Never count the German engineers out in the modern automotive world. While they rule in the new (for the U.S.) realm of clean diesels, are renowned for their performance and luxury machines, and carry a price premium just for their nameplates’ country of origin – when it comes to EVs, the German automakers have not been seen as serious players. That may be changing.

During the past few months, I've had the chance to drive representative models from each of the German "Big Three" (BMW, Mercedes-Benz and VW). They represent slightly different approaches to the EV market but all are either already in the market or will be soon.

It must be said that the Germans were not enthusiastic about electric cars or hybrids early on. Oh, they had their concepts, but in interviews they downplayed the potential audience, performance and practicality of EVs. That was then, this is now. While not jettisoning the internal combustion engine, all three automakers are seriously engaged in the incipient electric market and their first forays are worthy of a strong look, even if they don't represent the companies' finished product.

BMW Active-E
This is BMW's last "test" before it launches its "e" sub-brand. It follows the Mini-E of a few years ago, their first step into the EV market. On the outside the Active-E is a standard BMW 1-Series sedan. But underneath is the running gear of the i3 (due on the market in late 2013), BMW's city car EV that will feature a carbon fiber monocoque and a unique body style. That running gear delivers what can only be described as BMW-like performance; it’s responsive, accelerates briskly and handles superbly. Regenerative braking is very aggressive and everything about the car says it’s ready for production. But the Active-E is only available in limited numbers on a two-year lease, part of BMW's program testing the i3 powertrain in the real world prior to its launch. The range is around 100 miles on a charge, typical of most of the EVs on the market.

Mercedes Smart ED
Full disclosure: I owned a Smart car for three years. Enjoyed it and thought it was better than its critics said it was, but fully acknowledge its limitations as a lightly-powered two-seat city car with limited (as in relatively short rides) freeway capability.

Turning the Smart into an EV is a natural. I can't tell you how many times I was asked about my own Smart's presumed electric drivetrain. My test drive was in the second generation electric Smart. First gen was a 100-unit Europe-only test with sodium-nickel chloride Zebra batteries. As a Daimler engineer told me, it was a "learning experience," that is, not very successful. The second generation I drove had a Tesla lithium-ion battery and the Tesla battery management system. The car was sluggish (it felt slower than my ICE-Smart) and seemed to offer little in the way of a positive driving experience. The governed top speed of 62 mph made the car a joke on California freeways, making one of the negatives of the ICE car even worse. Parking, of course, is a breeze, but it didn't need to be an electric model for that purpose.

Mercedes has already upgraded the second generation Smarts and has moved to the third generation aimed to correct some of the deficiencies I found in the model I drove. It will have a new electric motor and new, bigger batteries.

Mercedes also has another model waiting in the wings – an electric version of their A-Class, the smallest of the traditional Benz models. It uses the same electric drive as Mercedes' fuel cell model (which is based on the slightly larger B-Class) and Tesla Motors has also been involved in its development. The company has made no announcements about potential sale of the model outside Europe, but you can probably expect to see it migrate to the U.S.

And, literally as I was finishing off this post, Mercedes announcement of its latest E-Cell came over the wire. At the Paris Auto Show the company will reveal its latest joint project with Tesla--the B-Class electric. Previously shown as a Volt-like extended range electric, the new version of the B-Class sports electric power only and should be on the market by 2014.  

VW Golf-E
VW, as part of its quest to be the largest car company in the world, appears to want to be all things to all people. So, along with its direct-injection gasoline models and turbocharged diesels, it is now offering hybrids and soon – electric cars. The eGolf, which I've driven twice, is the test bed for its electric drivetrain. It's 26.5 kWh battery and 85 kW electric motor provide a spirited driving experience. Like the Active-E, it has fairly aggressive regenerative braking, but one which the driver can control by settings with relatively simple steering wheel-mounted controls. Its overall driving experience approximates that of an ICE Golf. VW also has Audi electric models and an Up! EV minicar in the works. While the company has made no official announcement, expect to see the eGolf late 2013 or 2014 on the new Golf platform that was just introduced.

Summary
While it may appear that German automakers are playing catch-up with electric drive cars, the slow market start of the past year may play into their timeline. The performance of the prototypes I have driven was certainly competitive with any EV on the market, so the issue may be less one of technology and more one of market strategy.

The automotive landscape is changing. More choices are coming and that promises to be the watchword for the coming decade. Buying a new car will no longer be: What model do you want? What color do you want? What options do you want?

Well, it will still be about options, but the options will be the type of powertrain and fuel you choose for your new ride. I took a tour in January through some of those choices and came away with a new appreciation of the challenge that plug-in vehicles are facing and will continue to face in the marketplace.

The event was called "Future Cars: Future Technology"; it was organized by Western Automotive Journalists, a 20-year-old group of auto writers (and photographers and videographers) based in Northern California. During the day, panelists discussed the long-range future of automotive technology--one panel talked about whether automated cars like the ones Google is running are likely to take over our highways; a second panel of engineers from the auto companies explored the variety of options they were researching for future cars.

