By Martin Zimmerman, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
The last thing backers of plug-in hybrid vehicles needed was the sight of a Toyota Prius powered by the cutting-edge technology sitting in flames beside the road.That’s exactly what they got earlier this month, when a plug-in Prius operated by a South Carolina electric cooperative caught fire and was burned to the automotive equivalent of “well done.”
No one was injured in the fire, which apparently started when sparks from loose connections in the car’s battery compartment ignited the upholstery. But the incident certainly hasn’t helped advance the cause of the plug-in hybrid. In its unmodified, off-the-showroom-floor state, the Prius is a “traditional” hybrid powered by both an electric motor and a gasoline engine.
A plug-in version of the car powered by lithium ion batteries, which could go farther on electric power and could be recharged between trips, isn’t expected from Toyota until 2010 at the earliest. In the meantime, a variety of after-market companies will convert a Prius to a plug-in for anywhere from $7,000 to more than $20,000.
It was an after-market plug-in converted by Hybrids Plus of Boulder, Colo., that went up in flames. It was one of 10 acquired by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Assn. of Arlington, Va., and distributed to member utilities for field testing. “We really just want to see how these things work,” said project manager Andrew Cotter.
The cooperatives’ fleet of plug-ins has been parked while an investigation was conducted. Although the report, issued Friday, said the batteries themselves weren’t at fault, lithium ion batteries have been under a cloud since a series of recalls two years ago related to fires in laptop computers and other devices. Carl Lawrence, chief executive of Hybrids Plus, acknowledge that the incident was caused by “an assembly problem,” which comes as a relief to backers of plug-in technology.
“I was worried that this would turn into a major incident, but actually most people seem to understand that this was an incident that didn’t involve the batteries,” said Felix Kramer, founder of CalCars.org, a Palo Alto-based advocacy group. “In fact, the batteries came out of it looking very good.” Toyota, which officially takes a hands-off policy toward after-market plug-in conversions, said this is the first incident of this it’s aware of. There are at least 150 plug-in hybrid conversions on the road, according to Kramer, about half of them in California.
Yes, it happened a couple of weeks ago and 6,000 miles away, but this is interesting. Audi won the the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year. Sure, whoopee and all that. However, the fuel used by Audi’s R10 TDI race car was not distilled from crude oil.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is one of the world’s most iconic motor races and anyone who caught it on the Speed channel would have seen the cars keeping up a ridiculously fast pace -- even in the rain. This is about as serious and hardcore as motorsport gets. And not a drop of gasoline was burned by the winning car.
The R10 TDI runs on diesel, but not just any old diesel. It used Shell’s BTL biodiesel (BTL stands for biomass to liquid). The other good thing is that it isn’t based on corn or anything else edible. It uses things like wood scraps instead. Compared to traditional diesel, this fuel can emit almost 90 percent less carbon dioxide. For the race, Audi used a combination of BTL and GTL (gas to liquid) -- which is a synthetic fuel made from natural gas.
Owners of diesel-powered cars won’t be pumping BTL any time soon, but its viability has now been proven. When the Audi Q7 TDI comes to North America early next year, it could be one of the few sensible ways to run an SUV.
The Volkswagen Tiguan is hardly just out (quick update: it’s a crossover SUV, bigger than a Rabbit, smaller than a Touareg), but there’s already a zero-emissions version powered by a fuel cell. It’s called the Tiguan HyMotion, no doubt because hydrogen supplies the motion.
The fuel cell produces 107 horsepower at one end and clean water vapor at the other. With the assistance of an electric motor, the Tiguan HyMotion can enjoy 134 hp, although the zero-to-60 mph time of 14 seconds could only be described by kinder souls as leisurely. It also sports a pack of lithium ion batteries to store power created by the fuel cell and from braking energy regeneration. Beneath the floor is a tank of pressurized hydrogen (stored at over 10,000 psi), which holds seven pounds of the gas.
Just like similar vehicles from other car makers, the Tiguan HyMotion is not available to the public, mainly because these things usually cost about $1 million to make. This is one of those “look how far we’ve come along the alternative energy route” exercises. Which is a shame, because hydrogen is slowly -- very slowly -- becoming easier to buy in California. This fall will see a new filling station opening near LAX, a joint operation between General Motors and Clean Energy Fuels Corporation, set up in part to fuel the Chevrolet Equinox/Virgin Airways program.
We’re hurting every time we drive onto a gas station forecourt and it’s only going to hurt more in the near future (at least). So what is Toyota doing about it? The company has promised two new hybrid vehicles, a third-generation Prius and a good long look at batteries.
