A carbon fiber Formula 1 machine can sprint from 0 – 120mph in less than five seconds and survive crashes at 100. Sadly, the price of the hi-tech material is prohibitively expensive, restricted use to racing cars, luxury bicycles, boats and aviation. Now that those planes are getting long in the teeth, a German joint venture named CFK-Valley Stade reckons it can recycle carbon fiber (CF) from old Airbus frames for automotive applications. The project involves 77 (count ’em 77) research institutes and a major waste disposal company. Dow Chemical will be joining CFK-Valley Stade to build a plant to recycle more than 1k tons a year, starting (you guessed it) 2010. The exact chemical process is complex/boring, but the CF is shredded and subjected to pyrolysis. The fibers are then isolated and combed. The finished product is sub-aviation quality, but a lot cheaper. For cars, recycled CF may be used for interior parts, gas pumps, body parts or exterior mirrors. A VW spokesperson says at the expected lower price, CF will drift from its present applications in the company’s Bugatti and Lamborghini brands down market, to VW (SEAT?). Is this the antidote to the sad tendency of car companies to think thin, but build fat?

What is a safe car? A car that prevents a crash, a car that protects the car's passengers, or something else? Safety testing groups around the world have their own, varying definitions. Euro-NCAP (the European benchmarking organization, or New Car Assessment Program), has decided it needs a new standard which will integrate several safety factors. I spoke with Cordelia Wilson of Euro-NCAP: "Consumers have told us they find the present system of star ratings which differentiates according to adult passenger crash protection, child passenger protection and pedestrian protection, confusing. A modern SUV will often get five stars at adult protection and one star at pedestrian protection, but how good is it in sum? So starting in 2009, we intend to introduce a fairer, clearer system which rates overall safety performance". Will car makers continue to advertise with excellent results in selected areas, but conveniently forget to mention when they score dismal results in others? "We won't use stars anymore. Instead, you can expect a percentage rating which will integrate adult safety, child safety, pedestrian protection, and 'safety assist', meaning electronic devices such as ESP". SUV makers are said to be horrified, since while perceived safety is a strong SUV selling point, they are normally lousy at pedestrian protection. Let me guess: Honda is happy about these changes in the benchmarking rules, while BMW and Land Rover are having a fit? "You said that, not me".

Crash tests have shown that contemporary cars are pretty safe at middling speeds. You can hit a wall at 40 mph and walk away with a few bruises. But what happens at higher speeds? German automotive club ADAC crashed a five-star (Euro-NCAP) car at 50 mph and the results were not pretty. The Renault Laguna III is way up there is terms of safety, as good or better than any other passenger car (no Freedom Fries jokes here please, I've driven a Laguna and it's good). In this video, a grey Laguna hits a solid barrier at 40 mph, after which its occupants could exit unharmed (if dummies could walk). Taken to 50 mph, the orange Laguna is close to doing a Dianamobile. The A-beam collapses and the door sill folds. Physics rule; at double the speed, crash energy increases to the square, so even a relatively small increase in velocity can cause havoc. Passengers of the orange Laguna would suffer serious injury, despite being equipped with the works: chest airbags, seatbelt tensioners, and knee airbags. At the tested speed, the crumple zone is used up. Any faster and the car would basically fall apart. ADAC: "Appropriate speed can save your life". Which is not exactly news, but seeing the evidence is more, uh, "visceral" than just knowing the facts.

What happens when a Audi Q7 (the SUV that looks like it eats subcompacts for breakfast) crashes with a minuscule Fiat 500? The result is predictable (Audi vs Fiat 10:0), but the reasons are somewhat surprising. German auto club ADAC has been testing the so-called crash-compatibility of cars for 15 years. The Fiat 500 is an up-to-date car, with five Euro-NCAP stars and even equipped with knee airbags. In this 50 percent-offset test, conducted at around 40 mph (56 km/ h, but equivalent to 80km/h for the lower-mass Fiat), the Fiat fares much worse than it would if it just hit a wall. This is because the Audi's longitudinal beam misses the Fiat's frame and bores right into the smaller car's footwell. Subsequently, the Fiat's frame collapses and the driver's overtaxed airbag ruptures. For the Fiat's occupants, such a crash would likely be fatal, while the Audi's passengers would suffer not much more than some bruises. ADAC's Rolf Ambos says this result is quite unnecessary: with cross members and longitudinal beams in similar heights, damage would be much lower. "We at ADAC call for regulations that require larger cars to have energy-absorbing beams on several levels. Most heavy sedans already take compatibility into consideration; SUVs should too." Yet another nail in the SUVs coffin?

