At Auto China 2010, Ford showed off a futuristic new small car. The Start Concept uses a 1-liter engine and a bulbous design, not to mention an iPad-like interface in its center display.
Wayne Cunningham
Wayne Cunningham reviews cars and writes about automotive technology for CNET's Roadshow. Prior to the automotive beat, he covered spyware, Web building technologies, and computer hardware. He began covering technology and the Web in 1994 as an editor of The Net magazine.
Ford showed off this Start concept at the 2010 Beijing Auto Show, a fitting design for a country growing in its thirst for automobiles among a large urban population.
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The Start concept appears to lack real headlights, instead using a row of LEDs, a typical concept trait that is slowly making its way into production cars.
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Ford is currently launching the Fiesta worldwide, which should serve as a template for any next-generation small car launches, if anything like the Start ever enters production.
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The Start is thought of as a car for first-time buyers that fits well into an urban environment, its small size doing well in traffic and parking.
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The most realistic feature of the Start Concept is the three-cylinder 1-liter engine using Ford's EcoBoost technology. Ford claims this tiny engine would deliver the power of a larger displacement four-cylinder engine.
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This concept is shown with a five-speed manual transmission, off the shelf technology for Ford.
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One of the most intriguing elements is this large LCD, with application icons similar to those on an iPad.
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Thin seats enhance interior room in the Start and add a sporty flair.
