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  • Ford eliminates gas caps on future vehicles

    In Cars, Ford, Technology / By / / 10 comments

    caplessfuelfiller.jpgFord plans to implement the capless fuel filler intakes it first introduced in the production Ford GT supercar on all it’s vehicles beginning with the 2008 Lincoln MKS, though details on exactly in how soon the change will be implemented across the model range are sketchy.

    The image on the left shows the flap which covers the fuel tube, which opens under pressure from the gas pump nozzle. The “Capless Fuel Filler” flap, called Easyfuel, will fit snugly around the nozzle to prevent fumes from escaping while the car is being refilled.

    Ford says this will solve the problem of drivers forgetting to replace the gas cap after refueling. These caps are often left at the petrol stations, on the boot, on the roof, or dangling from the cars as they drive away. Those left on the boot and roof usually fall off. I have actually made this mistake once in my life, 2 weeks after I got my driving license, LOL! Ford’s research have also shown that some drivers dislike touching their fuel cap and getting the smell of fuel on their hands. It would also remove the need to unscrew the fuel cap, which can be a pain for people suffering from arthritis.

     

  • KTM tests two-wheel-drive motorcycle

    In Bikes, KTM, Technology / By / / 14 comments

    ktm2wd.jpgFollowing the footsteps of Yamaha with their 2-Trac two wheel drive system for motorcycles, Austrian motorcycle manufacturer KTM has developed it’s own version and has been testing it on a motocross bike.

    KTM says the results are good, allowing the bike to accelerate much harder out of corners due to less slippage. However, it’s harder to take the inside line around a turn due to both wheels being powered, which causes the bike to run wide and straighten up. Kurt Nicholl of KTM says the system would benefit amateur riders more than professionals because pros have gotten used to riding with the back wheel slipping most of the time.

    KTM’s two wheel drive system uses a mechanical/hydraulic system to distribute torque between the front and rear wheels. How exactly does it work? There is a small hydraulic motor inside the front hub, powered by hydraulic fluid pumped through the two tubes running down the fork leg. You can see the tubes in the image in this post. The motor drives the front wheels.

    One of the major problems with this system is weight, it adds 6 kg to the bike, and half of that is directly on the front hub. KTM says reducing the system’s weight to 2 kg will revolutionize bikes the way Audi’s quattro revolutionised car drivetrains.

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    Audi and KTM working on lightweight baby TT

     

  • Apple teams up with Ford, Mazda and GM

    In Cars, Ford, GMC, International News, Mazda, Technology / By / / 16 comments

    ipodyourcar.jpg

    Apple Computer has teamed up with Ford Motor Co, General Motors and Mazda Motor Corp to offer easy iPod integration with their cars. While some manufacturers have begun offering AUX input so you can plug in external MP3 players and feed music into the audio system, this is not a complete solution as you cannot control the iPod from car controls such as buttons on the steering wheel.

    Optimally, a complete integration solution will allow you to browse tracks from an LCD screen and skip tracks from steering wheel buttons. Recently, our local boys Race Rally Research have jumped onto the iPod bandwagon by offering an iPod Nano 1GB integrated with the car audio system with their new limited edition Proton Waja MME and Proton GEN.2 MME.

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  • Honda I-SHIFT

    In Cars, Honda, Technology / By / / 14 comments

    While the world is fussing over Volkswagen’s excellent Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG), Honda has come up with their own automated manual transmission called the Honda I-SHIFT. For a technology-driven company like Honda, this might seem a little late to market, considering companies like Renault and Volkswagen have been using these gearboxes for quite some time now.

    Honda’s I-SHIFT only debut recently on the European market Honda Civic hatchback, pairing it with the 1.4 litre i-DSI engine and the 1.8 litre SOHC i-VTEC engine. In fact, there is another automated manual transmission on the market with a similiar name – Volvo’s i-Shift used on it’s trucks and buses.

    The Honda I-SHIFT is a 6-speed manual transmission with a hydraulic computer controlled clutch. The I-SHIFT transmission is a 700 pound option over the Civic with a standard 6-speed manual. No slushbox automatic is offered with the Euro Civic. Kind of like our Savvy here.

     

  • Tesla Roadster – Electric Plug-in Sports Car

    In Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, Technology, Tesla Motors / By / / 45 comments

    tesla1.jpg

    Tesla Motors is a Silicon Valley start-up founded by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning which set out to to one thing – to design a sports car that would go as fast as a Ferrari or Porsche, but run on electricity.

    The name Tesla is a tribute to genius inventor Nikola Tesla, a Serbian-born American inventor, electrical engineer, and scientist whose many inventions include the induction motor and alternating-current power transmission. He also did experiments with wireless power transmissions. Anyone here who has played C&C: Red Alert would have been warmed up to the name.

