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... or is the Leko flatpack car just an intricate April Fool's joke?

Allen keys at the ready: it seems Ikea is about to launch its very own car called the Leko. Well, that's the first impression you get if you head over to the rather cryptic French website Roulez-Leko.com, which shows a car covered in a white sheet with the words "Leko – la voiture selon Ikea".

The internet is currently abuzz with talk about the Leko website, with most of the chatter focusing on the site's large clock which is currently counting down to 1 April. Surely, this is just a rather lame April Fool's viral?

However, there are some aspects of the site which suggest there could be something of interest here. The site's Flash video carries a message from the car's "designer", Christophe Grozs, who says the car will be environmentally friendly. The site also carries the official panda logo of the conservation charity WWF, which is known to work with IKEA, suggesting it must be either in on the joke, or is genuinely involved in the project. (Fast Company notes that 1-7 April is France's Sustainable Development Week.) Over at Fark.com one commenter called "TheYeti" – who admits they've been watching too much Lost – has been analysing the name "Christophe Grozs":

"Anagrams for Christophe Grozs contain the word scherzo and scherzi. Wiki: Scherzo (plural scherzi) is a piece of music or a movement, in a certain style, that forms part of a larger piece such as a symphony. The word "scherzo" means "joke" in Italian. Sometimes the word scherzando (joking) is used in musical notation to indicate that a passage should be executed in a playful manner."

It has also been noted that there is a rather handy Hungarian chess grandmaster called Peter Leko, although what this alludes to – other than game playing – I'm not too sure. My French and Swedish are both admittedly woeful, but maybe the car's name is internationalised shorthand for "L'Eko" ("Eko" being Swedish for "eco")? Or maybe it refers to Mr Eko, one of the many mysterious characters in Lost? (OK, I have to admit I've also been watching too much Lost.)

Elsewhere, some people have been scrutinising the website's HTML code for clues. At Digg a commenter called "tavallai" has spotted probably the most revealing clue of all:

It's a carshare scheme. Until they changed the HTML code and Flash filename, it referred to the movie as "covoiturage.swf" which is French for carpooling.

Indeed, the Flash filename does now read as "siteEKO.swf". Is IKEA going to launch a carpooling initiative at its French stores on 1 April? Interesting, but not exactly up there with the launch of its very own (flat-packed?) car. There's only one way to nip all this speculation in the bud and that's to put in a call to Ikea. A few hours later I receive an email from Isabelle Crémoux-Mirgalet, Ikea France's PR manager:

What I can confirm is that Ikea France has decided to support a new car system in line with its positioning: cheaper and more responsible than any other; allowing a dramatic reduction in your gas spending; built so it can adapt to the products you want to carry. But, no complementary information is supposed to be released before the launch, on 31 March. Some more days to wait.

Full marks to her skills as a PR manager, as she's ably performed the first part of her brief, namely, create a buzz. I just hope whatever is announced lives up to the hype.

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NCP has announced its intention to 'snuff out' smelly stairwells for good. So, what would you like to get a whiff of after you've parked?

Picture the scene: you have parked your vehicle in a multi-storey car park ready to go shopping, but as you head down the stairs you are hit not by the usual pungent whiff of urine, but the delectable scent of baking bread or cut flowers. This is the latest wheeze by NCP, the UK's largest car parking company, which has today announced its intention to "snuff out" smelly stairwells for good.

The move, it claims, has been prompted by an online poll of 2,000 people last month that revealed that as many as a third of car park customers are unlikely to use a car park again if it smells particularly bad. How many local car parks do these people have to choose from?

Not surprisingly, two-thirds of those surveyed said stairwells were the worst-smelling areas of a car park – a third identifying the unpleasantness as the smell of urine.

NCP clearly feels it is a nationwide problem and is going to be using "new technology" to pump pleasant fragrances into its London, Birmingham, Leeds and Cardiff car parks. But before it does it is asking you, the public, to vote on your favourite fragrance via its online poll at www.ncp.co.uk/stairwellsmells.

Its initial research has revealed that the nation's favourite aromatic smells are classic – flowers (17%), mint (13%), cut grass (11%), freshly baked bread (11%) and fresh fruit (8%). Londoners, in contrast, are a bit odd: one-third favour disinfectant. What does this say about inhabitants of the capital?

A quick straw poll of the Guardian and the Observer's consumer affairs team revealed favourite smells to be: dying lilies, cut grass, brand new children's books, new plimsolls, inside new cars, babies (heads not bums), lemon and grapefruit, toast, vanilla and coconut, sweaty pony's neck, boiling apples with cinnamon, eucalyptus, tarmac, freshly printed bank notes, and "the smell of success". The production editor muttered darkly about "napalm in the morning".

