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Automakers Mull Engine Alternatives
An Excellent article from FORBES Magazine
AUTOMOTIVE INNOVATION
Innovation Hits the Road
By William Jeanes
The family car — and truck — is a cornucopia of forward thinking and ingenuity.
In the 1950s and 1960s, during what is frequently termed the peak of American automotive enthusiasm, innovation consisted largely of restyling a car's exterior each year. Although some of the styling this attitude produced was undeniably spectacular, genuine innovation was at a premium. Virtually every American car still used a carburetor to get fuel to the engine, used fade-prone drum brakes to stop, had suspension systems that made tight cornering a disquieting undertaking and ran on tires that might or might not last for 7,500 miles. Probably not. As difficult as it is to believe in light of what's happened to cars — and trucks — in recent years, the cars driven by most Americans in 1965 or even 1970 differed little from the cars in which the populace rode in 1935 or 1940.
The difference between the cars of 1970 and the cars of today, however, is greater than any of us might have imagined three decades ago. Tires, for example, routinely last for 40,000 or 50,000 miles, and the once-familiar flat tire seems as foreign to today's younger drivers as a pop-top soft-drink can. Cars are sold today that need no tune-up (a phrase that sounds as archaic as the practice has become) before 50,000 or 65,000 — or even 100,000 miles — have passed. When Jaguar introduced its XJ8, it recommended that new spark plugs be installed after 100,000 miles. In the future, more advances await the consumer, including cars powered by electricity, hybrid electric/internal combustion or alternative fuels.
The computer is nowhere put to better use than in the auto industry. Consider that computers today are used to design, help build, operate and even sell cars. Computers make possible precision in manufacturing that was once only a dream. Computers even measure and calibrate the accuracy of other computers. They help engines and transmissions move a car more efficiently and with fewer harmful emissions. A modern car may have as many as 30 or 40 microprocessors tucked away in its structure, most of them doing jobs electronically that were once done manually.
What explains the proliferation of seemingly endless innovation? All of these advancements, and others that we will examine, are driven by one of three things: government regulation, competition or consumer needs and wants. Without government regulation, it's doubtful that cars would be as safe or as clean as they are. Competition, which repeatedly proves to be a more efficient motivator than regulation, continually pushes outward the horizons of what makes a good vehicle. The consumer, as the ultimate arbiter, lets the manufacturers know by pocketbook vote what area of innovation makes one car or truck superior to another. This last factor has led to stunning advancements in, for example, electronic engine control, where cold-weather starting problems and frequent tune-ups have become little more than memories. It has also led to some odd contributions to creature comfort: the installation of as many as 18 cup holders in some minivans!
To examine the current state of automotive innovation, we have divided the subject into six areas: design, product, environment, manufacturing and safety.
William Jeanes has written about automobiles for more than a quarter-century. He was group publisher of Hachette Filipacchi Magines Automotive Group (Car and Driver, Road & Track, Open Road) from 1993 to 1997, served as editor-in-chief of Car and Driver from 1987 to 1993 and was the founding editor of Classic Automobile Register. His articles have appeared in Sports Illustrated, American Heritage, Playboy, Parade, Air & Space, Smithsonian, The New York Times and others. Jeanes is past president of the American Racing Press Association, and he was the 1996 recipient of the Mario Andretti Excellence in Media Award.
Once, it could take as long as six to eight years to bring a new car or truck from the concept stage to the showroom. Today, thanks to computer-aided design (CAD) and computer component testing, a new vehicle can move rapidly through the design stage. The vehicle can have its various component prototypes not only designed and assembled with an eye toward weight, efficiency and serviceability, but also have these tested by the computer. These systems have made it possible to eliminate months of actual component design and hundreds of thousands of miles of on-road prototype testing.
Using digital computers to design components allows designers and engineers to see how parts will look (the design software permits a three-dimensional look at a part before it ever exists) and how they will be used in conjunction with other parts to make a subassembly. There are obvious time efficiencies in such a process, but even more important is an engineer's consequent ability to try design variations and select the absolute best for ultimate use.
"Paperless" Cars
One example of prototype testing and computer-aided design has resulted in the first
"paperless" cars. The 1998 Dodge Intrepid and Chrysler Concorde were completely redesigned, and all body, power
train and suspension components were developed on computers without the use of
conventional blueprints. That would be remarkable enough, but Chrysler's accomplishment is even more
impressive when you consider that the new products were completed in only 31 months.
A consortium of manufacturers that includes Audi, BMW, Ford, Renault and Volvo is working with Mechanical Dynamics to produce a software system called ADAMS/Car, a specialized vehicle simulation environment that will allow automotive engineers to accurately simulate the real-world behavior of their designs for entire vehicles, including assemblies such as suspensions, power trains, engines and steering mechanisms. Simulations can also include traction control, antilock braking and other control systems.
"Users can exercise ADAMS/Car models under various road conditions, performing every maneuver normally run on a test track," explains Michael Guttilla of Mechanical Dynamics. "They can accurately predict handling characteristics, ride quality, vehicle safety and performance parameters — all on the computer, and all before building a single hardware prototype."
