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I was finally hoping to solve the mystery of the origin of the white Brabus, and they go and bring a black one
DrTaras
R254->R725->S->X->M3->M3P-->R2020?
Haha... well I suppose this one is actually a production car. It has a Signature 250 plate.I was finally hoping to solve the mystery of the origin of the white Brabus, and they go and bring a black one
That orange is certainly a bit much.
Frankfurt showcases electric cars | Frankfurt Auto Show 2009 - CNET Reviews
Frankfurt showcases electric cars | Frankfurt Auto Show 2009 - CNET Reviews
If I'm not mistaken that's the styling model with the nonexistent interior.
If I'm not mistaken that's the styling model with the nonexistent interior.
Hey Guys!
Indeed, the electric blue roadster on those pictures is actually Roadster Nr. 700! And, even better, it is actually mine!
I am happy to have entered the club of Roadster owners. The eletrician just installed my 32A plug in the garage, and I am going for I ride now!
I'll post pictures of the Roadster and the Tesla Stand at the IAA later!
Greatings to everyone!
Lennart
Indeed, the electric blue roadster on those pictures is actually Roadster Nr. 700! And, even better, it is actually mine!
I am happy to have entered the club of Roadster owners. The eletrician just installed my 32A plug in the garage, and I am going for I ride now!
I'll post pictures of the Roadster and the Tesla Stand at the IAA later!
Greatings to everyone!
Lennart
Congrats, Lennart, and welcome! :smile:
Can you tell us which number car out of the Signature 250 you got?
Just on my way back from the show. My goodness, it is EV madness :biggrin:
It took me 7 hours non-stop (without food or even a bathroom break) to get around them all...
Bumped into some people, had some good chats (Better Place, Mennekes), got hundreds of photos and can finally answer some of these questions.
No doubt about it, London last year was a hint of what about to happen, but this show is a landmark.
Will do the full write-up and Flickr upload when I get home, I need to eat! :smile:
Big thanks to Tesla and well done to Lennart. I heard about your Roadster business plan - very clever. Also congrats to Aaron on the new job.
It took me 7 hours non-stop (without food or even a bathroom break) to get around them all...
Bumped into some people, had some good chats (Better Place, Mennekes), got hundreds of photos and can finally answer some of these questions.
No doubt about it, London last year was a hint of what about to happen, but this show is a landmark.
Will do the full write-up and Flickr upload when I get home, I need to eat! :smile:
Big thanks to Tesla and well done to Lennart. I heard about your Roadster business plan - very clever. Also congrats to Aaron on the new job.
Thx Doug!, it's actually VIN Nr. 22!
Thx dpeilow, did we meet at the show?
I made some video footage yesterday with a helmet cam on the sidemirror, I'll upload that stuff later today.
Funny thing happened in the city, a female paranoid data protective student came up to me and told me it would be illegal (it's not) to film other people and cars with that camera. Than she started screaming around "that guy is filming us! He has a camera! This is illegal!" really loud and everyone passing us was stopped by her and she told them what I was doing. It was hillarious. Going to upload that aswell
So have a nice Roadster day guys!
I was there on Friday, so unless we briefly said hi. But I was being nosey and asking about the delivery to the 700th customer :smile:
graham
Active Member
I am surprised that Dan Niel didn't mention Tesla at all when talking about American car makers. Was their display truly not mentionable compared to the others?
I guess he was only referring to the majors. BTW, that transcript had a lot of errors. E.g., that last line in your quote should read, "General Motors, honestly, the Heineken tent is bigger."
Everything else is just a car museum
So here is the write-up I promised on Friday.
Note, for over 300 raw and unedited photos from the show, click here.
Short Version
The show is a real landmark for EV acceptance into the mainstream, at least in Europe. Not only are Tesla showing the Model S, but there are something like 40 other EVs at the show, many of which are from household names and the kind of thing that most people would be happy to be seen in. To have this in the home territory of one of the biggest hydrogen supporters (i.e. the German auto industry) is also significant.
The announcement by Better Place and Renault will, I’m sure, go down in history and this show is important for that alone. But we can’t be complacent, the genie could still go back in the bottle and there is still a lot of work to do. Nevertheless, it is clear that a lot more people are getting it.
Long Version
I wouldn’t normally travel to another country for a car show – and the idea of flying somewhere to see zero emissions vehicles seems a little ironic – but all this week I was in mainland Europe for work reasons. As my Friday was free, it was feasible (and not too much further than my normal flight) to go to Frankfurt and see what promised to be a very interesting show. So I called my friend Joost, asked if I could stay over at his after my meetings on Thursday and booked myself a ticket to Frankfurt.
I had an early start at Utrecht to catch the long range EV (that’s the ICE train to non-voltheads). This was my first time using the ICE: It’s very impressive – quick, comfortable and punctual, while still retaining some of that old school train atmosphere which many others now seem to have lost. Sipping on coffee while overtaking everything on the autobahn definitely has its attractions (and being able to look out over the driver’s shoulder is pretty cool too).
