High-Tech Hits the Detroit Auto Show

Admit it. The words “hybrid-electric vehicle” don’t bring the Porsche 918 RSR concept car to mind. This car, a version of the 911 GT3 R hybrid race car that stores the energy from regenerative braking in a flywheel, really flies. The charge accumulator feeds twin 75-kilowatt electric motors on the Porsche’s front wheels, boosting the car’s maximum power output to 572 kW.

It has gull-wing doors, all-wheel drive, and a power train that delivers a whiplash-inducing 880 newton-meters of torque, which can rocket it from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in 4 seconds flat. It also has the sexy silhouette that is a Daimler family trait. But lift the hood of the Mercedes SLS AMG E-Cell sports car—slated to reach dealer showrooms in 2013—and a 392-kW electric motor hums along in near silence.

Chinese automaker BYD slipped quietly into the 2011 Detroit Auto Show and stole the thunder of the widely hailed Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt. The e6 S, whose U.S. version will feature a 160-kW electric motor powered by a 60-kilowatt-hour battery pack, will sell for just US $2220 more than the Leaf, while traveling 322 km between charges—twice the other car’s range.

Toyota says that the Prius C Concept car, whose commercial debut is scheduled for mid-2012, will raise the fuel economy bar for non–plug-in hybrids—a big claim considering that the current version of the Prius burns 4.6 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (51 miles per gallon) in the city and is only slightly less efficient on the highway.

The Prius C Concept car is claimed to bring fuel economy for non–plug-in hybrids to a new level. And the sportier look means that environmentally conscious car buyers will no longer have to weigh their desire to save the planet against their willingness to hit the road in a rolling egg carton.

The new all-electric Ford Focus charges in less than 4 hours from a 240-volt outlet and will go 160 km before its batteries are depleted. Who cares that its front grille is so reminiscent of the iconic nose on Aston Martin’s vehicles that someone could be accused of plagiarism?

The Focus EV also marks the debut of Ford’s fancy MyFord Touch customizable digital information and entertainment system. The driver can sync his or her smartphone with the car to get the benefit of all the apps created for handsets and adjust the look and placement of gauges on the dashboard and center console.

The Hyundai Veloster demonstrates that reconfigurable digital dashboards and center consoles have already made the move from European luxury vehicles to the mass market. The $17 000 Veloster lets the driver monitor and control the vehicle remotely via a smartphone and puts a wealth of information, navigation, and entertainment options at the touch of a button.