Frankfurt auto show 2009: the light of the charge brigade

Please make it stop. Ever since the Mercedes-Benz CLS, car makers have taken to chopping the rooflines of their sedans and calling them four-door coupes. Guys, they’re not coupes. By definition, coupes have two doors. What you’re making are sedans with varying degrees of rear head- and legroom that range from barely adequate to what’s-the-point.

At least it looks as if Americans won’t be sent into fits of pedantry by the Audi A5 Sportback, because as handsome as this four-door-plus-hatch version of Ingolstadt’s lovely A5 is, Audi of America isn’t too fired up about bringing it Stateside.

The Aston Martin Rapide, on the other hand will make it to the States, providing a what-to-buy dilemma for those wavering between this and the Porsche Panamera (unashamedly sold as a sedan yet with a hatchback). Here’s the deal-breaker: whereas the Panamera can easily accommodate two average-sized adults, it’s waaaay tighter in the back of the Rapide. But the Aston does look nice and should sound wonderful with a 470-hp V12 rumbling away.

Or tentative customers might like to check out the Fisker Karma PHEV sedan, a plug-in hybrid with 403 hp and a mighty 959 lb-ft of torque. Fisker is claiming 100 mpg along with a zero-to-60 mph time of six seconds, starting from a mere $87,900. Or how about the Tesla Model S sedan for around $50,000 which has the potential to recharge in 45 minutes?

Frankfurt saw many more alternative technology vehicles, with several European makers (as well as Ford with a battery-powered Focus) getting in on the electric act. It could be argued that EVs were the main theme of the show. Audi’s E-tron Concept certainly grabbed a lot of the attention, by virtue of having a claimed 3319 lb-ft of torque. Yes, three thousand, three hundred and nineteen pound-feet.

Not to be outdone, Mercedes-Benz will be offering an all-electric version of its SLS gull-winged supercar. It only has 649 lb-ft torque, but that’s still enough to polish off the sprint to 60 mph in under four seconds.

Renault had four EV offerings that are actually slated for production: the Fluence sedan, the Zoe supermini, the Kangoo light delivery van and an inline two-seater called the Twizy. QLF, as the French might say.

The BMW Vision EfficientDynamics hybrid sports car concept might elicit a similar response. It sports a diesel/hybrid drivetrain and all-wheel drive, with a total of 356 hp. Even though this thing is just to show off where the collective technical and stylistic minds of BMW are at the moment, we can but hope to see some of these ideas trickling into road cars down the line.

VW’s hybrid diesel L1 concept is another tandem-seating affair, weighing just 838 pounds and claimed to achieve 196 mpg. Yes, that’s one hundred and ninety-six miles per gallon.

All this futuristic stuff is great, but it was nice to see a legendary badge resurrected. Citroën has a new car bearing the initials DS. Instead of being a lush sedan or wagon fit for Charles de Gaulle, though, this one’s a supermini. Oh well.

One of Frankfurt’s brightest stars was the Mazda MX-5 Superlight Concept, celebrating the little roadster’s 20th anniversary. It only has a 125-hp 1.8-liter four with a five-speed manual ’box, but it only weighs 2194 pounds, thanks in part to carbon fiber seats and the noticeable lack of windscreen. Throw in a Bilstein suspension and this could be worth more than its weight in fun. There are only two chances of it going into production and being sold in the States. One is slim and the other’s fat. Damn.