It's a green, albeit toned down, future for the motor industry, writes Paddy Comynat the Paris Motor Show
WHAT WOULD Henry Ford have made of all this fuss? A century ago, he was making a car for the people that ran on ethanol - the motor industry was just beginning and it seemed as if its potential was endless.
Roll on to 2008 and after decades of growth, cars and their engines getting bigger, the reverse has happened. The world's economy is in crisis and carmakers are facing their toughest period since the oil crisis of the 1970s.
The Paris Motor Show retained the glitz and glamour of previous shows.
There was still the elaborate stands, glamorous models draped over shiny new cars and dramatic press conferences with motor industry CEOs arriving through plumes of dry-ice like prize-fighters. However, the message was less upbeat.
"2009 is not going to be better than 2008," Ford Motor Co chief executive Alan Mulally told reporters at the show.
"We won't see a recovery until 2010," he added, pointing out that markets were down around the world.
The cars have changed. Aside from the usual suspects of Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati, whose customers for now are immune to the credit crunch virus (Ferrari's new California is already sold out until 2011) the majority of the show's participants rolled out smaller, quieter, more accessible cars.
"There can be little doubt that our attitudes to the car are changing. Thanks to the spiralling cost of fuel we want better economy and we want to reduce our personal impact on the environment as much as possible," said Pierre Loing, Nissan's European vice-president of product planning. Nissan unveiled its vision of an emission-free city car at the show. The Nuvu is a a three-seat electric vehicle with solar panels on its glass roof. The cabin is made from natural, organic and recycled materials.
Mazda's big news was the Kiyora, a radical-looking city car (you won't get much odds on it being called the Mazda 1) that is a few years away yet.
This lightweight, low-emission city car uses stretched fabric seating and collects rainwater and filters into the cabin for the driver to drink. This car is light yet strong, and points at the direction the brand will take for its smaller models.
But it isn't just the mainstream brands that are shrinking their range. There was a scrum at the unveiling of BMW's Concept X1. The baby SUV will be built in Austria and sales are due to start at the end of next year.
Meanwhile over at Audi, the A1 Sportback, a five-door supermini caused enormous fuss - looking like a Volkswagen Polo that had been possessed by the devil. It was a hybrid too, combining a 150bhp 1.4-litre TFSI engine, a 20kW motor and the dual-clutch S-tronic gearbox to return 92g/km of CO2. Expect to see the A1 by 2010.
Audi also unveiled a low-emission "e" version of its A4. The concept uses a stop/start system and regenerative braking to emit just 105g/km of CO2. This would make it a Band A car in Ireland with €100 road tax.
For the home manufacturers, Citroën, Peugeot and Renault, low-emissions and the clever use of space was prominent.
The stunning-looking Citroën Hypnos crossover features a 2.0-litre diesel engine that puts out 200hp yet emits 120g/km of CO2, due to a hybrid system that works with an electric motor.
A similar system operates the Peugeot RC Prologue Hymotion4. Expected to be the firm's next MPV, the 3008, the concept can do up to 4.5km on electric-only mode. Meanwhile, Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn announced that they intended to build an electric vehicle, and the ZE Concept unveiled at the show would give a clue to the 2011 car's appearance. It features with a 95bhp electric motor and lithium-ion batteries.
Honda's new hybrid Insight was one of the stars of this year's show. Infinitely better looking that the Prius, the car is also set to undercut its Toyota rival in terms of price too.
And the much-talked-about Chevy Volt made its European debut at the show. The car uses a plug-in electric motor to drive the wheels with a petrol engine to generate more electricity once the car's lithium ion battery pack is used up. The car can run 60km from electric power alone and can be recharged using any household outlet.
The Koreans were not to be outdone with several green concepts and production variants from both Hyundai and Kia. The former will introduce a new low-emissions range in the near future, along with its new i20.
The latter used the show to unveil its new Soul model, a distinctive looking small car that will chase the likes of the Skoda Roomster and Nissan Note for sales. It's due in Ireland for New Year sales.
With US President George W Bush signing off legislation that will give US carmakers access to $25 billion (€18 billion) of cheap government-backed loans to help them build low-emissions cars, the European manufacturers can only look on in envy.
Carlos Ghosn, chief executive of Renault wished that Europe would do something similar. Brussels should take a leaf out of Washington's book, said Ghosn.
Governments should "lay down the financial means that will allow us to have low emission cars and zero emission cars", Ghosn says, according to industry magazine Automotive News Europe.
Amid an uncertain climate there is a new type of power struggle underway in the car market and it is not over horsepower, but rather to reduce CO2 emissions down to zero. And its a battle that has to be won soon.