Thus can an engineering team quickly examine hundreds or thousands of design variations, testing and refining the design until they optimize system performance. This can help reduce the number of costly physical prototypes, improve design quality and significantly shorten product-development cycles.
Manufacturers are concerned about the length of time it takes to get a new concept into the marketplace because a company that has the ability to do so quickly can respond to changing marketplace conditions and consumer buying trends. Toyota recently created a new compact minivan, the Ipsum, for its home market in 19 months from concept approval to showroom.
It is sometimes risky to compare development times because each automaker, here and abroad, defines "project approval" differently. When the public starting gun is fired on a new car, one company may have already completed significantly more design work than another. In any event, most manufacturers seem to believe that a 24-month time frame is possible and are working toward achieving it.
Ride and Handling
The way a car feels when you are behind the wheel, and the way it reacts under changes of
speed or direction (handling) are less difficult to engineer than they used to be. The
desired characteristics of ride and handling can be translated into computer data and fed
into systems that create an optimized vehicle. This means that the desired ride and
handling will, in effect, be built in when a new vehicle reaches the running prototype
stage. Small adjustments will be necessary, but the overall feel and driving
characteristics will be close to what the engineers wanted. This is why every BMW and Mercedes-Benz, to name two
automakers who use this system, feels as if it was cut from the same bolt of cloth —
or carved from the same block of metal — as its smaller or larger siblings.
The next step in design innovation will likely involve virtual reality — simulators that will give engineers and designers the actual sensory feel of a product that does not yet exist. The type of situations and testing that can thus be "experienced" in the laboratory will be limited only by the imagination of the designers and engineers.
Supplier Contributions
One of the ways that the automotive industry makes progress on the innovation front is by
working in tandem with supplier companies that make many of the components and
subassemblies used in manufacturing a car. By making suppliers a part of the team, and
sharing with them the long-term product and manufacturing goals, an automaker can draw on
the design, engineering and manufacturing expertise of companies that work and think
independently of the corporate structure. Suppliers build everything from headlight
assemblies to rack-and-pinion steering systems. Some build even larger components: GM's
Hydra-matic division builds transmissions for Rolls-Royces, which in turn are powered by
engines built by BMW.
Dana Corporation, for example, provides complete packages of drivetrain and structural components. It can supply individual parts — such as coil springs or shock absorbers — for a front-end subassembly, or it can provide the entire subassembly, which might include a subframe, the front suspension components, brakes and steering.
Once, automakers handed suppliers a blueprint and instructed them to build what they saw. Today, suppliers and automakers work together to create what's on that blueprint — which might well be contained on a computer disk.
Do you know when and where the first computer appeared in an automobile?
The year was 1968, the car was a Volkswagen and a Bosch computer controlled the air/fuel mixture fed to the engine's combustion chambers. Since that time, microprocessors have proliferated in cars, to the extent that having two or three dozen of the tiny miracle workers, which control everything from power windows to fuel injection, is by no means unusual. Volvo's new S80 sedan, for example, incorporates an operating system made of 18 computers divided between two networks, one for the engine compartment and the other assigned to the passenger compartment (the engine compartment computers are faster) and connected by a central control module. Some luxury cars have as many as 45 microprocessors available to do the driver's — and the car's — bidding.
The Computer at Work
Here are just a few of the functions controlled by computers in a modern automobile:
The engine. Engines run cleaner, more efficiently and longer because computers keep operating conditions as close to optimum as modern computer science allows — which is close indeed.
The transmission. Automatic transmissions shift at the most comfortable and efficient speed, at points determined by a computer that can sense not only the road conditions (altitude, incline, etc.) but also the driver's heaviness or lightness of foot.
The accelerator. Once, the accelerator, known as the gas pedal, was connected by a series of rods and joints to the fuel supply, and it mechanically increased or decreased the flow to the engine. No more. Your accelerator is not connected mechanically to the fuel system. Rather, it sends electronic signals to the computer-controlled engine-management system.
Safety systems. Such things as traction control, antilock braking systems and air bags are computer controlled.
Information and diagnostic systems. A self-diagnosis system that allows a dealer or repair shop to perform electronic troubleshooting, a feature on virtually every car, would not work without computer chips. Nor would all the information provided to the driver in the form of digital readouts, warning lights and even the low-fuel alert message.
And that's just scratching the surface (which was applied, by the way, by a computer-controlled painting system). Other computer-controlled items include the climate system, audio equipment and power accessories.
Shifting by Thumb
Back to the subject of transmissions and gear changes, an excellent compromise has
appeared that bridges the gap between drivers who love a manual gearbox and those who are
satisfied with today's remarkably good automatics. The advancement is automatic
transmissions that add the capability of manual gear selection. The transmission itself is
automatic, but the driver can select the gear he or she wants if the transmission's
electronic selection is deemed less than ideal. The Porsche system, called the Tiptronic
S, allows drivers to select the gears with a small thumb switch on the steering wheel,
while Ferrari's F355 F1 shifting system uses a finger-touch paddle located on the steering
column. The Jaguar J-gate, the Chrysler AutoStick and a number of
similar systems use the conventional gear selector mounted on the center console to
override the transmission control module.
