Now that the Los Angeles Auto Show has a time slot all to itself (it runs from December 1 through December 10 this year), it has become a real auto show. The focus this year includes hydrogen- and fuel-cell-technology vehicles such as the Honda FCX and BMW Hydrogen 7—vehicles that will actually become available (in very limited quantities) over the next two years.

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In years past, the LA Auto Show took place within a few days of the Detroit-based North American International Auto Show during early January, meaning L.A. got a couple pretty convertibles for intros and Detroit got everything else, including the occasional paralyzing snowstorm. (It would have made more sense to move Detroit to the week just after Thanksgiving—less chance of holding the world's A-list auto execs and A-list auto journalists (if there is such a thing) hostage for several days while Detroit airport digs out, as happened in 1999. Already in its first year, though, the LA show has more impact. And after this year, the show moves to a more permanent early-November slot.)

Honda FCX

Honda will show its next-generation FCX concept vehicle, using a more compact FC (that's fuel cell) stack providing more power in 20 percent less space, with 30 percent less FC weight. Honda says the vertical stack of the fuel cell is more efficient for draining off the waste water produced in the power-generation, and the powerplant can now start in temperatures as low as -30 degrees Centigrade, or -22 Fahrenheit. In other words, the FCX could have been shown in Detroit in January, too.

For additional power, the FCX will employ a lithium-ion battery to provide more acceleration, just as on a gasoline-engine hybrid such as the Honda Civic hybrid, although most hybrids today use nickel-metal hydride. Honda says "limited marketing" of the FCX will begin in 2008 in both the U.S. and Japan.

Honda claims energy efficiency of about 60 percent: If correct, that's three times as efficient as a gasoline engine vehicle and twice as efficient as a hybrid. Apparently that's a measure of the efficiency of the fuel once it gets into the car, not of the fuel's refining process and transportation to the car. Hydrogen, for now, is far more costly to generate and then compress than gasoline is to refine. And there's the not-so-small matter of the infrastructure, which for hydrogen is limited to one or two sites in a handful of cities such as Los Angeles, Washington, and New York.

BMW Hydrogen 7

BMW will "unveil" the Hydrogen 7, although like the Honda FCX, it's not exactly a big secret. In fact, BMW's other big announcement is the world premiere of the X5 SUV, a car that's actually on sale now. If that sounds like applying for a marriage license after you get the birth certificate, well, that's auto-show biz, where the total count of "world premieres" and "North American premieres" are feathers in automakers' caps. BMW says about 100 Hydrogen 7 vehicles will be available in 2007, but only for lease, at a cost of about $2,500 a month—comparable to the lease payment on a $120,000 BMW 760Li sedan.

The Hydrogen 7 burns hydrogen in a modified V12 engine in a modified BMW 7 Series sedan, unlike a fuel-cell vehicle where hydrogen and oxygen (from the air) combine to form water and give off electricity that powers an electric motor, as on the Honda FCX. The Hydrogen 7 also burns gasoline, because the 8 Kg (17.6 pounds) of hydrogen are good for only about 125 miles; the 19.5-gallon gasoline tank extends the range another 300 miles. BMW says the Hydrogen 7 accelerates to 100 kph, or 62 mph, in 9.5 seconds, and tops out at 230 kph (143 mph).

This will be a more luxurious (and costly) vehicle than the Honda FCX, with "climate comfort composite glazing" (double-layer windows with heat- and sound-dissipating layers); high-end automatic air conditioning; auxiliary heating; electric seat heating for the driver, front passenger, and rear seats; lumbar supports; electric seat adjustment with memory function on the front seats; ISOFIX child-seat fastenings; Park Distance Control; a rain sensor; exterior and interior mirrors with automatic anti-dazzle; "soft close automatic" for the doors (you pull the door near the car and it does the rest); headlight assistant; navigation (yes, with iDrive); and a high-end entertainment and communication package. Continued...

GM Explains It All

As a measure of the show's newfound importance, and GM's need for a world stage to explain its problems and solutions, GM chairman Rick Wagoner takes to the stage Wednesday, the first of two media days, to outline GM's plans for alternative-fuel vehicles. Environmentalists dislike GM because they think it's the company that killed the electric car, while others believe GM tried too hard a decade ago to make electric-only vehicles work before the technology was ready. In the realm of GM miscues of the past two decades, that wasn't particularly outrageous.

One possibility is the announcement of a hybrid that runs primarily on battery power, with a gasoline or diesel internal-combustion engine for backup and to keep the batteries charged. Called a series hybrid, such a vehicle also could use fuel cells as a secondary power source. All hybrids on sale now work the other way around: A gasoline (or diesel) engine provides most of the power, and a battery-powered electric motor provides boost and in some cases locomotion from 0 to 10, 15, or 20 mph.

In an interview with Automotive News, GM vice-chairman Bob Lutz said, "Tom Stephens [the GM Powertrain group vice president], Rick Wagoner, and I believe in the ultimate electrification of the automobile. We believe that's where it's going." He added that at GM, "What started as a fuel-cell project is now an electric-vehicle project."

Other Debuts

Show officials say there'll be 21 debuts, including the world debuts of the 2008 Aston Martin V-8 Vantage convertible (to go with the hardtop), an upsized second-generation Audi TT roadster, the Buick Enclave, the Chrysler Sebring convertible, and the Ford Escape and Escape Hybrid crossover vehicle (something between a tall wagon and an SUV).

The Buick Enclave will try to take on the wildly successful Lexus RX 330 and merely successful Acura MDX, which sell about 100,000 and 50,000 units a year, respectively. GM will sell vehicles similar to the Enclave as the Saturn Outlook and GMC Acadia.

Ford will also show an Italian interpretation of a classic muscle car: the Ford Mustang by Giugiaro. If it sounds odd, here's some history: Giugiaro Design founder Giorgetto Giugiaro created a Bertone Mustang way back in 1965.

In addition to the FCX, Honda is expected to show a California-designed sports car concept (no plans to produce it) and a tallish wagon designed in Japan. Acura, an upscale sibling to Honda but not as upscale as Lexus is to Toyota, will show off a California-designed concept that could be a real model at the end of the decade. Acura will try to build a greater distance from Honda with its own design center.

Hyundai will debut the HCD-10 Hellion, an SUV with three doors, designed in California.

The Suzuki SXBox concept, based on Suzuki's 2007 SX4 wagon, is designed for the game enthusiast. The SXBox receives mild performance enhancements, but the real excitement is inside, where an Xbox 360 color scheme illuminates the interior. An Xbox 360 gaming console is integrated into the instrument panel, coupled with a projection system to illuminate the game on the interior of the retractable roof.

And Volkswagen will show off a new small sporty wagon, called Tiguan, based on the Rabbit/Golf platform, that may get into production circa 2008.