BMW has been rumored as of late to be pursuing everything from a so-called "0 Series" range of cars to a revival of its Isetta microcar brand, but the Bavarian automaker remains essentially mum on plans to diversify into the microcar market. Stoking the fires, however, is the new Simple concept, a leaning trike that is geared toward the "professional commuter" - that is, an urban dweller who travels alone.

From the start, the SIMPLE (which stands for: "Sustainable and Innovative Mobility Product for Low Energy consumption") was designed to minimize resources both in use and in production. The leaning concept is tall as a 5 Series, yet shorter than a Mini Cooper, and it offers seating space similar to that of a 3 Series coupe.

That tidy footprint and a slick drag coefficient of just 0.18 means that the Simple figures to be around 450 kilograms (under 1,000 pounds), so it only needs a small internal-combustion engine and an electric motor to power it. BMW says the Simple is capable of hitting 100 km/h – 62 mph – in under ten seconds and it tops out at over 200 km/h (124 mph), yet it needs a miserly 2 liters of gas over 100 km (62 miles), or around 118 mpg.

This isn't the first time BMW has investigated thrifty trikes – it actually began working on its CLEVER ("Compact Low Emission Vehicle for Urban Transport") concept back in 2002 in conjunction with the Berlin's Technical University, a project that took the form of a compressed natural gas trike with a CVT.

While there are no plans for production of either the SIMPLE or the CLEVER, BMW's expertise in motorcycles and its increasingly prominent Efficient Dynamics initiative doesn't have us ruling out a similar vehicle sometime down the road. In the meantime, you'll have to make the pilgrimage to the BMW Museum to check out BMW's SIMPLE and CLEVER contraptions. Check out the high-res gallery below and a video and press release after the jump.



[Source: BMW]

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We've praised Suzuki's SX4 Crossover in these pages before. With its quasi-softroader abilities, surprisingly direct steering, segment-exclusive all-wheel drive and generous equipment levels, the cheap n' cheerful hatchback has carved out a unique niche for itself in the U.S. marketplace. What it has always needed, however, was a bit more power and better fuel economy.

For 2010, Suzuki has given it exactly that – but only just. An all-new, 16-valve, 2.0-liter four-cylinder has taken up residence under the hood, and it now achieves 150 horsepower (@ 6,200 rpm) and 140 pound-feet of torque (@ 3,500 rpm). Those figures represent increases of 7 hp and 4 lb-ft of torque, increases that we presume would be difficult for most drivers to detect without other changes to go along with them. Thankfully, Suzuki has also spent a few shekels on the SX4's gearbox range, and the standard-fit manual transmission gains an extra ratio (for a total of six), while the three-pedal averse will get a new paddleshift CVT – both units with rejiggered ratios to improve acceleration times as well as mileage scores. About that – Suzuki claims the SportBack manual will get 22 mpg city/30 highway, while the CVT will net 23/30. While these figures represent improvements, they still trail classmates like the Honda Fit and Chevrolet Aveo, though the Suzuki does offer more power.

On the outside, the SportBack has been dropped onto 17-inch, 50-series Dunlops, with a lowered, KYB-controlled suspension setup, and there's a new bumper and grille to go along with the car's revamped aero package that includes new side skirts, a rather meek front spoiler, and a tweaked rear spoiler. Interestingly, Suzuki claims that the 2010 alterations actually make the SportBack perform better than its own well-regarded Swift in various handling disciplines, including steering and yaw performance, skidpad, as well as braking. Light-duty off-roaders take note – the SportBack is really just a conventional subcompact, as it isn't available with all-wheel drive like its Crossover stablemate.

Inside, the Sportback gets an updated navi system that includes 3D graphics, lane guidance, as well as collateral information like weather mapping and airline arrivals/departures, and there's a new instrument cluster as well. No word yet on pricing, but by way of guidance, the 2009 model-year SX4 Crossover (with its extra pair of driven wheels) commands $16,099. You can check out the full press release after the jump and the high-res gallery below.



[Source: Suzuki]

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It would be easy to paint Nissan as late to the burgeoning U.S. green party, as the company essentially only counts the Altima Hybrid to sell among its alt-fuel offerings – and that sedan utilizes technology borrowed from Toyota, and it's only sold in a few states in small volumes. While that may be the case, Nissan says their near-term prospects are really quite different. While the company has admittedly been cautious in marketing alt-fuel vehicles in North America, they have been hard at work developing electric vehicles – as well as the advanced lithium-ion batteries to support them – since 1992. What's more, officials say they are now singularly well-placed to leapfrog "transitional" powertrain solutions like gas-electric hybrids in favor of genuine zero-emissions vehicles, and they are promising that their first pure-electric car will reach U.S. shores late next year.

