments on the massa blog, or look at ‘Detroit Show: Death or Glory’
These cars look alright, but they’ll almost certainly not get to Europe. There is a small chance of the Cadillac, but that Lincoln will never come. Shame really – it could be a design classic, if the interior is decent.
The only problem with the media and government pressuring them into making small cars is that, with gas prices low again, nobody’s gonna buy them. The best seller in the States is still the Ford F-150 pick-up truck, and what they have to do now is SELL CARS. And toyota has canceled the opening of the plant for the new Prius in Mississippi because no one wants a lame hybrid with gas at $1.60.
Daniel, don’t know about advertising ‘eco’ cars beyond making them look good. Paul’s comments were spot on – I’m not a big fan of the ‘bloody Prius’ either, other than for what it did to develop technology.
DelC, if you think gas is going to stay at $1.60 for long then you’re way off base. All non-OPEC (and some OPEC) countries are now past peak oil. I’ll repeat the article link since it might explain a few things better http://www.claverton-ener gy.com/download/289/
and like Catersam said it’s on Paul’s Death or Glory blog
I like the look of the Converj – hints of the last Celica in profile and a striking front end. Not so sure about the Lincoln but I do admire any manufacturer willing to fit suicide doors
Mikeado kindly looked up a few details on the Dodge Circuit, and apparently it uses the similar water-cooled batteries to the Tesla Roadster. Not great.
The batteries should be in the floor (or as close to it as possible) to optimise the centre of gravity, but since both are based on existing chassis it’s not such a big deal
These water-cooled batteries are a big deal though. In the paper I had to use 75% efficiency for electric mode since a Tesla wastes 20% energy as heat (or rather keeping the batteries cool) during charging.
Paul, do you happen to know if the battery packs in the Volt/Converj/Karma are air cooled, and what’s their energy loss on charge? If so then we can perhaps get efficiencies closer to 90%
Cheers
The front of that Converj (every time I read that name I think it’s a typo) kinda reminds me of the Cien concept from a few years ago. Not massively, but the ‘face’ of the car is similar. Not sure on the face of that Lincoln, though. Almost looks amphibian, with a colour to match. But, as it’s based on a Focus, I’m sure it’s probably good to drive.
I like the Lincoln. It might not be the prettiest, but I like the design. The face is, to me, one of the best bits: this seems like a marmite car. But then, sometimes the best cars are slightly dodgy lookers. Take the original Dodge Charger. It was fat, dreadful at turning, ungly (to a Euro car snob like me, anyway), and yet it was great. The Lotus Espirit was designed with a ruler. The Caterham after which I am made is made of little more then an engine, some seats, and some wheels. It isn’t good looking, but its great.
Is Lincoln GM or Chrysler?
And I’ve changed my mind since my earlier comment. The Cadillac looks like the rest: more sharp angles then Michael Jackson’s nose, but an interior as dreadful as Gary Glitter’s reputation. Well, if they make it it will be. Hopefully, Chrysler will get the 200C out before they drown…then we’ll be able to get 200Cs and 300Cs for cheap. Can’t wait!
Daniel, as good as it is in the current climate(s) to be thinking green, I’m tired of hearing that dreadful word ‘eco’ everywhere I turn, and I’m no fan of low CO2 hatches (the equivalent of low-fat foods) or indeed basic hybrids like the Prius that actually achieve very little on the green front and then act all proud and up themselves about it. However, if it’s truly eco-freindly, and interesting/desirable at the same time, then I’m OK with it. But I’d only ever buy one if I was short on money and needed the low running costs. And only for commuting.
luckyman, because I’m bored, I decided to have a look around, and as the cars are new, info is scarce atm. The Fisker’s batteries are cooled by a generator – dunno if that answers that, and the Chevvy/Caddy’s batteries are “Thermally managed”.
But, according to Auto Express, charging the Volt/Converj for electric-only journeys by plugging into the grid equates to a g/km CO2 figure higher than that of a BMW 118d. Although using the engine occasionally would lengthen battery life, I wonder if, as it is merely a petrol engine, that would be the greener thing to do?
The problem with those cars is that ther’re not fun to drive, and are seen as eco-boxes to save the enviroment, they sell because they are convenient, not fun to drive or offer any kind of experience.
