Archive for March 22nd, 2010

Filed under: Emerging Technologies, EV/Plug-in, Lightweight

One of the biggest weaknesses of today’s battery technologies are their power-to-weight ratio. If you want to go fast or far, you need to carry a lot of heavy batteries with you. But a team of scientists from MIT have made a discovery that could signal the beginning of an entirely new age of energy storage technology. We want to say just one word to you… just one word. Are you listening? Nanotubes.

Nanotubes are hollow carbon tubules about a billionth of a foot in diameter. They’re one of the strongest substances on earth and one of the best conductors around. In fact, they can handle an electrical current density about 1000 times greater than copper. Now, the team from MIT says that carbon nanotubes have proven they could hold the key to super-powerful or super-lightweight batteries in the future. They’re not the only ones working on nanotube batteries, but they do have a unique approach.

Click past the break to find out more.

[Source: MIT News]

Continue reading MIT: Carbon nanotubes could make lighter, more powerful batteries

MIT: Carbon nanotubes could make lighter, more powerful batteries originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Mon, 22 Mar 2010 18:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Via Autoblog Green

Here’s what troubles me most about the Toyota unintended acceleration fiasco: What it means for those of us who love driving. You see, there’s only one sure way to stop all the finger pointing over whether drivers, or their vehicles, are responsible for unintended acceleration incidents, and that is to mandate that all vehicle on-board computer systems record and store data that can be downloaded and analyzed in the event of a crash. But if that were to happen, it’s probably the beginning of the end for the 20th century’s most profound freedoms: the freedom of automobility.

Like the “black box” flight data recorders fitted to aircraft, modern automotive computer systems, which control everything from the fuel/air burn in the combustion chambers to the deployment of the airbags, are a potential treasure-trove of information for crash investigators. With the help of data on vehicle speed, throttle position, force of brake pedal application, vehicle yaw rate, impact force — all routine stuff for automotive computer systems these days — investigators would be able to identify the cause of most automobile crashes with relative ease.

In the current environment I’m sure automakers would welcome it. “There but for the grace of God” is how several execs from rival car companies have characterized the hysteria surrounding the alleged unintended acceleration incidents in Toyotas to me. As the Audi fiasco of the early 80s demonstrated, once the notion someone’s car can suddenly accelerate out of control for no reason takes hold among American consumers (and curiously, the phenomenon appears to be a uniquely American one) there’s little logic or reason can do to combat it. Did the driver have their foot on the brake, as they claimed, or on the gas? An automotive “black box” would be the ultimate independent arbitrator, able to determine exactly what happened.

A mandatory automotive black box system could help make our roads safer, less stressful in many other ways, too. Imagine the police being able to download data to determine whether any laws were broken that might have contributed to a crash. Was the driver speeding?  Did they blow through a red light? Did they swerve suddenly? Proving guilt or negligence, particularly in fatal crashes, would be a whole lot easier. Insurance companies would be able to offer genuine discounts to drivers whose black box data proved they were safe and responsible; roads agencies would be able to more accurately determine crash “black spots”; the EPA could even award eco-bonuses to drivers whose black box data showed they regularly drove with a feather-foot on the gas.

Throw GPS positioning into the mix — a system like GM’s OnStar, for example — and cities could combat traffic congestion by charging drivers to use crowded roads during peak hours, mailing them the bill once a month, or deducting it directly from their bank account. Teen drivers could be monitored to ensure they’re not driving during times where they’re most likely to be killed, such as between 3 p.m. and midnight on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Speeders could be caught and fined in real time, regardless of whether a cop was on the scene or not.

Safe, calm roads populated by responsible drivers driving responsibly. Sounds like automotive utopia. As long as you don’t actually like cars. Or enjoy driving them.

The problem is while the majority of Americans drive, most are not drivers. Unlike those of you who share our passion for automobiles and automobile culture, driving is merely something they do to get from A to B; a task they care little about, and want to be as physically and mentally undemanding as possible, leaving them able to yak on the phone or slurp a Starbucks as they bowl along the freeway at 70 mph. It says a lot about driving in America today that the domestic auto industry’s most recent innovation is the cupholder.  With one-fifth of the nation’s meals now reportedly consumed in automobiles, the in-car microwave oven can’t be too far away…

Regardless of who’s ultimately proven right or wrong, the fallout from the Toyota unintended acceleration fiasco could convince automakers and legislators — for very different reasons — that the only way to avoid a repeat occurrence is to more closely regulate how automobiles are used. And the regulatory framework they’ll default to is the one that works for the majority of road users: The people who’d rather be emailing friends or watching TV or chowing down on processed corn as they get from A to B than think for one moment about the art and science of driving. We’ll get the cars and the roads and the laws and the enforcement that ensure the lowest common denominator drivers cannot possibly injure themselves, or anyone else. We’ll get …transportation. Boring, dull, homogeneous transportation. But, hey, at least we’ll all be safe.