My electric ride to Frankfurt: 11,000 zero emission, autobahn-beating horsepower
Passing by the alternate wind farms and large coal power stations of North West Germany, and being propelled by their output, the journey evoked thoughts of many of the issues we talk about here. If electric cars are the answer at a local level, then these trains are definitely the answer at a regional level. It is a much nicer way to travel than short-haul aircraft. Long-haul will have to wait for Elon’s supersonic electric planes.
Anyway, I arrived in Frankfurt later in the morning and headed to the arranged meeting point at the show. Because Friday was a trade day, the guys from Tesla had fixed me up with a trade ticket to get in. Well you have to use your contacts sometimes, right? :wink: Normally the likes of me would have to go on the weekend or next week, but I didn’t have the option. Big thanks to the team for helping out.
So as I was walking around the grounds to that gate, it was fitting that the first cars from the show I saw were the two RWE Teslas having a little race along the adjacent dual-carriageway. I almost missed them, not because I couldn’t hear them, but because I could hear them. I was looking down at a map and I heard some cars passing and wasn’t paying attention – there was nothing unusual about the sound. I caught them in the corner of my eye, looked up (unfortunately there was no time to take what would have been a pretty sweet picture) and made a point of listening to the next few vehicles to pass. From my vantage point, the next 5 cars and 2 vans sounded no different. I didn’t see any dead pigeons, either.
While I was waiting to get in, I noticed that RWE had a couple of “toy” EV’s (smaller versions of what you might see towing trains of suitcases at the airport) outside of the main doors, with advertisements for RWE charging points on little trailers. I wasn’t sure this was a good way to promote EVs, nevertheless this was just a taste of what was to come. Then Jochen from Tesla met me and we walked to the stand. Jochen explained that it has been a very busy week for the company. On the press days, he said there were more journalists on Tesla’s 200 metre-squared stand than Porsche had on their 2000 metre-squared stand. He said they had even sold the yellow show car. In his words, “our stand is where the action has been, everything else here is just a car museum.”
After storing my suitcase and drinking some much-needed water (it was a pretty hot day), I got my first look at the Model S prototype. Wow, it doesn’t disappoint. What was interesting when seeing it for real is that it didn’t seem as big as I was expecting. I think some of the previous comments on here had me thinking it was going to be very big, but I was pleasantly surprised to see it was ‘just right’.
This is the white mock-up that has been seen several times in the US and it is perhaps in need of a freshen up. The interior (what there is of it) was looking a little bit sorry for itself. I had hoped that Tesla would bring the working car – that sends out a very different message to a 1:1 scale model.
The Model S mock-up looks great on the outside
But is showing her age a bit on the inside
After the Model S, I had a quick look at the Brabus Roadster and Smart High Voltage across the aisle, before heading around the corner to the Fisker stand. This was a very different set-up to Tesla. While Tesla is happy for the public to touch and get in the cars, getting access to Fisker seemed to be by invitation only. Nevertheless, there was a fair bit of interest around the stand and I think both the original and Sunset look good in the flesh. I got a look under the hood, but with various arms and legs in the way, it didn’t make for a great photo.
Fisker's charging station - you know what the cars look like
Next up I stopped off at Lotus to look at the Evora race car (very cool), before heading to the Aston Martin stand. Whether it was the lighting or whether it was having come from seeing the Model S, I don’t know, but for some reason the Rapide just didn’t do it for me. I found this quite surprising – I thought it looked great in the photos, but somehow in the flesh it was just average. I think this may be the Tesla effect. For some reason, an ICE car now has to be very special to get my interest.
Still with me? That was just the first hall and I didn't even talk about Porsche and Jaguar...
After a brief look at a cute little Alpha Romeo roadster, I headed to the Hyundai stand. The ix-Metro looks very cool, it shows that a small eco-box hybrid does not have to be boring – please produce it. The i-10 electric seemed to be getting a lot of attention too. Although far more conventional, this one will definitely be produced. It has a 49kW motor, 81mph top speed, a 99 mile range (from 16kWh) and was the first of dozens of vehicles I saw using the Mennekes plug.
The Hyundai ix-Metro. Try as I might, I could not get those girls to move...
The interior is pretty cool
The i-10 is more plain, but will definitely go into production
Citroën had a couple of xEVs on their stand. A converted Berlingo van using zebra batteries and the Revolte. I’ve seen some negative comments about the latter, but it has a lot of character and if it lost the lilac colour it would be a pretty cool car.
The Revolte - strange choice of name, but I think a pretty cool car (in black...)
Next up was Peugeot and the iOn. There’s not a lot to say about this – it’s the i-MIEV with a lion badge on the front instead of the diamond propeller. What was notable was the size – or lack of – of the adjacent 50kW charging station. It is tiny, just a few inches thick. Peugeot also had a second EV on the stand, but unfortunately this is another EV odd-mobile that looks like it is going backwards. Even more unfortunately, earlier in the week Angela Merkel got pictured in it in the papers. More likely to get built is a 4 seat diesel-electric hybrid.
The iOn with its (and I presume i-MIEV's) DC fast charger
On to the Toyota stand and first of the plug-in Prius. I’m sure by now you’ve seen that it will go 62mph in EV mode and has a 12.5 mile range. Other than that, it just looks like a current Prius with an SAE-type plug. They also had their iQ-based EV on show – what a contrast to the Rav4. At the back of the stand was Toyota’s FCHV-adv hydrogen SUV. Like all good hydrogen vehicles should be, this one was cut in half :biggrin:. Looking at the location of two of the tanks, I wouldn’t want to be a back seat passenger either.