Future Computers
A cooperative venture between Delphi
Delco Electronics, IBM, Netscape and Sun Microsystems wants to add even more computer
power to your car of the not-too-distant future. Essentially an onboard personal computer
system with voice-recognition capability, the new technology would allow breakthroughs in
communicating what's going on in your car to the outside world — and vice versa.
Imagine traveling down a remote road late at night and having a problem with your car's engine. Rather than having to stop and seek help, the problem is solved by diagnostic systems hundreds or thousands of miles away. Your car would send a signal to the manufacturer, who would diagnose the problem and, where possible, transmit corrective instructions back to your car. If that same problem was fixable and might occur in all cars of that model, an electronic message could be sent to every one of them.
Another use of this system — and one that is similar to the onboard recording devices used to assess the performance of some racing cars — might be to send all performance information back to the manufacturer's product-development experts, permitting real-world experience to more quickly effect changes in subsequent models. Here again, improvements would reach the consumer more rapidly.
"That's good for consumers and it's a competitive advantage for business," IBM CEO Louis Gerstner told attendees at a trade show in Hanover, Germany, where a prototype of the system was shown.
Systems such as this one could have wide-ranging uses. The vehicle's location could be monitored on the Internet, for example, using existing global positioning technology in conjunction with passwords that would assure privacy. In the event of a disabling accident, the vehicle's location could be transmitted to the nearest law-enforcement or highway-safety agency. Recorded books and music could be downloaded by voice command from the Internet and played in the car. The possibilities, if not actually endless, are limited only by your imagination.
Others are at work on these futuristic computer applications, which IBM executives estimate will take 12 to 18 months for the first versions to appear, and three to five years for full network operability. GM, in cooperation with Microsoft, has already exhibited a 1999 Saab equipped with an onboard PC based on Windows. "It demonstrates what's more feasible in the very near term," says Ed Dilley, senior development engineer for automotive electronics at Delphi's Delco Electronics unit.
Some product improvements are achieved by using computer-aided engineering to simplify existing components. The engine in the current Toyota Corolla, for example, has 560 parts. That's a lot of bits and pieces, but it is much fewer than the 741 parts its predecessor contained.
The new engine, a 1.8-liter dual overhead camshaft four cylinder, helped Toyota reduce the price of the new Corolla in the U.S. by more than $1,000 from that of the previous version. Not only that, the new engine weighs 64 pounds, about 10% less than its predecessor, and generates 120 horsepower, a 15% increase. It's no wonder that Toyota has earned a reputation as an efficient automaker.
Comfort Is Included
Innovation has not been ignored where driver comfort is concerned. Drivers of the 1999 Cadillac DeVille d'Elegance and DeVille
Concours can have their own personal masseur. Cadillac has added an optional massaging system to its world-class
electronic lumbar-support seat. A touch of the lumbar switch will activate a continuous
roller motion that can be interrupted or repeated at the driver's command. The design and
placement of the rollers allows the massaging motion to improve blood flow to the driver's
back muscles and nutrient movement with the spinal discs. Increased circulation relaxes
muscle tension and results in increased comfort and reduced fatigue. The four rollers,
concealed from view under the seating material, operate for a full 10 minutes when
activated.
The auto industry, its critics and the public at large continue to ask what, if anything, will ever replace the internal combustion engine? And when will it do so? The internal combustion engine, first used in an automobile by Gottlieb Daimler in 1885, is not going away soon. But even as the industry works with remarkable success to make the internal combustion engine cleaner and more efficient, new technological applications loom in its future.
During a press conference at this year's North American International Auto Show, GM Chairman Jack Smith said, "No car company will be able to thrive in the 21st century solely with the internal combustion engine." The auto show, held in Detroit each January, provides an excellent forum for manufacturers to exhibit vehicles that reach into the future for their fuel and power sources.
Electric Cars
The most common alternative to the car as we know it is the electric vehicle. This is not
a new option: electric vehicles have been built and sold since the first decades of this
century. General Motors brought its EV1 to market more than a year ago, and the automotive
press was impressed with the car's performance. There are drawbacks to the pure electric
car, however, and EV1 leasing figures have reflected this. The major problem is that
battery technology has simply not yet reached the point where an electric vehicle can
offer consumers the cruising range and ease of recharging that they expect. This may come,
but only if battery technology takes a forward leap. Lead-acid batteries, which are
currently the most popular choice, will probably be replaced by nickel-metal-hydride
batteries, which are used in laptop personal computers and cellular phones. Further in the
future, the lithium-ion battery may provide the solution.
The first vehicle to use power from nickel-metal-hydride batteries was the Honda EV-Plus, and like the EV1 it was designed from the start as an electric vehicle, whereas most electric vehicles are conversions of existing platforms. The EV-Plus can be leased in California. The electric version of Toyota's RAV4 also uses this type of battery, and it will soon appear in GM's EV1 and Chevy S10 electric pickup. Nissan is testing its Altra EV, powered by lithium-ion batteries, in California, and a company spokesperson says that the car may be available to the public in two years.