The automobile is truly the machine that changed the world. For all its faults, all its failures, all its unfulfilled promises, it has given us a freedom of mobility beyond the wildest dreams of our ancestors; the freedom to go where we want, when we want. But there is no freedom without responsibility, and if we’re not prepared to accept some of the responsibility that comes with owning and driving an automobile, then maybe we don’t deserve all the freedom it gives us.

Via MotorTrend Magazine Blogs

Spy photographers have caught what seems to be a test mule for the second generation 2CV supermini. Snapped undergoing chassis testing outside Citroën’s HQ in Belchamps, France, the mule seems to be based on the C3 supermini – suggesting the newcomer will underpin the C3 platform.

The original 2CV was famous for its comfortable ride and low fuel consumption, so using the C3 platform will allow Citroën engineers to tamper with the suspension and use fuel-efficient engines. Whilst also being quite modern, the 2CV won’t forget it roots; a chiselled bonnet leading down the top radiator grille and over-sized rear fenders will remain.

Set to be unveiled at the Paris motorshow in 2012, the 2CV could have a name change. Names like DS2 and DS2i have been rumoured, hinting the car will be more upscale compared with the 62 year old original, which was known for being ‘cheap and cheerful’. This potential change will leave space for Citroën’s forthcoming Cactus supermini as the firms budget car and gives Citroën a rival to the Fiat 500, Volkswagen Beetle and Mini Cooper as an affordable, retro-styled, must-have car. Closer inspection indicates that the car is very likely to feature a roll-back canvas top, rather than a panoramic glass roof. Whether the fabric top will be electrical remains to be seen.

Powering the ‘Tin Snail’, ‘The Duck, ‘Little Freak’, ‘Two Horses’, whatever you want to call it, will be a range of 3 & 4 cylinder petrol and diesel engines; 1.0 litre 68bhp, 1.4 litre 75bhp & 95bhp, 1.4 HDi 70bhp & 1.6 HDi 90bhp. However, speculation reveals that a diesel-hybrid or an EV could be in the pipeline.

The 2CV will feature modern safety equipment like ESP, ABS, x2 airbags, seatbelt pre-tensioners, active headrests and lots more. We also expect a wide-range of options and accessories to be made available to customers. Prices could start at £8,000 when the car its UK shores in 2013.

Via SecretNewCars.com

Via Cars Of The Future® Blog

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Etc., Ferrari, Design/Style

We’re gearing up for the release of Transformers 3, even though it won’t be hitting the big screen until July 1, 2011. And while the second installment of the Transformers series didn’t exactly thrill us with its storyline, there’s no arguing that the awesome graphics made for a pretty decent summer blockbuster.

But now, there’s a new reason to get excited. At a Ferrari charity event this week, director Micheal Bay confirmed that the sexy, pulse-quickening 458 Italia will join the cast of Autobots. We can’t wait to see Ferrari’s new stunner put into action, especially along equally appealing co-star, Megan Fox. Hubba hubba. Thanks for the tip, John!

[Source: MichaelBay.com]

Ferrari 458 Italia to be newest Autobot in Transformers 3 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Mar 2010 15:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Via Autoblog

Filed under: Government/Legal, Recalls

Toyota Crisis Likely to Trigger Change Across the Auto Industry

Don’t be surprised to see yet another recall or two from Toyota in the coming weeks. Among other things, the embattled automaker may reveal a fix for unexpected stalling involving hundreds of thousands of recent Corolla and Matrix models.

That will be another setback for a company that is desperately struggling to push past its recent safety problems and get back to focusing on the business of selling cars and trucks. The maker has taken a more aggressive stance in recent weeks, underscored by efforts to discredit skeptics who insist there are unknown electronic gremlins with Toyota products, as well as an assault on a motorist who now looks likely to have staged a well-publicized incident involving a “runaway Prius.” But each step forward seems accompanied by two in reverse.

A number of key competitors have been hoping to take advantage of Toyota’s uncharacteristic stumbles, including General Motors and Hyundai, targeting Toyota owners with incentives and less than veiled marketing pitches that raise the specter of unsafe Toyota products. But the competitive efforts have, on the whole, been surprisingly subdued – and for good reason. Every automaker knows it could be next under the microscope. And, worse, Toyota’s near-term problems are likely to become a matter of concern for the auto industry as a whole, going forward.

Continue reading TheDetroitBureau.com on Autoblog with Paul Eisenstein

TheDetroitBureau.com on Autoblog with Paul Eisenstein originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Via Autoblog