Nissan Motor Co. says it will call its new baby crossover the Juke, which it is billing as an alternative in the European market to a small hatchback. It will unveil the vehicle at the Geneva auto show in March and begin sales in October.

Based on the Qazana concept, the Juke will be positioned in Nissan’s lineup between the Note MPV and Qashqai crossover. It will be built alongside those vehicles and the Qashqai+2 and Note at Nissan’s big assembly plant in Sunderland, U.K.

The company says the vehicle was developed in response to research that indicates many European small and compact car buyers consider vehicles available to them as dull.

Global automakers will significantly increase spending on new technologies, predicts a survey of industry executives conducted by KPMG LLC, the U.S. tax and consulting firm. The annual poll, now in its 11th year, is based on comments collected last fall from 200 OEM and supplier executives worldwide.

About 90% of respondents expect manufacturers and suppliers to focus on new technologies, especially those that relate to fuel economy and emissions. Nearly the same proportion predict manufacturers will increase investment on new models/products; eight in 10 say suppliers will do the same.

KPMG notes that developing new technologies has long been a top priority cited in the survey. But it says that goal has become even more important this year, while cost reduction and quality have fallen slightly in importance. KPMG attributes the trend in part to recent gains automakers and suppliers have made to lower costs and improve quality.

When asked what would influence consumer purchase decisions over the next five years, fuel efficiency was cited by 94% of respondents. This is down slightly from last year’s high of 96%, but it still is far ahead of the rest of the pack. Environmental friendliness was listed by just over 80% of executives, followed by safety innovation (71%) and vehicle styling (61%).

When executives were asked to rate the importance of alternative-power technologies over the next five years, hybrid-electric systems were cited by about 85% of respondents. Other highly rated technologies were all-electric powertrains (68%), fuel cells (63%) and biodiesel (42%).

Likewise, 93% of those queried expect hybrid vehicles to post the largest sales growth among alternative-power technologies. Other alternative-fuel vehicles were listed by 83% of the group. Two-thirds of respondents expect demand for cars to grow, compared to about 45% for crossovers and trucks.

Executives polled by KPMG also expect companies to increasingly base future acquisitions and partnerships on gaining access to new technology. The survey says this is part of an overall trend toward bringing technical innovation in-house instead of relying on suppliers and other external sources.

Four competing groups submitted new bids to buy Saab Automobile yesterday, prompting owner General Motors Co. to delay a board meeting regarding the Swedish brand’s fate to today. But GM Chairman Ed Whitacre said earlier this week that a sale was unlikely.

Among those still in the hunt are Spyker Cars NV and Genii Capital. A pair of Swedish consortia backed by Saab management also are said to have made bids.

Saab’s future has been precarious since a deal with Swedish sports car maker Koenigsegg AB collapsed in November. A subsequent bid by Dutch-based Spyker was deemed unacceptable by GM. Spyker now is trying to secure financing for a revised proposal.

Genii Capital is a Luxembourg-based private investment firm that recently took a 75% stake in the Renault Formula One racing team. F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone is part of the Genii plan, according to media reports.

Ford Motor Co. announced a new interface system for drivers yesterday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The so-called MyFord Touch system (also called MyLincoln and MyMercury in those models) features touchscreen controls, improved voice-recognition technology and increased functionality. The technology will debut in North America this summer and is expected to be equipped on 80% of the company’s vehicles in the region within five years.

Applications also will be expanded globally, starting with the 2012 Ford Focus. Similar installation rates are expected in international markets.

Drivers will be able to access phone, navigation, climate control and entertainment functions with a five-way thumb control on the steering wheel or a center console touch screen. The thumb control is similar in design to those used in cell phones and other consumer electronic devices.

The 8-inch touch screen (lower-priced vehicles will have smaller displays) controls audio, climate control, navigation and phone functions. The different categories will be color coded and positioned in different areas of the screen to help reduce driver distraction. Some main systems, such as the radio and HVAC unit, also can be activated via traditional controls.

Two 4.2-inch dashboard-mounted, digital LCD screens, which show the speedometer, fuel gauge and other displays, can be customized. Users also can choose which information is highlighted.

Enhancements also have been made to Ford’s integrated Sync hands-free communication system, including improved speech-recognition technology from Nuance Communications that allows people to speak more naturally when inputting commands.

Other upgrades and additions include built-in wi-fi capability that can be accessed when the vehicle is parked, access to current weather reports and improved navigation systems that incorporate real-time traffic data from Inrix Inc. and mapping services from TeleNav Inc. Users also can send routing data from Mapquest directly to their vehicles.

Ford also is encouraging third-party vendors to develop applications for the system. Initially this will include connection to the Twitter social networking site. Pandora Internet radio and Stitcher online news reports also will be available.

General Motors Co. is testing prototype diesel-electric hybrid systems at its technical facility in Turin and could introduce such a drivetrain within five years, Autocar reports. Key to the plan is keeping the cost premium of such a system to about $1,400 over a gasoline-electric system, GM tells the magazine.

The company is developing several diesel-electric systems for Europe, including a mild hybrid configuration and an extended-range architecture similar to the one that will be used in the upcoming Chevrolet Volt and Opel Ampera.

Midsize cars such as the Insignia and Astra are considered the best candidates for the technology, teaming an electric motor with GM’s 1.6-liter compression-ignition engine.

There are no diesel-electric hybrids on the market yet. But PSA Peugeot Citroen and Mercedes-Benz both plan to introduce them in 2011.

Mazda Motors Corp. is still having problems meeting performance targets with its new rotary engine, Autocar says. Unnamed sources tell the magazine such issues have forced Mazda to delay the launch of a new RX-badged sports car, which originally was due to arrive late this year. No new timeline has been given for the vehicle.

Mazda showed a prototype of the 1.6-liter powerplant (code named 16X) at the 2007 Tokyo auto show. But reports surfaced last fall that developers were struggling to meet a target of a 30% improvement in fuel efficiency over the current 1.3-liter Wankel engine.

Autocar notes that concerns about heavy oil consumption and the lack of mid-range torque in the current 1.3-liter powerplant also need to be addressed. Adopting a direct injection system could help improve efficiency, but the magazine points out that such a system also would add weight. There also has been trouble meeting maximum engine speeds, Autocar reports.

Mazda has offered rotary engines in 18 models, starting with the Cosmo Sports car in 1967. The RX-8 was launched in 2003. But there’s been speculation the nameplate will be dropped in favor of bringing back the RX-7 moniker for the next model.