Prius the Third is due out next year and is rumored to be bigger and cleaner, with smarter packaging of its nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) battery pack and hybrid drivetrain. It should be faster too. A new 1.8-liter engine is expected to succeed the current 1.5-liter unit (that can only earn the compliment of workmanlike). Power would then jump from 75 horsepower to 100 hp. In tandem with a new-generation electric motor, the combined ‘muscle’ could rise from 110 hp to about 160. Hardly scary-fun, but that’s not the point.
More interesting, perhaps, will be the two totally new hybrids. One will be a Toyota and the other will wear the Lexus badge. The Toyota, due in 2010, will be bigger than the Prius and will run on lithium-ion batteries, making it the company’s first production plug-in hybrid -- the next ‘Holy Grail’ for eco-friendly mass-produced cars (the Chevrolet Volt will also be a plug-in hybrid). No doubt the Lexus will deploy similar technology, but in a more luxurious package.
Up to now, the supply of NiMH batteries has been a sticking point for Toyota, rendering it unable to produce all the hybrid vehicles the global market has been demanding. To that end, the company is setting up a battery research department with a view to looking past nickel, even beyond lithium, and into new possible chemistries. The next big buzz term could be metal-air batteries. Either way, higher battery production means more hybrids coming off the line.
Just to round things out a bit, Toyota also claims to have a new, highly efficient and compact six-speed manual transmission coming out this year. And two gasoline-powered engines -- a 1.3-liter and a 2.5-liter -- featuring stop-start technology are also due before 2008 comes to a close.
This rather abused-looking 2007 Chevrolet Malibu is the next best hope for General Motors and for the automotive world in general. Because it’s a test mule for all the hardware that will go into the new, electric-powered Chevrolet Volt.
Yes, the Volt has gone from nice idea to working model and GM’s vice chairman, Bob Lutz, has driven 20 miles in this development model -- dubbed the Mali-Volt -- at the company’s proving facility. “The thing that’s eerie is the silence,” says Lutz. “There’s no mechanical noise whatsoever.” Even when Lutz hit speeds of up to 80 mph, the car never once actuated its 1.0-liter, three-cylinder internal combustion engine (on board to generate electricity that is then stored in a pack of lithium-ion batteries).
This type of battery (as found in laptops and cell phones) has so far proved somewhat problematic for such a large-scale application, but Lutz says the Volt’s batteries are “exceeding expectations.” It seems that any problems have been mechanical rather than electro-chemical, so conventional engineering can iron out the wrinkles. The only other significant downside is that they’re still expensive, but as production ramps up, GM expects their cost to drop dramatically.
Lutz describes the powerplant’s acceleration as “great.” He also found the car’s handling to be good because the location of the batteries keeps the car’s center of gravity nice and low. GM predicts that ‘real’ prototypes wearing the actual Volt bodywork will be running around by next spring. Production models should be available just over a year after that. “We’re good for November 2010,” says Lutz.
Without exception, car makers like to sell their wares by using the phrase: “fun to drive.” Yet behind the scenes, a lot of them are working on turning the driver into a passenger behind the wheel.
Take zoom-zooming Mazda, for example. Its ASV-4 (advanced safety vehicle) has been out on public roads around the company’s Hiroshima HQ. Well really, two of them are probably in use, because Mazda is testing a vehicle-to-vehicle communications system that alerts oncoming drivers at blind intersections or on twisting roads where visibility is limited.
This system aims to prevent (or at least lessen the severity of) two-vehicle collisions, including rear-enders. Not only can one car ‘talk’ to another. If the rear vehicle monitoring system (using radar) detects another car approaching from behind at speed, it can apply that vehicle’s brakes.
This is all part of a larger program called the Intelligent Transport System (ITS) that uses telecommunications technology to create an information network between people, vehicles and the road infrastructure. Sensors along roadways can link to vehicles (known as road-to-vehicle communications), warning of potentially dangerous situations that a driver cannot yet see.
While this is obviously good news from the safety and traffic jam points of view, the Big Brother implications could be far-reaching, such as controlling everyone’s speed -- and no one could complain about saving lives, grief and gas there. But would the fun factor (which doesn’t have to be in conflict with responsible driving) need to be quashed completely?
The boys in blue are running a ‘Click It or Ticket’ campaign to make sure that Memorial Day weekend, one of the busiest on American roads, isn’t memorable for all the wrong reasons. But when snapping your safety belt into place, regardless of the make of car, give a little ‘thank you’ to Volvo, because there’s a little bit of the Swedish company in virtually every modern vehicle.
