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Some might say car manufacturers face an impossible challenge. Vauxhall, Jaguar, Fiat and Ford's European arm are still struggling to achieve the basics: continual profitability, world-class levels of quality and products that consistently appeal. And, in the near future, they will be forced to go through another, technical, revolution.

Marketing the cars of the future will be difficult because much of the ideology behind them aims to make situations 'less bad'. Cue cars that are kinder to the planet, more caring to pedestrians, and less likely to career out of control or hit other cars. But how easy will it be to promote these changes?

It isn't easy to enthuse a customer about an easily deformable nose or flip-up bonnet; nor is it simple for the average motorist to understand why they should need active steering or the very latest stability-control system. 'Ever lost control and run off the road?' is not the greatest marketing pitch.

Yet, there is one negative that might be easy to advertise: the upmarket family car that isn't a traditional off-roader. The pressure is on to ban 4x4s from many city centres. This is something the authorities in Paris and Rome want, and the Netherlands' Green party would like to slap parking tickets on wider vehicles. Social unacceptability could be just around the corner. No wonder car makers are rushing to build 'anti-SUVs'.

Targeting affluent families

Mercedes will be first out with its seven-seater R-Class, having unveiled its concept car in September. Set to be available in a year, the car is a cross between an estate and a people carrier, with a touch of the 4x4, and will target affluent families with a social conscience. Ford is not far behind, having shown its Lincoln Aviator concept in January.

Based on a conventional car chassis, making it lighter and more fuel-efficient, the Aviator has a raised body and four-wheel drive. The concept was drawn up by a team of mainly British designers along the kind of sophisticated European lines that should appeal to Americans.

Despite leaving its square-cut-style heritage, Volvo is still a leader in safety design. Its SCC concept, first shown in 2001 but not launched, is crammed with advanced thinking. The whole cabin - including the floors, gear stick and pedals - adjusts electrically to make sure all drivers have the same eye-point. Eliminating blind spots was another priority.

With body pillars being built thicker for crash resistance, Volvo has made the SCC's windscreen pillars semi-transparent to improve the driver's forward view. It has also kinked the central body-pillar toward the seat to offer an uninterrupted rear view. Other neat touches include a four-point seat belt, which should hold its occupants more securely in the event of a high-speed collision.

Detection sensors

Mercedes unveiled its F500 concept, described as a 'research vehicle', in October 2003. Powered by a hybrid engine, combining a V8 diesel and electric motors, the F500 has a programmable instrument panel, which can project on to the windscreen. Sensors in the control panels detect the driver's hand and switch to standby, and it has exchanged conventional pedals for pressure-sensitive pads. The F500 also comes with night-vision: two infrared laser head-lamps 'illuminate' the road ahead for 150m, while a windscreen-mounted camera creates a monochrome image scene on the dashboard monitor.

As with the creation of the Mini in 1959, much of the current effort in designing small vehicles is focused on clever use of space. Opel's Trixx concept, unveiled in March 2004, takes the two-seater layout of the Smart car forward. Though only 3m long, it can squeeze in a third adult and a child in the rear. The adult's seat is inflated with a compressor while the child's is concealed on the back panel. The front passenger seat folds flat into the floor, providing a long load bay, while the sliding doors are ideal for crammed city car-parks.

Hybrid technology means the eco-friendly super-car is not far off. Toyota's Volta concept, which came out in March, was designed and built by Italdesign.

A conventional 3.3 litre V6 petrol engine is mounted in the car's tail, but not connected direct to the wheels. Instead, it powers up four electric motors, one on each wheel, backed up by battery packs. This enables the Volta to dispense with a conventional gearbox and it benefits from four-wheel-drive. Ital reckons the Volta can cover 435 miles on 52 litres of fuel at 'an average highway speed'. In the city, it switches entirely to electrical propulsion.

The past few weeks have seen rumours circulating that yet another manufacturer wants to buy this green technology for its own giant off-roader. That company is Porsche - proof that the automotive revolution is truly on the horizon.