Germans are fond of testing the heck out of machines, no matter how oddball the configuration. They even turned testing into a world-class industry, what with companies such as TÜV expanding into unlikely places such as China. The newest and strangest crash test was carried out for the German insurance industry association, as shown in this video via Spiegel TV. Surprise, surprise! If you drive your Segway down a sidewalk at top speed (15 km per hour) and a car pulls out in front of you, the resulting crash can be fatal. "At slow speeds such as 9 km/h, the Segway is fun and safe, but at higher speeds, even a helmet cannot prevent serious injury, because the full impact force is on the driver's jaw", says test engineer Siegfried Brockman. The rest of the video is worth watching for the pirouetting meter maids, and the "World's Funniest Video"-style clips of people (including GWB) falling off their Segways. But isn't life about choices? One could wear a full-face helmet (and scare small children), or hope for an airbag-equipped Segway in 2010 (just kidding). Or maybe just walk.

Suppose you are British, work for an ad agency, and your client wants you to promote an inoffensive but generic soft-ute with a vegetably name, so that it (the Nissan Qashqai) seems interesting, even sexy. Why, you'd go for Viral Marketing, as one does, and maybe even poke some cheap fun at eastern Europeans, just like Borat did! This YouTube video is but one of several "quirky" attempts to make the car that Clarkson calls the Cumquat seem both competent (look how it scales walls!) and non-generic. Does it work? Maybe– the idea of a Polish Harry Houdini works better than it sounds. Does it hurt feelings? Probably. Note to Nissan: when your uncle tries to pull off some Polish jokes after three martoonies, you grin and bear it, because you love him. And SB Cohen is OK because he employs subversive humor to show the darker side of frat boys and antisemitic cowboys. But when a company portrays Poles as dumb hicks in an attempt to push more product, it's plain evil.

When we reviewed the VW Polo, we noted that it's a good and useful car let down by staid styling and a high price. VW is addressing… the former. According to Autobild [print version of July 31], the 2009 VW Polo will finally ditch the slab sides and become more stylish. Since the Polo already  has similar interior space as the MK3 Golf, this means the Polo might well become a lot more important for VW– to the detriment of the Golf, which suffers from what you could call generational bloat. For the Polo, VW plans to offer double-clutch automatic transmissions and a wide arrange of engines. Popular Mechanics reports that VW will also create a hovercraft hybrid version– just kidding. The mag reports (prays?) that VW may bring a clean-diesel, 70mpg Polo stateside. We say currency exchange rates mean VW can't make a dime on that deal unless they build the new Polo in Mexico, which they won't do because of the aforementioned cannibalism. 

Car makers like to take the credit, but auto suppliers have invented much of contemporary car technology. So when the boss of Germany's Bosch (the world's biggest auto supplier) talks about the future of automotive technology, people listen. Here's what Bernd Bohr had to say to Auto, Motor und Sport . "For the year 2015, we expect a total world market of 80 million new cars, of which only about 2.5 to 3 million will be hybrids and 800,000 will be purely electric. So gasoline and diesel engines will continue to predominate. Actually, we calculate that the world market share of diesel cars will rise by another 5 percent, to reach 28 percent." How come? "Despite disproportionate price increases for diesel fuel, in places such as France the share of diesels has increased from 70 to 80 percent, because of a new CO2 tax. Diesels are 30 percent more efficient, too. There is a political dimension: the EU's ambitious plans to reduce CO2 emissions are only reachable if Europe stays at least 50 percent diesel." But the U.S. has shown that diesel is a no go, no? "This is mainly because of high prices for low-sulfur diesel fuel which is caused by low refinery capacities. This bottleneck should be gone around 2010. We expect a diesel market share for the U.S. of 15 percent by 2015". Are you betting the company on these predictions? "We plan to reduce our dependence on auto technology from currently 61 percent to 50 percent."

Does it sound like a good idea to advertise the new Lancia Delta in the U.K. by showing Richard Gere frolicking with some Buddhist monks from Tibet? Odd? Certainly. Cute? Maybe. Problematic? Well yes, if you dislike the kind of lefty vegetarian sanctimonious Hollywood type Gere represents (which I don't). But could this spot really be a reason to apologize? Just-Auto [sub] reports that upon hearing of cockamamie protests from Beijing, Fiat kowtowed to the dictators in the People's Republic. "Fiat Group reiterates its neutrality in connection with any political matter, be it on a national or international basis. To the extent that the Lancia Delta advertising may give rise to misinterpretations of its well established position of neutrality, Fiat Group extends its apologies to the Government of the People's Republic of China and to the Chinese people." Yes, it hurts the Chinese Government's feelings that the pro-Tibet Gere is shown in some vaguely positive way in Tibet, or something. And it dismays us that Fiat, a car maker on the ascent, apparently didn't know what it was doing when it OK'd this ad, and obviously doesn't have a pair.

Does anybody need a reminder that the credit crisis is hurting our economies? Case in point: German car-industry supplier Schenk Plastic Solutions. Schenk is a small but basically healthy company that relies on Daimler for 60 percent of sales. They have a patented new product named SkinForm which was developed for premium car interiors. It's been reported that SkinForm is unique and has no real competition, since it offers superior quality at a super-low price. Mercedes wants Schenk to supply SkinForm for one million cars per year. In 2005, Schenk sold a majority interest to a private equity company named Argantis to finance their expansion plans. Surprise! Argantis is connected to IKB, a German bank which is basically bankrupt after investments in subprime U.S. real estate. So IKB pulls the plus on Argantis, which subsequently pulls the plug on Schenk. A great company with good products and healthy customers is forced to declare its insolvency. As these things go these days, the Indians come to the "rescue." Automobilwoche reports that the Ashok Minda Group, based in Uttar Pradesh, will be buying Schenk. Globalism wins, Daimler is happy and the West's industrial base is eroded a little bit more.

