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Paul Barker's blog: 17 September 2013 - Motor show offers more future than present
Date: 17 September 2013
To be honest, the overriding feeling in the wake of the Frankfurt motor show's press day last week was that there's a lot of interesting stuff coming in the next couple of years, rather than the next few months.
Of the show coverage you'll find starting on page 12, it was the concept cars that provoked the most debate, and it was the category that was hardest to whittle down, to a final five, whereas the top 10 of debuting production-ready cars heading our way was a much easier call.
And that's not normally the case coming out of one of the year's two major European shows (the other being Geneva, in March).
The fact that many of these concept vehicles - previewing models coming two, three or four years from now - had alternative fuel powertrains and were boasting theoretical emissions figures that will move things along significantly is a huge positive for the automotive industry, and yet another example of its ingenuity in finding solutions.
This in the same week that research by a consultancy firm claimed that only five car manufacturers will hit 2020 EU emissions targets of
an average 95g/km. That may come slightly too soon, but between that and the Office for Low Emission Vehicles' report setting out plans for the UK to adopt alternative fuels such as electric and hydrogen, there's a clear path from the current dominance of petrol and diesel to a more environmentally sustainable future.