Also waiting in our future are ultra-capacitors. These systems store electrical energy much like batteries but can provide intermittent surges of high power. Keep in mind, as Keith Crain wrote in Automotive News, that practical electric vehicles have been "five years away" as far back as most of us can remember.
Fuel Cells
Another future energy source that is gaining credibility is the fuel cell, and if
fuel-cell research and development continues at its present rate, it could emerge as a
leading contender. A fuel cell produces energy through electricity that results from the
chemical reaction caused by combining hydrogen and oxygen. The only by-product of the fuel
cell is water, which is a cheering fact. Most major automakers are working on a fuel-cell
car, some with the cell being the sole power source and others using it as one of the two
power sources in a hybrid car.
The device has proved effective in laboratory situations for more than three decades, and fuel cells have been used to produce power in NASA's space programs. Virtually every major manufacturer has a fuel-cell vehicle in the works, but none is likely to reach the market before 2004. Daimler-Benz, soon to become DaimlerChrysler, introduced its first fuel cell four years ago, and is joining forces with Ford and Ballard Power Systems of Canada to produce as many as 100,000 fuel-cell-powered cars annually, beginning in 2004. General Motors also has a fuel-cell vehicle on the computer screen, and Toyota has a fuel-cell development program under way. Chrysler, noting the absence of a hydrogen distribution infrastructure, is examining the use of gasoline to produce the hydrogen for its fuel cell, a process that would occur onboard the vehicle.
Alternative Fuels
In a far less futuristic vein, and without massive fanfare, the auto industry continues to
make progress in the area of alternative fuels. The major candidates for replacing
gasoline include ethanol, methanol, LP (liquefied petroleum) gas and compressed natural
gas. Ethanol and methanol are alcohol-based fuels. Ethanol is produced from grain, most
often corn. Methanol is an odorless, clear liquid made from natural gas. Natural gas
itself is taken from abundant underground deposits and consists principally of methane. LP
gas, a dry, gaseous fuel, is also abundant. The good news about these products is that
they burn cleaner than gasoline. The bad news is that they are less dense and require
larger tanks. Furthermore, cars lack the distribution systems needed for refueling. LP gas
and compressed natural gas require heavy storage tanks that add weight to a vehicle.
Most manufacturers already have alternative-fuel vehicles on the road, and some of them are dual-fuel, meaning that they can switch from one fuel to another — gasoline to ethanol, for example. Flexible-fuel vehicles use a mixture of gasoline and alcohol. Many of the alternative-fuel vehicles on the market are powered by compressed natural gas, which was one of the earliest alternative fuels to be commonly used.
In addition to the factors already mentioned, alternative-fuel vehicles are hampered by the lack of a national infrastructure. If alternative fuels were suddenly available in every service station, increased usage would likely result — as would increased research and development of alternative fuels. Despite the lack of an infrastructure, manufacturers are pressing on. Chrysler became the first major automaker to introduce certified low-, ultra-low — and zero-emission vehicles, and 40% of its minivans have the flexibility to run on unleaded gasoline, E-85 (a compound of 85% gasoline and 15% ethanol blend) or any combination of the two.
"Natural gas will be the next major fuel, and the internal combustion engine will continue to be the dominant technology," says Dr. Steve Cousins of Cranfield University's International Ecotechnology Research Centre.
Hybrid Vehicles
"Hybrid cars," vehicles that can run on two sources of power, are rapidly
nearing the level of development that will allow them to be marketed as serious vehicles.
The only production hybrid on sale thus far is the Toyota Prius, a compact sedan sold in
Japan for $17,000, far less than its manufacturing costs.
Most hybrid concept vehicles that manufacturers have produced use an internal combustion engine and an electric motor. In a "series" hybrid, the gasoline (or diesel) engine generates electricity, which powers the wheels. This system is similar to that used in "diesel" locomotives — which are really diesel-electrics. In a "parallel" hybrid, either power source can be used to power the wheels. The Prius is a parallel hybrid and uses the electric motor until the car accelerates to 12 mph, the speed below which gasoline engine emissions are at their worst. Once 12 mph is attained, the car's gasoline engine takes over. When maximum power is required, on a steep incline for example, the electric motor returns to action. While the Prius operates on gasoline power, the engine recharges the electric motor's batteries, eliminating the need for at-rest charging from an outside power source.
A number of European manufacturers, and Chrysler, Ford and GM here in the United States, have shown working prototypes of hybrids that could go on sale in seven to ten years. The increased fuel efficiency and reduced emissions make the hybrid an attractive concept, but as long as gasoline is sold as cheaply in this country as it is at present, the hybrid will suffer from consumer resistance to small, efficient automobiles.
Flywheels
Another energy storage device under development for use in hybrid vehicles is the
flywheel, a low-cost version of which has successfully passed a number of tests. Unique
Mobility, Inc., working for Ford, developed the flywheel device as part of the U.S.
