masonite
09-26-2008, 12:09 PM
Thought the forum was looking a bit boring, so with the help of red wine, I thought i'd publish some news in the world of hybrids.
-For those living in a cave these past weeks, first official shots of the Volt were "leaked" (very rarely do 100% finished, post-produced, clean shots of cars get leaked accidentally, particularly when leading men within the company feature in said shots) followed by more "official" shots shortly after:
http://cache.jalopnik.com/assets/images/jalopnik/2008/09/production-chevy-volt_02.jpg
(whole bunch more can be found here (http://jalopnik.com/photogallery/voltgm100/1003623557))
Production model loses the radical transparent glass on the doors, with black detail replacing it. Headlights sport more conventional projectors, but retain sleek look with pronounced cheeks in front bumper giving a "squint" to the front fascia. Most telingly, the front grille isn't actually a grille - just a design feature, with a sloid look that lets you know there isn't much cooling that neesd to be done with a small engine and electric motor (although battery pack will need cooling too - possibly liquid cooling). Will no doubt lead to some *very* interesting front-end styling treatments once designers get to grips with the possibilities (and the engineers).
Front and rear lights wrap around heavily to the sides (particularly the rear) further reducing the impression of size (already accomplished somewhat by the short rear overhang). Interior is quite conventional.
quite prius like rear roofline (but not as prius-like as others - read below) for aerodynamic efficiency - it seems like this raked rear screen/high rear bootline will be the trademark "hybrid" stylistic treatment for quite a few cars to come, thanks to the impression made by the pruis and honda insight.
- Honda has been testing its own Prius-killer, and is taking the job seriously - their hybrid is rumoured to "easily" reach below 4L/100km of consumption (possibly below 3L), and massively undercut the costs of the prius (aiming for the equiv. of AUD$25,000 in japan. sorry, you'll have to do your own conversions....). Power is provided by a low-cost, lightweight version of their IMA hybrid tech first seen on the insight, and will be reviving the nameplate for the new car.
(sorry, no pics, but just imagine a prius with a Honda FCX front-end and you'll be pretty much on the money).
-Mercedes-Benz are going to be the first to market with a Li-ion powered hybrid. Liquid cooled cells will dramatically cut charging times, increase life and should increase range of hybrid vehicles. Expect other manufacturers to follow in the next few years.
-Not strictly hybrid news, but BMW plans to release diesels in all 50 states of the US (yup, including California, whose emissions laws effectively banned diesels up until now) utilising particulate filters, catalytic conerters, and a (relatively) new catalytic converter known as "AdBlue", first seen on MB models a year or two ago, which utilises urea to catalyse even more nasties. It means an extra fluid to be filled up at every 80,000km service, but since most beamer drivers would probably write-off their cars trying to do an oil-change, i can't see them being to concerned about it. Regenerative braking and start-stop tech are also being implemented on new models, with the engine automatically switching off if the car iis left in neutral with the clutch pedal out for more than 1.5 secs. The regenerative braking taked care of any concerns about flat batteries. Solar panels are also being using in future models to heat gearbox oil.
BMW are also working on a "mega city car" with obvious plans to challenge the smart brand and utilise hybrid tech to be a very frugal car indeed.
- For the aussies, the falcon could soon become front wheel drive - mullaly is talking it up, and it sounds like he's into the idea. The next major update (around 2013) would be the likely time, and i reckon the local focus production plans were to try and sweeten the deal. Inany case, the next car will be a much more global one, and i can't see ford Oz getting as much say as holden have with the commodore unfortunately (hey, i dislike ford as much as the next guy, but a little bit of competition would be nice ;)) particularly considering the FG update has seen little impact on ford sales - they're still in the red to the tune of ~70 million dollars, and competing with the mazda 3 for local sales (ironically, mazda is partially owned by ford...).
-Meanwhile, the Commodore has reclaimed top spot in YTD sales, stealing it back from the corolla by 300 sales. No doubt helped by the release of the sportswagon to the range, it'll be interesting to see how things pan out after sales settle down...
and thats it! stories courtesy of wheels magazine (buy it if you're in Oz :)) opinions and additions courtesy of me :)
Now, Cab sav, or GSM? decisions, decisions....