The FCHV was the victim of an unfortunately buzz saw accident.
At the Lexus stand the most notable vehicle is the LF-Ch concept. I didn’t like the look of the car in pictures, but in the flesh I think it looks awesome. Lexus – please build this in this form and please put a plug on it.
Opel were both celebrating their new found freedom and showing the Ampera. There was a rolling chassis on display and what I found interesting was how thin the battery is in the central tunnel. Not sure why, but I expected it to be bigger. I’d seen the Ampera before at a previous show – it looks good and I’m sure they will sell at the right price.
The Ampera chassis
On to Subaru and the R1e. This was a bit of a disappointment. I liked the green one that I had seen in pictures, but somehow in white it looks a bit bland. The Fiat 500 has done this shape better, and with a range of only 50 miles it really is no better than some of the small EVs that were on test fleets in Europe in the '90s.
In the next hall I found the stand of the power company E.On. They had a Mini-E and perhaps the largest charging station I’ve seen. This thing is the size of a phone booth – and has a lid that lifts up high enough to stand under. It also has older three and single-phase variants of the Mennekes plugs. It was here that I saw my first “grey haired old man”, a German old timer lecturing the nice lady from E.On on the benefits of hydrogen. I was hanging around for ages but this guy wouldn’t take the hint. Fortunately more staff came back after a while and so I was able to talk about the programme that is getting underway in Munich (very early days) and get some photos of me in the car...
The Mini-E and E.On charging station
I had a good look over the car. Up front is virtually normal Mini (apart from the charge gauge), but as we know the back is mostly batteries. The trunk is slightly bigger than I’d imagined. You can perhaps get a couple of sports bags back there.
Hopefully this will be a common sight in the coming weeks and months...
On to the BMW hall and first up was another Mini-E. This was car 001. It had slightly different styling – the “domes” on the battery box and some trim on the wheels were yellow. It’s very clear that it is a good quality conversion – the novel parts are fitted with the usual Mini quality. The sign here confirmed that the car can charge from 240V / 50A (I'd previously only heard 32A).
Some Japanese guys were going to town taking pictures of every aspect of the car, even getting on the ground and taking pictures of everything under it. I asked them if there was something interesting under there and they just looked a little sheepish... These same two later showed up at the Renault stand doing the same – I wonder which car company they were from?
Interestingly, BMW Group claim that this is the “first to use the latest generation of lithium ion batteries in an all electric vehicle”. Hmm...
Mini are making a big deal out of their concept of “minimalism”, i.e. doing more with less. Also on their stand were a Mini Roadster and Coupé, and the thought occurred to me that this might be their way to a production EV, i.e. using cars that are designed to be two seaters from the outset rather than converting the standard body.
There were a number of smaller stands in the next hall (the 4e4, the EDAG Light Car and e-Wolf among others). A firm called German E Cars had a small city car called Benni. This is an imported Asian body but is being fitted with their own electric components. It looked like a nice product.
German E Cars' Benni
Volkswagen had the E-up! on their stand, which seemed to be getting a lot of attention. It looks well built, if a little Spartan inside (as befits the “Beetle for the 21st century”) – however, I can’t see what it offers over and above the products from Think or NICE that are running around now or why it would take four years to get into production. I’m sure the solar panels will be gone by then too.
The E-up! with all-important solar sun visors
On to the Audi stand to see the first big news of the show, but not without first stopping to see a polished metal R8 or the R8 Spider. Both looked awesome, but somehow normal. The E-tron (I can’t now write that without thinking étron) is a bit different – like it’s just landed from 2030, but in a believable way (as opposed to Will Smith's wheels). Perhaps this is the point. The concept does work though, but those weird wheels and that grill make it a little sci-fi. There was a comment on another blog about lack of rear visibility – there is in fact no back window. I wonder if they are using another camera connected to an LCD rear-view “mirror”?
The Audi E-tron
As close as I could get to the interior
E-tron: Vorsprung turd technik
Not being able to get close to the car, it’s impossible to say how “real” it is. One thing is clear though: Audi had this and the R8 Spider as the centrepieces of their stand, so the statement of intent is clear. It was one of the most densely-packed areas of the show.
One other thought: E-tron - sounds like Elon. I wonder if that is deliberate?
On to the Renault stand and the second big news of the show; the Fluence ZE concept. I said this earlier in the week and I stand by the comment: This would make a good Bluestar. It’s a very good looking and aerodynamic small saloon/sedan that if they lost the glowing green trim and flashing lights, would be a big seller for Renault. It would certainly get the right sort of attention for EVs. A girl there said they hope to sell the car for the same price as a normal diesel, plus the battery lease.
Renault's Fluence ZE Concept
Fluence ZE Concept rear and interior
A second Fluence mock-up was atop a display of a future battery-swap station. Every time the “battery” was swapped, geeks from all over the hall would suddenly materialise, getting in the way of me taking pictures of it! Of course, I was there for 3 whole cycles, so what does that say...?
