From top Tesla’s Elon Musk, TAG Heuer CEO Jean-Christophe Babin and Leonardo DiCaprio. Leonardo DiCaprio and J.-C. Babin with the Grand Carrera Pendulum concept watch. Leonardo DiCaprio, J.-C. Babin and TAG Heuer honorary chairman Jack Heuer. The unique TAG Heuer Tesla Roadster.

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio spoke highly of TAG Heuer’s social responsibility in fighting climate change at an event in Basel, earlier this week at the BaselWorld shows.
   TAG Heuer, supporting the NRDC and Green Cross International, launched what it called the Odyssey of Pioneers, a travelling roadshow promoting its timepieces between March and October this year.
   Tesla Motors is supporting the promotion, with a special edition of its Roadster. The TAG Heuer Tesla Roadster led the roadshow, which departed from Basel at dawn today.
   The Odyssey is planned to be the first round-the-world tour by a zero-emission sports car.
   DiCaprio said TAG Heuer has a ‘global mission … to protect our planet.’ He commended the company for its donations to NRDC and Green Cross International which, he says, are part of the company’s business model.
   He made his support for President Barack Obama publicly known, calling him a leader who understands the necessity of a ‘green revolution’.
   At the event, as part of its 150th anniversary, TAG Heuer launched the Grand Carrera Pendulum concept watch, which is the first watch without a hairspring, replacing it with magnetic fields. Over 600 people attended the celebration.

This very attractive estate is the new BMW 5-series Touring, unveiled officially today. It’s more elegant than its predecessor, and has many of the features of the saloon announced last year.
   There is an optional eight-speed automatic transmission to aid fuel economy, and, depending on the model, brake energy regeneration and an automatic start–stop function.
   Other driver aids include a Parking Assistant, collision warning with brake activation in conjunction with active cruise control, lane-change and lane-departure warnings, BMW Night Vision with detection of persons, as well as Head-up Display.
   The BMW 520d Touring reaches 54·3 mpg (5·2 l/100 km) with carbon dioxide emissions of 137 g/km.

Normally, we don’t profile concept cars in Lucire: cars that appear at shows but are not available to the public. They usually demonstrate the company’s advanced thinking, but they tend not to be things we can buy for some years.
   However, we’ll make an exception for the Porsche 918 Spyder concept shown at the Salon de Genève. This mid-engined sports car is a hybrid that can see 100 km/h in 3·2 seconds, weighs less than 1,400 kg, and has carbon dioxide emissions at a possible 70 g/km. Excuse the cheesy voiceover, claims of ‘Porsche DNA’ and the soundtrack: the message itself is more important here.

Audi has released its first official video, along with accompanying photographs, of its A1 model, to début at next month’s Salon de Genève car show.
   The emphasis of the new model is on quality, which Audi says its young buyers want in a compact package. The A1 model is aimed squarely at the BMW Group’s Mini and the Alfa Romeo MiTo, Lucire’s Car to Be Seen in for 2009.
   The Audi A1 shares a platform with the latest Seat Ibiza and Volkswagen Polo, which had won European Car of the Year at the end of 2009.
   Audi says that the two diesel and two petrol engines produce between 63 and 90 kW, delivering between 3·8 and 5·4 l/100 km (c. 43½ and 62 mpg US). The 1·6 TDI manual, delivering 66 kW, emits 99 g of carbon dioxide per kilometre. All models feature a recuperation system that allows them to recover energy while braking, and an automatic stop–start system. The cars are available with Audi’s dual-clutch seven-speed gearbox.
   The entry-level price is expected to be c. €16,000.

Left Jean-Luc Colonna d’Istria of Merci. Right Medinge director and MIP dean Pierre d’Huy translates for Dominique Benoît of Pictet et Cie. Below The Brands with a Conscience certificate, designed by UffindellWest.

The Medinge Group had a slightly smaller Brands with a Conscience ceremony today at the Management Institute of Paris, reflecting the international nature of the winners. Many were scattered around the globe and unable to attend the ceremony, though two of the European winners made it to the French capital to collect their awards in person: Jean-Luc Colonna d’Istria of Merci and Pictet et Cie.’s Dominique Benoît.
   Stanley Moss, CEO of the Medinge Group, noted that it was remarkable that in a year of financial crises, there were two winners from that sector that were doing good. Apart from Pictet, the Co-op Bank received a Brands with a Conscience award.
   The seventh annual awards’ programme also honoured Alibaba Group, Marks & Spencer (for its Plan A initiative), SAP and Selco Solar Pvt. Ltd. Muna Abu Sulayman won the Colin Morley Award and a letter from her was read out in absentia by Medinge member Simon Nicholls.
   Medinge founder Thomas Gad noted that the Awards had become so successful that they had spawned at least one imitator.

BMW has previewed the models it will show at Detroit (the North American International Auto Show) later this month. The Z4 sDrive35is will receive its American début—BMW emphasizes it can do 26·1 mpg (US), while hitting 100 km/h in 4·8 seconds. (The regular sDrive35i that Lucire tested managed a respectable 29 mpg touring.)
   BMW will also show its 1-series-based electric car, the Concept ActiveE, and the Mini Concept Beachcomber, a latter-day revival of the Mini Moke.
   The ActiveE shows some promise for mass production, producing 170 hp from its electric motor. However, boot space shrinks to around 7 ft³, while the car weighs some 3,900 lb. Still, it is an advance that should not be sneezed at, as it may bring the fully electric BMW closer to reality. Videos below preview the two concepts and the new Z4 model.

[Cross-posted] I posted this on my Tumblog earlier today but it is worth repeating here:

I captioned it, ‘We probably will keep thinking [climate change] is someone else’s problem till we encounter threats like the Maldives and other places do: if we don’t do something, our country will disappear. But this graphic is a heck of a good reminder.’
   The pic says it all, really.

Volvo showed an electric C30 some time ago. Still a concept, the company is showing more details, with a test fleet promised for 2010. The cars can run on electricity on a single charge for 150 km—which means it suits 90 per cent of European drivers.
   Our video below has comments from Volvo, as well as motoring media veteran Richard Bremner, who feels that desirable electric cars will be a hit.
   The Energimyndigheten, or Swedish Energy Agency, is supporting the project and contributing Kr 150 million to the funding.