Friday, November 6, 2009

Nissan NV200 electric commercial vehicle






Nissan Motor Co., Ltd, has released a concept sketch of a light commercial electric vehicle based on the newly launched NV200.

The low-cost multi-purpose vehicle would allow ambulance drivers to drive directly into the hospital or van and taxi drivers to enter urban areas where CO2 emissions are restricted. The van is one of four electric vehicles Nissan has announced for the future. At the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show, Carlos Ghosn, president and CEO of Nissan, said LEAF – the world's first mass market affordable EV – will be launched in Japan and the US in late 2010, Europe in 2011 with global mass-marketing efforts to begin in 2012.

At the show, Ghosn also announced plans to release a four-seater Infiniti electric compact car, as well as LandGlider, a totally new concept which combines the best of two- and four-wheel vehicles.

[Source: Nissan]

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Chrysler's New Ram Division To Use Unibody Replacement For Dakota Pickup


During Wednesday's press conference, Ram's CEO Fred Diaz confirmed a replacement for the Dakota is in the works.  The current Dakota has been around for three generations, and with the new model, this will be the first unibody pickup for Chrysler, and second in the industry.


The well received Dodge Rampage Concept surfaced in 2006 and the new Dakota could be modeled after it.  

MIT's Affective Intelligent Driving Agent AIDA


Looking more like  a robotic rendition of "Gir"  from Invader Zim, MIT and Audi have teamed up to  create a dashboard-mounted A.I. system that is all in one. AIDA is a data collecting unit, evaluating and amassing information on such venues as local events, environmental data, traffic and gas station locations, and combines it all with careful analysis of your travel habits to make traveling  suggestions and note points of interest easier to navigate around town.


AIDA learns your habits and over a period of time, it will be able to guide you around traffic to your regular destinations or let you know when there is a local event happening in your area to your liking. For a sample of how it works, just click on the video link below.


Source: engadget MIT's (video)

Chevy Volt The Centerpiece For Many Rapidly Emerging Industries



Source: GM VOLT.com Chevy Volt is the Centerpiece 


Once in a while an epic Volt story is published in the media. Such is the 6000 word piece penned by Bernard Avishai for Inc. magazine.
The Volt is described in truly revolutionary terms not just for its ability to drive without oil or how it would be a halo car for GM but more importantly how it forms the centerpiece of an explosively growing suite of industries.
It is explained how people will seek electriccars primarily for cost savings once gas goes over $3 per gallon.

“At that level,” GM VP Jon Lauckner tells the author, “the cost of running a Volt in full electric mode will be about one-sixth that of a gas-driven car of the same size, 2 or 3 cents a mile rather than 12 to 15 cents a mile. We figured that, for most people, this means a savings of about $1,500 a year.” The value of range anxiety reduction is also described as giving the Volt an advantage over competitors such as the Nissan LEAF.
A very critical and perhaps more important success factor with tremendous national impact though will be the interaction with the Volt and the grid
An executive from utility company Duke Power is quoted as saying, “if every American home had a Volt, he says, total power usage in the country would increase only about 10 percent.” His company and many others are developing the tools to handle this and more importantly to achieve ideal load distribution so that charging isn’t done simultaneously by many cars at peak times.

The Volt will be smart enough to program time of charging in, but it is perhaps more important that utility companies be able to read the demand of all the country’s electric cars concurrently and be able to manage the charging elegantly. The elements to obtain this orchestration of supply and demand to the benefit of all parties is beginning to emerge.
This is the rapid transformational growth stemming from the electrification of the automobilethat is upon us, akin to the Internet of the early 90s. Many startups are forming to deal with this new network of the smart electric car and smart gird interface. As an early mover, GM has the chance for tremendous future success.

Our friend Volt executive Tony Posawatz was quoted as saying “our urgent challenge is to become the leading integrator of the sustainable transportation-energy ecosystem — to control the intellectual property governing the integration of the battery to the car and the car to the grid.” The author translates what Tony is really saying is:
If GM plays its cards right, it could well incubate, and own, the new industry’s crucial operating and telecommunications standards, the anchors for thousands of smaller technology companies supporting the electric car’s components, information, and entertainment and charging needs.
Beyond the explosive growth of the lithium battery industry fueled by government loans and grants and A123’s IPO, GM has its own internal plans for future battery advances.

Former executive Bob Kruse explains that GM’s 3rd generation Volt battery will use non-liquid solid-state cells that have twice the energy density and half the cost. GM’s close collaborator Ann Marie Sastry at the U. of Michigan who has founded the battery start-up Sastry3 is apparently working on developing such cells.
“Liquid electrolytes present integration limits — also limits on energy density. We think that disruptive manufacturing techniques can improve performance dramatically, as in the chip industry.” Sastry said. “We aim to create a cheap, scalable process.”
Another electric car-induced industry will be for battery packs that have passed their vehicular lifetime but still have 75% storage capacity.
“It is easy to imagine warehouses full of used batteries sucking up wind energy and saving it for times the wind does not blow, or homeowners using the pack as backup,” said Pozawatz.

Home and public charging station companies will also proliferate. Highlighted is California start-up Coulomb Technologies who is pioneering the networked EV charging industry. The company’s CEO is former Cisco executive Richard Lowenthal who explains how networking software is the key to his company’s product.
“The key to our infrastructure and our venture funding is our network software applications,” said Lowenthal. “Our chargers are smart enough to consolidate payment from subscribers to all the various power companies, or tell drivers over their phones where they can find incentive pricing, and so forth.”
Software development is also a crucial new industry representing the brain of the Volt; choosing how to balance generator and battery ouptut against rapidly changing load demands from both the road and driver.