Moving on, the Zoe concept seems to work a lot better in person, like something from Bladerunner or Judge Dread, although it will not reach production in this form. Of Renault’s other offerings, the Twizy is like a space-aged Tango, with 1+1 seating and the Kangoo is, well, a van. One good thing Renault did was to put the emissions from each source of electricity, and the EU production mix, on the information signs next to the cars.
Much had been made of Renault having an all-EV stand. Not true – the ICE cars were there too, although the EVs were the centre-piece. What all the journalists seemed to have missed, however, was the regular ICE version of the Fluence. This looks like any contemporary, slightly angular, saloon car – however, this will be the version that is supplied in EV form to Better Place for their 100,000 car order.
The real production Fluence - could this seemingly everyday sedan
become a major landmark in the history of the car?
Better Place had a stand adjacent to Renault and there I was able to talk to Kerry Haley from their Global Infrastructure Deployment team. It is interesting that Better Place has decided to use standardised plugs – this is why they will use SAE in Israel (it will be ready in time), whereas for Denmark and the rest of Europe it will be the Mennekes plug. Charging stations of both types were on display.
European (Mennekes) and other versions of the Better Place charging posts
It’s clear that Better Place are thinking about their business very carefully. They have a mountain of data about travel patterns in their target markets and are already on top of the usual questions such as how to deal with busy periods (e.g. holiday weekends), how to manage the load on the grid and what improvements in battery chemistry will do to their business model. They believe they have a viable model even if we get to the “all day battery”. It also sounds like we should expect announcements about other markets in the not too distant future.
Ford had a BEV focus on display. At this stage in its development, the car is capable of 120km (about 75 miles) range and 15 are about to go on trial in London. Although Ford intends to launch a version with a 160km (100 mile) range in the US in 2011, there is no guarantee that this will also come to Europe. The car’s battery is mounted under the chassis in a crash-proof container, although to get the extra 25 miles it is possible they might have to put some more in the boot/trunk.
The Focus BEV - coming to a garage near you soon (if you are American)
At Volvo, the S60 Concept seems to have borrowed the Model S’ door handles, but I could see no sign of their EV...
On to Mercedes Benz. A Smart Brabus ED greets you as you walk through the entrance and the E-Cell and E-Cell Plus have pride of place in the main hall. The F-cell is tucked away behind them.
Mercedes E-Cell and E-Cell Plus
It was by the E-Cell cars that I bumped into two staff from Mennekes. One happened to be their head of standardisation, so I asked about progress on the standard. In a nutshell, they are working towards including the Japanese/US and their proposal in the new IEC standard, so there is hope yet that the Mennekes three-phase design could be used in the US too. However, at the last minute an Italian proposal was entered and so this is having to be dealt with. In my experience of standards groups, this behaviour is pretty familiar. They are still working towards a “committee draft” by December and judging by the number of vehicles and charging posts evident with the Mennekes design, it seems to me like a formality. Their only concern was making all the Better Place plugs for Denmark.
The plug itself is just a push-fit design (no “trigger”) and I couldn’t see any obvious mechanism for the interlock. But it is easy to use and handle (unlike the plug on an older Smart ED that I took out and then had trouble to get back in).
There were several Smart EDs on display, including one that had been cut away for display. No obvious sign of Tesla components, although the motor was a Zytek.
Outside was a large display from RWE. By this time, one of the RWE Roadsters was back, as was the RUF Greenster. I got to talk to the man from RUF, which was interesting. He says they have nearly 70 pre-orders for the car now and that various body styles are planned. It has 330bhp and does 230km/h, the standard version has a range of 280km, but there is a 350km version planned which puts more batteries in the rear. The standard version is €180,000. It is not being done “with the blessing” of Porsche (as I think some other sites have inferred), but RUF are very serious about it.
One of the RWE Roadsters - EU Signature 250, #3
The RUF Greenster instruments
Also at the RWE stand was a Think and the yellow Lotus we have seen from Electric Cars Europe (Detroit Electric). This was being used as a large video game controller.
The ECE Lotus
RWE themselves has a display showing how they plan to roll out charging stations across Germany, so that by 2015 all main urban areas are covered and by 2020 virtually all populated areas are covered.
By this time it was getting late and I had about an hour left. I headed over to Loremo and talked to the guys there for a bit. That car is so small, it’s incredible – you really can’t tell from the pictures. It takes the Lotus “add lightness” ethos to the extreme, I think.
I had a quick look at the iChange before calling in at Reva. Never thought I’d say this, but I think their NXG model looks pretty good. Both that and the NXR are vast improvements on the G-Wizz.
There was time for a quick chat with a guy from a company called Salamander promoting Zinc-air fuel cells. This seemed like an interesting concept – the spent cartridges being recycled back to new zinc through solar power, but I’d have to investigate further to know for sure.
I had a quick look at the BMW efficientdynamics concept car (cool, but certainly never to be built in that form) before heading back to Tesla.
It was on the way back to Tesla that I spotted the GM Opel Hydrogen4 vehicle being used as a press vehicle. Does anyone else find this somewhat cynical? Promote the EV or REEV on the stand, but ferry journalists around in this so-called “production ready” H2 vehicle? Do they still fall for it?