Thge true milestone in automotive design will be reachd when GM or any other big company starts degining cars that truly appeal in every sense to the consumer: Affordable, practical, and not terribly boring to drive.
If GM can produce a car thar truly offers a driving experience (Not a ultra-sporty one… just good old fun) and couple it with good looks, then they will sell cars and not pick-ups.convenience and fun = consumer satisfaction = sales.
Linoln’s concept looks good. Maybe like a Vel Satis/Megane mk2 mix, but it has some real posh touch here and there, which I like. Even that logo on C pillar looks fair.
But Converj is ugly! What were they thinking? Lol. But maybe Yanx like such stuff, then it’s ok.
And for that guy up there, defending oil prices or smth… Son, the more oil we use, the less will remain. So, that ‘less’ will cost ‘more’. Today’s oil price is temporary. It will rise again. Especialy if u Yanx charge some more war in Middle East.
Mikeado – thanks again, it’s a pain to get proper info on these cars. Sounds like a parasitic loss on the Karma and probably Volt. Hopefully Paul can get us more info. I’d guess we’re stuck with 75% efficiency fot the time being.
Emissions. They’ve used the existing grid mix for CO2. Nukes or windmills would change the Auto Express figures remarkably.
I do think anthropogenic climate change is a reality and a concern BUT not as immediate a concern as $147 a barrel oil. Once the recession ends things can only get worse. I know several people who think global warming is a load of CENSORED but who support my basic conclusions.
Some people who do a lot of mileage are still going to find that BMW cheaper, but most won’t. From my calculations we either go for plug-ins (or pure battery vehicles for those that can afford a second car – not me)or we’re going to be forced into eco-boxes.
Cheers
What would be cool is if you could go to a petrol – well, an electric – station and swap batteries. What I mean is that the station will have charged batteries, and then your uncharged battery is put in a special, fast charging dock and you get the fully charged one. It would mean easily accessible batteries, but if electric is the way, then it seems the most sensible and practical way to do it. However, batteries will need to be at least three times as efficient to make it feasible: changing batteries six times on a journey from Newcastle to London is stupid.
Another possibility, as I mentioned before, is Hydrogen. It would make sense to have electric city cars, and Hydrogen inter city cars. Obviously it shall be difficult to get the hydrogen, but it must be possible.
Or we could just murder the planet and hope for the best. This recession has put the green revolution back about ten years: I think we’re fairly screwed.
Catersam – hot swapping? I know someone who’s very keen, but I’m not yet convinced.
The battery packs are heavy, so they need to be low in the vehicle. You could do it by using something along the lines of the GM Hy-Wire’s ’skateboard’, with access flaps either side under the doors of the car, and a pull-out rack for the batteries
The weight would also mean you couldn’t have self service charging – basically you’d need burly blokes to carry the things about which would add to the overall cost
As you’ve said, with Tesla range (just over 200 miles at best) you’d need at least one charging stop on that journey. With a plug-in you wouldn’t
Hydrogen – I’d love it, and we’ll need it eventually in some form. Apologies that the paper I wrote is a pain to wade through but the detail was necessary for the rest of the research group to take it seriously. Bottom line:
70% of the journeys we make are short range
We can work with about a third of UK transport energy immediately
Energy for battery use works out at 12 nuclear power stations
Energy for hydrogen use with fuel cells works out at 24 nuclear power stations
Energy for hydrogen use with ICE works out at 51 nuclear power stations
I don’t personally like nukes although we may need them. But try getting the planning permission for 12 new ones (about the same as what we have at the moment). Then try to do the same for 24…
There is some really innovative research going on at the moment, like trying to get hydrogen from fusion, algae and genetically modified bacteria. Fuel cells are getting cheaper, are lasting nearly 30k miles before they need replacing, and they’ll improve further too. Problem is that it means waiting, while what I wrote in the paper can be started on a big scale now and then we can incorporate new tech as it becomes viable.
Pure electric city cars are ok if one only makes the occasional long trip – easy enough to hire another type of car for that – or has two or more cars. Mark Barratt at UCL emailed me today with some info. relevant to electric city cars. There’s a company (commercial link so I won’t include it) setting up high output public charging points. Cost is a flat-rate 100 pounds a year for unlimited charging – seems reasonable enough.