That car, the Nissan Leaf shown here, is the reason we find ourselves in the company's brand-new Yokohama headquarters today. Designed as a four-to-five seat, front-drive C-segment hatchback, Nissan says the Leaf is not just for use as a specialty urban runabout, but rather, it was designed as an everyday vehicle – a "real car" whose 160-kilometer+ (100 mile) range meets the needs of 70% of the world's motorists. In the case of U.S. consumers, Nissan says that fully 80% of drivers travel less than 100km per day (62 miles), making the Leaf a solid fit for America's motoring majority, even taking into account power-sapping external factors like hilly terrain, accessory draw, and extreme temperatures.

We were afforded an advance look at the Leaf ahead of the car's unveiling today, and while it was a hands-off affair, we did have the chance to formulate some in-the-metal first impressions and take a deep dive into the car's technology. Click through to the jump to learn all about it.

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Would-be automakers Local Motors have announced that they are now taking reservations for their madcap Rally Fighter, purportedly the world's first vehicle designed by Internet committee ("crowdsourcing"). Penned by contest-winner Sangho Kim, the Rally Fighter looks unlike any other street vehicle we can recall, taking the off-road coupe aesthetic shown in offerings like the BMW X6M and putting it on a crash course through Baja, or a Bowler Nemesis on a budget.

Your spot in line for the high-powered four-seater can be secured with a refundable $99 deposit. At some point in the future, you, a number-holder, will be contacted to lock in your build date with a $5,000 deposit against the estimated $50,000 build price. Then, if all goes well, the folks at Local Motors and you will sit down to design your own Rally Fighter, a vehicle that is promised to have 20-inches of suspension travel, be road legal, and achieve 36 miles-per-gallon on the highway (30 mpg off-road!).

In order to get the tube-framed, fiberglass-and-carbon bodied Rally Fighter to meet those goals, the off-roadster will feature the twin-turbo inline-six out of the BMW 335d, an engine that should get them the 265 horsepower and 425 pound-feet of torque without fiddling, though we can't imagine this is an inexpensive proposition.

This looks like a neat bit of kit, but we'll reserve a large dose of skepticism for the folks at Local Motors until we can learn more. In the meantime, check out the press release and a couple of videos of LM's crew making the initial order announcement and talking about the vehicle's construction, all of which is available after the jump. Hat tip to Mike!

[Source: Local Motors]

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Calling it "the most disappointing Honda Consumer Reports has tested in a long time," America's most influential product testing magazine has given extremely poor marks to the Japanese automaker's new Insight hybrid.

In a verdict that reminds us of a certain Jeremy Clarkson review (albeit more kindly worded), Consumer Reports blasted the gas-electric hatchback for its "ride quality, handling, interior noise, acceleration, rear-seat, access, and visibility," consigning the hapless Honda to a 21 out of 22 ranking among other small hatchbacks and wagons. Tallying a road test score of 54 points, it was trailed only by the widely-panned Dodge Caliber, which managed just 49 points.

Despite the fact that it won't receive a much-coveted CR "Recommended" nod, the Insight still managed to post a "Good" overall road test score (largely on the strength of its 38 miles-per-gallon as-tested fuel economy). Regardless, it was comprehensively beaten by both the Volkswagen Jetta Wagon and the Hyundai Elantra Touring, which scored 80 and 79 points, respectively.

The Insight was the only vehicle in CR's test group to not to be Recommended, save Kia's Soul, which was excluded because the organization hasn't compiled any reliability data on the vehicle yet. Check out the press release after the jump.


[Source: Consumer Reports]

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According to The Detroit News, the House and Senate came to terms late last night on a $1 billion 'cash for clunkers' initiative. Part of a larger $106 billion wartime spending bill, the program is not yet law, as the finalized bill must be passed by Congress (it is expected to be voted on next week) and signed into law by President Obama.

Under the terms of the compromise, vouchers worth up to $4,500 would be distributed to those who turn in old vehicles. The program's $1B backing figures to be well short of the $4B it is estimated to cost, meaning that the funding is expected to run out after September 30, the end of the fiscal year. As the theory goes, getting the program approved was the first big step – the DetNews says that key supporters believe that additional funding could be agreed upon subsequently.