The scam continues
It was when I got back to Tesla that I met Craig Davis. We were having a good chat about everything I had seen when he asked if I saw Aaron Platshon. Then the penny dropped. I had a feeling I saw him at the Better Place stand, but my brain said “nah, can’t be”. So I ran back across to that hall to catch him before the show closed and had a quick chat. I’m sorry to see him move on - I think he was the first person a lot of us met at Tesla, but let’s hope there are some interesting tie-ups that come out of this kind of thing as the industry matures.
So I headed back to Tesla (again) to get my bags and wrap up a long day. By this time things had died down and I was able to get some clearer shots of the cars. For me the Model S was one of the stars of the show. It looks fast sitting still, it looks fresh and modern without being out there, it cleverly incorporates good aerodynamics without looking wacky and it looks like it is going to be worth every penny. By the time the show next comes around, I want to see a whole fleet of them being used as press cars. It’s a shame that the Audi E-tron has stolen much of the limelight – but then again the local press were always going to go for the home team. I’m sure that was part of the Audi plan.
One last look at her, and then I was off
In a nutshell, this show was amazing. EVs everywhere, many being given pride of place or at least an equal billing to ICE cars. To have so many power utility companies at the show is a statement in itself, not least because normal car fans will recognise the brands and put two and two together. Like the man said: Everything else is just a car museum.
A footnote...
I had to fly back to the UK that night (the rumoured London to Frankfurt train service hasn't started yet), so I headed to the airport straight from the show. On my way to the gate, I suddenly became aware of a presence behind me. I turned around to see one of those electric carts they use to ferry pensioners right on my heels. No noise, no lights, no warning from the driver. Damn EVs – fit them all with buzzers I say :biggrin:
So here is the write-up I promised on Friday.
Note, for over 300 raw and unedited photos from the show, click here.
Short Version
The show is a real landmark for EV acceptance into the mainstream, at least in Europe. Not only are Tesla showing the Model S, but there are something like 40 other EVs at the show, many of which are from household names and the kind of thing that most people would be happy to be seen in. To have this in the home territory of one of the biggest hydrogen supporters (i.e. the German auto industry) is also significant.
The announcement by Better Place and Renault will, I’m sure, go down in history and this show is important for that alone. But we can’t be complacent, the genie could still go back in the bottle and there is still a lot of work to do. Nevertheless, it is clear that a lot more people are getting it.
Long Version
I wouldn’t normally travel to another country for a car show – and the idea of flying somewhere to see zero emissions vehicles seems a little ironic – but all this week I was in mainland Europe for work reasons. As my Friday was free, it was feasible (and not too much further than my normal flight) to go to Frankfurt and see what promised to be a very interesting show. So I called my friend Joost, asked if I could stay over at his after my meetings on Thursday and booked myself a ticket to Frankfurt.
I had an early start at Utrecht to catch the long range EV (that’s the ICE train to non-voltheads). This was my first time using the ICE: It’s very impressive – quick, comfortable and punctual, while still retaining some of that old school train atmosphere which many others now seem to have lost. Sipping on coffee while overtaking everything on the autobahn definitely has its attractions (and being able to look out over the driver’s shoulder is pretty cool too).
My electric ride to Frankfurt: 11,000 zero emission, autobahn-beating horsepower
Passing by the alternate wind farms and large coal power stations of North West Germany, and being propelled by their output, the journey evoked thoughts of many of the issues we talk about here. If electric cars are the answer at a local level, then these trains are definitely the answer at a regional level. It is a much nicer way to travel than short-haul aircraft. Long-haul will have to wait for Elon’s supersonic electric planes.
Anyway, I arrived in Frankfurt later in the morning and headed to the arranged meeting point at the show. Because Friday was a trade day, the guys from Tesla had fixed me up with a trade ticket to get in. Well you have to use your contacts sometimes, right? :wink: Normally the likes of me would have to go on the weekend or next week, but I didn’t have the option. Big thanks to the team for helping out.
So as I was walking around the grounds to that gate, it was fitting that the first cars from the show I saw were the two RWE Teslas having a little race along the adjacent dual-carriageway. I almost missed them, not because I couldn’t hear them, but because I could hear them. I was looking down at a map and I heard some cars passing and wasn’t paying attention – there was nothing unusual about the sound. I caught them in the corner of my eye, looked up (unfortunately there was no time to take what would have been a pretty sweet picture) and made a point of listening to the next few vehicles to pass. From my vantage point, the next 5 cars and 2 vans sounded no different. I didn’t see any dead pigeons, either.
While I was waiting to get in, I noticed that RWE had a couple of “toy” EV’s (smaller versions of what you might see towing trains of suitcases at the airport) outside of the main doors, with advertisements for RWE charging points on little trailers. I wasn’t sure this was a good way to promote EVs, nevertheless this was just a taste of what was to come. Then Jochen from Tesla met me and we walked to the stand. Jochen explained that it has been a very busy week for the company. On the press days, he said there were more journalists on Tesla’s 200 metre-squared stand than Porsche had on their 2000 metre-squared stand. He said they had even sold the yellow show car. In his words, “our stand is where the action has been, everything else here is just a car museum.”