Department of Energy's cost-shared Hybrid Propulsion System Development Program. The
flywheel is, in effect, a mechanical battery with a much higher power-to-energy ratio and
a much greater resistance to cycle fatigue.
The Unique flywheel uses incoming electricity from the engine or regenerative braking to spin the composite rotor to a very high speed, storing the energy kinetically. To draw power from the flywheel, the process is reversed, and the spinning wheel drives its motor/generator to convert efficiently the kinetic energy back into electricity.
A Smog-Eating Radiator
Volvo, which is often associated
with safety, has introduced what it calls a "smog-eating" radiator. The device
first appeared on the company's new S80 and will be added to later models.
The low-cost device is a catalyst system that, when applied to a vehicle's radiator, destroys ozone with which it comes in contact. The technology was developed by Engelhard Corporation, a New Jersey company that in 1976 built the three-way catalytic converter used on most cars today to reduce exhaust emissions. The new device involves coating a vehicle's radiator with a base-metal catalyst. Then, as air passes over the radiator, ozone — the main component of smog — is converted into oxygen, thereby improving the atmosphere.
Recycled Cars
Cars do not present nearly the recycling problem that tires and many other familiar items
do. The Wall Street Journal states that the automobile is one of the most recycled
products in America. Only 20% of glass, 30% of paper products and 61% of aluminum cans in
the U.S. are recycled. But 95% of the 10 million cars and trucks that pass from useful
life each year go to recyclers. And of each of those 9.5 million vehicles, 75% by weight
is recovered for reuse.
As the use of new materials, particularly plastic, rises in new cars, the amount of weight per vehicle could fall from its present level. One automaker, BMW, has begun to address this potential problem.
BMW has integrated environmental and recycling criteria into the earliest stages of its new-vehicle development cycle. BMW considers a vehicle's life to be a closed system, encompassing development, manufacture, use and recycling.
Not only does the German company consider the raw materials and natural resources consumed during production, but it carefully selects these materials with a view toward their eventual suitability for recycling. BMW's concerns go all the way toward reducing emissions in the cars it builds and at the factories where they are made.
BMW is by no means the only manufacturer with a "green" attitude, but the company took one of the earliest public stances on environmental issues.
Progress at the Pump
Gasoline refiners and automakers are working together not only to meet exhaust pollution
standards set by the Clean Air Act, but also to do so efficiently. It stands to reason
that the manufacturer of an engine and the manufacturer of the substance that powers it
would work together in the cause of efficiency. This has not, however, always been the
case, and this new cooperation between refiners and automakers is an innovation in itself.
One of the results of this cooperation has been the creation of oxygenated gas, which enhances the combustion process inside the engine. Beginning six years ago, service stations in certain pollution-plagued urban areas were required to sell oxygenated fuel in the winter months. The EPA says the program has been instrumental in reducing the number of days these areas exceeded federal carbon-monoxide standards.
An oil industry spokesperson estimates that the oxygenation process adds three to five cents per gallon to the price of gasoline at the pump.
The Greening of Detroit
For some years now, automobiles have been redesigned to meet the requirements of the Clean
Air Act. For example, ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons have been absent from
air-conditioning systems in new vehicles for more than three years. Now the
air-conditioning systems use hydrofluorocarbons, which are believed not to erode the ozone
layer.
In 1991, Detroit's Big Three automakers formed a group called the Vehicle Recycling Partnership (VRP) to study new vehicle designs and components that would simplify and expand recycling efforts. One example of the VRP's efforts involves reducing the number of different plastics used in a subassembly, such as a dashboard, which can incorporate more than a dozen disparate plastic materials. Cutting this number in half would be a major positive step. Polypropylene will likely emerge as the front-runner as the number of plastic variants decreases, subsequently lessening dependence on PVC and polyester. Polypropylene already accounts for one-third of the plastic used by the auto industry, and this is expected to rise by 50% in the next few years.
Dr. Sandy Labana, who heads the VRP, says that it has achieved its goal of finding ways to remove 95% of a to-be-recycled car's or truck's fluids (i.e., fuel, oil, transmission fluid, etc.) in 20 minutes or less. According to Dr. Labana, at this improved rate of removal, draining a vehicle's fluids — as opposed to dumping them — becomes profitable to a recycler.
All too often, automaking's most difficult and costly step — manufacturing — is overlooked when the subject of innovation arises. Nothing could be more unjust. The progress of manufacturing is arguably the industry's most stunning showcase for advancement. We have already become familiar with such things as robotics, laser measurement, effective teaming among the technicians who assemble cars and constant improvements in quality control. Some examples of current innovations in manufacturing are, however, worthy of note.
Precision Measurement
A major contributor to excellence in quality control is precision measurement and
machining. After all, if a part is the wrong size to begin with, how can it possibly fit
properly? The answer is, of course, that it can't. The industry has used laser measurement
for some time now, but improvements in measuring and machining continue to appear.
One of the engines used in the Jeep Grand Cherokee is a 4.7-liter V-8 with aluminum cylinder heads. The precision machining system that finishes the heads at Chrysler's new Mack Avenue Engine Plant in Detroit can measure its performance with startling accuracy.