-For those living in a cave these past weeks, first official shots of the Volt were "leaked" (very rarely do 100% finished, post-produced, clean shots of cars get leaked accidentally, particularly when leading men within the company feature in said shots) followed by more "official" shots shortly after:
http://cache.jalopnik.com/assets/images/jalopnik/2008/09/production-chevy-volt_02.jpg
(whole bunch more can be found here (http://jalopnik.com/photogallery/voltgm100/1003623557))
Production model loses the radical transparent glass on the doors, with black detail replacing it. Headlights sport more conventional projectors, but retain sleek look with pronounced cheeks in front bumper giving a "squint" to the front fascia. Most telingly, the front grille isn't actually a grille - just a design feature, with a sloid look that lets you know there isn't much cooling that neesd to be done with a small engine and electric motor (although battery pack will need cooling too - possibly liquid cooling). Will no doubt lead to some *very* interesting front-end styling treatments once designers get to grips with the possibilities (and the engineers).
Front and rear lights wrap around heavily to the sides (particularly the rear) further reducing the impression of size (already accomplished somewhat by the short rear overhang). Interior is quite conventional.
quite prius like rear roofline (but not as prius-like as others - read below) for aerodynamic efficiency - it seems like this raked rear screen/high rear bootline will be the trademark "hybrid" stylistic treatment for quite a few cars to come, thanks to the impression made by the pruis and honda insight.
- Honda has been testing its own Prius-killer, and is taking the job seriously - their hybrid is rumoured to "easily" reach below 4L/100km of consumption (possibly below 3L), and massively undercut the costs of the prius (aiming for the equiv. of AUD$25,000 in japan. sorry, you'll have to do your own conversions....). Power is provided by a low-cost, lightweight version of their IMA hybrid tech first seen on the insight, and will be reviving the nameplate for the new car.
(sorry, no pics, but just imagine a prius with a Honda FCX front-end and you'll be pretty much on the money).
-Mercedes-Benz are going to be the first to market with a Li-ion powered hybrid. Liquid cooled cells will dramatically cut charging times, increase life and should increase range of hybrid vehicles. Expect other manufacturers to follow in the next few years.
-Not strictly hybrid news, but BMW plans to release diesels in all 50 states of the US (yup, including California, whose emissions laws effectively banned diesels up until now) utilising particulate filters, catalytic conerters, and a (relatively) new catalytic converter known as "AdBlue", first seen on MB models a year or two ago, which utilises urea to catalyse even more nasties. It means an extra fluid to be filled up at every 80,000km service, but since most beamer drivers would probably write-off their cars trying to do an oil-change, i can't see them being to concerned about it. Regenerative braking and start-stop tech are also being implemented on new models, with the engine automatically switching off if the car iis left in neutral with the clutch pedal out for more than 1.5 secs. The regenerative braking taked care of any concerns about flat batteries. Solar panels are also being using in future models to heat gearbox oil.
BMW are also working on a "mega city car" with obvious plans to challenge the smart brand and utilise hybrid tech to be a very frugal car indeed.
- For the aussies, the falcon could soon become front wheel drive - mullaly is talking it up, and it sounds like he's into the idea. The next major update (around 2013) would be the likely time, and i reckon the local focus production plans were to try and sweeten the deal. Inany case, the next car will be a much more global one, and i can't see ford Oz getting as much say as holden have with the commodore unfortunately (hey, i dislike ford as much as the next guy, but a little bit of competition would be nice ;)) particularly considering the FG update has seen little impact on ford sales - they're still in the red to the tune of ~70 million dollars, and competing with the mazda 3 for local sales (ironically, mazda is partially owned by ford...).
-Meanwhile, the Commodore has reclaimed top spot in YTD sales, stealing it back from the corolla by 300 sales. No doubt helped by the release of the sportswagon to the range, it'll be interesting to see how things pan out after sales settle down...
and thats it! stories courtesy of wheels magazine (buy it if you're in Oz :)) opinions and additions courtesy of me :)
Now, Cab sav, or GSM? decisions, decisions....