DETROIT, Michigan, Jan 15, (Agencies): Dashboards glittering with gadgets, turbo-charged engines and sleek designs are on offer as automakers try to attract young consumers who care more about computers than cars.
BMW’s Mini is the most tricked-out car on display at the Detroit auto show this week — offering drivers a way to turn their car into both a video game and a DJ, using a joystick to help navigate the chrome circular display.
The Mini’s dynamic music system shifts sound levels of different speakers and adds tracks when the car accelerates, brakes or turns.
The car also turns fuel efficiency into a game using a fish bowl graphic that tips over if a driver wastes fuel by accelerating or braking too quickly.
And the on-board computer is programmed to speak 1,800 different messages, including “yippee, that was awesome!” for a smooth turn and “it’s cold outside.”
Volkswagen’s new Beetle features a Fender sound system that can be turned into an amplifier thanks to a jack for an electric guitar.
Hyundai’s navigation system lets parents track how fast their teenagers drive and where they take the car — which might sound a bit creepy and restrictive, but could make it easier to trust kids with the keys.

Digital
Voice recognition, Bluetooth connections, navigation systems that track the location of Facebook friends, and access to internet radio stations, restaurant reviews, and search engines are also becoming standard fare as automakers seek to keep up with a generation raised in the digital age.
Car sales among the under-30 crowd have been sluggish in recent years and — perhaps more worryingly — US teenagers are no longer rushing to get a driver’s license the instant they’re old enough for the traditional rite of passage.
“The big thing about the youth market is, do they care about cars at all,” Jeremy Anwyl, president of automotive site Edmunds.com, told AFP.

“Nobody really has an answer because a lot of the data was collected in a recession — if you can’t afford something you don’t give it a lot of thought.”
The 80 million strong under-30 crowd represents 40 percent of potential US car buyers and have a collective spending power and influence of nearly a trillion dollars.
“It would be a misstep to paint youth with a broad brush,” said Bob Carter, of Toyota Motor Sales USA.
While some young people are still attracted to muscle cars and performance, others are looking for environmentally-friendly options. Some want a hatchback or sport utility vehicle so they can haul bikes, surfboards or friends, while others are looking for zippy little cars with an urban feel.

Technology
“The common thread through all that is (that) we do pack those vehicles with a high level of content, specifically on technology,” Carter said in an interview on the sidelines of the Detroit auto show.
“But we have to do it in a responsible way that’s not distracting.”
Toyota has developed an entire brand — Scion — to lure young people looking for something more stylish than what their parents drive.
Personalization and performance has been a big part of Scion’s appeal — it offers a wider range of colors and interiors, spoilers and appliques, encouraging a robust after-market upgrade industry.
Carmakers are also expecting the ‘millennials’ to be more interested in luxury brands once they settle into their careers, and are expanding their offerings of entry-level luxury vehicles, said Mark Templin, general manager of Toyota’s luxury Lexus brand.

“We talk a lot about the democratization of luxury,” he said on the sidelines of the show.
“It’s a generation that grew up in affluence. Young people are attracted to buying luxury... whether it’s kitchen appliances or clothing or it’s handbags or cars, they want premium goods.”
But the ongoing recession also has young people looking for value, said Mark Reuss, president of the North American division of General Motors.
That’s why GM is expanding its small car offerings like the Chevy Cruz, Sonic and Spark and designing them to “look confident, expensive and fast.”
“Who really knows if it’s possible to make young people fall in love with an automotive brand the way they do with a phone or a laptop or a social network?” Reuss said.
“All I can tell you is, if there’s a way to do it, Chevrolet is going to find it.”

Batteries
Industry and government are on track to reduce the cost of batteries to power hybrid and electric cars, which is crucial for improving the appeal of the vehicles, US Energy Secretary Steven Chu has said.
Chu said at the Detroit Economic Club the Obama administration is not deterred by soft sales of plug-ins in their first full year in showrooms, nor does it worry about the potential for overcapacity in battery production.
And, he said, the administration is sticking to its goal of seeing up to 1 million electric and plug-in hybrids on US roads by the middle of next decade — a goal industry insiders believe is over-optimistic.
“If you look at what they’ve done, they’ve done it wisely,” Chu said of measured initial production of the mostly electric Volt by General Motors and the fully electric Leaf, made by Nissan.

The two sold fewer than 20,000 of those vehicles combined in 2011, fewer than expected.
The government has spent more than $2 billion under the Obama administration to underwrite domestic battery production, and billions more to finance electric car development to cut US oil imports and reduce pollution.
Government and industry officials say bringing down battery costs is critical to meeting those goals, and Chu cited aggressive steps and measurable progress.
Chu said batteries suitable for plug-in hybrids four years ago cost about $12,000 to produce.
“That’s pretty expensive. We think we’re on target by 2015 so that the cost of that same capacity battery will be reduced to $3,600, a really aggressive step in the right direction,” Chu said.
The goal, he added, is to more than halve the cost by 2020.
“Once you get a battery that’s $1,500 and much less expensive electric motors, which we are also working on, then you get to a very exciting price point,” he said.

Prototype
In a related news, India’s Tata Technologies unveiled the prototype for a $20,000 dollar electric car that can carry up to four passengers in Detroit Wednesday as it set out to challenge more costly rivals.
“The eMO project symbolizes the coming of age of Indian automotive engineering,” said Warren Harris, president of Tata Technologies.
“It is a tangible example of the capability of Tata Technologies to engineer a full vehicle — a first for any India-based engineering services company.”
Tata Technologies does extensive consulting work for clients such as Ford and Chrysler, offing the “competitive advantage” of its experience in both developing and mature automotive markets, Harris said.
The prototype is Tata’s “business card,” said Kevin Fisher, who heads the group’s vehicle development team.

The objective was to demonstrate it was possible to build an electric vehicle with an attractive price, thought not with the intention of producing an electrified version of Tata Nano, which is built by Tata Motors.
“We researched numerous concepts for an internal engineering study that would highlight both the Tata Technologies dedication to environmental responsibility and sustainability, and showcase our global experience, knowledge, capacity and innovation,” Fisher said.
Fisher said Tata Technologies used set a price target of $20,000 and then used a multidimensional approach to develop the vehicle using the company’s “intimate understanding” of frugal engineering principles.

The end result was a small, urban oriented four-seat vehicle with a unique electric drive and operating software that weighs only 900 kilograms.
The eMo also has a steel frame capable of meeting existing crash standards.
The eMO architecture emphasizes “right size” personal urban transportation by minimizing its exterior footprint and maximizing interior space, including seating for four adults.
“This next decade will see an ever-increasing demand for more efficient and accelerated product development that also will need to incorporate more new technology than the auto industry has seen in 30 years,” Fisher said.
The project eventually utilized the talents of more than 300 engineers Tata’s Technologies four automotive engineering centers of excellence in Novi Pune, India; Detroit, Michigan; Coventry, in Britain and Stuttgart, Germany.