"Our systems can hold tolerances to within 10 microns, approximately one-sixth the width of a human hair, throughout a production run that could well exceed 500,000 engines annually," says Charles E. Wolfbauer, president of Lamb Technicon Machining Systems, which provided the system to Chrysler. The consumer benefit: precision and repeatability that ensures superior emissions performance, reliability and fuel efficiency from every engine sold.
New Materials
From carbon-fiber to ever-evolving forms of plastic, automakers continue to seek weight
reduction that doesn't sacrifice functionality. Audi's A8 luxury sedan is all aluminum,
and Ford has shown an aluminum Taurus. Though this lightweight metal has been around for
many years, it is now achieving wider use.
Advancements continue in the application of one of the oldest materials used in the manufacture of vehicles: steel. The auto and steel industries have developed thinner, lighter-weight steel that does not sacrifice strength. Steel remains a useful, economical material whose potential has by no means been completely realized.
Mitsubishi has developed a strong, lightweight compound material that is 25% lighter than fiberglass. This compound is already in use in the roof-rack rails and brackets on the company's newly introduced Pajero sport-utility vehicle.
Magnesium, another lightweight metal, may also see increased applications. Once avoided because it is a highly combustible substance, magnesium alloys will likely be used in such locations as seat frames and dashboards (as braces), where the material is not exposed. These safer magnesium alloys could also replace aluminum in transmission housings and engine blocks.
The appearance of more and more new materials in production vehicles reflects the determination of automakers to develop and utilize them in the assembly of new vehicles, rarely an easy task.
Fighting the Weight Battle
Lighter cars use less fuel than heavier cars and require fewer amounts of raw materials
such as steel. Slightly less than one-third of fuel consumption is dependent on a car's
weight, yet the weight of the average car has risen more than 200 pounds in the last
decade. Thus the need for lightweight materials.
About half of the weight increase is due to new safety devices (air bags, side-impact girders and related systems). Emission-control equipment added 20 pounds, and creature comforts added in response to consumer demand stacked on another 80 pounds.
Because a vehicle's body represents between 20% and 30% of the total weight, it's easy to see why aluminum — which could reduce a full-size car's weight by as much as 300 pounds — might make sense, once manufacturing operations are adapted to its use. A weight loss of that magnitude could allow a V-6 engine to provide the same or nearly the same performance as a V-8 because less weight requires less horsepower. This is the reason that we will likely see aluminium used in more and more engine-building applications.
As for extracting more power from V-6 engines, the modern application of an established power-enhancing device called a supercharger deserves mention. The 1999 Buick Park Avenue Ultra's 3800 Series II engine (a 3.8-liter V-6) is equipped with a supercharger, which increases the volume of air in the engine's six cylinders and makes the combustion cycle more efficient. More efficiency translates into higher horsepower — 240 for the supercharged engine and 205 for the normally aspirated 3800 V-6 — and, in the case of the Park Avenue Ultra, permits a V-6-powered luxury car to deliver performance that most drivers would associate with a larger engine.
Building a Plastic Car
Chrysler and its suppliers have
developed a processing technology that could revolutionize the way the company makes cars
and trucks, provided there are solutions to the remaining issues. The Composite Concept
Vehicle (CCV) is an automotive application of injection-molding technology that uses the
same material found in plastic drink bottles. "Before now, you could have a
lightweight car made of expensive, exotic materials or you could have an affordable car,
but you could not have both," says an engineering executive at Chrysler. In addition to the
innovations in processing, the CCV may represent the first modern vehicle ever designed
specifically for the emerging markets of the world. Introduced earlier this year, the CCV
is a 50-mile-per-gallon, nearly 100%-recyclable sedan. It incorporates the durability and
extra ground clearance required for most undeveloped roads, and would be competitively
priced between a motorcycle and traditional entry-level car or truck. The five-passenger
CCV fulfills its design goals of efficiency, affordability and utility by means of its
easy-to-assemble, manufacturing-driven design and what may be the industry's most advanced
form of thermoplastic-injection molding.
This manufacturing-driven approach for fast and easy assembly resulted in a number of innovations: The number of pieces required to produce the vehicle was cut by 75%, to about 1,100. The body consists of only four large composite sections that are fit and bonded together. And it is the first all-injection molded car where the only use of steel is in the frame chassis.
Mercedes-Benz's Smart car, about to go on sale in Germany, seats two and has interchangeable plastic body panels that permit an entire new exterior to be installed in less than one hour. The body is scratch-resistant and lightweight. The merger of Daimler-Benz (Mercedes-Benz's parent) and Chrysler, and the interest of both companies in plastic materials for automaking, could speed the growth of plastics use in the United States.
