FRANCE CAR SHOW

SOURCE: AP TELEVISION NEWS

RESTRICTIONS: TECHNOLOGY CLIENTS ONLY

LENGTH: 4:05

SHOTLIST:

1. Various exteriors of Paris Auto Show

2. Various interiors of Paris Auto Show

3. Pan down from Dodge stand sign to Dodge car with hostess standing next to it

4. Close up of Dodge hostess

5. Pan down from Venturi stand sign to Venturi Astrolab electro-solar car

6. Pan up from front of Astrolab to wide of Astrolab

7. Various close ups of solar system on Astrolab

8. SOUNDBITE (French) Marianne Hollande, Venturi Automobiles Marketing Manager :

"We are the first in the world to present Astrolab, an electro-solar vehicle. It uses the sunlight to recharge its batteries. It is an inter-urban vehicle with a maximum speed of 120 kilometres (119 miles) and a 110 kilometre (68 mile) autonomy. Right now, it is only a concept car but it will soon be commercialised."

9. Pan down from Landwind stand sign to Landwind X-pedition vehicle

10. Pan of vehicle

11. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Min Li, Asia Auto External Affairs with China :

"The French and German markets being important ones, we would like to start with them before expanding to other world markets."

12. Close up of Landwind brand sign

13. Pan left of Toyota stand

14. Computer monitor in front of Toyota Prius Hybrid

15. Tilt up to Toyota Prius Hybrid cut in half

16. Close up of Prius Hybrid engine

17. SOUNDBITE (English) Colin Hensley, Toyota Europe General manager,:

"In a normal start up situation, you are going to start up in electric mode just with the electric motor driving you, so you pull away silently. When you need some more power as you start to accelerate, gasoline engine would start up as well seamlessly and continuously, you can accelerate on. As you accelerate hard, you then get a combination of power from the gasoline engine, power from the battery driving the electric motor to give you the acceleration and torque that you want."

18. Pan from visitors to Toyota Prius Hybrid

19. Pan from SAAB hostess to SAAB Aero X concept car

20. SOUNDBITE (French) Stephane Huguet, SAAB spokesman :

"When you use petroleum which is a fossil energy stuck in the ground, there is carbon in it, you take this carbon out and transform it and put it in a car and reject it outside. During photosynthesis, plants will absorb a part of it put not everything so you keep on adding CO2 to the atmosphere. When you use ethanol, ethanol is an alcohol made out of beet, sugar cane or wheat fermentation, you take this CO2 out of plants, you transform it and then consume it. And that CO2 taken out of the atmosphere is rejected in the same quantity. So it is a closed circle that does not add CO2 to the atmosphere. That is why we say that in the long run we could reject 75 percent less CO2 than what is used with a fossil energy."

21. Various of SAAB S9-3 Cabriolet Hybrid Biopower concept car

23. Various of SAAB S9-3 Cabriolet Hybrid Biopower engine

25. Visitors in Paris car show

LEAD IN:

Pushing hybrid technology ever further, a number of environmentally friendly vehicles are on display at this year's Paris Auto Show.

STORYLINE:

Motor companies from around the world displayed their 2008 models at the Paris Motor Show.

The Mondial de L'Automobile is expected to showcase more than 60 new designs and concept cars from manufacturers from Detroit to China, and is expected to draw more than a (m) million visitors.

While some vehicle manufacturers stick to tried and tested vehicles and displays, others push the boundaries of technology.

With a greater demand for cleaner cars many manufacturers displayed the latest environmentally friendly designs, including the latest in hybrid technology.

Many hybrid cars incorporate a mixture of technologies such as internal combustion engines, electric motors, battery (electricity) hydrogen and fuel.

And car maker Venturi were in a league of their own with their electro-solar car the Astrolab.

According to Venturi the vehicle can reach a top speed of 120 kilometre per hour (119 miles per hour).

Marianne Hollande from Venturi Automobiles says they are the first company in the world to produce such a car.

It is currently only made-to-order for around Euro92, 000 (US$116, 000).

As well as carmakers from the US and Europe, this years car show also welcomed a number of car manufacturers from China.

On show was the Landwind X-pedition made by JiangLing, the first Chinese car to be sold in Europe.

Asia Auto External Affairs with China spokesperson Min Li says the European market is very important to them.

But along with the less familiar names were household vehicle manufacturers.

The Toyota Prius Hybrid runs on both petrol and an emissions-free electric motor.

Colin Hensley, Toyota's General manager in Europe, explains how the engines work.

While the SAAB Aero X, a fossil free hybrid concept car, has been seen at a number of car shows this year.

Stephane Huguet, SAAB spokesman explains the how the biofuel engine is better for the environment.

SAAB also had it's new S9-3 cabriolet Hybrid Biopower concept car on display.

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SHOTLIST

1. Tilt up, FCX Clarity entering the stage for line-off ceremony

2. Pan of FCX Clarity's front

3. Mid of driver closing the door, bowing to the audience

4. Mid of Honda engineers clapping hands

5. Wide of President Takeo Fukui walking to centre stage to address the audience

6. Wide of corporate audience

7. SOUNDBITE: (Japanese) Takeo Fukui, President of Honda Motor Co., Ltd.:

"Today is an historic day celebrating the new step towards a more widespread use of our fuel cell vehicle."