NCP has, however, gone a bit scientific and put a psychologist on the case. Prof Tim Jacobs, an expert in the psychology of smell at Cardiff University, says: "It has been reported that citrus fragrances have an antidepressant effect," (always useful in a recession) while "rosemary and peppermint have been shown to increase alertness while driving". NCP might also be pleased to know that urine was not mentioned in our subsequent worst smells poll. Instead, "my children's bedroom in the morning", kippers, feet, decaying flesh, and London underground trains in the rush hour were mentioned.

So, what would you like to get a whiff of after you've parked your car and are heading down the stairs? And where else do you think could do with a hit from NCP's "new technology"? Someone in the office mentioned the stairwell at Oxford street's John Lewis. Perhaps you know of somewhere equally pungent?

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If they get their calculations even slightly wrong, Bloodhound SSC could spin out of control or become airborne. Engineering director John Piper describes the challenges of designing a machine 160 times more powerful than a Formula 1 racing car

Right now, working on Bloodhound SSC, our supersonic car, feels like being in a never-ending episode of CSI.

We're investigating our design in forensic detail, hunting for the minute problems that supersonic speeds could magnify into major disasters. Every time we find and fix one, four more pop up. This is normal in the world of engineering.

The difference between Bloodhound SSC and, well, practically anything else on the planet, is that there is no such thing as a "small problem".

This is no surprise given the sorts of numbers we're dealing with: potentially more than 210 kilonewtons (47,000lbs) of thrust from the jet and rocket engines, which together make Bloodhound SSC over 160 times more powerful than a Formula 1 car; four huge and heavy solid-titanium wheels spinning at up to 10,300 revolutions per minute, generating 50,000 g at the rim; air screaming past the carbon and aluminium bodywork at 1000mph, applying 12 tonnes of pressure to every square metre of bodywork ...

To have a crack at the land speed record and, more importantly, keep fighter pilot Andy Green safe while trying, everything has to work perfectly. Considering this thing is a) more advanced than most spacecraft and b) utterly unique, it's an order of magnitude harder than say, building an F1 car.

Let me show you what playing detective with Bloodhound SSC feels like.

As was reported on guardian.co.uk, we recently had Arup, the construction experts, analyse our chassis design using the same computer techniques they have for mega structures. We discovered some issues: it isn't as stiff as we had hoped; the jet wobbles; and at full speed the rear wheels – which are out on struts to keep the vehicle stable – get pulled outwards by the enormous force of air slamming into them. This rear wheel "deflection" could steer the car off the track and we'd really like Andy to be doing all the steering!

It's easy enough (for which read: "pretty hard really but no one goes home until we get it done") to address these points individually, but keeping the entire system in balance is an exercise in extreme plate-spinning.

For example, beefing up the chassis to make it stronger may just make things worse, as increased mass causes more flex. The bending may not be that big an issue, nor the bouncing jet. It's how they relate to the harmonics of the suspension that counts.

Which isn't as simple as you'd hope, either.

To keep Andy from flying or inventing the world's fastest burrowing machine, we have to control the airflow over the car extremely carefully to avoid a buildup of high pressure under the car as the sonic shockwaves travel down the car as we build up speed. To have airflow control the angle of the car relative to the ground is very important as well.

As the car accelerates, it wants to point downwards; as Andy takes his foot off the gas (or our case, high test peroxide), it wants to point up. Either option would be bad. Someone else already has the record for the world's fastest crash and we're quite happy for them to keep it.

During one run from zero to 1000mph and back again, Bloodhound SSC will travel through three very different "environments" – subsonic, transonic (as we go through the sound barrier) and supersonic, the rarefied world beyond 760mph. Each zone presents its own fascinating combination of factors to be considered: drag, lift, changing air flow around the wheels, air speed into the jet intake …

Adding to the problem is weight (as engineers we call this "mass") or, more precisely, the loss of it. During the 40-second dash from standstill to 1,050mph, Bloodhound's three engines will use up 1.5 tonnes of fuel. This is a very high proportion of the car's total 6,500kg mass.

As it gets lighter and the suspension "unloads", the car will try to "sit up". If it sits up too much, the aerodynamics (or the way the air flows) under the car can change to the extent that very high lift forces are generated and then Bloodhound becomes a missile.

Helping to keep the show on the road – literally – are four small, adjustable wings, one each side near the nose and one each near the rear of the car. Our detective work suggests, however, that our winglets are currently too small. We also discovered that we have 5 tonnes of lift at supersonic speeds. This is exactly 5 tonnes too much, or in professional engineering terms, "a bit of a bugger".

