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  • A new design from Chris Bangle, and it’s a cognac bottle!

    In Local News, Technology / By / / 5 comments

    Now, we’re definitely not in the habit of talking about booze, even if some of us here do enjoy the odd tipple or three now and then, but something along those lines then on a Monday morning, simply because of who’s behind it.

    Chris Bangle, who was BMW’s chief of design for more than a decade and a half, and who will forever be associated with the Bangle butt (the rather affectionate term for the E65 7-Series’ bustle-back lid that was actually penned by Adrian van Hooydonk), is back in the design game with a fresh composition, one offering a rather different perspective. The man, who was also responsible for penning the Fiat Coupe, has come up with a new… cognac bottle!

    Yes, it’s all glug-glug with this one – Bangle has inked the lines of Hennessy’s new V.S.O.P bottle, his first project outside the automotive industry. The American designer was in KL last week for the unveiling of the new package design – shame we weren’t able to have caught up with him for a one-on-one (the slots were filled up, seems).

    It’d have been a hoot to ask CB what’s been happening since he left Munich (“Finally hit the bottle, eh, Chris?”), and if there’s any significantly different approach needed in designing a bottle as opposed to a car. Wonder if this one will be known as the Hennessy butt. Or the Bangle bottle.

     

  • Mazda CX-5 to debut Smart City Brake Support system

    In Cars, International News, Mazda, Technology / By / / 13 comments

    Mazda has announced that the upcoming CX-5 SUV arriving this spring will debut a Smart City Brake Support (SCBS) system, which helps a driver to avoid a frontal collision when driving at low speeds in the city or in slow traffic.

    The system uses a laser sensor to detect a vehicle or obstacle in front and automatically reduces the extent of the brake rotor travel to quicken braking operation. If the driver fails to perform any operation to avoid a collision, such as applying the brake, SCBC automatically activates the brakes and reduces the engine output at the same time. Not exactly new hat, the tech, but it is for the brand, and the CX-5 will be the first to wear it.

    In related tech news, the company has announced the development of a new resin that offers the same rigidity as conventional materials, with the result being that less material is needed to make a part, while offering the same structural integrity.

    Jointly developed with Japan Polypropylene Corporation, the new resin thus offers a lighter manufactured part. It’s set to feature as material in the production of front and rear bumpers, where it contributes to a weight reduction of approximately 20%.

    The company blended two components found in polypropylene and rubber (the constituents of resin) that have different properties, and succeeded in distributing them in a double-layer structure in line with the required function for the surface and the inside of the base bumper material. The net result is a bumper with an inner section that retains high rigidity and impact absorption, with reduced thickness.

    Additionally, the use of the material also offers faster build times. In the production process, the reduced thickness allows for a shorter cooling period for molding, and bumper molding time, previously 60 seconds, will be halved to 30 seconds utilising the resin, leading to major reductions in the amount of energy consumed in the production process. Needless to say, the resin will be used for the CX-5′s bumpers.

     

  • Jatco introduces CVT8 and CVT8 Hybrid transmissions

    In International News, Technology / By / / 19 comments

    Jatco has announced a new continuously variable transmission for midsize and large front-wheel drive vehicles, offering an improvement of 10% in fuel economy compared to earlier models.

    Designed for application with 2.0 to 3.5 litre engined vehicles, the CVT 8 features a ratio spread of 7.0:1, which is around 15% higher than current models. Friction is 40% down for the unit, which features Adaptive Shift Control as part of the kit.

    The new ratio has been obtained by combining smaller shaft diameter pulleys with a new and differently shaped belt, which is flatter, and the range of ratios between the two pulleys has been expanded with only minimally increased axial distance.

    Elsewhere, a more compact oil pump, the use of specially formulated low viscosity oil and an interface increase between the pulleys and the belt – to reduce neccessary oil pressure – as well as modification to 60% of the component parts have translated to the lowered friction.

    The CVT8 is to be introduced next year, debuting in vehicles in North America, and will be built in both Mexico and Japan. The company has also announced the CVT8 Hybrid, developed in conjuction with Nissan. The system incorporates an electric motor and two clutches into the unit, offering a compact, versatile powertrain that does not require a specially designed body. Nissan plans to release a new hybrid vehicle with this system in the US in 2013.