As you may recall, the House approved the measure earlier this week, but there were reports of some significant troubles in the Senate where funding and mileage requirements were concerned. In the end, the same mileage figures were reportedly agreed upon, meaning vehicles that return 18 mpg or less in combined city/highway are eligible to turn in their vehicle for a cash voucher. If the new car replacement achieves at least 4 mpg better, a $3,500 voucher would be awarded, and if the new car achieved at least 10 mpg more, the credit would be $4,500. Trucks figure to be a bit different, however, with replacement vehicles needing to net at least 18 mpg, with figures at least 2 mpg better than the soon-to-be-scrapped turn-in. In order to receive the full $4,500 voucher, however, truck buyers' new vehicle would have to improve their fuel economy figures by at least 5 mpg.

[Source: The Detroit News | Image: Theo Heimann/Getty]]

Times may be tough, but that isn't stopping Daimler from having a bit of expensive-looking fun with its trainees... so long as there's an educational bent to it. What you see before you isn't an artful series of renderings, it's an actual time-warping fuel cell concept dubbed "F-CELL Roadster."

It took a year and more than 150 trainees to create, but the entire project involved using "junior employees," giving the company's up-and-coming employees a creative way to learn how alternative-fuel systems come together.

The F-CELL Roadster marries Benz Patent Motor Car stylings with 21st century tech wonderfully, including that legendary vehicle's general aesthetic and proportions, along with old-meets-new technologies like carbon-fiber buckets capped in hand-stitched leather and a drive-by-wire central control joystick.

The centerpiece, of course, is the Roadster's fuel cell powertrain, which has a power rating of 1.2 kilowatts, a top speed of 25 kilometers-per-hour, and a range of 350 kilometers. That means you'll have a long, slow trip, just like those adventuring motorists back at the turn of the century. Official press release posted after the jump.



[Source: Mercedes]

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While charging along at 85 mph with a particularly poker-faced Porsche engineer riding shotgun, traffic begins to cluster on the horizon. Not willing to risk our seven-figure prototype, I gently roll off the accelerator, at which point a funny thing happens: Without warning, the tachometer needle dies, unceremoniously plunging to zero RPM. The supercharged, 3.0-liter V6 ahead of us has gone stone dead, yet our Porsche Cayenne continues to waft along unruffled. We are coasting along on the Autobahn, with only a modest bit of wind noise and tire roar as our soundtrack.

Just as quickly as it began to appear, Stuttgart's traffic thins, and after gliding along for perhaps 15 or 20 seconds -- losing remarkably little velocity -- I ease back onto the throttle, at which point the rev counter jumps back to life just as quickly as it had extinguished, and the Cayenne eases back up to 95 mph before I slot in amongst slower traffic in the right lane. Beyond the tachometer's telltale drop and jump, there is exactly no indication that the engine momentarily packed it up just seconds before. My copilot, Dr. Michael Leiters, project manager for Porsche's Cayenne Hybrid, allows himself a brief smile.

Far from indicating a mechanical defect, we've just witnessed what our Deutsche companion refers to as "segeln" -- sailing -- a fuel saving maneuver that Porsche says other automakers have written off as impossible without jolting disruptions. Yet beyond the tach needle's machinations, there has been no drama whatsoever: no untoward thwack in the back, no expensive-sounding noises, no head toss, no coffee spilled, just seamlessly reintroduced acceleration. The gas pedal simply called upon the engine again and the electric motor restarted it in a flawless, 300-millisecond passing of the power baton. Remarkable stuff.

Follow the jump for more.

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EDAG has presented its new "Light Car – Open Source" concept here at the Geneva Motor Show, and while it outwardly appears to look like any other nondescript electric bubble car, there's a lot of innovative content on the inside screaming for attention.

It's hard to know where to start: The use of (O)LED technology as both driver-configurable exterior lighting units and as a television-screen-like safety feature that alerts those behind of road conditions; its 100 percent recyclable basalt fiber chassis (said to be at once lighter and cheaper than carbon-fiber or aluminum); or the fact that this is an open-source effort, with EDAG taking the lead but freely opening up the car's technologies to outside developers for improvement and modification.

In any case, the fact that the lithium-ion powered compact car utilizes in-wheel motors that help maximize interior space is a neat detail, but we're actually most intrigued by the (O)LED technology, which gives the Light Car an egg-smooth exterior. Out back, the (O)LEDs are used to show trailing vehicles not only the LCOS' strength of braking, but also road conditions ahead – a pedestrian crossing the road, say, or whether there's a speed or construction zone ahead. We imagine this sort of tech would be murder to legalize (at least in the States), but it does have us thinking in new ways about vehicle safety and car-to-car communications. See the EDAG's (O)LED tech in action in a video after the jump, and learn more from the official press release by downloading the PDF here.

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