frankfurt 2009

Silicon Valley startup Better Place has signed a deal with Renault to put 100,000 electric vehicles on the road in Israel and Denmark by 2016. That is a staggering number of cars in remarkably little time, and it underscores how committed the two companies are to seeing EVs take off.

Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn has long said cars with cords are the future, and he said the deal will make the Fluence ZE (”Zero Emission”) the world’s first mass-market EV. Most of the major automakers are scrambling to develop electric vehicles, but no one is looking at adopting them at the scale or pace Ghosn and Better Place founder Shai Agassi are talking about.

By now, you've likely already seen official shots of the 2010 Opel Astra, both inside and out. Of course, catching a glimpse of a new shape under the harsh lighting of an auto show often brings a different point of view than the automaker's own glitzy press shots.

Volkswagen is redefining the automobile with the L1, a bullet-shaped diesel hybrid that weighs less than 900 pounds, gets an amazing 170 mpg and might see production within four years.

The L1 concept car unveiled at the Frankfurt auto show pushes the boundaries of vehicle design and draws more inspiration from gliders than conventional automobiles. The only question the company’s engineers asked when designing the L1 was, “How would a car have to look and be built to consume as little energy as possible.” Their answer was small, light and extremely aerodynamic. Those guidelines led to a car that requires just 1.38 liters of diesel fuel to go 100 kilometers.

Although the L1 is just a concept, VW says the tandem two-seater points the way toward a future model.

The REVA Electric Car Company announced the price of the REVA NXR - which starts at 9,995 euros for the lead acid version with leased batteries - in Frankfurt today and also took the wraps off of the NXG (above), the company's next electric vehicle that is due as a 2011 model.

That horrid rumor we heard in August is hideously true — there is a new Trabant on the way, it is an electric car and it could be on the road by 2012 if the company finds some investors willing to front the cash.

Remember this? "More wagons! More wagons!" Well, here's another. Meet the Opel Insignia OPC Sports Tourer. Salient facts: 325-horsepower turbocharged 2.8-liter V6, AWD, six-speed manual, eLSD torque vectoring and it's a station wagon. Oh, and get this -- it's built from off the shelf GM parts. Serious.

For instance, that fancy-pants eLSD torque vectoring system comes from the Saab Turbo X. All the rest of the pieces are General Motors parts bin. Ready for the best part? You can't have it! Ha ha ha. Of course neither could we. Would we totally rock a slightly larger, good looking EVO X-ish station wagon? Hell to the yeah. Which part is the good GM again?

One of the highlights of any international auto show is the inevitable avant garde offering from a French manufacturer. Delightful cars from the Argos to the Hypnos, often surrounded by models that look like backup dancers at a Grace Jones concert, never disappoint.

Ah, the Mazda MX-5, aka the Miata. Is there anything not to like about this true blue sports car? It’s quick, it’s nimble and it’s fuel-efficient. Oh sure, there’s always room for improvement, especially after 20 years, and that brings us to the stunner Mazda’s unveiled at the Frankfurt auto show.

The MX-5 is essentially a Japanese take on the quintessentially fun British sports cars of the 1960s, but of course one that doesn’t leak oil on your driveway or leave you stranded because the Prince of Darkness reared his head. So what could Mazda do to this uber-fun platform to make it even better?

Strip it.

The wait is finally over. Ferrari has unveiled the 458 Italia, one of the most anticipated debuts of the Frankfurt auto show, and it is stunning.

We’ll say this up front — we fell in love with this car the moment we saw the the pre-release photos and videos. The 458 is one hot car, and judging from the specs, a force to be reckoned with on the street.