     

  • Nissan’s new 2.5 liter hybrid unit to replace 3.5 liter V6?

    In Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, Nissan, Technology / By / / 10 comments

    Nissan has introduced a brand new hybrid drivetrain which is made up by a 2.5 liter four-cylinder gasoline engine, an electric motor as well as a lithium-ion battery pack. The interesting bit is that the 2.5 four potter is supplemented by a twin-screw supercharger.

    This helps the new system to produce almost similar horsepower and torque figures as the company’s VQ35 3.5 liter V6 unit. This means we are talking about approximately 260 hp and 338 Nm of torque. At the same time, fuel consumption is lower too, at least 10% lower with the continuously variable transmission. Engineers claim that the new system has plenty of low and mid-range torque.

    This drivetrain will either be made available alongside the 3.5 liter V6 or it might replace it all together. It is expected to be introduced into the North American market by 2013 and many suggest that it could in the next-generation Nissan Altima.

     

  • Need assistance? Well, they’re all EARs, it seems

    In Local News, Technology / By / / 5 comments

    It’s called EARs, or Emergency Assistance & Response Services, to give it its full name, and it’s a nationwide personal safety and automotive assistance service, ready to aid anyone who find themselves lost, stranded or in need of emergency personal or automotive help. The service, which is subscription-based, works through means of a mobile phone, in this case an iPhone application known as the EARsAlert2, which allows users to seek for help at the touch of a button.

    How does it work? Well, say you’ve been involved in an accident, and may be in shock or injured, uncertain of your whereabouts or frustrated from having to contact many different parties for help, such as family members and friends, auto services and tow trucks, among others.

    The service simplifies the entire process – just tap on the icon on your phone and a signal is immediately sent within five seconds to EARs which identifies your name and pinpoints your location via GPS. You’ll receive a call from an EARs agent within a short timeframe to ascertain your condition and safety, and to confirm what kind of emergency service or assistance you need.

    The agent will then contact the relevant service providers to assist you. At the same time, EARs will also alert five of your closest contacts to inform them about your situation. The service is also able to assist with police reporting, workshop coordinations for repairs and insurance claims, if needed.

    In the event of a personal emergency, such as a kidnapping case, if the EARs app is launched and the person is not contactable by the agent, the five closest contacts are immediately alerted via SMS and one primary contact is contacted to act upon the situation, armed with important information like location coordinates.

    “EARs was conceptualised mainly because I have many friends and family members who have experienced vehicle breakdowns or personal crimes, or who have had their car stolen,” said EARs CEO Edwin Ong. “Although there are services for each of the situations I’ve just mentioned, these services tend to work independently of one another, hence I felt the need for an all-in-one total solution for personal and automotive assistance, leveraging on a mobile device which many of us already have.”

    According to the company, in 2008 there were a total of 373,047 vehicle accidents which resulted in 6,527 deaths, and in 2009, there was a 15% increase in crimes, totalling 198,622 or 544 reported cases per day – every day, there was at least one murder, 19 cases of rape and 243 stolen vehicles. Meanwhile, last year, there were 1,022 vehicle accidents per day (or the equivalent of one accident every 1 minute and 44 seconds).

    “In light of statistics like these, we believe that EARs will bring great peace of mind to many Malaysians,” said Ong. “People can be assured that there’s someone they can call on at any time of the day who will be able to help them, regardless of whether they need a tow truck or personal assistance.”

    The Breakdown and Assistance (BRASS) plus Personal Alert (PAL) combined packages are priced at RM75 per year, or RM10 per month. You can find out more about the service here. As for the app, it’s available on iTunes for iPhone users to download for free, and users can play around with the app in demo mode without an account. It’ll soon be available for other smartphones.

     

  • Humanix iSAVE-SC1 e-Tricar – the car, as airbag

    In Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News, Technology / By / / 21 comments


    Click to enlarge.

    Okay, so here’s the novel take of the week. According to reports, a venture company in Japan called Humanix will introduce an electric vehicle that wears airbags. On the outside.

    The Hiroshima-based company, which utilises research results from Hiroshima University and builds items such as the Cellomics Tip for use in live single cell mass spectometry applications, among others, is now set to introduce the iSAVE-SC1, an electric tricar covered with soft cloth containing shock-absorbing airbags.