After storing my suitcase and drinking some much-needed water (it was a pretty hot day), I got my first look at the Model S prototype. Wow, it doesn’t disappoint. What was interesting when seeing it for real is that it didn’t seem as big as I was expecting. I think some of the previous comments on here had me thinking it was going to be very big, but I was pleasantly surprised to see it was ‘just right’.
This is the white mock-up that has been seen several times in the US and it is perhaps in need of a freshen up. The interior (what there is of it) was looking a little bit sorry for itself. I had hoped that Tesla would bring the working car – that sends out a very different message to a 1:1 scale model.
The Model S mock-up looks great on the outside
But is showing her age a bit on the inside
After the Model S, I had a quick look at the Brabus Roadster and Smart High Voltage across the aisle, before heading around the corner to the Fisker stand. This was a very different set-up to Tesla. While Tesla is happy for the public to touch and get in the cars, getting access to Fisker seemed to be by invitation only. Nevertheless, there was a fair bit of interest around the stand and I think both the original and Sunset look good in the flesh. I got a look under the hood, but with various arms and legs in the way, it didn’t make for a great photo.
Fisker's charging station - you know what the cars look like
Next up I stopped off at Lotus to look at the Evora race car (very cool), before heading to the Aston Martin stand. Whether it was the lighting or whether it was having come from seeing the Model S, I don’t know, but for some reason the Rapide just didn’t do it for me. I found this quite surprising – I thought it looked great in the photos, but somehow in the flesh it was just average. I think this may be the Tesla effect. For some reason, an ICE car now has to be very special to get my interest.
Still with me? That was just the first hall and I didn't even talk about Porsche and Jaguar...
After a brief look at a cute little Alpha Romeo roadster, I headed to the Hyundai stand. The ix-Metro looks very cool, it shows that a small eco-box hybrid does not have to be boring – please produce it. The i-10 electric seemed to be getting a lot of attention too. Although far more conventional, this one will definitely be produced. It has a 49kW motor, 81mph top speed, a 99 mile range (from 16kWh) and was the first of dozens of vehicles I saw using the Mennekes plug.
The Hyundai ix-Metro. Try as I might, I could not get those girls to move...
The interior is pretty cool
The i-10 is more plain, but will definitely go into production
Citroën had a couple of xEVs on their stand. A converted Berlingo van using zebra batteries and the Revolte. I’ve seen some negative comments about the latter, but it has a lot of character and if it lost the lilac colour it would be a pretty cool car.
The Revolte - strange choice of name, but I think a pretty cool car (in black...)
Next up was Peugeot and the iOn. There’s not a lot to say about this – it’s the i-MIEV with a lion badge on the front instead of the diamond propeller. What was notable was the size – or lack of – of the adjacent 50kW charging station. It is tiny, just a few inches thick. Peugeot also had a second EV on the stand, but unfortunately this is another EV odd-mobile that looks like it is going backwards. Even more unfortunately, earlier in the week Angela Merkel got pictured in it in the papers. More likely to get built is a 4 seat diesel-electric hybrid.
The iOn with its (and I presume i-MIEV's) DC fast charger
On to the Toyota stand and first of the plug-in Prius. I’m sure by now you’ve seen that it will go 62mph in EV mode and has a 12.5 mile range. Other than that, it just looks like a current Prius with an SAE-type plug. They also had their iQ-based EV on show – what a contrast to the Rav4. At the back of the stand was Toyota’s FCHV-adv hydrogen SUV. Like all good hydrogen vehicles should be, this one was cut in half :biggrin:. Looking at the location of two of the tanks, I wouldn’t want to be a back seat passenger either.
The FCHV was the victim of an unfortunately buzz saw accident.
At the Lexus stand the most notable vehicle is the LF-Ch concept. I didn’t like the look of the car in pictures, but in the flesh I think it looks awesome. Lexus – please build this in this form and please put a plug on it.
Opel were both celebrating their new found freedom and showing the Ampera. There was a rolling chassis on display and what I found interesting was how thin the battery is in the central tunnel. Not sure why, but I expected it to be bigger. I’d seen the Ampera before at a previous show – it looks good and I’m sure they will sell at the right price.
The Ampera chassis
On to Subaru and the R1e. This was a bit of a disappointment. I liked the green one that I had seen in pictures, but somehow in white it looks a bit bland. The Fiat 500 has done this shape better, and with a range of only 50 miles it really is no better than some of the small EVs that were on test fleets in Europe in the '90s.
In the next hall I found the stand of the power company E.On. They had a Mini-E and perhaps the largest charging station I’ve seen. This thing is the size of a phone booth – and has a lid that lifts up high enough to stand under. It also has older three and single-phase variants of the Mennekes plugs. It was here that I saw my first “grey haired old man”, a German old timer lecturing the nice lady from E.On on the benefits of hydrogen. I was hanging around for ages but this guy wouldn’t take the hint. Fortunately more staff came back after a while and so I was able to talk about the programme that is getting underway in Munich (very early days) and get some photos of me in the car...
