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VW previews huge screens, gesture control with Golf R Touch Concept at CES

Volkswagen is showing off the future of infotainment and connected driving at CES 2015 with a fleet of concepts that highlight its latest technology. According to its displays, the coming years might mean gesture-based vehicle controls and electric cars that drive themselves to find their own charging locations. VW's biggest debut at CES is its next-gen infotainment system, dubbed MIB II. The setup supports a wide array of smartphone integration standards, including MirrorLink, Apple CarPlay and Google Android Auto, to make sure that practically every smartphone user can pair the device's interface with the vehicle. Beyond just keeping occupants entertained, MIB II offers a system called Regular Routes that detects traffic along the driver's regular commute to work and suggests alternatives. The Parking Guide also helps find parking spots that are likely open. If MIB II represents the near future of VW infotainment, then the technology on the Golf R Touch Concept is the next step from there. It takes the brand's hot hatch and adds support for gesture controls inside, plus a trio of massive infotainment screens. This R features a 12.8-inch central infotainment screen, an 8-inch screen below it for things like the climate control and switching media and a customizable 12.3-inch display that digitizes the instrument panel. A camera in front of the central display waits for the driver's hands to make specific movements that activate various vehicle functions. Despite all of the potentially distracting screens, VW says the system offers control without requiring a look away from the road. VW hopes the technology reduces driver distraction and creates a closer relationship with the car. Another of the German automaker's big tech showcases is an e-Golf that demonstrates the potential future of both electric and semi-autonomous driving. This version can be charged inductively, rather than through a traditional power cord, and the exterior lights show when the vehicle is fully recharged. It's also equipped with the e-Station Guide that helps drivers find a charging location and tells them about the payment options there. This e-Golf's other major innovation is VW's Trained Parking system. A camera at the front scans the route to a parking space, and if the driver returns later, then the process can be done semi-automatically.

Recharge Wrap-up: meet the '66 ZelectricBug, DOE announces home-scale H2 refueling competition

The US Department of Energy has launched the $1 million H2 Refuel H-Prize competition to create small- to medium-scale hydrogen refueling systems. The systems could be home-scale systems that produce hydrogen using utilities at home for refueling, or medium-scale systems to supply locations such as retail centers, apartment complexes or small fleets. The DOE sees hydrogen fueling infrastructure as the biggest obstacle to fuel-cell vehicle adoption and putting the production and refueling in the hands of the consumer could be a way around that obstacle. Read more at Energy.gov and at Green Car Congress. Hyundai has announced a new six-speed automatic transmission with integrated electric motor for new hybrid models. The new configuration puts most of the hybrid powertrain components within the transmission, and the torque converter has been eliminated. The new engine clutch reduces drag with fewer clutch discs, and the mechanical oil pump has been replaced with an electric one. The result is fewer energy losses, improved efficiency and greater mileage. Read more at Hybrid Cars in Reuters or in the press release from Hyundai below. Zelectric Motors has completed its electric 1966 Volkswagen Beetle rebuild, and has put it up for sale. The '66 ZelectricBug, as it's called, is powered by a 50-kW electric motor and 20-kWh battery pack, and offers 120 pound-feet of torque. It has a range of 80 miles, and is capable of at least 100 mph. The stock transmission has been rebuilt. It also has some new goodies like high-performance sway bars, custom shocks, and LED lighting. The '66 ZelectricBug is priced at $45,000. Check it out in the video below and read more at Hybrid Cars. A startup called Alevo says it will build a billion-dollar factory in North Carolina to make longer-lasting lithium iron phosphate batteries. Alevo has purchased an old cigarette factory in Concord for $68.5 million, but it's unclear whether or not the company has secured the $1 billion investment to begin producing batteries. The company plans to create 2,500 to 6,000 jobs and produce several gigawatts worth of batteries per year, which is a tall order for a relatively unknown company. Read more at Gigaom, or in Alevo's press release below. Tesla owners in Shanghai will be exempt from the city's $12,000 registration fee. About 400 people have already received the free license plates in Shanghai, where the government wants to encourage alternative fuel vehicles.

Volkswagen's De Silva says next Scirocco will be 'completely different'

From our perspective, the reborn Volkswagen Scirocco is a handsome (if squat) little thing. Yet design-wise, it's always struck us as uncomfortably close to the Golf three-door hatchback with which it shares its basic underpinnings. That aesthetic kinship may be part of the reason why Volkswagen has steadfastly refused to import the Scirocco to North America, seeing as how the Golf doesn't regularly set the company's sales charts alight, and it's less expensive.
But that visual similarity might be about to change, says Walter De Silva, who recently told Australia's Car Advice that, "It must be completely different... we don't want to repeat the bodystyle of the Scirocco, we want to change that." Further, the Volkswagen Group's design boss says that the next-generation car isn't terribly far along in development yet - "at the moment, it's only a studio [project]... it's not defined." It's probably just as well, as the new seventh-generation Golf arguably borrows some of its design from the current Scirocco anyway.
So we should expect a much bolder, more differentiated design, right? Well, yes, no and maybe. Back in September, De Silva himself was quoted as saying that the era of flamboyant styling has passed, and that future VW designs will be simpler to better reflect the times and preserve resale value. So... how different could it be?