Ford introduces small, fuel-efficient SUV concept car at Geneva Auto Show

Concept cars are an important part of every auto show because they indicate direction of what we'll be seeing in new car showrooms in years to come, both in terms of design and technology. The new Ford Iosis MAX being unveiled at the 2009 Geneva Auto Show is a winner.

This small SUV is not an SUV at all -- Ford is calling it an "MAV" -- a multi-activity vehicle. It is built on Ford's global C-car platform. These are its best features:

The Iosis MAX is powered by Ford's fuel-efficient 1.6-litre EcoBoost engine that's mated to Ford's advanced PowerShift transmission, which adds up to lean and clean.

The rear doors slide open, a convenient, passenger-friendly feature that's been limited until now to larger SUVs -- or MAVs -- not compacts. And, the unusual two-piece tailgate system allows you to open the cargo door completely, even when there's not much room to do that.

It is designed with some sexy curves that make it look more like a coupe and less like an SUV -- or MAV.

The center console features a three-dimensional touch-screen surface.

The lightweight seats sit on what Ford describes as a "spine-like bridge, so that occupants are ‘floating on air’. Sounds to me like a suspension system for people, similar to the one that absorbs the bumps and bruises from potholes for the vehicle itself.

And my own favorite feature -- the panorama glass roof that makes the vehicle feel larger and brighter.

Now for the bad news -- this great little vehicle is designed for the European market. Not for North America. So it goes.