    Their first production vehicle is the Tesla Roadster, which looks so much like a Lotus Elise that people have begun calling it an electric Elise. What makes the Tesla tick? More details after the jump.
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  • BMW Dynamic Driving Simulator

    In BMW, Cars, Technology, Videos / By / / 12 comments

    small_bmw_logo.jpgBMW has developed the Dynamic Driving Simulator, an enhanced driving simulation system to allow them to test their cars at it’s development center in Munich without actually bringing the prototype out on the road or track. The fact that it is a virtual simulation allows tests to be conducted under the exact the same conditions repeatedly, eliminating major variables in the testing and design process and giving the engineers better results. After the jump you will find two videos, one with a BMW 5-series going through a driving simulation, and the other an interview with Dr. Alexander Huesmann, BMW’s Project Manager for Driving Simulation. You can have a look at how the driving simulator looks like from the outside.

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  • New flagship 1.8 liter powerplant for Toyota

    In Cars, International News, Technology, Toyota / By / / 23 comments

    small_2zrfe.jpgThe upcoming replacement for the Toyota Corolla Altis here in Malaysia might see the introduction of a CVT transmission, thanks to a new pair of engine and transmission announced last month by Toyota as part of it’s efforts to revamp it’s gasoline engine and transmission line-up by the year 2010.

    The new engine is the 1.8 litre 2ZR-FE, which replaces the 1ZZ-FE in Toyota’s line-up. The 2ZR-FE has a few enhancements over the 1ZZ-FE found in our current Toyota Corolla Altis. For one, the new 2ZR-FE has Dual VVT-i which varies valve timing optimally for various engine speeds and loads on both the intake and exhaust valves. The previous 1ZZ-FE only has variable valve timing on the exhaust valves. Maximum torque has increased from 170Nm at 4,200 rpm to 175Nm at 4,400 rpm. Horsepower has increased from 132hp at 6,000 rpm to 136hp at 6,600 rpm. Fuel efficiency is supposed to be 5% higher compared to conventional engines.

    2ZR-FE (New) 1ZZ-FE (Old)
    Displacement 1,797cc 1,794cc
    Bore 80.5mm 79.0mm
    Stroke 88.3mm 91.5mm
    Compression Ratio 10.0:1 10.0:1
    Weight 97 96

    Note that our local Toyota Corolla Altis actually has abit more power and torque than the Japanese specifications thanks to differences like an increased compression ratio of 10.5:1 instead of 10.0:1. Our Toyota Corolla Altis 1ZZ-FE engine makes 136hp and 171Nm of torque, slightly higher than it’s Japanese counterpart.

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  • BMW demos a self-parking BMW 730i

    In BMW, Cars, Technology, Videos / By / / 27 comments

    small_bmw_selfpark.jpgBMW has developed a parking-assist technology that can park your car for you while you stand outside the car and watch as the internal robotics and gizmos park it. A prototype of the system has been completed and a demo video was recorded using a BMW 730i, which is available after the jump. BMW group research and technology managing director Raymond Freymann says the system will be available in 3 years, and will be very easy to use – just press a button and watch the car park itself.

    Of course, this parking system isn’t for the car to park itself anywhere. It involves components both on the car and components to be installed in the parking spot designated, for example your garage. You have to install a reflective lense against the wall of the parking space. A video camera on the car’s front windshield measures the distance and angel of the car in relation to the lense, while other sensors ensure there is at least 8 inches of space on the left and right of the car. Through information gathered from these input devices, the gas pedal and steering wheel is controlled.
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  • What is an anti-lag or misfiring system?

    In Cars, Technology, Videos / By / / 34 comments

    I’m sure some of you have heard of anti-lag systems or sometimes known as misfiring systems, thanks to anime like Initial D. You might have noticed that most of the cars have flames coming out of their exhaust when they shift gears. If you’ve watched Top Gear’s review on the Prodrive P2, you will see that the P2 has it too. That’s a misfiring system in action. Let’s just call it anti-lag from now on. So what does anti-lag do?
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  • Toyota developing car operating system

    In Cars, Technology, Toyota / By / / 18 comments

    If you look at photos of car interior overseas, you could most likely notice that the area where we normally have our 2-DIN sized CD players is taken up by a little computer, with navigational information as well as entertainment functions. Most of the cars in Malaysia do not have such features, as it’s pretty pointless with the lack of map data on Malaysian roads. Plus it would drive up the costs of our already expensive cars.

    These navigational systems normally run on either Microsoft Windows Automotive, or a proprietary OS based on a set of specifications called uITRON. uITRON is not an OS, but a set of specifications for a small-scale industrial RTOS (Real Time Operating System).

    Toyota feels that a single control system OS would be more beneficial, as it would reduce the development load between car manufacturers. It is developing a new OS in a joint effort with Nagoya Unviersity’s Center for Embedded Computing Systems. A car’s automotive computers are normally divided into two parts – the information systems OS and the control systems OS. Toyota’s efforts with Nagoya are on the information systems OS, and will be based on a Unix base.

    It will use a multi-core processor for the heat reduction benefits that comes with a reduced CPU frequency, and it will have a firewall for the communication between the two operating systems. Toyota intends to allow other car manufacturers to use this operating system once it is complete, but is currently heading development to control the direction it takes.

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