Car manufacturers are looking at tomorrow today, and it doesn't take a crystal ball to guess what might be just over the automotive horizon - many companies are releasing their plans to the public.
In 1997 Toyota released its Prius in Japan, and in so doing, helped bring hybrid automotive technology into the mainstream. Since then, the Prius has sold over one million models worldwide. However, gas-electric hybrids like the Prius are only the beginning when it comes to the next generation of technological innovations.
Some of these technologies are coming in the next few months, some in the next few years, but all are in the works. From leaner and greener to cars that think for you, here are a few quick snapshots of what is being said about the new technological breakthroughs that are right around the bend.
Despite movie titles to the contrary, I can say with absolute certainty the electric car is not dead at GM. - General Motors
Troy Clarke, the President of GM North America, recently made this claim in Washington, D.C. While already producing its share of gas-electric hybrids like the GMC Yukon Hybrid, it is their future line of "E-Flex" vehicles that is the long-term focus of the company.
GM got the "E-Flex" name from the idea that the cars will be flexible in their energy sources, starting with the E-Flex centerpiece - the Chevy Volt. The Volt, a plug-in-the-wall electric car, promises to go 40 miles after a full charging, and then switch to its gas engine, which will continually re-charge the car's batteries up to 400 miles. GM is hoping that the Volt will be a "game changer" that alters GM's economic outlook, and the very way that people think about driving.
The Volt is promised to be available in 2010.
The iMiEV ... utilizes a large-capacity lithium-ion battery and a compact, high-output electric motor in place of the traditional powertrain. - Mitsubishi
The MiEV - Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle - design is centered on two ideas: a lithium-ion battery to power the car, and in-wheel motors to run it. What is notable about the in-wheel motors is that they replace in traditional cars: the large motor, transmission, drive shafts, and differential gears.
Without all the bulky, internal combustion pieces of traditional cars, the MiEV allows for more design flexibility, a sleeker appearance, and more room for fuel cells. The MiEV design allows Mitsubishi to make cars have the capability to have four-wheel-drive and that look futuristic (due to their rounded curves) at the same time.
The all-electric iMiEV will be available in Japan in 2009 with possible overseas expansion further in the future.
All passengers in or near the vehicle are continuously connected to the Internet. - Chrysler
Wi-Fi at home, at work, and in your favorite coffee shop not enough for you? Need to be connected to the Internet at all times? Then Chrysler's new "uconnect web" service will be right up your alley.
uconnect web will turn your car into a mobile "hot spot" with "unlimited, reliable and uninterrupted Internet" service that will extend for about 100 feet outside the car. Laptops, iPhones, PSPs and PDAs will all be able to access the uconnect service. This will cost roughly $500 upfront for the equipment and installation and a $30 monthly fee.
This will be available for Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge models in August 2008.
The cars of tomorrow will be able to see and pay attention to one another in traffic. - Volkswagen
If you have not heard of Car-to-X communication yet, you may want to get ready to hear the phrase repeatedly in coming years. At the California Urban Challenge in 2007, VW took second place in the competition to have a car drive through simulated traffic, completely automated, and mistake free. No humans were allowed to guide the car - it had to be able to use sensors and to "network" with other cars around it and with the main traffic infrastructure.
The goal of having cars "talk" to one another and to the stop lights and traffic cameras around them is to increase safety by gaining more information than the human driver might be able to take in alone. A fully automated car is possible, but you can expect limited automation for certain situations at first.
This technology is promised "in the near future."
The bioplastic will reduce reliance on limited fossil fuel resources and alleviate carbon dioxide emissions. - Mazda
Mazda is looking to cut their carbon-footprint by cutting down on its use of carbon. With fossil fuels and food resources becoming scare and costly, Mazda is working with Hiroshima University on the "Mazda Bioplastic Project."
What this means is that sections of future Mazda cars, such as seat covers, bumpers, and instrument panels, will be made from inedible vegetation - think wood shavings - and not from petroleum based products. By consuming no new carbon, it will be a carbon-neutral process that will also reduce the consumption of oil.
Mazda's bioplastic is promised to ready for use in 2013, and an early bioplastic product can be found in the Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid, available in Japan in 2008.
Honda is adopting a holistic approach to minimizing its greenhouse gas emissions. - Honda
Making greener cars wasn't enough - Honda has done its part to make its American distribution system as efficient as possible. Honda ships 82% of its autos across America via trains, and is now using a fleet of Auto-Max railcars that carry more than double the standard amount of cars (22 vs. 10) and that should double the lifespan of average railcars (50 years vs. 20).
This use of trains is economically efficient (doubling capacity and lifetime translates into gained money over time) and also environmentally efficient. In two Ohio automobile plans alone, recent improvements will save 2,436 gallons of fuel and 54,432 pounds of CO2 a year.
This is an ongoing development for Honda.
So does all this mean that by 2015 everyone will be driving in plastic plug-in cars that drive themselves while you chat online? Probably not. Many technological innovations never pan out, and others are not adopted by every manufacturer. There is one thing that is certain though - all signs point that we are in an automotive engineering age that will soon make driving a vastly different experience that it was just a few years ago.
Source: WOODTV.com
