Some news from the Detroit motor show
GM contract with LG Chem
General Motors has chosen South Korea's LG Chem over a consortium led by Germany's Continental to supply lithium-ion battery cells for its Volt plug-in electric car, due to be sold in Europe under the Opel brand name.
GM said it would begin building a plant in Michigan this year to produce the batteries and start their production in 2010, when it plans to launch the Volt.
The decision will make GM the first major carmaker to build lithium-ion battery packs in the US, as global competition intensifies to build viable rechargeable cars and the batteries needed to power them.
One of the most exciting concepts at the show was the Volkswagen Blue Concept, a two-seater, mid-engined rear-wheel drive sports car that is targeting Mazda’s MX-5.
Sitting on a completely new platform that will feature on future models within the VW AG family, the Bluesport concept is a driving concept that looks production-ready.
It’s powered by a 2-litre 180bhp TDI diesel engine, along with VW’s dual-clutch automatic transmission. While it officially remains a concept, an engineer involved in the project predicted it could be ready for production and launch within three years.
Mercedes' new E Class revealed - with Geneva debut to come
In a strange marketing move, Mercedes revealed its new E Class at a pre-launch event to the Detroit motor show, even though the car was not on display there.
It will make its official debut at the Geneva motor show later this year.
With several styling changes and a slight increase in size, the most significant detailing of the car is the introduction of several safety features previously seen on the new S-Class; the improved central control system similar to that on the new C-Class; and a range of engines up to 20 per cent more economical than in the outgoing model.
Among the new safety features is an active bonnet that automatically raises by 50mm in an impact to protect pedestrians. The car will go on sale in Ireland in the second half of the year.
New Prius promises 60 mpg
The third generation Prius from Toyota promises to rival models like the Corolla in terms of global reach, with annual sales of 400,000 cars in 80 countries. The car features over 1,000 newly patented advances over its predecessor and is, most importantly, more fuel efficient.
A new engine – a 1.8-litre 98bhp four-cylinder petrol unit – supports the same battery set-up as the outgoing model. The firm is provisionally claiming a very impressive average fuel consumption of 4.7l/100km (60mpg in Europe).
It does this while achieving an improved 0-100km/h performance of 9.8 seconds. The car will go on sale in Ireland towards the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Toyota is reportedly working on an all-electric version of its IQ city car. If it does make it to production, it’s not likely to be built before 2012.