NAIAS happens to be the same time as CES, the Consumer Electronics Show. I’ve been giving CES a whiff, simply because handheld gadgetry has been far removed from the energy domain.
No more. Not only is telematics big, but vehicles themselves are falling in the gadget category. Exhibit A, literally: Audi’s multiprong effort in 21st Century cars. Besides NAIAS, they chose CES to show the Quattro Laserlight concept. That’s “laser,” as in lasers = cool, and “Quattro™,” as in “we need 4 wheels to handle the 700 horsepower.” Yup, not 170 hp, but seven hundred hybrid horsies. It’s a concept car, sure. But Volkswagen AG has committed to EVs and PHEVs, including two Porsches. Now add Audi’s (planned) designs in (arguably) three segments.
And no mild hybrid, this Audi. The electric motor gives 110 kW (147 hp), as much as the Honda Accord Hybrid, and backed up by a battery good for ~30 miles. Continue reading