Volvo is no Lars-come-lately to the auto safety game. In the 1950s, the lap belt -- a safety belt anchored at two points that went across the thighs/hips -- was the contemporary technology. They held occupants in place, but were plagued by issues resulting from forces impacting on the body during a crash. Lap belts were used mostly by race car drivers at that time and were only available to the average driver as an option. Not a particularly popular one either. Given the choice between lap belts and whitewall tires, whitewalls usually won.
However, in 1958, Swedish inventor and Volvo design engineer Nils Bohlin patented what we’ve come to know as the three-point safety belt, the ingenious aspect being that the lap part of the belt could slip through the central anchor for greater comfort and adjustability. A year later, they were standard equipment in all Volvos.
An early British survey revealed that the three-point safety belt reduced the likelihood of death or serious injury arising from a car accident by 60%. This simple device has saved many people; according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), over 200,000 American lives.
Recently, I had a chance to test-drive the new electric ZENN low-speed vehicle in Los Angeles. And I lived to tell the tale. ZENN -- Zero Emission, No Noise -- is a Toronto-based company that takes a French Microcar MC-2 city car and stuffs it with six lead acid batteries and a 7.6-hp electric motor. The resulting LSV is certified to operate on city streets with no higher than 35 mph speed limits, while the car itself is limited to 25 mph. (www.zenncars.com).
The car weighs less than 1,300 pounds, so it actually gets off the line pretty well and motors around congested city streets with aplomb. The problem is that no one in Los Angeles drives the speed limit and, on busy city streets, the ZENN constitutes an adorable rolling roadblock. Also, since these kinds of cars are not engineered to pass American crash tests, they are somewhat vulnerable in the event of a collision with, say, a Vespa.
The ZENN also has a hugely noisy cabin, the result primarily of a lack of any kind of suspension bushings to speak of. I think the car could spare 20 pounds for more isolated shock tower mountings.
Still, the ZENN would be huge fun to drive in low-speed environments such as Santa Monica or Playa del Rey or just about any planned unit development of retirement community you can name.
Thoughts? Electric cars are the future of personal mobility, but the tradeoff between battery weight, cost and power are still difficult to reconcile for most consumers. Also, smaller and lighter car design -- without which electric mobility would be impractical in the short term -- has to coincide with efforts to reduce the average fleet size. It's just unnerving to drive these Euro-sized city cars around big trucks and SUV's.
Voice-activated phone, audio and navigation systems — they’re wonderful things. Trouble is, such equipment is usually available on brand-new cars only — with most of those being in the luxury bracket (although Ford has its Sync system for the Focus). What about the drivers with older cars who don’t see themselves changing anytime soon but would like to upgrade their in-car entertainment, or ICE? Especially in light of the hands-free law coming into force July 1?
Perhaps something from Pioneer’s AVIC-F range might do the trick. The AVIC-F500BT is a portable on-dash unit that will handle iPods and Bluetooth-equipped phones (including uploading the phone’s contacts list), take spoken commands and provide directions. Its 5.8-inch touch screen may also act as a monitor for a reversing camera (which must be purchased separately). It will cost $600.
The next step up is the AVIC-F700BT ($850), which is an in-dash design (these units require professional installation or at least a high level of proficiency), It’s ready for satellite radio, has a CD player and USB slot, and uses a power amplifier that kicks out four channels of 50 watts each. The AVIC-F900BT adds a DVD player and MSN Direct -- a service that provides real-time traffic reports, plus things like movie theater information, weather forecast and gas prices – into the mix for $1,100.
The thing about all these units is that they recognize conversational phrases, like: “Let’s hear the artist, um, U2” or “I want to listen to, er, artist Justin Timberlake” (it might be fun trying to confuse it with: “Let’s hear the artist formerly known as the The Artist Formerly Known As Prince” -- or maybe not). They use a new generation of voice recognition technology. The graphics are pretty nice too.
Los Angeles isn’t short of a stretch limo or two. There are even some elongated Hummers. But if there was ever a stretch too far, it could be this version of the Smart car, called (naturally) the Smaaart. This object-defeating exercise is still powered by the same little three-cylinder engine found in other Smart Fortwo models and has a top speed of 80 miles per hour. It’s just that instead of being just over eight feet long, it goes on for 17 feet.