It seems difficult to believe the idea of selecting a car for its safety features was once as foreign to motorists as the horse and buggy. But this has changed. Most — though not enough — Americans use their seat belts, the basic first step in occupant safety, and most believe in the overall efficacy of air bags, despite some recent bad publicity involving unexpected deployment. Injuries from air bag deployment — unexpected or otherwise — have involved a disproportionate number of small women, leading the U.S. secretary of transportation to call for crash dummies that replicate women of small stature. Previously, crash dummies were adult males only, although for many years, safety experts at General Motors have focused on the unique needs of women in crashes. More and more attention has also been given to child safety. We've come a long way since the days when a mother rode in the front seat with her child in her arms. Child-safety seats, now built into many products, are a staple of child rearing. Today, safety is of paramount concern to everyone involved in automaking, from manufacturers to suppliers, to the government and to consumers.
Automated Highway Development
The automated highway system, about which much has been written, has reached the point
where researchers at the University of California's Berkeley campus have boldly offered
test drives to journalists. The stated goals of an automated highway system are anything
but modest: relieve traffic congestion, avoid the cost and environmental impact of
building new roads, have fewer traffic accidents and related delays, allow higher speeds
and take stress out of driving in traffic.
The system, being developed by a government-private industry consortium, uses a typical American family sedan, the Buick LeSabre. The car debuted last summer in a demonstration held at an off-highway site, and 10 of them are now operated by non-researchers over a specially fitted stretch of Interstate 15 near San Diego, Calif.
The LeSabre "robocars" have been fitted with magnetometers, sensors and computers that are mounted in small boxes on the front and rear bumpers. The devices detect magnetic fields emitted by cigar-shaped ceramic magnets implanted every four feet along the roadway. A Pentium computer then processes this data and controls a servomotor added to the LeSabre's power-steering system. To maintain speed and a safe distance from other vehicles, a sensitive radar system precisely locates the cars ahead and behind. Radar sensors communicate with the onboard computer, which can instantaneously control the brake and throttle functions.
One journalist says, "When all the systems are working, driving becomes riding. It's an eerie feeling to be sitting behind a steering wheel which turns itself while you try to keep your right foot away from the brake and accelerator pedals."
Eventually, as highways equipped for automated operation increase, automated-highway components will be integrated into future vehicles.
Anti-Whiplash
All of us dread being rear-ended by another automobile, and now Delphi Automotive Systems has done
something about it. A new seat and head-restraint system that the company calls the
Catcher's Mitt cradles the motorist's body during a collision in much the same way a
baseball glove envelops a baseball.
In a rear-end collision, the occupant of the struck car is usually injured because his head and torso move in opposite directions. The head is thrown back by the force of the crash, and the torso is first shoved forward and then backward. To minimize these forces in opposition, Delphi engineers, in effect, used the crash energy to keep passengers pressed into their seats. The engineers had a steel frame built around the outer dimension of the seat and a horizontal bar placed in the seat back as a lumbar support. On impact the head restraint rises and pushes the head forward. The head restraint stays with the seat as it moves backward, creating what Delphi calls the "catcher's mitt effect:" the head and body move together, and the seat cradles the occupant and pulls him downward on impact.
A Delphi executive has said that the new system could reduce whiplash injuries by as much as 40%.
Volvo, a company that has worked hard to develop a reputation for safety-mindedness, calls its anti-whiplash system WHIPS (Whiplash Protection System). Aimed at preventing or reducing neck and back injuries in a rear-end collision, the front-seat backrest moves backward and the head and upper body are supported in a uniform manner. The backrest then tips backward to prevent the forward whiplashlike movement.
Electronic Stability
Hardly idle since providing Volkswagen with the first onboard computer in 1968, the Robert Bosch Corporation recently
introduced its Electronic Stability Program, or ESP. This is an extension of traction
control and antilock braking systems, and it maintains stability instantaneously in most
skid situations. ESP operates independently of the driver's action even when the car is
free-rolling. Once it senses a loss of stability, such as a lateral skid, the system may
activate an individual wheel brake or any combination of the four, stabilizing the vehicle
and reducing the danger of an uncontrolled skid.
Night Vision
General Motors will offer a night-vision system option on some Cadillacs, starting with the year 2000
model. The system uses infrared technology to detect people or animals in the dark or past
the glare of an oncoming car's headlights. Once danger is detected, the system displays
black-and-white images that resemble photo negatives on the lower part of the windshield
in an area about four inches high and 10 inches wide. The system is heat sensitive and can
even detect a person lurking in the bushes as you park in your driveway.
"It's a supplementary system," says John Smith, general manager of GM's Cadillac Division. "You're going to be able to see three to five times farther down the road than with your low beams and three times farther than with your high beams." Regular headlights allow a driver to see about 100 yards. With night vision, drivers should be able to see up to 500 yards.
Automatic S.O.S.
You may already have a navigation system in your car that tells you where you are and how
to get where you want to be. But we will soon see systems that tell others where you are.
A Japanese consortium that includes Daimler-Benz Japan, Matsushita Electric and Nippon
Telegraph and Telephone is offering an auto-safety service that automatically notifies
authorities in the event of an accident or other emergency. The service, launched on
September 1, consists of an onboard sensor that senses the activation of air bags, belt
tensioners or a vehicle rollover and transmits the car's registration number, location and
time of accident to an operations center. The operator then notifies the police and fire
departments after confirming the details of the incident. The system can also be
driver-activated. Daimler-Benz was involved in the introduction of a similar system in
Germany earlier this year.