The Mini-E and E.On charging station
I had a good look over the car. Up front is virtually normal Mini (apart from the charge gauge), but as we know the back is mostly batteries. The trunk is slightly bigger than I’d imagined. You can perhaps get a couple of sports bags back there.
Hopefully this will be a common sight in the coming weeks and months...
On to the BMW hall and first up was another Mini-E. This was car 001. It had slightly different styling – the “domes” on the battery box and some trim on the wheels were yellow. It’s very clear that it is a good quality conversion – the novel parts are fitted with the usual Mini quality. The sign here confirmed that the car can charge from 240V / 50A (I'd previously only heard 32A).
Some Japanese guys were going to town taking pictures of every aspect of the car, even getting on the ground and taking pictures of everything under it. I asked them if there was something interesting under there and they just looked a little sheepish... These same two later showed up at the Renault stand doing the same – I wonder which car company they were from?
Interestingly, BMW Group claim that this is the “first to use the latest generation of lithium ion batteries in an all electric vehicle”. Hmm...
Mini are making a big deal out of their concept of “minimalism”, i.e. doing more with less. Also on their stand were a Mini Roadster and Coupé, and the thought occurred to me that this might be their way to a production EV, i.e. using cars that are designed to be two seaters from the outset rather than converting the standard body.
There were a number of smaller stands in the next hall (the 4e4, the EDAG Light Car and e-Wolf among others). A firm called German E Cars had a small city car called Benni. This is an imported Asian body but is being fitted with their own electric components. It looked like a nice product.
German E Cars' Benni
Volkswagen had the E-up! on their stand, which seemed to be getting a lot of attention. It looks well built, if a little Spartan inside (as befits the “Beetle for the 21st century”) – however, I can’t see what it offers over and above the products from Think or NICE that are running around now or why it would take four years to get into production. I’m sure the solar panels will be gone by then too.
The E-up! with all-important solar sun visors
On to the Audi stand to see the first big news of the show, but not without first stopping to see a polished metal R8 or the R8 Spider. Both looked awesome, but somehow normal. The E-tron (I can’t now write that without thinking étron) is a bit different – like it’s just landed from 2030, but in a believable way (as opposed to Will Smith's wheels). Perhaps this is the point. The concept does work though, but those weird wheels and that grill make it a little sci-fi. There was a comment on another blog about lack of rear visibility – there is in fact no back window. I wonder if they are using another camera connected to an LCD rear-view “mirror”?
The Audi E-tron
As close as I could get to the interior
E-tron: Vorsprung turd technik
Not being able to get close to the car, it’s impossible to say how “real” it is. One thing is clear though: Audi had this and the R8 Spider as the centrepieces of their stand, so the statement of intent is clear. It was one of the most densely-packed areas of the show.
One other thought: E-tron - sounds like Elon. I wonder if that is deliberate?
On to the Renault stand and the second big news of the show; the Fluence ZE concept. I said this earlier in the week and I stand by the comment: This would make a good Bluestar. It’s a very good looking and aerodynamic small saloon/sedan that if they lost the glowing green trim and flashing lights, would be a big seller for Renault. It would certainly get the right sort of attention for EVs. A girl there said they hope to sell the car for the same price as a normal diesel, plus the battery lease.
Renault's Fluence ZE Concept
Fluence ZE Concept rear and interior
A second Fluence mock-up was atop a display of a future battery-swap station. Every time the “battery” was swapped, geeks from all over the hall would suddenly materialise, getting in the way of me taking pictures of it! Of course, I was there for 3 whole cycles, so what does that say...?
Moving on, the Zoe concept seems to work a lot better in person, like something from Bladerunner or Judge Dread, although it will not reach production in this form. Of Renault’s other offerings, the Twizy is like a space-aged Tango, with 1+1 seating and the Kangoo is, well, a van. One good thing Renault did was to put the emissions from each source of electricity, and the EU production mix, on the information signs next to the cars.
Much had been made of Renault having an all-EV stand. Not true – the ICE cars were there too, although the EVs were the centre-piece. What all the journalists seemed to have missed, however, was the regular ICE version of the Fluence. This looks like any contemporary, slightly angular, saloon car – however, this will be the version that is supplied in EV form to Better Place for their 100,000 car order.
The real production Fluence - could this seemingly everyday sedan
become a major landmark in the history of the car?
Better Place had a stand adjacent to Renault and there I was able to talk to Kerry Haley from their Global Infrastructure Deployment team. It is interesting that Better Place has decided to use standardised plugs – this is why they will use SAE in Israel (it will be ready in time), whereas for Denmark and the rest of Europe it will be the Mennekes plug. Charging stations of both types were on display.
European (Mennekes) and other versions of the Better Place charging posts
It’s clear that Better Place are thinking about their business very carefully. They have a mountain of data about travel patterns in their target markets and are already on top of the usual questions such as how to deal with busy periods (e.g. holiday weekends), how to manage the load on the grid and what improvements in battery chemistry will do to their business model. They believe they have a viable model even if we get to the “all day battery”. It also sounds like we should expect announcements about other markets in the not too distant future.