In this instance, the middle section has been fashioned in the shape of a popular energy drink container, complete with ring-pull, making the concept ideal for promotional purposes. But the makers are also thinking of using electric power and creating an environmentally friendly hearse. Ideal for that last, dignified trip.
Ailing Angelenos shouldn’t worry too much about this vehicle. It was made by a British company (hence the bad light in the picture), Carbonyte UK, who pioneered the HotFusion composite manufacturing technology for the Mercedes McLaren SLR supercar. It has also built the world’s only Ferrari limousine (seems the word ‘sacrilegious’ isn’t in these guys’ vocabulary) by taking a 360 Modena, making it 20 feet long and nine feet wide, and adding gullwing doors. But hey, strange things are often seen in SoCal.
This could come under the heading of: ‘How did we ever get along without it?’ From early next year, Ford will be fitting its new innovation -- the Blind Spot Mirror -- on to various Ford, Mercury and Lincoln models as standard equipment -- with no addition to the sticker price. It’s a relatively inexpensive thing, but could save money, pain and lives when changing lanes on the freeway or attempting to parallel park.
This will take the place of a normal side-view mirror, but it has an integrated section aimed specifically at a driver’s blind spot. Of course, we’ve all seen people who have subsequently affixed those ‘fish-eye’ aftermarket mirrors, but this is all one piece.
Ford hasn’t finished there. The company will also offer, as an option, the Cross Traffic Alert with Blind Spot Monitoring System. Imagine reversing out of a parking spot, with visibility limited on each side -- what if there are cars driving down the ‘aisles’ looking for spaces? This system uses radar to detect cross-path traffic within a 65-foot range. Coupled with Ford’s Reverse Sensing System, this can help the driver gauge how much space a car has to maneuver around in.
Yes, we should all use our eyes (and ears), but a little help is always welcome. And buyers obviously won’t make their choices solely on something like a blind spot eliminator. However, it might just tip the scales.
SB1613 isn’t the snappiest of titles, but it’s going to have an impact on many of the 29.7 million cell phone users in California. And that impact will happen on July 1, because SB1613 is a new state law going into effect on that date, prohibiting the use of cell phones while driving -- unless the driver is using a hands-free device. The CHP cites the cell phone as the number one cause of distraction for drivers, leading to many accidents -- some of them fatal.
Step forward Ford, whose Sync system -- developed with Microsoft -- allows Bluetooth-equipped phones to link into the audio systems of various vehicles manufactured under the Blue Oval’s aegis. These include cars wearing Lincoln and Mercury badges. The system uses voice activation and can even read out received text messages.
Software upgrades will be added later this year; 911 Assist helps drivers connect with the emergency services if an airbag has deployed; a Vehicle Health Report can be retrieved from the Sync website. Ford also plans to make Sync available in more models, including the F-150 truck and the Escape crossover SUV. Many luxury makers have Bluetooth connectivity, but Ford should be applauded for making such innovative features available in budget models like the Focus. -- Colin Ryan
We’ve already seen the gasoline-powered Nissan Cube, which should be on sale here early next year. In its native Japan, the Cube has become quite the must-have with cool kids. For the company’s next trick, Nissan has shown the Denki Cube Concept at the 2008 New York Auto Show. Denki is Japanese for "electricity" — this car is powered by an electric motor that uses lithium-ion batteries. The batteries are stored beneath the floor and the seats.
The iPod-on-wheels exterior features some cool design funkiness, especially with the lights and wheel covers. A glass roof accentuates the cabin’s feeling of spaciousness, and there’s also an AC power charging port. Whereas the production Cube has three rows of seats, the Denki is decidedly less dinky, sporting just two rows on a wheelbase that’s been lengthened by 9.4 inches — all the better to accommodate those batteries. And if anyone was wondering whether the square design of this city car would be less than efficient from an aerodynamic viewpoint, such things don’t really come into play below 45 mpg, a speed that’s illegal and unlikely on crowded urban streets.
Although Toyota seems to have gone off the idea of using lithium-ion battery technology for its future eco-models, preferring to stick with nickel-metal-hydride instead, it will be interesting to see what Nissan can develop, having claimed to have field-tested lithium-ion batteries for more than 10 years. And especially because the company plans to have vehicles using its own hybrid system in the near future (the current Altima Hybrid uses tech licensed from Toyota).
Lotus is hardly a big feature on the American automotive landscape. Those who know the name rightly associate it with lightweight sports cars. But this comparatively little company from the east of England is working on something that might have major repercussions on this west coast and beyond.
