Month: March 2020

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  The Transit van is Europe's answer to the Ford F-150. It's a ubiquitous work vehicle, and an all-electric version is coming to the US and Canada in 2022. [credit: Ford ]

The pickup truck versus the work van is one of those (possibly tired) transatlantic tropes that each side uses as proof of its inherent superiority. Having grown up in London, I fall more toward the van side of things, because vans appear able to do everything a truck can do—carry stuff, tow stuff, drive stuff to places—while keeping that stuff dry and safe from the elements at the same time. Plus they look more aerodynamic, and they're what I was used to. In recent years—perhaps but probably not due to the popularity of @itsvantime on Twitter—vans have become more of a thing here in the US. And with any luck that trend will increase in 2022, because that's when Ford will launch an all-electric Transit here in the North American market.

"Commercial vehicles are a critical component to our big bet on electrification. As leaders in this space, we are accelerating our plans to create solutions that help businesses run better, starting with our all-electric Transit and F-150. This Ford Transit isn’t just about creating an electric drivetrain, it's about designing and developing a digital product that propels fleets forward" said Jim Farley, chief operating officer, Ford Motor Company.

Right now, Ford isn't sharing much in the way of specific details about this electric Transit, which will join an all-electric F-150 pickup when it goes on sale. We know it will be assembled in the US, presumably to avoid the chicken tax. We know it will be connected, which is probably a good thing from a fleet manager perspective, because telematics let you know which of your drivers are breaking your stuff. And—just like the full-size pickups so beloved by US trades—it will come in a variety of sizes, with three different body lengths, three different roof heights, and different cabin and body options.

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  If you were hoping that BMW would go back to small grilles, hope again. This is the BMW Concept i4, and a production version of this four-door electric car goes on sale in 2021. [credit: BMW ]

"Every car on the road looks the same." It's an oft-heard refrain, one that bemoans the fact that sometimes, designers will coalesce or converge upon similar ideas. There's an element of truth in there—when you're designing (for instance) a three-row SUV, packaging concerns largely dictate the shape you end up with. But it's mostly a gross oversimplification, usually illustrated with a big old .jpg covered in tens of not-identical cars all shot from the same angle in the same color. What those Internet arguments fail to note are all the cars that fit the same niche but look radically different, and today we have a great example with a pair of electric sedan concepts, one from BMW and one from Hyundai. And I'm pretty sure if you love one, you won't love the other.

Do you like angles?

I'll start with the BMW first, for reasons alphabetical as well as the fact that a production version of the Concept i4 will arrive on the road sometime next year. It's another car in BMWs i sub brand, which acts like a capsule collection for advanced lightweight materials and clever electrified powertrains. The first i cars were the urban "stormtrooper helmet on wheels" i3—still possibly the best used electric car bargain available—and the i8 plug-in hybrid, which combined supercar looks (and doors) with a sense of social responsibility. There's a crossover in the works, too, because that's all anyone seems to buy today, but design-wise the Concept i4 should carry some weight, given BMW's long history of making money selling sporty sedans.

Our first hint of the i4 came back in 2017 with the i Vision Dynamics concept. In the intervening time, it has become increasingly clear BMW is leaning into the whole giant grille thing. We haven't seen the Concept i4 in person, but I will go out on a limb and say that last year's Concept 4 Coupe, which broke cover at the 2019 Frankfurt show, had a grille of a similar size and shape, and in 3D it looked a lot better than photos suggest. But I also won't deny the fact that from head-on, there's definitely something a bit "pig from Angry Birds" about this one. I'm a big fan of the Concept i4's interior, which continues some ideas we first saw in the iNext crossover. Like Porsche's Taycan EV, there's no cowl or binnacle over the main display, but the effect here is more "boutique hotel room" and less "smartphone" than in the Porsche.