German car makers strong in energy efficiency
By Ingo Ackerschott
When the automobile industry celebrates itself one can hope for presentations of new models and innovations in the areas of technology and fuel consumption. And so visitors to the Los Angeles Auto Show 2011 were not disappointed, for the show set a trailblazing course as the first big North American auto show in this year’s exhibition season with over 50 car debuts and approximately 1000 models. Of course, German car makers Volkwagen, Audi, Porsche, BMW and Mercedes were all present. Volkswagen’s Passat TDI was even among the five finalists nominated for the award traditionally given at the LA Auto Show for the most environmentally friendly car of the year (Green Car of the Year). Honda, however, took the award home, the Japanese winning the race with the “Civic Natural Gas.” Nevertheless it was a success for VW – and auto show visitors were allowed to take the Passat TDI out for a test drive.
Environmental friendliness in all car categories was a central theme. “Visitors to the LA Auto Show have become increasingly interested in the next generation of consumption-efficient cars,” remarked Andy Fuzesi, General Manager of the Los Angeles Auto Show. “This year reveals that different car technologies can fulfill these demands.” On display were around 20 cars with fuel consumption under 1.5 gallons, including the new Chevrolet Spark with its world premiere. In this category Volkwagen presented four cars: With the Jetta TDI, the Jetta SportWagen TDI, the Passat TDI and the Golf TDI the Wolfsburg car makers consistently ran with “Clean Diesel.” Audi, BMW and Mercedes displayed cars with the low-emission diesel technology that has made good headway in the US market. The sales volume of several of these models has been on the rise.
Hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars as well as electric cars also belong to a growth sector. The LA Auto Show presented the internationally most successful hybrid car, the Toyota Prius, in a plug-in hybrid version. In the electric driving mode the Prius has a cruising range of 15 miles with a targeted mileage of 475 miles. According to Toyota, its fuel consumption is 125 mpg. BMW presented two new concepts. The fully electric i3 concept is scheduled for production in 2013, and the realization of the i8 study is planned for 2014. The i8 involves a sports car with a plug-in hybrid drive that draws its energy from the electric i3-engine over the front axis in combination with a three-cylinder internal combustion engine with 164 kW (220 PS) on the rear axle. In tandem this combination achieves the performance of a real sports car with a fuel consumption of around 62 mpg.
Apropos sports cars: Porsche is also pushing forward with alternative drives. The Stuttgart car maker presented two hybrid cars, the Cayenne S and the Panamera S. In a typical Porsche design, the Panamera S, for instance, can attain a maximum speed of 170 mph. Sport car driving and alternative engines are not mutually exclusive.