8. Mid of Ron Yerxa (left), Jon Spallino (centre), and Laura Harris, first customers of the vehicle

9. Mid of keys presented to the customers

10. Tilt up of Jon Spallino holding the car key

11. Wide of other two receiving the key from the president

12. Mid of Honda engineers clapping

13. Zoom out of President Fukui leaving the ceremony on FCX Clarity with the customers seated in the back

14. Tilt-up of the body

15. Pan of car interior at assembly line

16. Close of interior details

17. Wide of hydrogen tank

18. Mid of hydrogen tank detail

19. Mid of engineers lifting the body

20. Wide of engineers loading the hydrogen tank

21. Wide of engineers picking up too to adjust the hydrogen tank

22. Mid of Jon Spallino watching the assembly line

23. Close of hydrogen tank from below

24. Wide of Laura Harris listening to engineer's explanation

25. SOUNDBITE: (English) Laura Harris, FCX Clarity Customer:

"I am just really looking forward to a completely new alternative of transportation. So, I just want to be a part of the offerings that are available. This is an extraordinary one for sure, and it is an exquisite vehicle, and it is so fun to drive."

26. Mid to pan of the Spallino family getting in the car

27. Close of drivers' hands

28. Close of meter on the driver panel

29. Mid of driver's view

30. Wide to pan of FCX Clarity approaching and passing by

31. SOUNDBITE: (English) Jon Spallino, FCX Clarity Customer:

"The drive is fantastic. It's a great acceleration, great handling, and great comfort."

32. Pan of vehicle slowing down to a halt

33. Tilt up of vehicle interior mechanics

34. Close of FCX Clarity logo

35. SOUNDBITE: (Japanese) Takeo Fuku, President of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. :

"We have been working hard on the environment friendly technology, but the global climate is facing a serious situation, and it is important for us as a company to take a lead in addressing the problem. I think there is no future for the automotive industry unless we work on it as a whole, and we want to be at the forefront."

36. Zoom out of the car from the front

37. Close of FCX Clarity logo

38. SOUNDBITE: (Japanese) Sachito Fujimoto, Senior Chief Engineer, Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

"Right now, the engine takes up a lot of space in gas-fuelled cars, but I want to create something different and more attractive with the fuel cell car. The styling, the driving feel, and the spacious interior of FCX Clarity are all new values and qualities created by the new fuel cell system."

39. Close to wide of car moving forward

LEAD IN:

Honda's new zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell car rolled off a Japanese production line Monday (16JUN08).

The new vehicle is headed to southern California, where Hollywood is already abuzz over the latest splash in green motoring.

The FCX Clarity runs on hydrogen and electricity, emitting only water and none of the gases believed to induce global warming.

STORYLINE:

Honda's latest creation is, according to the manufacturers, two times more energy efficient than a gas-electric hybrid and three times that of a standard gasoline-powered car.

Fuel cells create electricity in a chemical process combining hydrogen and oxygen and only emit water vapour.

Designed for practical every day use, the car speeds up to 100 mph maximum and travels as far as 270 miles.

Honda expects to lease out a "few dozen" units this year and about 200 units within a year. In California, a

three-year lease will run $600 a month, which includes maintenance and collision coverage.

President Takeo Fukui says that Honda intends to lead the future of automotive industry with environmental technologies, adding that there is no future for the automotive industry unless environmental issues are addressed.

Senior Chief Engineer, Sachito Fujimoto, says the car excites him not just because it satisfies the company's environmental responsibility. The architecture of the car, which uses a fuel cell stack, creates avenues for exploring new designs, performance, and sensations behind the wheel.

Among the first customers are Ron Yerxa (who produced the award-winning film "Little Miss Sunshine"), Jon Spallino, CFO of California-based engineering and construction firm, and actress Laura Harris.

Actors Jamie Lee Curtis and Christopher Guest are also among the first five customers.

"I am just really looking forward to a completely new alternative of transportation," said Laura Harris whilst adding that the car was both extraordinary and exquisite.

Spallino says the drive is fantastic with great acceleration, great handling and great comfort.

Harris, Spallino and Yerxa were flown to the ceremony,courtesy of Honda.

The biggest obstacles standing in the way of wider adoption of fuel cell vehicles are cost and the dearth of

hydrogen fuel stations. For the Clarity's release in California, Honda said it received 50,000 applications

through its Web site but considered only buyers living near hydrogen fuel stations in Torrance, Santa Monica and

Irvine.

Initially, however, the Clarity will go only to a chosen few starting July and then launch in Japan in the autumn.

Although Honda Motor Co. was the first Japanese automaker to launch a gas-electric hybrid vehicle in the U.S. in

1999, it has been outpaced by the dominance of Toyota's popular Prius.

Toyota announced in May that it has sold more than 1million Prius hybrids, while both the Honda Insight and the

hybrid Accord have been discontinued due to poor sales.

Honda plans to deliver at least 200 FCX Clarity over the next three years in Japan and the US combined as initiatives for achieving more widespread use of fuel cell vehicles in the future.

The FCX Clarity is part of Honda's plan to keep pace with rivals in green technology. It also plans to launch a

gas-electric hybrid-only model, as well as hybrid versions of the Civic, the sporty CR-Z and Fit subcompact.

Keyword science technology