To cure this, we can add a bigger "diffuser" – a piece of bodywork shaped to channel air out from underneath the car in a controlled way. That, however, will likely mean redesigning part of the chassis (possibly adding mass and bendiness) and changing the shape of the bodywork. Which means more weeks of aerodynamic tests in Swansea University's supercomputer …

We call Bloodhound "an engineering adventure". Sometimes the phrase "satanic domino topple" seems more appropriate.

John Piper is engineering director for Bloodhound SSC

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While buyers have a growing appetite for green cars, higher prices are still forcing us to buy less eco-efficient models

When it comes to changing our driving habits, money talks. Last year it took high oil prices to reduce the amount we drive, and now a survey today suggests we're buying greener cars because of the recession. Nearly half (42%) of drivers said their next car will have lower CO2 emissions than their current one, according to the poll by Auto Trader. Over half (51%) said they'd consider buying a greener car, 61% wanted higher taxes for gas-guzzlers and 40% of the 2,000 respondents are contemplating buying a hybrid.

The key "finding" for me, however, is that price is still the deciding factor when people research a new car: 85% cited it as the most important factor. That chimes with my own recent experience of buying a car.

I wanted the greenest I could afford, but that turned out to be a diesel Ford Focus that spits out 127g/CO2 every kilometre compared to the 104g/CO2 km the Prius emits. Although there's a healthy second-hand market for the Prius, to get one with a fairly low mileage - say, 20,000 miles from three years of driving - will cost you at least £7,500. And that's probably just a little too much for most people buying a family car.

Pretty much any family-sized vehicle that falls into the lowest two CO2 tax bands comes with an upfront price premium because it will either feature hybrid technology or major efficiency changes to body shape and tyres, such as on Ford's £16,845 ECOnetic Focus. Most people, like me, will end up buying a car that emits more than 120g/CO2 km, which will also cost them £85 a year more in road tax (vehicle excise duty).

Cheaper green cars are coming, such as the hybrid Honda Insight for £15,490, available from 1 April. But the lag for today's efficient models, such as VW's Bluemotion range and Ford's ECOnetic marque, means they won't be affordable on the used car market for several years.

Unless money's no object for you, price is everything when buying a new car. What about your experience? Have you found any good places to pick up low CO2 cars on the cheap? What models have you seen going for a song?

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Car makers may be in trouble, but that's not stopping them rolling out new green ideas at the Geneva Motor Show, writes motoring journalist Richard Aucock

1. GM hasn't killed the electric car

In 2006, a documentary film Called Who Killed the Electric Car alleged that American automakers, including General Motors, had limited the technology. But GM has actually given it life. The Opel Ampera "extended range electric vehicle" – E-REV – is massively significant. If the company survives, it will take this off the shelf and, from 2011, start selling it mass-market. It may even be built here in the UK, where it will be badged Vauxhall (it's also known as the Chevrolet Volt). So does it cure "range anxiety"? Well, yes. It runs for 40 miles under electric power alone. Then a tiny petrol motor provides backup. Even by the EU's official tests, it does 176mpg, and emits 40g/km of CO2. Most of the time, it emits no emissions whatsoever. Yours for around £23k in two years' time. Of course, there's an obvious irony here. The electric car's life depends on GM not being killed. Over to you, Barack.

2. Volvo prefers to work better with what we already have

With no expensive hybrid technology, Volvo has produced a conventional diesel that matches the CO2 emissions of today's Toyota Prius. The C30 DRIVe is much cheaper, will sell more, and lead to a far greater cumulative CO2 reduction. This "optimisation approach" has also yielded an SUV that does 47mpg, and a big estate car that emits less CO2 than a Fiesta. All are on sale in a few months. Hybrids may be better for headline statistics, says the company's CO2 chief, Peter Ewerstrand but for everyday driving, today's technology still holds the upper hand. "Improvements can be made for investment as low as EU 20k," he said. In today's cash-strapped climate the company's decision to squeeze every last drop from what they have makes sense.

3. Blue Volkswagen turns the best-selling car sector green

Thirty-five per cent of all the new cars sold in Britain are superminis. A new version of a best-seller, the Volkswagen Polo, is out this winter, including one that does 74mpg and emits 96g/km of CO2. Next year, we'll get the Bluemotion II variant, which will do 85mpg and emit just 87g/km of CO2. It will still cost around £12k, seat five and have decent performance from its 1.2-litre 75hp turbodiesel. VW has made it lighter and designed the new eco engine from scratch. Tellingly, it costs many thousands less than a Prius, yet does more to the gallon, has similar interior bells and whistles, and seats the same number of passengers.