Furthermore, ensuring the car is able to communicate outward to the grid, service providers and the Internet is very important in the Volt. Here GM holds a fearsome advantage over its competitors by owing OnStar which as we know will be deeply knitted into the Volts operating system.
“We are focusing on the car and building in the capacity to roll up charging data, which can be placed at the door of the power company,” said Posawatz.
The killer app though could be supplied by a company called GridPoint that will supply the link between the electric car and the utility grid, allowing the utility companies to comprehend and act on the information provided by many thousands of electric cars like the Volt
“We see companies like GridPoint managing what utilities do with data behind the door, providing back to our drivers the charging, billing, and other services that will maximize the cost effectiveness and environment benefit of owning an electric vehicle,” said Posawatz

All of these new industries that the Volt represent a starting point for are also being subsidized by government in the way of the billions of dollars of loans and stimulus money already supplied by the Obama administration, guaranteeing their success.
As this story compellingly tells, we have arrived at a truly transformational point in history for the country, the economy, society, and the environment, and sitting right at the heart of it all is none other than the Chevy Volt.

Source (Inc)

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Saab To Expand Model Range, New 9-3 Next



Since Koenigsegg's purchase of Saab, it seems the company has  unique plans to take the brand up market. The 9-5 and 9-4X developed under General Motors will go to market soon, after that the 9-5 SportCombi.   The follow up will be the new 9-3 followed by a smaller 9-1 and 9-2.





 The smaller, more Saab like models will take on the  original Saab quirkiness in design and feel.  The 9-X BioHybrid Concept is also being considered as a basis to give buyers a premium , small car that is well designed in the small car segment.  Koenigsegg is a unique individual that seems the right fit for such a unique brand.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Chevy Camaro Makes Presence Known At SEMA

The Ford Mustang is known for its aftermarket following and infinite styling ability due to one of the largest tuner followings in existence.  Well it seems Chevy is going after a piece of this huge pie by show no less than five Concepts at SEMA.   I've selected the two that seems the most promising, of course this is totally subjective.  First is the car that has been confused as the next Camaro SS, and that would be the Jay Leno Camaro Concept.



  Powered by a twin-turbocharged version of the 3.6L direct injection V6 standard on LS and LT models, Leno's Camaro includes Turbonetics T-3 turbochargers forced through a custom air-to-air intercooler, forcefeeding the engine about seven pounds of boost  thus increasing horsepower to and astonishing 425 with no difference in standard fuel economy over non-turbo models.

Additional equipment includes:

•  Brembo six-piston brake package
•  Pedders coil-over lowering kit
•  New front fascia with custom lamps and intergral brake cooling vents
•  Air extractor-style hood





The next model is the Camaro Dusk.  Todd Parker, Design Manager, Accessory  Studio is designed  to "attract young sophisticates with a distinct American accent." The Dusk includes a front splitter, rocker extensions and a rear diffuser.  21-inch wheels form BBS makes the package along with taillamps and fog bezels matching the finish of the wheels, lending to a more premium look.



 The Dusk's body is painted Berlin Blue, while the ground effects are painted a contrasting color.  Additional performance items include upgrade exhaust system, Brembo brakes (painted)  interior color trimmed in "Jet Black and Sedona" with complementing features including footwell lighting, premium door sills plates and other details.






Monday, November 2, 2009

The Blue Oval Post $997 M Profit, Project Solid Income




From Blumberg.com

Nov. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co., the only major U.S. automaker to avoid bankruptcy, posted a $997 million net income in the third quarter and its first operating profit since early 2008. It expects to be “solidly profitable” in 2011.

On an adjusted basis, Ford reported a quarterly pretax profit of $1.1 billion, or 26 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $3 billion or $1.32. Ford beat the 20-cents per share adjusted loss it was forecast to report by an average of 11 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally, who kept Ford out of Chapter 11 as General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC reorganized, is trying to extend sales momentum the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker built by avoiding a bailout. It posted its first consecutive quarterly net profit under Mulally today.

“Ford is a company that’s well into a turnaround,” said Bernie McGinn, president of McGinn Investment Management of Alexandria, Virginia, which owns about 320,000 Ford shares. “They did it by themselves and didn’t take government money. That gives people a good gut feeling and they’re being rewarded for that.”

The company reported a quarterly net profit of 29 cents a share, compared with net loss of $161 million, or 7 cents, a year earlier. Ford had positive automotive cash flow of $1.3 billion compared with cash consumption of $1 billion in the second quarter. In the year earlier quarter, Ford used $7.7 billion.

Ford finished the third quarter with $23.8 billion in automotive cash, up from $21 billion at the end of the second quarter.




Ferrari Reads Theme Park In Abu Dhabi


After Red Bull's last victory lap at Abu Dhabi's Yas Island Marina circuit this past weekend, Ferrari's theme park layed in the background, looking almost ready and certainly inviting to most viewers.




The  worlds, largest indoor theme park is the first for Ferrari and is inspired by the the curved side profile of the Ferrari GT body covering a massive 2,152,782 sq. ft.

The first automotive theme park will open to the public some time in 2010.