The car is the Lotus Exige 270E Tri-fuel. It looks like the kind of thing Lotus has carved its sporty niche with. Indeed, it can run to 60 mph in just under four seconds before reaching a maximum speed of 158 mph. But it does so, as its name suggests, on a mixture of fuels: gasoline, bio-ethanol and methanol.
The first two we know about; the third is intriguing. Methanol, an alcohol, is already a proven fuel for combustion engines. And it can be made synthetically from carbon dioxide taken from the atmosphere. Which could mean sustainable, carbon-neutral power. And the knowledge Lotus has gained from making light cars for fun could translate to this scenario — less weight means less energy required to move it.
As opposed to something like hydrogen, liquid methanol can be stored and dispensed easily. It’s also fine for use with forced induction. Engines using this system wouldn’t be so different from the ones in our cars today, so making the switch should be pretty simple.
There’s still some way to go, though. The process of using a mixture of fuels is tricky. Governments and commerce also have to think about investing in a supply infrastructure, which Lotus reckons could take 15 to 20 years. But if this is the future of motoring — bring it on.
One of the less pie-in-the-sky concepts of this year’s Geneva International Motor Show (although the Rinspeed sQuba car was rather cool) is this VW Golf TDI Hybrid.
This version of the Golf (a model known as the Rabbit over here) uses an electric motor system similar to that of the Toyota Prius but mates that to a clean and frugal 1.2-liter, three-cylinder diesel-powered engine. Bottom line, in a European fuel economy test cycle, the Prius achieves 54 miles per gallon. This VW could get 69, an improvement of about 28%.
VW says a hybrid diesel car might make it into production in the near future — for the European market. Its U.S. debut looks a little farther off, however. That’s because federal emissions laws are tougher, so more effort has to go into making diesel engines cleaner. This is reflected in sticker prices. According to VW, its 2009 diesel Jetta will sell for $2,000 more than a gasoline-powered equivalent model.
Another factor that might make the American buyer wary is resale value. A conventional diesel-powered car keeps its value pretty well (because its engine generally has greater longevity), whereas a hybrid tends to depreciate somewhat faster than a mainstream model. A marriage of the two will have an outcome no one can predict.
As drivers become more familiar with new technologies and learn to embrace them, these obstacles should sort themselves out. If diesel’s popularity continues to rise, more oil-burning cars will be made, production costs will decline and companies can price their products at more tempting levels.
In the car world, ESP is not a subject for an episode of "The X-Files." It stands for electronic stabilization program. It senses when a driver has overcooked a bend and turns down the heat (apologies to everyone who knows this stuff, but ... y’know). The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has stipulated that such a system must be standard equipment in every model-year 2012 car sold in the U.S.
Volkswagen has stolen a three-year march on this edict by promising to fit ESP as standard in each of its 2009 models, claiming to be the first nonluxury manufacturer to include it at no extra cost. It seems that many buyers of new cars are irked by the fact that ESP isn’t already standard, so VW should be applauded for stepping up to the plate.
The accompanying video shows a couple of with/without ESP instances. VW’s system works in conjunction with the vehicle’s brakes and another piece of electronic wizardry known as anti-slip regulation, helping the driver to maintain control during those tricky driving moments. With ESP systems fitted to every car in America, NHTSA predicts that nearly 10,000 lives a year could be saved.
Beep, beep, beep. That’s how some cars tell their driver that he or she is veering from one lane to another. It can be irritating, it can also be turned off. However, it could save a whole lot of grief and expense. But would drivers like their car to intervene and steer it back on course? Or how about take evasive action if there is a car in their blind spot?
A new online poll from Harris Interactive has found that half of respondents are interested in paying for blind spot technology in their next new vehicle, while about a third are interested in lane departure warning technology, after a prior evaluation. A substantial majority, though (almost 75%), are not prepared to relinquish control of their cars, preferring to be warned by a noise or vibration (even a flashing light in the side mirrors) and then performing any collision avoidance maneuvers themselves. On the other hand, 15% are willing to allow the system to assist them with the corrective action, while only 6% would prefer the system to take complete control.
Blind spot detection can identify vehicles or objects within a vehicle’s blind spots and provide an audible warning, a visual warning and/or vibrate the vehicle’s steering wheel or seat if a lane change is attempted. A good thing, one would think. But when informed that the cost would be around $600, that interested half drops to about a third.
While initial consideration for lane departure warning is much lower than for blind spot detection and warning (29% versus 50% respectively), drivers who evaluated lane departure warning have similar opinions regarding these new technologies and their level of control. Comparable to blind spot detection and warning, consideration for lane departure tech decreases to 21%, once respondents are made aware of the estimated market price of $400.