4. Citroen asks how fast do we want to go, anyway?

"We need to move from always having more, to always having better. The simple solution to greener cars," says Citroen's Vincent Besson, is to have smaller ones. These are lighter, need less fuel, so give out less from the exhaust. But this "reduction" policy will go much deeper and says that custommers are more willing to accept "less" for lower-emission cars. Be that equipment, dimensions, performance. Just so long as they're not paying any more. One logical product of this? Cars that can do no more than 93mph. "Why do we need cars to go any faster?" asks Besson. By accepting legal top speeds, cars will become lighter, cheaper, smarter, he says. "It's a change in the philosophy of the product," says the car maker's head of products and markets. But will require brave EU-wide legislation to enact.

5. Bentley takes the moral high ground

By introducing the "well to wheel" fuel efficiency argument into the mainstream, Bentley isn't expecting to greatly reduce world CO2 emissions. Its entire range already emits "inconsequential" levels of CO2, says sales head Stuart McCullough. Making such low volumes of cars more ecological won't alter global warming one jot. No, with the Continental GT Supersports, which runs on 85% bioethanol, it's opening up the ethical debate over biofuels. This 204mph car has lifecycle CO2 emissions 70% lower than a petrol model. Bentley's aim is to expose the true green footprint of a car, rather than just one small facet. "The only way to CO2 neutrality," said McCullough, "is to recycle what's already in the environment."

6. Toyota makes the celebrity's eco-darling even greener

The consciences of Leo DiCaprio and Arnie Schwarzenegger will remain clear. When conventional cars are calling themselves Prius-beaters, you need to respond. Toyota has done so, with this summer's all-new model. It's got a fifth more power, is 10% more economical, yet also emits just 89g/km of CO2. That's way down from even the slower current car's 104g/km. As they've thus far sold 1.2 million of them, the fact it now does 72mpg is significant. Toyota said in Geneva it wants to sell 1 million hybrids a year (and, added a spokesman, will soon be shifting 8000 a year here in the UK). Prius driver Larry David might be right after all.

7. Peugeot solves the logical flaw in the hybrid argument

Petrol hybrids are very economical, but few return anything a conventional diesel model can't. Obvious solution? A diesel hybrid. Making this an economic reality is another matter. Diesel engines are costlier than petrols. Hybrid componentry is another added cost. But Peugeot will become the first manufacturer to solve this dilemma in 2011, with it's hybrid Number 4 swift 200hp people carrier that averages 109g/km – similar to a tiny city car. Of course, with big machines getting so green, its smaller cars have to follow, too. At the Geneva motor show Peugeot announced a collaboration with Mitsubishi to build 10,000 electric Peugeots a year. Starting when? Next year is the word – and it's fitting that it should be Peugeot. The old 106 is still the best-selling electric vehicle.

8. Open source thinking creates the first wiki-car

Following the logic that many minds are better than one, German engineering experts EDAG unveiled the Light Car. This is a small electric car with lightweight construction and novel features. The company wants many more besides, including those from non-automotive companies. It's therefore made it "open source". Companies can approach EDAG with their ideas. If viable, they'll be incorporated onto a concept for next year's show – so long as EDAG can have the rights to then put the solution into production. Huge innovation potential. With, courtesy of the VW link, a direct route into mass production. It's like Dragon's Den for green cars.

9. Renault is quietly making the electric car a reality

Renault is working on plans to introduce Europe-wide electric car infrastructures by 2012. It has a headline Better Place project in Israel, that will see a nationwide recharging infrastructure installed. What's been less well publicised is that similar developments are occurring Europe-wide – including the UK. Key to this is treating batteries as you do SIM cards in mobile phones. You lease them off a "mobility operator", which immediately solves the problem of electric car range. How? You have a "filling stations network", where you swap flat battery packs for full one, in minutes. Good network coverage in cities is the first priority, with London already signed up. With this project, every single promise Renault has made so far has been fulfilled. If it all comes off, it could be a great call.

10. Auto giants offered off-the-shelf electric car

The Magna Steyr mila ev is a bespoke electric car concept showcased by Austrian coachbuilders Magna. It is a five-seat supermini-sized car, with lithium ion batteries providing decent performance and a potential 170-mile range. It has a distinctive composite body that can quickly be designed into any shape required – and that's the story. For, Magna is offering this to large car makers to buy into. They can have a family-look, off-the-shelf electric model, built in numbers up to 20,000 a year, in as little as 2 years' time. Magna will deal with the whole lot, from designing and crash testing the vehicle, to final assembly. "We're here to generate interest," said a spokeswoman. It seemed to be working. Of course, it's paired up with a big maker before on an electric concept. She wouldn't confirm whether Ford was in the running for this one, too.

Richard Aucock is a freelance motoring journalist

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