2008 Saturn Flextreme Concept

2008 Saturn Flextreme Concept

The 2008 Saturn Flextreme may still be a concept, but it is another example that General Motors is serious about putting advanced, fuel-efficient hybrids on American roads in the not too distant future.  They had better be.  The long-term financial health of GM is staked in the success of cars like the Flextreme and Volt.  The “Not so distant future” is the standard answer out of Detroit regarding timelines for production of electric vehicles.  So when will the Saturn Flextreme be made? 2010.  Isn’t it great that the “not so distant future” is becoming the present?

Flextreme Concept

The Flextreme is the automotive sequel to the Chevy Volt, and a reskinned GM-owned Opel with Saturn badging. Aside from the badge changes,what’s important about this Saturn is the progress that it demonstrates. The ecologically minded plug-in Saturn features pure electric propulsion. One motor drives both front wheels.  The on-board three-cylinder 1.3-liter turbo-diesel is only used to charge the car’s lithium-ion battery pack. The batteries may also be charged by a standard household current in about three hours. Running on just electricity, the Flextreme is capable of driving up to 34 miles before the diesel engine starts up to charge up the batteries. This range, GM claims, will enable many drivers to own the vehicle for months or years without ever traveling far enough to require the Flextreme’s diesel engine to run during their normal commute, providing completely emissions-free operation.  Driving range after leaving the house with a fully charged battery pack and a full tank of ultra-low-sulfur diesel is estimated to be 444 miles.  Super low aerodynamics play a huge role in achieving greater driving range on electric-only power. According to GM, aerodynamics ar even more important than weight, so the Flextreme is stylistically designed to improve its aerodynamic drag.

Flextreme: Nice Blind spot!

Saturn continues to share design elements from Opel and will continue to do so with the replacement models of the Vectra and Aura. The base of the hood is pushed way forward, conventional stick-out rear-view mirrors are replaced by flush-mounted rear-view cameras, there are no exposed door handles, and the trailing edge of the roof remains high. Each of these design elements help smooth the flow of air over the car, making it easier for the electric motor to do its job.  While the wheels look to have conventional spokes, the wheel face doesn’t create energy-robbing turbulence, another mpg-increasing touch.  The design of the Flextreme also features “FlexDoors” and “FlexLoad” systems. The FlexDoors utilize conventionally opening front doors with reverse opening rears.

Flextreme: with FlexLoad system

The FlexLoad system is more unusual, and consists of an electrically powered load floor that literally hands you your stowed luggage. In keeping with the electrically-powered theme of this concept, the Flextreme carries twin Segway scooters in its cargo compartment. 

I’m skeptical about how many  of these various concept elements will make it into a production vehicle, but at least you will have the opportunity to drive an electric car before you know it.

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Can You Say “Wow?” Madza Sets Out to Turn Heads with the Kazamai

Remember the days you spent as a kid doodling about what the coolest car in the world would look like – if you got to design it? Clearly, someone on the Mazda design and development team must have gotten their wish.

The Madza Kazamai, a sleek, stylish compact crossover, make its depute in the concept parade at the Moscow auto show Aug. 26. Russia overtook Germany recently as the number one car market in Europe; the main reason Mazda officials say they chose to show off their new baby in Moscow.

FYI: Thirteen percent of all new car sales in Russia are compact SUVs. The class represents the second largest segment for an avid car buying public.

The Kazamai, which means “swirling crosswinds” in Japanese, is the sixth in a series of Mazda prospects. It all started with the Nagare at the 2006 L.A. auto show and evolved with the Ryuga, Hakaze, Taiki, and the Furai, with designs representing such things as rippling water.

The maker describes the Kazamai as being inspired by the crosswinds in nature. It’s an evolution of the Nagare, but far more aerodynamically proportioned. It all comes down to more Mazda “Zoom Zoom.”

With a five-point grille, accentuated front-wheel arches over 22-inch wheels, and a sleek roof line, the Kazamai, if produced, would have a four-wheel drive train consisting of a next-generation direct-injection engine and a newly developed transmission.

Think spirited driving adventure – while saving fuel and reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

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New York 2008: Suzuki Eyes Production with their Kizashi 3 Concept Unveiling

The Kizashi 3 concept shares the stage at its unveiling with its Suzuki brethren the Kizashi 1 and Kizashi 2 concepts. The Kizashi concepts all share a similar purpose, similar design influences and similar nose pieces, but one thing may set them apart. The Kizashi 3 is closer to what will be the real production version of the Kizashi than the other two. According to Suzuki sources representing the Kizashi 3 to the crowd what you see now is a close representation of what is destined to arrive in 2010.

The Kizashi 1 & 2 Concepts were a great influence on what looks to be near the final revision of the Kizashi concept and ,while we hate to see some of the more dramatic lines of the rear of the first two concepts disappear, Suzuki gains a lot of credit for keeping the bold fascia of the car intact. Powering the large sedan with the large grill breather in the front is a 3.6 liter V6 that is pumping out 300-hp to Suzuki’s all-wheel drive system that motors all four wheels of the car. If they can squeeze any more horsepower out of that V6 maybe they can include an aftermarket add-on of a larger “S” across that front grill - “SuperKizashi.”

All kidding aside it looks as though Suzuki could have a real winner arriving to our shores in 2010, and that is just what the competition needed… another strong Asian entrant in the sedan market. GM is struggling to maintain what was their dominance with their less than stimulating Malibu sedan that is receiving a huge marketing push from the battling auto giant. As if fighting off the Camry was bad enough by 2010 GM will be facing at least a 3 Brand assault as the Hyundai Genesis is now on the market and the Suzuki Kizashi arrives on the mainland.

Check out the full gallery of the Suzuki Kizashi unveiling, the official Press Release and the video of the pulling of the covers provided by AutoBlog… all to follow on the next page after the link. (more…)

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An electric car concept, the FT-EV, will be unveiled during the Detroit ...

Toyota executives foresee the future of the company engaged in the production of more hybrid and electric cars. They disclose that by the end of 2009, they will release the plug-in version of the Prius. Around 10 more new models of hybrid vehicles will be introduced by 2010. An electric car in 2012.

The concept cars from Toyota are results trying to come up with solutions for possible problems in the future. They talk in reference to the $4 per gallon fuel price last summer and treat it as a preview of what things may come.

An electric car concept, the FT-EV, will be unveiled during the Detroit Auto Show. This vehicle shares the DNA of the iQ which is an urban commuter already on public sale in Japan. The non-electric iQ is said to land to the US soil as a Scion.

The core plan of Toyota on the long run will be to focus on the development of non-plug-in vehicles like the Prius.

Toyota aims to sell a million hybrid cars by early 2010. The Japanese car maker says that the new Prius and Lexus HS250H on display in the Detroit Auto Show is a glimpse of what’s to come in the future.

The company shares information that the new gen Prius will come into production by late 2009 earlier than the plotted 2010 schedule. The new prius will be built to run on a NiMi battery for the hybrid version and lithium-ion cells for the plug in.

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