The Continental: E-cars for the Elderly, Mercedes A-class and VW Amarok for the U.S., and a Case for the Autobahn

Each week, our German correspondent slices and dices the latest rumblings, news, and quick-hit driving impressions from the other side of the pond. His byline may state Jens Meiners, but we simply call him . . . the Continental.

Mute electric concept

E-car excitement in Germany: Twenty university chairs in Munich have teamed up to develop the “Mute,” a 20-hp microcar that weighs 880 pounds and is therefore classified in the same category with quad bikes. It’s supposed to be safer than those. The ambitious professors hope the industry will pick up the concept and develop the Mute into a series-production car. “Electromobility is ripe for the market,” the Munich professors proclaim.

Here’s an idea how it’s done, courtesy of another expert, TÜV Rheinland’s director for mobility, Jürgen Brauckmann: “Senior citizens could help mark the E-cars’ entry into the marketplance. They are more interested in comfort than in sportiness. That will make E-cars an interesting alternative.”

Are you excited yet?

The Small Benz We May Get

Here’s a automobile that began as an electric and ended up as a conventionally powered vehicle: the Mercedes-Benz A-class. It was developed in the early Nineties as the California-charged E-craze had an early heyday. Its first and second generation feature a sandwich-type floor to house batteries (which it never did). Back in the mid-Nineties, when the enthusiasm met reality and vanished, Mercedes decided the A-class was too nice to be “electrocuted.” It was launched with gasoline and diesel engines and subsequently—remember the moose test?—put a few scratches on the brand’s image.

Original A-class sketch

Ironically, the upcoming, third-gen A-class will be a far more conventional automobile than the first two generations. There is a distinct possibility the model will be sold in the U.S. as well. I like the fact that AMG is planning for a performance version, even though it’s not an entirely new idea: The first-gen A-class was supposed to get an AMG derivative, but the ensuing 138-hp hatchback was deemed too weak and launched instead as the A210 Evolution. The upcoming A AMG will be a lot more powerful.

Currently, M-B is winding down production of the second-generation A-class. Its three-door version—ambitiously named “Coupé”—has already been killed off silently.

Phaeton and Amarok: Yes; Caddy and V-8: No

VW is considering new car classes for the U.S. as well. I am told that the company is going to launch its Amarok pick-up truck in the States, but not any time soon. Engine choices are not clear yet, and there is concern that four-bangers might not quite cut it with prospective buyers. But I doubt that VW will drop the environmentalist pretenses entirely, like Toyota has with its trucks, and offer a V-8.

Even the huge Touareg has lost its gasoline V-8 engine in favor of a hybridized, supercharged V-6—but only in Europe and in North America. The more traditional customers in Russia and the AGCC says (Arab Gulf Cooperation Council) won’t stand for it, and that’s why they can still order the new Touareg with a 360-hp, 4.2-liter gasoline V-8. VW also will keep updating its W-12 engine, with applications uncluding its use in the next Phaeton, which will once again be offered in the U.S. And that should put rumors to rest that it will be downsized (Aurora-like) beyond recognition.

In Germany, VW is unveiling its updated Caddy van (that’s not short for Cadillac), which is based on the Golf platform but built cost-effective and tough with rear leaf springs. It’s not headed for U.S. shores, but as VW is striving to drastically raise its market share in the U.S., why not have a Ford Transit Connect competitor?

Ford’s Lost Design Leader

Renault Latitude

Former Mazda chief designer Laurens van den Acker is reshaping Renault design. Like his predecessor, Patrick Le Quément, he is a strategic thinker who is not wedded to a single idea or style—and some designers tell me he would have been a top candidate to replace Ford chief designer J Mays (who is not expected to leave the company any time soon). The huge concern? Cost cutting. Van den Acker can’t be happy with vehicles like the badge-engineered Renault Latitude sedan which undoubtedly marks the nadir in the long history of French luxury sedans.

Speed Doesn’t Kill

Good news from the safety statistics front: In 2009, Germany’s road death toll has fallen to a remarkable low, at 4152. Just 475 perished on the autobahn, which is generally without a speed limit—and that includes truck accidents, as well as those induced by rain, fog, ice, and a number of other reasons that have nothing to do with the triple-digit speeds regularly driven here.

Here’s a suggested speed limit to keep highways and freeways safe: reasonable and prudent.

Related posts:2012 Mercedes-Benz C-class Coupe Spy Photos – Future CarsThe Continental: Pondering Mercedes Styling, VW Could Buy Alfa, and Ford Globalizes Its Platforms2010 Mercedes-Benz E-class and S-class: Safety Technology – Car News

The Continental: E-cars for the Elderly, Mercedes A-class and VW Amarok for the U.S., and a Case for the Autobahn

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