Hard shoulder

A round-up of other motors news

Volkswagen tantalises Detroit with new concept hybrid coupe

VOLKSWAGEN has unveiled a new hybrid coupe concept car (pictured), unimaginatively named the NCC (New Compact Coupe), at the Detroit show. With similar overall styling to the Audi A5 – apart from the softer VW front nose – it combines a four-cylinder 1.4-litre 150bhp petrol engine and a 27bhp electric motor, giving it a fuel consumption of 5.2 l/100km with a 0-100km/h time of 8.1 seconds. However, it remains but a concept – for now.

Buffett company contemplates rechargable car

BYD Co, the Chinese car and battery maker backed by Warren Buffett, may sella rechargeable electric car in the US as soon as this year to meet demand for fuel-efficient models, the companys founder said. “The US is a very important market for BYD in the future, and the electric vehicle is our future,” Chairman Wang Chuanfu said at the Detroit show. “We will start toward the market in the second half.”

It had originally targeted a 2011 debut. Buffetts investment firm Berkshire Hathaway owns a 10 per cent stake in the company.

Speak and your iPod  will play

INTERCONNECTIVITY is one of the buzzwords in Detroit, with even the new small cars boasting infotainment systems, often created in conjunction with Microsoft, that not only link in iPod and mpg players, but offer workable voice recognition systems that can even make sense of this reporters monosyllabic, slurred utterances. These efforts are being driven in part by a host of new regulations on in-car systems, particularly in the US, aimed at penalising drivers who dont pay attention to the road.

BMW looks for design continuity

BMW's former design chief Chris Bangle came in for a lot of criticism during his tenure but time often proved him right, on i-Drive turn and click controls and his signature "flame surfacing" design. The recent X6 received similar criticism for its looks, but strikingly similar models have been launched of late, with Honda in the US introducing the Accord Crosstour. BMW will be hoping he passed on his crystal ball to current design boss Adrian van Hooydonk.