    Click to enlarge.

    The three-wheel prototype has inflated airbags at the front and rear, and the body is covered with tent cloth. In the event of a collision, air is released from the bags to cushion the impact.

    It plans to sell about 100 units of the vehicle, which seats three, from late November to March 2012, at a cost of around 790,000 yen each. The vehicles will be used for monitoring purposes, before mass production begins in April or later next year. The production version should have a complete wrap-around airbagged body as in the sketch, presumably.


    Click to enlarge.

    ”Think of the car as wearing clothes, which is something found nowhere else in the world,” said Tsutomu Masujima, Humanix president, who is also professor at the university’s graduate school. ”I used to wonder why the surface of a car is made of metal. Through my study of biology, I noticed that living creatures are naturally soft. I began developing the car based on this idea,” he told reporters.

    The maximum speed of the iSAVE-SC1 is 50 km/h, and the vehicle can be charged at home via a 100 volt power supply. The company says that vehicle will be cheap to run, at a fifth to a tenth of a gasoline vehicle’s maintenance costs, though no mention was made about the cost of replacement airbags.

     

  • New tech to help build better batteries emerges

    In Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News, Technology / By / / 1 comment

    Over in Japan, automakers – working with partners – as well as companies in other industries are researching technologies to improve the performance of storage batteries for use in both vehicles and homes, according to a report.

    Toyota is one of these; working together with the Tokyo Institute of Technology and the High Energy Accelerator Research Organisation, the automaker has come up with a prototype next-generation storage battery that’s based on a solid core instead of a liquid one. Because it doesn’t have an easily combustible liquid core, the new-gen battery doesn’t require fire-retardant materials, which will allow the use of a simple structure to lower costs.

    The battery can easily be processed into sheet form, and is able to store several times the amount of electricity, volume for volume, than the current generation of electric vehicle batteries, its developers say. The extra capacity could thus enable a higher maximum driving distance per charge for compact EVs to around 1,000 km, from the 200 km or so now, the report added.

    Toyota and its partners aim to further improve the battery and commercialise it sometime in 2015 to 2020, and adds that the tech can also be used to design compact, home-use storage batteries.

    Meanwhile, Mazda – together with Hiroshima University – has come up with a new electrode material that it says can boost battery capacity by roughly 80%. The material, which is based on molecular spheres of carbon measuring several hundred nanometers in diameter, can approximately halve a battery’s weight but maintain the same levels of storage capacity. Mazda says the new electrode material is likely to be commercialised in about five years.

    Besides the two automakers, electronics giant NEC says it has developed a lithium-ion battery with an electrode that uses manganese instead of cobalt, which is more expensive. It has also altered the composition of the battery’s electrolyte and improved its durability, making it possible for the unit to be recharged 20,000 times.

    This will make for the development of household storage batteries with a 13 year life span, compared with seven to eight years right now – NEC is looking at getting the durability up to 20 years, and have the battery out into the market in five years.

     

  • Nissan unveils revolutionary car battery charging tech and new, highly formable ultra high tensile strength steel

    In Cars, International News, Nissan, Technology / By / / 30 comments

    Nissan has unveiled a couple of innovations, and the first is the development of a new technology that can fully charge an electric vehicle battery in about 10 minutes.

    According to a report, researchers at Japan’s Kansai University, working together with Nissan boffins, have come up with tech to speed up the charging process. Currently, lithium-ion batteries can take up to eight hours to recharge fully.

    In experiments, the researchers tweaked a capacitor – by using a composite made from tungsten oxide and vanadium oxide for the capacitor’s electrode instead of the usual carbon – to allow it to hold more power. Tests with the new capacitor resulted in it being able to fully recharge within 10 minutes, while maintaining nearly the same storage capacity and voltage as lithium-ion batteries, the report says.

    Apparently, the new capacitor has endured repeated charging and discharging without durabiility issues, and the researchers are now planning to go further afield, utilising different materials and structures for the device, with the aim of bringing down the charge time to three minutes or less.

    The report adds that it is likely to take about a decade to commercialise the technology, but the breakthrough is expected to help cut production costs for electric cars and make them more popular for drivers in a hurry.