“Our research also demonstrates strong preference on consumers’ behalf to stay safe yet in control at the same time. This is an important insight that marketers and brand managers need to understand to position this technology effectively,” says Harris. “Consumers are clearly saying that they want to know if there’s a problem, yet at the same time they want to take the lead in getting themselves out of it. When we start to look at technologies that can steer the vehicle, we could be infringing on drivers’ comfort zones, which is the exact opposite of the technology’s intent.”
Considering how many smashes there are on L.A.’s freeways, can we really trust drivers to do the right thing? Those who took part in this poll were probably the conscientious types who are basically good drivers and realize that even the most attentive can zone out from time to time. The ones simultaneously talking on cell phones, smoking and eating a burger might well have been too busy.
Los Angeles International Airport is about to become a little cleaner. In an effort to reduce its carbon footprint (on the ground, at least), Virgin Atlantic Airways will be using Chevrolet Equinox fuel cell vehicles for the complimentary transfer service enjoyed by its Upper Class passengers at LAX.
This transatlantic partnership goes into action toward the end of March, when three of these hydrogen-fueled cars (whose only emission is water) will serve as a shuttle service between the airport and the LA area. Drivers will be provided by Music Express in Burbank.
“Our mission to be the sustainable airline is clear, both on the ground and in the air,” says Virgin head Sir Richard Branson. “Partnerships such as this with General Motors show that we are pioneering in the aviation industry when it comes to reducing emissions at every stage of our passengers’ journey.” Virgin and GM and are also looking into introducing the same type of service in New York.
The Equinox itself is a crossover vehicle with a battery pack stowed under the floor and three hydrogen tanks. The car has a range of 150 miles. Luckily, there’s a hydrogen re-fueling facility at LAX.
SYNC, the Ford/Microsoft on-board cleverness system, is now even smarter. As well as being able to link up to iPods and Bluetooth-bearing cell phones, and then obey spoken commands, SYNC’s latest upgrade includes one more bell. Or is it a whistle?
In conjunction with Sirius satellite radio, this is a new take on GPS-based navigation, known as Travel Link. It provides real-time traffic information (including speed and flow), five-day weather forecasts as well as current conditions (taking in hurricane and tropical storm tracking, and conditions at ski resorts), and information from 120,000 gas stations, so users can choose by price, distance or brand. The system can then calculate a route to the chosen forecourt.
This improved SYNC system will be introduced on the all-new 2009 Lincoln MKS luxury sedan, available this summer. A six-month introductory subscription to Sirius Travel Link will be included. After that, Ford plans to phase the system in so that many new Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles will be SYNC-equipped by the end of the year.
And it‘s not just wall-to-wall drivers’ stuff. From a database of 4,500 theaters, there are movie listings, times, ratings, running lengths and addresses, plus up-to-the-minute sports scores (with the ability to customize for one’s preferred team). Which is a bit of a shame. It’s quite nice when the streets empty out a little on Superbowl Sunday.
When we think of hybrid cars, the Toyota Prius is usually what springs to mind. But don't forget that Honda also makes hybrids -- there's the gasoline-electric version of the Civic, and does anyone remember the Insight?
There's still a lot of discussion/argument/indecision over what will be the way forward for personal transportation, considering that ethanol needs so much energy to produce, hydrogen is so difficult to obtain and there's the whole issue regarding how to dispose of spent nickel-metal-hydride batteries sometime down the road (come to think of it, there will probably be a similar situation with lithium-ion batteries later on).
It used to be a simple matter of counting air bags when assessing a car’s safety potential. But now there are all sorts of things like radar-guided intelligent cruise control, driver alertness and pre-collision systems.
Volvo has plans to deploy radar in a collision warning and automatic braking system. A wide-angle search system detects pedestrians and other objects in front of and around the vehicle; the sensor then sends a warning signal to a driver’s heads-up display if a hazard has been detected. If the driver doesn’t hit the brakes, the car will do so. And should the driver manage to brake in time but a heavier foot is required, the system will oblige.
The atmosphere was electric when the Chevrolet Volt came to Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica. Well, maybe not electric, but many interested parties were charging up to the people who brought the car along, asking a battery of questions, like: "Is this on sale now?" "Where can I buy one?" and "How much does it cost?"
Sadly, the answers were: "No," "You can't get one right now" and "Prices haven't been set yet." But judging by the level of interest from various cities around the nation, this plug-in hybrid-electric vehicle has the potential to be a big success.
