German Car Zone

wow thats a cool little

Ehm..seriously..I don't see any resemblance there..

how did I miss this! Awesome!

just the rear lights, if you discount the bit on the beemer that sticks out.

No copying from each other though as they both are concepts of the same timing.

Cause the Beemer-fans mods want their X1 Concept on the first GCZ page, and no Audi tehre no

business as usual then

Due to Skoda, VW & Seat economy brands VAG is able to perform economy of scale ... Just like eg. Toyota. The premium PAH / VAG brands like Audi, Porsche, Bentley etc. will definitely profit from that fact. Especially Audi which wll benefit from VW's small hybrid cars.

On the other hand MB & BMW just HAVE TO offer hybrid solutions in top-end cars first. To make higher profits. IMO both MB & BMW just HAVE TO cooperte with some high-volume carmaker on small car hybrids. To gain economy of scale benefits.

Also: IMO small car hybrids are far from being profitable. More or less the loss is covered by marketing benefits (see: Toyota case). So, small hybrid Audi or VW can work well as a Concept, but the question is when will such cars hit the roads (and make money). Porsche will definitely allow VW to make substantial loss with small hybrids.

Yet I predict MB & BMW will lead Porsche / VW / Audi in the big-car hybrid field, while VAG will definitely have a significant advantage in the small car hybrid segment - due the reasons described above.

But this isn't a production car so in what way are they ahead?

In fact, hang on a sec, Luw what's this you say about "full hybrid"? What's a full hybrid as opposed to... what, a partial hybrid? I don't understand.

A hybrid implies the combination use of one kind of power source with another in the automotive context. So, a hybrid is a combination of a fossil fueled engine with an electric motor / generator.

In my understanding there is little material difference between the hybrids being pursued by Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Lexus et al. They're all about combining petrol engines with electric motors to boost torque, improve emissions and lower fuel consumption.

Indeed.
It's not even a production / serial prototype like eg. Hydrogen 7, or full-electric MINI (coming in next couple of months) - used IRL.

IMO serial prototypes used IRL are much more advanced stage than showing new tech in exhibition prototypes on motorshow stages.

This "who-will-show-it-first" competition is useless. What it counts is what is offered in the market. Or at least a serial testing prototype offered to non-BMW people.