    The second one involves steel, in this case what has been tagged as the world’s first ultra high tensile strength steel to be rated at 1.2 gigapascals (GPa), which Nissan has developed in collaboration with Nippon Steel Corporation and Kobe Steel.

    What’s unique about this one isn’t just its stiffness, but also its formability. Until now, high tensile strength steel involved a critical trade-off – increased strength came with increased rigidity, and with that, a consequent reduction in press formability, not to mention the challenges in spot-welding the stuff. Traditionally, only high tensile steel – rated up to 980 megapascals (MPa) – has been used in cold pressing structural body parts, requiring complex press work.

    The new material changes the scene. Highly formable, it will be produced from 2013 as steel plates for use in cold pressing structural body parts, and used for centre pillar reinforcements, front and side roof rails and other key structural components.

    Development of the new material was realised by a breakthrough in the ability to control its structural formation at the sub-micron level, combining hard and soft layers to achieve both strength and formability. An optimal spot-welding methodology – a proprietary process which involves careful optimisation of welding pressure, current volume and power distribution – was also developed for use with it.

    The steel offers the benefit of exceeding the structural body performance of previous materials, with less thickness needed. As such, it will offer weight savings, with Nissan claiming its use will reduce vehicle body weight by up to 15 kg.

     

  • Proton and Agensi Inovasi Malaysia sign MoU to collaborate on innovation activities in automotive sector

    In Cars, Local News, Proton, Technology / By / / 127 comments

    Proton and Agensi Inovasi Malaysia (AIM) today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation and collaboration related to innovation activities in the automotive sector.

    The partnership will see Proton and AIM working together to promote and mutually assist each other in accelerating the development and commercialisation of innovative products and advanced technology in the automotive industry, to benefit both the industry and public at large.

    The MoU specifies collaboration between both parties in the following areas: the promotion of innovation, in particular automotive-related advanced technology ideas; the utilisation of facilities to accommodate their personnel throughout the duration of a project; the exchange of information, publication and materials related to their project/s as well as joint-organisation of projects in relation to the promotion and development of innovation.

    Under the MoU, Proton and AIM will establish a joint working committee that will be responsible for the implementation of mutually-agreed projects that will be undertaken.

    In line with the company’s aspirations of becoming a global car manufacturer, Proton MD Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin said the collaboration would help to enhance and accelerate Proton’s research and development activities, not only for the introduction of new and exciting models, but in pioneering and commercialising advanced automotive technologies which would be beneficial in moving Malaysia’s automotive industry up the value chain.

    The collaboration also underlines Proton’s commitment in support of the national agenda in transforming Malaysia into a high income and knowledge-based nation, as outlined in the Government’s Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) to elevate Malaysia to becoming a fully developed nation by 2020.

     

  • GM to introduce industry’s first front centre airbag

    In Cars, General Motors, International News, Technology / By / / 9 comments

    One more added on the safety item list. General Motors is set to introduce the industry’s first front center airbag, which is an inflatable restraint designed to help protect drivers and front passengers in far-side impact crashes.

    Designed to work collectively with the other airbags and safety belts in a vehicle, the front centre airbag deploys from the right side of the driver’s seat and positions itself between the front row seats near the centre of the vehicle.


    Without, and with, the FCAB, single front occupant. Looks painful.

    The tethered, tubular airbag is designed to provide restraint during passenger-side crashes, be it with a single or double front occupant scenario – the airbag acts as an energy absorbing cushion between driver and front passenger in both driver- and passenger-side crashes. It is also expected to provide benefit in rollovers.

    GM and its technology supplier Takata developed the airbag over the course of three years, testing many design iterations to achieve packaging, cushioning, and restraint in a variety of crashes and occupant positions.


    Without, and with, the FCAB, two front occupants. Definitely painful.

    While the front centre airbag is not required by US federal regulations, it is expected to improve the safety performance measurements in such-equipped vehicles in terms of third-party crash test performance.

    The front centre air bag will be introduced by GM on the Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia, and Chevrolet Traverse midsize crossovers in the 2013 model year, and will be standard fitment on Acadia and Traverse with power seats and all Enclave models.

    GM FCAB double occupant comparo
    GM FCAB front on
    GM FCAB side front profile
    GM FCAB single occupant comparo


     
 
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