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January 14 – CAR SHOW SURFACES NEW e85 CONCEPT VEHICLES: You don’t have
to be a big car buff to love auto shows in recent years. Many of the high profile cars shows like those held in Chicago and Detroit have become an entertaining venue for ethanol supporters and environmentalists too.
These monstrous and glitzy marketing events have become a launching pad for e85
powered models and concepts in recent years. This year’s Detroit Auto Show proved this axiom in spades when it kicked off this weekend. The David and Goliath of the flex-fuel war being waged at the event had to be
the concept cars introduced by Hummer and Saab.
Hummer is the Goliath of the equation, although it’s entry into the e85 market is
actually small compared to its other offerings. The new e85 Hummer HX is much smaller than its cousins, but markedly bigger and beefier than Saab’s 9-4x BioPower concept vehicle.
The decidedly sporty Hummer HX has some cool, interesting, and even odd features.
Unique features include customizable LED displays, removable fender flares and roof, and lack of a radio or CD player (it's only got an iPod dock).It also has an armored underbelly which seems like overkill unless
you happen to be vacationing in the Middle East.
Saab officially revealed the 9-4X BioPower concept vehicle yesterday at the North
American International Auto Show. The vehicle has the clean lines expected in a Saab, good environmental credentials, and a small but powerful engine that should make the most of e85’s higher octane. The
four-cylinder, 2.0-liter turbo gas engine gets 300 horsepower. Saab has actually been selling a turbo e85 model in Europe for two years so this “concept car” is not as novel as it may seem, but rather a good
place to test the waters before bringing it to the US market.
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