Ergonomics Contributes To Safety
Ergonomics, reduced to its simplest automotive definition, is the placement of controls
and other components and devices that are driver-used or driver-operated in the best
possible locations. Automakers devote an extraordinary amount of research and development
time on ergonomics, not just for customer convenience, but for safety reasons.
Putting often-used controls as close to the steering wheel as possible helps the driver maintain concentration. For example, if a sudden downpour erases visibility, the driver does not have to search for the wiper control or take his hand completely off the wheel in order to operate the switch. Proper lighting of controls and creating distinctive surfaces identifiable to the touch also aid the safety effort. If you want to adjust the climate-control system or change a radio station in the dark of night, you should not have to turn on a light, take your hand off the wheel or take your eyes off the road in order to find the desired control. More and more cars have reduced their controls to a safe common denominator. And the progress is not limited to cars. New GMC pickups allow the driver to adjust the truck's Bose sound system using controls mounted on the steering wheel.
Think back to the first car you ever owned. If you're age 60 or over, there's a good chance it didn't have air-conditioning, let alone power-assisted brakes or steering. If you're 50-something, you might have had air-conditioning, but you didn't have fuel injection. Those of you who are around 40 might have had a fuel-injected engine in your first car, but you probably drove one of those choked-down monstrosities so prevalent in the early years of emission-control efforts. The 30-year-olds among you had it a lot better, but antilock brakes and traction control were still in the future. Those drivers starting out today have it far better. And, as we've seen, those who begin driving with the arrival of the millennium, or shortly thereafter, will see innovations on their cars that were once only dreams.
Automakers Mull Engine Alternatives
By MICHAEL WHITE
AP Business Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Is the internal combustion engine dead?
Not yet. But scientists and engineers attending the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show on Tuesday believe its days are numbered.
Beyond the glitzy showroom-style displays of the latest car models from Detroit and Tokyo, auto industry representatives are talking seriously about alternative vehicles expected someday to replace today's gasoline-powered models.
``In order to survive as a company, it is absolutely essential that you provide
alternative power, power other than the internal combustion engine,'' said Frank Pereira,
brand manager for General Motors Advanced Technology Vehicles.
During a presentation to journalists, Pereira said he believes the internal combustion engine will be phased out as a matter of necessity in developing countries — regions considered growth markets by the auto industry.
Governments and consumers are looking for vehicles that will pollute less and use less expensive fuel. Likewise, North American and European governments are pushing hard for low-polluting vehicles, he said.
A variety of possible alternatives were presented during news media previews.
Toyota showed off its RAV-4 electric sport utility vehicle and offered test drives of
the gasoline-electric hybrid Prius sedan. The RAV-4 is currently available in the United
States. The Prius is on sale in Japan but won't be on the U.S. market until 2000.
Next week at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Honda plans to display its new hybrid model that will go on sale in the United States later in 1999.
A General Motors display featured a small van outfitted with a fuel cell power train. GM also planned to provide details about a diesel-electric bus that will haul commuters through New York City early next year.
The bus is expected to slice fuel consumption by 40 percent while cutting down on pollution.
Hybrid engine technology involves combining two fuel systems to power a vehicle,
typically electricity and a conventional fossil fuel. In the case of GM's bus, the wheels
will be driven by an electric motor. A diesel engine about half the size of a conventional
bus engine will run at a steady level to keep the batteries that power the motor fully
charged.
Most of the pollution from conventional diesel-powered buses results from hard acceleration. With the hybrid running at a steady state, pollution will be reduced significantly.
GM is applying the hybrid technology to a commercial vehicle first because it considers that a more logical and potentially profitable use than in passenger cars.
The automaker introduced its EV1 electric car at the Los Angeles show three years ago, but demand has been weak in large part because the car has limited range before its batteries need recharging at special electricity stations.
In two years GM has sold only 600 versions of its EV1 electric coupe. Other
manufacturers of electric cars have had similarly disappointing results. But Pereira
likened the new cars to other consumer technologies such as the cellular telephone and
microwave oven. Both, he said, were unreliable and slow to catch on at first.
Technology for alternative automobiles will improve to the point that consumers will want them, he said.
During an afternoon seminar, representatives from Ford, GM and other major manufacturers said progress with alternative systems, particularly fuel cells, has moved quickly. But manufacturers' ability to successfully market such vehicles will be limited by consumer acceptance.
Traditional parts suppliers may find it hard to stay in business if the new vehicles catch on during the next decade, said Steven Haycock, advanced products development manager for Detroit-based Freudenberg-NOK.
The company, which specializes in seals and other components for gasoline-powered
engines is looking for ways to become a part of the alternative vehicle industry.
``We don't see a real impact for maybe 10 years,'' Haycock said. ``But you'll start to see it in four or five years. If you're not on the leading edge of the industry you could find that your corporation strategically is in a lot of trouble.''
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