The polar caps are melting. Low-lying islands like the unspeakably pretty Maldives, glistening in the Indian Ocean, could soon be underwater. Inner-city pollution causes asthma in children. We need fixes, and we need them fast. This is Canada’s contribution to the looming environmental catastrophe -- the ZEUS Nanocar. Never has anything with "nano" in its name seemed so uncool.
Anyone interested in seeing the possible future of motoring should get along to one of the five locations listed below, because the Chevrolet Volt concept car is coming to town. Yep, GM has resurrected the electric car.
The Volt is a plug-in electric vehicle that can drive up to 40 miles without using any gasoline. According to government data, this would be enough to handle 78% of American commutes.
A race into the future took place last weekend (Nov. 3). It was the DARPA Challenge, an event in which driver-less cars made their computer-, laser-, radar- and robot-guided way from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.
This meant negotiating intersections and traffic jams, obeying the rules of the road and staying out of the way of the other autonomous automobiles. There was even a parking exercise, but Lexus seems to have that down already.
In reality, the cars set off from Victorville, so they had an 80-mile head start. The field of 11 competitors included teams from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford and Cornell. The winning entry, achieving an average speed of 14 mph over 55 miles and with a 20-minute advantage over its closest rival, was the Carnegie Mellon/Tartan Racing Boss, based on a Chevrolet Tahoe. The first prize? Try $2 million.
This event was instigated by DARPA (the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) to stimulate new technologies. The hope is that these will eventually trickle down into active safety systems for mainstream cars, once the military has had its way, and allow vehicles in dangerous environments (such as mining) to be unmanned. It’s nice to know that someday all cars will be driven intelligently -- one way or another.
One day, drivers might be sitting on polylactic acid. Notice that said sitting on, not sitting in. Polylactic acid is the sole ingredient in a biofiber developed by Mazda for use as an in-car fabric. It's made from fermented carbohydrates such as plant sugars. What Mazda has done is to make it hard-wearing, flame-retardant and resistant to damage from light.
Good for seat covers and door trims, this biofiber contains no oil-based materials (unlike vinyl, for example) and is being seen as another step toward an eco-friendly car society. It's still going to take some time for such new (and novel) technology to become commonplace in the showrooms, but it's nice to know there's a whole section of the automotive industry working on ideas like this.
Surely, crochet-your-own tires are just around the corner.
Three things that aren't common knowledge: 1. Toyota has raced a Supra with a hybrid engine system. 2. It made history by being the first hybrid-powered vehicle to win a race. 3. The power plant has gone on to win an award -- Race Engine of the Year 2007.
A little expansion: The car in question is the Toyota Supra HV-R hybrid race car. The race in question was the Tokachi 24-Hour Race held July 14-15 this year. The Supra had already been running in Japan's Super GT series. It differs from the Prius we know and love by having three electric motors augment the 4.4-liter gasoline-powered V-8 -- one in each front wheel and one on the rear axle. The car can recover a greater amount of energy more efficiently during rapid deceleration and braking from high speeds. Because of the high demands made by racing (repeated acceleration and hard braking), it also has a quick-charging capacitor instead of the usual rechargeable batteries.
The award was given by Race Engine Technology magazine (a specialist publication if ever there was one). By going racing with hybrid systems, Toyota engineers will be looking for ways to make them lighter and more efficient. It's one of the few areas of motor sports where everyone wins.
A quick auto-tech course: Gasoline engines get their power from igniting an air-fuel mixture with spark plugs, while diesel engines compress their air-fuel mixture to such a high degree that combustion occurs, um, spontaneously. Right? Gasoline has a more urgent feel under the right foot; diesel is known for being frugal.
So what if the best of both worlds could be combined in one engine? Mercedes-Benz is working on just that, using something called homogeneous charge compression ignition, or HCCI. Under low to medium engine loads, the diesel process is more efficient, so a gasoline-powered HCCI engine is able to adapt its compression characteristics to make the air-fuel mix (which can be leaner than usual) ignite by itself. Then, when more power is required, the compression ratio changes and the spark plugs kick in.
Finding ever more ways to be oh-so Swedish and safe, Saab is developing a system that detects when drivers become sleepy or inattentive and uses a chime or a stern recorded voice to sound an alert. With laudable pragmatism, Saab calls this its Driver Attention Warning System, but try to stay awake, because it's an ingenious piece of technology.