- Hilton Holloway is news editor at Autocar

THE CAR OF THE FUTURE

Internal sensors

Volvo has pioneered work to ensure its cars fit drivers of any size perfectly in order to maximise alertness and reduce fatigue. The system will be based on the eye-point of every driver being at the same point in space, with the electrically adjustable seat, pedals and steering wheel moving into position automatically. This will help airbags to work better too. Sensors will be used to detect tiredness, while the car key will 'breath-test' the driver.

Lightweight construction

Adding new technology while accommodating higher safety standards has inevitably led to cars gaining weight and greater fuel consumption. One of the only ways to reverse this trend is using lightweight materials. Aluminium is being used already by Audi and Jaguar for executive cars, but manufacturers will start mixing (expensive) aluminium and (cheaper) steel in the same structures. Magnesium is also expected to be used more in transmission components.

Drivetrain

Diesel engines will become more common due to tougher CO2 limits, and most engines will have two turbo-chargers - one that is tiny, for use at low revs. The engine will charge batteries driving electric motors on each wheel and most drivers will pick a twin-clutch gearbox. The system will cut in at low-speed or in heavy traffic, letting the car enter 'low-emission' zones, set up in most urban areas. In bad weather, electric rear-drive will offer all-wheel traction.

Side-impact protection

There is minimal crush space (perhaps a few inches) between the outside skin of a car and the occupant's head, and this needs to be redressed due to the huge rise in SUVs. Airbags that can protect heads from the side are vital and, in future, car manufacturers will have to install predictive side-impact systems. They will need to try new materials (such as honeycomb aluminium and carbon fibre) as well, to maximise strength in a structurally weak spot.

Four-wheel steering and stability control

Most cars are fitted with the Electronic Stability Programme (ESP). It is already estimated to save thousands of lives by helping to help prevent skidding, but it will be extended into a more sophisticated system. Today, this can activate the brakes individually to keep a car steady, but in a few years the car's 'electronic brain' will be able to override the steering (controlled electronically) and the rear wheels will be steerable.

External sensors

Systems that alert drivers who drift out of lane are to launch, but that's not all. Rear-view mirrors will warn of cars in the driver's blind-spot, and radar sensors in the nose will calculate speed, distance and weather to determine when a driver is too close to the car in front. Sensors will also try to predict impact so as to hit the brakes and even 'pre-arm' the safety systems. Bosch launched this package last month, called Predictive Safety Systems (PSS).

Pedestrian protection

Any car launched in Europe from autumn 2005 has to have 'crush space' between the bonnet skin and under-bonnet components. Manufacturers are working on 'pyrotechnic' bonnets that pop up six inches to create extra crush space when it detects an impending collision or pedestrian. Airbags are likely to be fitted at the base of windscreens as they are the only way to cushion a head against the windscreen. The front structure will be redesigned to protect pedestrians better.

Black box

Pressure will grow to fit 'black box' recorders in a vehicle's electrical system because the information may be invaluable. Accident investigations would be easier, as all the car's vital signs would be recorded in the short time before an accident: speed, brake application, intervention of the stability systems, and so on. Cars could be automatically restrained to local speed limits, or slowed down temporarily by traffic controllers in the event of bad weather or a local accident.

GPS connection

Car models equipped with GPS, satellite navigation and the wireless local area network (WLAN) system will transform driving in city centres and on busy roads. Drivers will be informed of traffic speeds over a given distance and, when the flow starts to grind to a halt, the location of the hold-up will be transmitted to other cars. Such information sharing should become a continuous loop, helping traffic to react and flow almost organically.

Reconfigurable interior

Seats that are foldable and removable have become more commonplace in the past decade, but more could be done. Chrysler's Voyager has a stow-n-go set-up, whereby its giant seats fold away into the floor, converting the MPV into a van in seconds. That's just the start. Seats will get smaller, lighter and easier to fold away in cars that are smaller. Deflatable cushions could replace conven-tional foam padding, with front passenger seats folding away.