I’d disagree on sustainability being put back ten years. Money is tighter than a duck’s rear end but I think we’ll only be screwed if the recession ends before we start to reduce oil consumption.
Cheers
Hmm. The look of that Lincoln is growing on me, although I still think the grill is a bit buck-toothed and it definitely needs the big wheels
Don’t get me wrong but the world isn’t ready for all these over-designed concepts to go in production. On the street, they will be hideous.
The ideal thing for today is VW Golf, it’s better looking. Ok, it just is, has its own character. And that 1.4 TSI 160 bhp is lovely.
Also, the new VW Polo looks good.
Malaysian people, just letting you (probably a perodua employee) know why JC thinks (and rightfully so) that the Kelisa isnt very good at all. It is slow, uneconomical for its engine size, incredibly boring, handles badly, has a poor interior, and is quite ugly. The one upside, the price, isnt even that important when you can buy a tata nano for 2500 US, a much better looking and intersesting car.
On a better note, the new Caddy looks really good.
They’re expensive, not fun to drive, inconvenient to recharge (there’s no hydrogen station in my country), too small or not have a good looking and so many more. The only good thing about them is they save our planet. That what I think about Eco-friendly cars.
I don’t know whether it could be the main kind of vehicle on the roads for 10 or 20 years. This could happen anywhere else but not in Vietnam, and much more time needed in some other Asia countries.
The Automakers try to bring their hybrid car into Thailand, China. But it won’t have strong sales there, i think.
Oh how I detest the existense of hybrids, they serve no real purpose, with no performance capability, and they even have a more detrimental effect on our planet than any other vehicle. It is this hyporisy of so many environMentalists that proves their redundancy. Few people realize that the ecological impact of producing a hybrid is more than a full sized SUV or Truck. When I must ask will the people and the Automotive industry realize that there is no future with hybrids, all that really needs fixed are California’s shackling emission regulation.
CANADA OUT!
contact me at cstig.ymail.com
Not sure it’s healthy to talk to a Stig
While I’ve occasionally been accused of being a mentalist I’ve never had enviro- stuck on the front.
Well done for typing with gloves on though
Cheers
Robert, while they’d look silly here, in America, where everything is shiny and square-shaped, thay’d look fine, especially as they’re mostly just shortened saloons.
And surely you could’ve picked something more exciting than a Golf?
@Robert:
A Golf??? I can’t think of a more boring car to be seen it. Golf = no imagination. Golf = “the magazine told me German was best”.
Something like an Alfa Romeo Brera and you’re talking.
test
Mikeado, I don’t think that America is very shiny at the moment but mind things that are trying to look very shiny are silly in the end.
EuropeanCarFan, I know what you mean. I normally prefer car designs from Peugeot, Citroen(I myself own a C4) and Alfa Romeo too and I was shocked when I first saw the Golf mk.6 on pictures, not many changes from mk.5
But then I saw it IRL, took it for a drive and realised that VW has done it. It’s one of the all time great looking cars, not very exciting to look at but still lovely. I especially like those new squary headlamps.
Volkswagen isn’t trying to be an attention whore and that’s what I like.
I thought the Lincoln C was a BMW at first with that grille, they’d beter watch they don’t get sued.
The Caddy looks good, I personally have always liked that front end on the CTS and the razor sharp lines, it should make an interesting alternative to Honda’s planned small hybrid coupe.
luckyman see new blog
dont like the caddy, though the lincoln looks quite nice.
i can’t wait to go! i’m just sad there will be no ferrari this year D:
the lincoln is ugly as sin and looks like one of those new and ugly lancias!
Catersam, Lincoln is Ford’s luxury marque, until recently the favourite of old blue haired ladies that have always driven land-yachts.
I think the smallest car on offer from them is Mondeo-sized or larger, which makes the smaller concept car really seem… Odd.
Small + Luxury doesn’t compute in American minds… But then my ‘05 Golf (the aformentioned boring car) still gets looks like it’s from Mars.
Though I’m American, I like small cars – my favorites lie within the showrooms of Lotus dealerships – so I like these concepts. They’re small, perky, and look like they could go a long way in America’s market. (as well as other ones) So YES to both of them.
if the american car markers ar only starting to do small cars now ia m am starting to get worried about it