GM goes electric in FrankfurtWe're not convinced about the wisdom of this one. GM is using this week's Frankfurt auto show to reiterate its commitment to alternative fuel cars with the unveiling of the Opel Flextreme, a concept plug-in car that builds on the buzz of the E-Flex drive train from the Chevy Volt. The car itself relies on a series hybrid drive train, which combines a lithium-ion powered-electric motor with a biodiesel combustion engine that is used solely for running the electric motor when the battery's charge runs out.

However, as blue-sky as the vehicle's power train may be (lithium-ion batteries have a long way to go before they're ready for production vehicles), that is not the main cause of our concern. What troubles us is the fact that the GM has integrated two Segways into the back of the Flextreme--presumably to highlight its electric-mobility message. Now, we're no marketing mavens, but we suspect that a company trying to promote a fledgling technology would try to avoid association with a device that ended up falling--commercially and physically--flat on its face.
The very flexible Opel Flextreme
GM goes flex-crazy with the Flextreme concept, throwing around its new favorite marketing term like a flexy flexible flyer. This Opel-branded concept runs on GM's new E-Flex powertrain. It has FlexDoors for the passengers and a FlexLoad rear gate. But the only thing anyone will pay attention to are the two nonflex Segways stowed in the rear.
Mercedes-Benz onslaughtAs we reported earlier, Mercedes-Benz promised 19 cars in 15 minutes at the 2007 Frankfurt auto show, and damn if they didn't deliver. The German automakers press conference resulted in a fleet of cars out on the show floor. As one might expect, Frankfurt is a huge auto show for Mercedes-Benz--the company gets a whole concert hall in the fair grounds to show off its cars. It filled the lower level of the hall with everything from the new F700 research vehicle to the Smart Micro-Hybrid. There were also quite a few variations on the hybrid theme, from regular gas-electric hybrids, such as the ML450 SUV, to diesel-electric hybrids, such as the C300 wagon.
We will follow up with more detailed information on these models in our continuing coverage from the 2007 Frankfurt auto show.
Up with VolkswagenVolkswagen dropped a bomb at the 2007 Frankfurt auto show in the form of an unexpected little concept called Up. Actually, it's more of a grenade, as the Up is a city car--small but able to hold four people. What makes the Up interesting is that the engine is in the rear, a configuration Volkswagen used with the original beetle. And from its press materials, Volkswagen suggests that the Up could be as iconic. That remains to be seen. Although we like the clean look of the Up, it doesn't stray far from the Golf's design.

It uses some interesting innovations to take advantage of the space inside. First, all of the seats except the driver's seat are removable, to make lots of cargo space. But, since the seats are thin, they can be stacked in the car without taking up all the extra space. The padding on the seats is inflatable, so they are supposed to adjust to whoever is sitting in them. Because the engine is in the rear, there's some storage space under the hood.
The tech interface in the Up is particularly interesting. The driver gets an 8-inch LCD in the instrument cluster, which shows vital car information. A 7-inch LCD sits on the center stack and has controls for music, navigation, telephones, and other car functions. The center LCD has a proximity sensor and will show available functions when you put your hand near it. For accessing different functions, it has what Volkswagen calls the main menu carousel, a set of icons that slide across the screen until you see the function you want and tap it.