One infrared camera at the base of the car's A-pillar works in conjunction with another located in the center console, both of which are focused on the driver's eyes. When his or her eyelids are closed for longer than a normal blink, or when the driver isn't directing his or her gaze forward, the system will chime while a dash readout says: "Tired?"
People from Kansas probably won't be too impressed, but Stuttgart, Germany, is now home to the world's strongest artificial tornado. It's in the new and fabulous Mercedes-Benz museum (well worth a visit if you're ever out that way) and is used as a smoke eliminator in the event of a fire.
More than 110 feet high, the tornado is formed when 144 outlets along the museum's walls blow jets of air into the building's interior courtyard. Smoke is then drawn into the twister and whisked up and out.
On the day when the Guinness Book of World Records bestowed this accolade upon M-B's perfect storm, it has been rumored that as the German dignitaries clicked their heels together in their typically Teutonic way, they were all transported magically back home. And there's no place like home -- even if it is Stuttgart.
The Ford Focus always handled way better than it needed to. With the redesigned 2008 model, it’s also pretty good value. The base model, the Focus S two-door, costs $14,695, which includes air conditioning and a full complement of airbags.
Power for all models (the other two are the SE and SES) comes from a 2.0-liter engine that kicks out 140 hp and 136lb-ft of torque yet still achieves a claimed 35mpg on the highway. The new model is 30 pounds lighter, 10 percent quieter and has three percent more horsepower.
Apologies to Miles Davis, but Mercedes-Benz’s green initiative uses blue as its color. Unveiled at LA’s Fashion Week (although some of M-B’s execs still wore brown shoes with their black suits) in beautiful Culver City, is the new E320 Bluetec sedan. What the heck is Bluetec? Diesel technology—and it makes the car’s 3.0-liter diesel V6 engine as clean (and very nearly as quiet and smooth) as a gasoline-powered car.
So emissions-friendly that it satisfies the stringent demands of the California Air Resources Board. This will be the first diesel-powered passenger car for sale in the Golden State for years. Even Arnie sent M-B a letter of congratulations. And here’s the better news: 35mpg. From a luxury sedan.
High-tech safety gadgets in luxury cars have almost become the norm these days, but some especially thoughtful devices seem to rise above the din of automotive “bell and whistle-dom.” Enter Infiniti’s new parking assistant, the Around View Monitor (AVM). The name, though descriptive, is not that impressive. The application, however, is both simple and impressive. AVM consists of four tiny cameras cleverly embedded on all sides of the vehicle which, in this case, is the 2008 Infiniti EX due out this December.
Reaching far beyond the usefulness of rear-view cameras, this little device is mind-boggling in its application. There, clear as a bell on your navigation screen, is a “God’s eye view” of your (graphically illustrated) vehicle in real time alongside all the real stuff of life surrounding it -- toys on the driveway, painted parking space lines, the curb, fire hydrants, those irritating concrete parking bumpers, poles in underground parking lots, pedestrians. Everything within a 360-degree area that extends just over six feet in each direction is captured and displayed for your parking and un-parking consideration.
Honda has a redesigned, revamped Fit in the pipeline, scheduled for a 2009 U.S. appearance. And a diesel engine will be offered, one that will satisfy emissions regulations in all 50 states. So it should be just in time to ride the small-car, high-mpg wave as it crests. Honda is recognized, even revered, as a virtuoso of the four-stroke engine, but what diesel credentials does it have?
A version of Britain's Honda Accord (badged the Acura TSX over here) has a turbocharged diesel engine that is one of the finest in existence, easily on a par with anything from Europe (the masters of diesel engine development). It is frugal, torquey, smooth and clean and even sounds pretty good. The Brits also get a brilliant TV ad with the ultra-catchy tune "Hate Something, Change Something" and a voice-over by Garrison Keillor (wonder how he managed to square that with Toyota, sponsors of his radio show "Prairie Home Companion").
Colin Ryan was born in London and worked at BBC Top Gear magazine, Britain's most popular automotive publication. He now resides in Los Angeles, because "this is where the real car culture is." And also because he was weary of driving in the rain every day.
Joni Gray is a native Angeleno (second generation) who has spent more than 20 years writing, editing and creatively communicating new-car information within the automotive industry. Her past work includes stints as senior editor of Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com and in internal corporate gigs at Mazda, Hyundai and Honda.
The last thing backers of plug-in hybrid vehicles needed was the sight of a Toyota Prius powered by the cutting-edge technology sitting in flames beside the road.That’s exactly what they got earlier this month, when a plug-in Prius operated by a South Carolina electric cooperative caught fire and was burned to the automotive equivalent of “well done.”
