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2023 CES Editors' Picks

Over the past few years, it has become more and more clear that the Consumer Electronics Show is a car show. And this year that reality is more clear than ever. Not only did established automakers show off seriously important vehicles, but a traditional electronics company brought a car that gives an idea of its intents (with the help of establishment car company). With so many car reveals, we had to rank our favorites. Our picks for this show are entirely electric. Or at least, they are on paper, since many are concepts. Considering the name of the show, it would be a little strange if they weren't. In fact, not only are many of our favorites concepts, they all are save for one. See how they shook out below. VW ID7 camo View 28 Photos 5. Volkswagen ID.7 "The ID.7 definitely got lost in the crowd at CES. That it was camouflaged definitely didn't help, even if that camo was electroluminescent (BMW trumped it big time with its color-changing Dee). Nevertheless, this is a close-to-production hatchback-ed sedan, not unlike today's Arteon, with an extra-long wheelbase courtesy its EV architecture. It should be a solid answer to the Tesla Model 3 and Hyundai Ioniq 6, and even if people obviously prefer SUVs now, VW says there is still a market for sedans. I know I'd probably prefer one." –Senior Editor, West Coast and Reviews, James Riswick Peugeot Inception concept View 12 Photos 4. Peugeot Inception "It's not often that show debuts surprise us. While Peugeot teased the Inception ahead of CES, its unveiling seemed almost incidental. But just look at this thing; it's like an electric French Mustang with someplace important to be. I don't buy into the stupid 'It's not a wheel!' thing that Peugeot CEO Linda Jackson described as providing a video-game-like drive experience, but that bit of silliness aside, this is a really promising design study. Give us more of these and fewer tall boxes, please." –Associate Editor Byron Hurd Afeela prototype from Sony Honda Mobility View 11 Photos 3. Afeela by Sony Honda “Ever since Sony showed off an impressively put-together concept car at CES a few years ago, IÂ’ve been anticipating the companyÂ’s next move. Apparently, that next move is “Afeela.” No, I donÂ’t love the name. The specs from SonyÂ’s original concept car give me hope that this prototype sportback (itÂ’s a hatchback!) will be fun to drive, though.

Volkswagen Golf voted 2013 European Car of the Year

The seventh-generation Volkswagen Golf just went on sale in Europe, but it is already off to a promising start. Announced as the Geneva Motor Show kicked off, the newest Golf was named European Car of the Year for 2013 in dominating style over cars like the Subaru BRZ/Toyota GT86 twins, Volvo V40, Ford B-Max and Mercedes-Benz A-Class.
According to Automotive News Europe, the MkVII Golf won handily over its rivals with a total of 414 votes. The Subaru BRZ and Toyota GT86 received 202 votes finishing in a distant second, while the Volvo V40 (189 votes), Ford B-Max (148 votes) and Mercedes-Benz A-Class (138 votes) round out the top five. The new Golf marks the third Volkswagen product to receive the prestigious award with previous cars including the MkIII Golf and the most recent iteration of the Polo.

Child cobalt miners: Automakers pledge ethical minerals sourcing for EVs

BERLIN - Leading carmakers including Volkswagen and Toyota pledged on Wednesday to uphold ethical and socially responsible standards in their purchases of minerals for an expected boom in electric vehicle production. Demand for minerals such as cobalt, graphite and lithium is forecast to soar in the coming years as governments crack down on vehicle pollution and carmakers step up their investments in electric models. To cover its plans for more than 80 new models by 2025, Volkswagen alone is looking for partners in China, Europe and North America to provide battery cells and related technology worth more than 50 billion euros ($59 billion). Talks with major cobalt producers, including Glencore, at VW's Wolfsburg headquarters last week ended without a deal. More than half of the world's cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country racked by political instability and legal opacity, and where child labor is used in mines. On Wednesday, a group of 10 leading passenger-car and truck manufacturers announced an initiative to jointly identify and address ethical, environmental, human and labor rights issues in raw materials sourcing. The partnership dubbed "Drive Sustainability" consists of VW, Toyota Motor Europe, Ford, Daimler, BMW, Honda, Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo Cars and truckmakers Scania and Volvo. The alliance "will assess the risks posed by the top raw materials (such as mica, cobalt, rubber and leather) in the automotive sector," said Stefan Crets of the CSR Europe business network. "This will allow Drive Sustainability to identify the most impactful activities to pursue" to address issues within the supply chain.Reporting by Andreas Cremer.Related Video: Image Credit: Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post via Getty Images Green BMW Ford Honda Jaguar Land Rover Mercedes-Benz Automakers Toyota Volkswagen Volvo Green Automakers Green Culture Electric Scania ethics mining