The things car makers do for love… Car companies in Germany traditionally offer journalists discounts of about 20 percent on new vehicles. Until now, this offer's been restricted to one car per year. Ford's cutting that clause: Automobilwoche reports journalists can now buy as many popular models for a bargain price as they want, and enjoy. Or, more to the point, flip 'em on the market for a few percent profit, and repeat. Other makers are expected to follow suit. Historically, journalists are considered a small but influential group– "opinion leaders" in the marketing argot. "Just like taxi drivers: not a large audience, but they are important, so they are worth some special consideration," says a German VW dealer. How much consideration? VW's generosity is worth 15 percent for new cars and 10 percent for pre-owned. The quoted dealer thinks VW's vig may soon reach Ford's levels: up to 25 percent, depending on model. Mercedes-Benz also grants 15 percent for journos. Porsche is parsimonious, offering no more than 10 percent. Most makes are (for the time being) stricter than Ford: Mercedes requires a minimum holding time of six months, and allows no more than two purchases per year. We're looking into the situation stateside, but we know Ford offers scribes the Ford employee discount…

Over here in Europe, some snobs diss-miss Los Angeles as a non-city: no real center, little public transport, consumerist, smoggy, auto-centric. I love LA for its architecture, food, fashion, music, culture, cars and general bat shit craziness. (I spent one of the most exciting/terrifying nights of my life there, when I got a lift in a shaggy-carpeted Econoline van driven by a pimp/drug dealer). And now, there's evidence that LA is the green place to be, too– provided you define "green" as a small carbon footprint. In a new study by the Brookings Institution, the City of Angels was found to generate less carbon per head than any other major city in continental America. It's counter-intuitive but true. LA enjoys a climate that reduces the need for heating buildings in winter, and air conditioning in the summer. LA's urban sprawl isn't as bad as it looks; population density and household occupancy are high, which lowers energy usage per head. So it's NOT all about cars and smog.

AM-online reports the European Commission has unveiled new safety rules that– it says– could save 5k lives a year. Oh, and help cut fuel consumption. If the rules are approved by the European Parliament, all new cars sold in the Eurozone from 2012 will be equipped with tire pressure monitors, electronic stability control (ESC) systems and low-resistance tires. The Commission expects the measures to add €100 – €300 to the price of a new car. But hey, the extra cost would be more than offset over the car's lifetime by savings on fuel. As we Germans say, the Teufel is in the details. Tire pressure monitors are sensible; so many people waste fuel and (through longer braking distances) endanger others when they drive with flabby rubber. But, at the same time, tests have shown that low resistance tires can result in significantly longer braking distances. The Commission contends that, in normal driving conditions, ESC can reduce the number of accidents by around 20 percent. The science on compensatory behavior is not yet clear enough to make that claim; some studies show people drive more dangerously when they have ESC. What was that about die Straße to Hölle?

I love European "people's" cars. The Renault R4, the Fiat Uno and Punto, Peugeots 205 to 207, the early Golfs– they were all affordable and fun to drive with more character than Marcello Mastroianni. By the same token, I hate what Lee Iacocca called PODS. Lido was referring to Chryslers, but plenty of manufacturers have built cars for Poor Old Dumb Shits. PODS-mobiles are often Russian; Lada leading the pack. More recently, they hail from Korea or Malaysia. They're cheap to buy, miserable to operate and not at all economical to own (as CityRover owners found out). When considering Europe's cheapest car– the Romanian-built Dacia Logan– you have to wonder if the penalty box tradition continues.

Ford's new-in-Europe Kuga compact crossover has achieved the best combination of crash test star ratings, placing the car at the top of the Euro NCAP small SUV group. The Euro-Focus-based Kuga scored the maximum five stars for adult occupant protection, four stars for child occupant protection and three stars for pedestrian protection. (Only a few other SUVs have been deemed relatively pedestrian-friendly. The BMW X3 for instance scored only one star). And no other SUV, large or small, has achieved a total of so many stars in the various categories. How did they do it? Technical gobbledygook alert… The credit goes to Ford's intelligent protection system (IPS) which "combin(es) a body structure optimised for strength and crashworthiness with restraint equipment," and high strength steels "for a very rigid, yet lightweight passenger safety cell." The high pedestrian protection score was achieved through the use of soft bumper material, a special energy absorber between the bumper and the front panel and radiator, breakaway headlights, front wings manufactured from recycled plastic and a carefully shaped hood. Best of all: the Kuga is reported to be a pretty good drive. Review to follow.