Ford had a BEV focus on display. At this stage in its development, the car is capable of 120km (about 75 miles) range and 15 are about to go on trial in London. Although Ford intends to launch a version with a 160km (100 mile) range in the US in 2011, there is no guarantee that this will also come to Europe. The car’s battery is mounted under the chassis in a crash-proof container, although to get the extra 25 miles it is possible they might have to put some more in the boot/trunk.
The Focus BEV - coming to a garage near you soon (if you are American)
At Volvo, the S60 Concept seems to have borrowed the Model S’ door handles, but I could see no sign of their EV...
On to Mercedes Benz. A Smart Brabus ED greets you as you walk through the entrance and the E-Cell and E-Cell Plus have pride of place in the main hall. The F-cell is tucked away behind them.
Mercedes E-Cell and E-Cell Plus
It was by the E-Cell cars that I bumped into two staff from Mennekes. One happened to be their head of standardisation, so I asked about progress on the standard. In a nutshell, they are working towards including the Japanese/US and their proposal in the new IEC standard, so there is hope yet that the Mennekes three-phase design could be used in the US too. However, at the last minute an Italian proposal was entered and so this is having to be dealt with. In my experience of standards groups, this behaviour is pretty familiar. They are still working towards a “committee draft” by December and judging by the number of vehicles and charging posts evident with the Mennekes design, it seems to me like a formality. Their only concern was making all the Better Place plugs for Denmark.
The plug itself is just a push-fit design (no “trigger”) and I couldn’t see any obvious mechanism for the interlock. But it is easy to use and handle (unlike the plug on an older Smart ED that I took out and then had trouble to get back in).
There were several Smart EDs on display, including one that had been cut away for display. No obvious sign of Tesla components, although the motor was a Zytek.
Outside was a large display from RWE. By this time, one of the RWE Roadsters was back, as was the RUF Greenster. I got to talk to the man from RUF, which was interesting. He says they have nearly 70 pre-orders for the car now and that various body styles are planned. It has 330bhp and does 230km/h, the standard version has a range of 280km, but there is a 350km version planned which puts more batteries in the rear. The standard version is €180,000. It is not being done “with the blessing” of Porsche (as I think some other sites have inferred), but RUF are very serious about it.
One of the RWE Roadsters - EU Signature 250, #3
The RUF Greenster instruments
Also at the RWE stand was a Think and the yellow Lotus we have seen from Electric Cars Europe (Detroit Electric). This was being used as a large video game controller.
The ECE Lotus
RWE themselves has a display showing how they plan to roll out charging stations across Germany, so that by 2015 all main urban areas are covered and by 2020 virtually all populated areas are covered.
By this time it was getting late and I had about an hour left. I headed over to Loremo and talked to the guys there for a bit. That car is so small, it’s incredible – you really can’t tell from the pictures. It takes the Lotus “add lightness” ethos to the extreme, I think.
I had a quick look at the iChange before calling in at Reva. Never thought I’d say this, but I think their NXG model looks pretty good. Both that and the NXR are vast improvements on the G-Wizz.
There was time for a quick chat with a guy from a company called Salamander promoting Zinc-air fuel cells. This seemed like an interesting concept – the spent cartridges being recycled back to new zinc through solar power, but I’d have to investigate further to know for sure.
I had a quick look at the BMW efficientdynamics concept car (cool, but certainly never to be built in that form) before heading back to Tesla.
It was on the way back to Tesla that I spotted the GM Opel Hydrogen4 vehicle being used as a press vehicle. Does anyone else find this somewhat cynical? Promote the EV or REEV on the stand, but ferry journalists around in this so-called “production ready” H2 vehicle? Do they still fall for it?
The scam continues
It was when I got back to Tesla that I met Craig Davis. We were having a good chat about everything I had seen when he asked if I saw Aaron Platshon. Then the penny dropped. I had a feeling I saw him at the Better Place stand, but my brain said “nah, can’t be”. So I ran back across to that hall to catch him before the show closed and had a quick chat. I’m sorry to see him move on - I think he was the first person a lot of us met at Tesla, but let’s hope there are some interesting tie-ups that come out of this kind of thing as the industry matures.
So I headed back to Tesla (again) to get my bags and wrap up a long day. By this time things had died down and I was able to get some clearer shots of the cars. For me the Model S was one of the stars of the show. It looks fast sitting still, it looks fresh and modern without being out there, it cleverly incorporates good aerodynamics without looking wacky and it looks like it is going to be worth every penny. By the time the show next comes around, I want to see a whole fleet of them being used as press cars. It’s a shame that the Audi E-tron has stolen much of the limelight – but then again the local press were always going to go for the home team. I’m sure that was part of the Audi plan.
One last look at her, and then I was off
In a nutshell, this show was amazing. EVs everywhere, many being given pride of place or at least an equal billing to ICE cars. To have so many power utility companies at the show is a statement in itself, not least because normal car fans will recognise the brands and put two and two together. Like the man said: Everything else is just a car museum.
A footnote...
I had to fly back to the UK that night (the rumoured London to Frankfurt train service hasn't started yet), so I headed to the airport straight from the show. On my way to the gate, I suddenly became aware of a presence behind me. I turned around to see one of those electric carts they use to ferry pensioners right on my heels. No noise, no lights, no warning from the driver. Damn EVs – fit them all with buzzers I say :biggrin:
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