But the real fun was outside where journalists could drive a variety of vehicles that illustrated the direction the industry is heading. I was already familiar with the fuel cell vehicles (the F-Cell from Mercedes and Toyota Highlander FCHV) as well as the electrics (the Mitsubishi i and

Nissan Leaf) and the plug-in hybrid (the Chevy Volt), so I chose to look deeper at some of the other contenders:
*Buick LeCrosse eAssist
*Honda Civic Natural Gas
*Mazda3 Skyactiv
*VW Passat TDI

These four vehicles represent a good cross-section of what may keep plug-in cars a "nice to have" technology rather than a "must-have." In order, they represent a so-called mild hybrid, a natural gas model and advanced gasoline and advanced clean diesel models.

The Buick is a large car, though classified as a mid-size, and feels it. Even though it has a four-cylinder engine, the battery assist adds to its launch power and provides not only good acceleration, but also 25 mpg in town and 36 mpg on the highway. And the whole package retails at about $30,000.

The compact Honda is deceptive. It looks and drives like the gas and hybrid versions of the Civic, but since it is fueled by natural gas, delivers 27/38 mpg fuel economy on a fuel that costs about half of what gasoline does per gallon. It retails for about $28,000.

The Mazda3 is a spunky compact with great performance. But even with that performance, the advanced gas engine and reworked transmission (and some other improvements) will deliver 28/40 mpg but retails for only about $19,000.

The Passat TDI, which was just named Motor Trend magazine's Car of the Year, is a mid-size car capable of delivering solid performance and 31/43 mpg for about $26,000.

The price points and performance of these models point us towards a challenging future. As tempting as the new technology of plug-ins is and as good as long-range fuel savings might look (and as enticing as avoiding direct fossil fuel consumption is), the advances in internal combustion engines, particularly if they're found in larger vehicles, are going to present consumers with some tough choices. It looks like the easy (as in easy on the pocketbook and with little lifestyle change) choices may be for more incremental changes in the near-term.

(A similar version of this story appeared in Plugincars,com http://www.plugincars.com/challenge-plug-cars-111923.html)

Another version of "Future Cars"

The relationship between Americans (I can't speak for other cultures, but I suspect this at least crosses the Atlantic) and cars is a special one. The first bonding, if you will, comes as a teenager approaches the age of aquiring first a learner's permit, then a full driver's license. The cars from that age become special in the mind of the new driver, particularly those beyond the reach of the novice of ordinary means.

I was lucky, coming of driving age during what most automotive critics routinely label as the glory days of the 20th century for cars--the 1960s. Muscle cars reigned and quirky sports cars from Europe were available and we hadn't yet focused on the negative aspects of the internal combustion engine.

The names alone evoke the time. GTO. MGB. Road Runner. Alfa Romeo. Cyclone. TR6. Javelin. The list could continue for pages. That alone signifies what an incredible time it was. 

Like most of my contemporaries, those enticing nameplates were well beyond my financial reach, but they remain to this day my automotive icons. My stories of the cars of that day, whether or not I actually got to drive them, continue to entertain succeeding generations.

But, I would propose that the driver coming of age this decade (2010-20) may have stumbled into a new golden age. It's a different time; in my day, the automotive discussion was all about performance and style and the currency was measured in 0-60 or slalom times, fuel injection and cubic inches. Now, the talk is as likely to run to grams/mile of CO2, esoteric battery chemistry or issues such as whether you want to own or simply rent a car.    

The new choice is not V6 or V8, but EcoBoost or CNG, Clean Diesel or Plug-in Hybrid. The choices go on and on and will continue to expand in the coming years. Already in Brazil the typical choice for their tri-fuel vehicles is: gasoline, ethanol or CNG.

More choice will be confusing for many consumers, but I think the coming generations will embrace it, make it the new normal and help usher in a new era of glory days. 

Who would have thought an odd-shaped commercial vehicle produced in Turkey would be the harbinger of the future of the automotive industry?

Believe it. The Ford Transit connect appears to be the prototype of the near-future of an automotive industry in transition. In a word, that future involves choice.

At the turn of the previous century -- the early days of the 20th century -- consumers jumping into the new automotive world had to not only choose their vehicle and its size, color, options, etc., but also the powertrain/fuel. At that time they had three basic choices -- gasoline, electric and steam. The three systems divided up the market fairly equally. Fast forward a decade as the country paved more inter-city highways and the slow, short-range electrics and fast, but complex steam machines fell by the wayside to the efficient gasoline vehicles (which actually would run on a variety fo liquid fuels). 

So it looks like the Ford Transit Connect may lead the way to a similar time 100 years later. At the Chicago Auto Show, Ford introduced the electric version of the Transit Connect (as expected), but also showed a CNG-powered version outfitted as a taxi (an upgrade to the soon to be retired Crown Vics), which also could be a propane/LPG-powered. These versions will join the existing gasoline and diesel versions of the small commercial van that are currently on the market.  

But that's not all. In their Transit Connect consumer brochure, Ford makes the point that they are working on fuel cell technology as the ultimate zero emission vehicle. Since they've been running much smaller Focus compacts as their prototype fuel cell vehicles and the Transit Connect can clearly handle a hydrogen tank (which is the same size as a CNG one), that would add another choice.

So the customer walks into a Ford dealership, ready to add this vehicles to his/her fleet. After settling on the color and options, the big choices come:

• gas (or maybe E85 capable)
• diesel (or biodiesel/renewable diesel)
• electric
• CNG
• propane/LPG
• hydrogen fuel cell