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Eyes on
the Road would like to start the new year with lots of
hope in the face of even greater challenges ahead. We
intend to give you more of the good things from the
world of motoring here and abroad.
We will
continue to be your Eyes on the Road and hope to guide
you in your everyday ride through the rickety roads of
our land. A happy and prosperous new year to all!!!
****
OIL
prices are still hovering at around $100 per barrel, and
there are no indications that they will be lowered in
the future.
As a
result, car buyers must look into their needs before
buying a new car this year. As I have said long before,
we are at a crossroad where technological advancements
are being introduced left and right in the car industry.
I see
2008 as a very significant year, wherein the
introduction of various cars will give people many
options—whether he or she wants to use gasoline,
bioethanol or biodiesel, flex-fuel, LPG, batteries, or
electricity.
The
close competition for world supremacy between General
Motors and Toyota is resulting in renewed exploration
insofar as making cars is concerned. We have received
reports that General Motors is reviving its electric-car
program in order to catch up with Toyota, which is now
very much ahead in that field. There are also several
American car companies which are really striving hard to
catch up with their Japanese counterparts in designing
engines that can use every available type of fuel on
earth.
Although
ethanol is the leading alternative fuel, its critics are
still aplenty since it not only requires a large volume
of energy in order to be produced, it also creates a big
impact on the food-supply chain in the world, since it
eats up a big slice of corn, sugar, or sorghum supplies
that are very much needed in the open market.
This
year will reportedly see a comeback for hybrid and
electric cars. It is a bold prediction but nonetheless
inevitable, since huge advancements have been made in
batteries that can power a vehicle in the same way that
oil is currently doing for our cars. Nissan, in our
visit to its plants in October of last year during the
40th Tokyo Motor Show, proudly announced that big
developments have been made in the production of
high-tech batteries to power its electric cars of the
future.
“Leadership in the all-electric era is not simply a
matter of perfecting one technology. We must perfect and
integrate many key technologies. Batteries top the list.
And our flat, compact, durable, high-power—and
safe—lithium-ion battery in Pivo2 is moving quickly
toward commercialization. Our light, compact and
powerful in-wheel motors—and the steering functions with
them—are likewise critical. X-by-wire control—replacing
mechanical functions with electronics—is no less
important in reducing weight and increasing flexibility.
Put all these technologies together, and what do you
get? Not simply today’s cars with a plug. With no more
engine block, transmission, no exhaust, no axles or
mechanical steering gear. True electric vehicles
represent a radical shift in human mobility—an entirely
new paradigm. And it’s coming!” Nissan president Carlos
Ghosn expressed it to a T.
So far,
hybrid electric vehicles such as Honda’s Insight, Honda
Civic Hybrid and Toyota Prius Hybrid are topping the EPA
fuel-economy ratings abroad. Here are some of the
tidbits I picked up from an exhaustive article written
by Ron Cogan in automedia.com that I read recently:
“Cars
are equipped with engines much more powerful than needed
most of the time. Though necessary, covering all
possible needs is a dynamic that’s also inefficient
since, all things being equal, smaller engines are
generally more fuel efficient than larger ones,
sometimes significantly so. Honda addressed this with
the integrated motor assist [IMA] powerplant that
debuted in its 2001 Insight hybrid-electric vehicle.
This two-seater uses a smaller-than-normal 1.0-liter,
three-cylinder VTEC-E internal combustion engine that
provides the power needed for most, but not all,
everyday driving needs. On those occasions when heavy
acceleration or climbing is needed, this hybrid turns to
an ultra-thin, 10-kilowatt [13-horsepower]
pancake-shaped electric motor located between the engine
and transmission for supplemental boosts of power.
Together, the two power plants produce a combined 67
horsepower. Not a high-performance package, but one that
confidently handles all driving needs. Honda’s follow-up
hybrid, an iteration of its popular Civic, uses a larger
1.3-liter, four-cylinder, dual-port sequential-ignition
engine with two spark plugs per cylinder and the same
supplemental electric motor. This IMA power plant puts
out a combined 110 horsepower to provide a very
satisfying driving experience. Toyota takes a different
approach to hybrid propulsion. The Toyota Prius’s hybrid
system allows a driver to accelerate from a stop solely
on electric power, generating absolutely zero emissions.
Then, at a certain threshold, the 67-horsepower electric
motor turns propulsion duties over to the vehicle’s 76
horsepower, 1.5-liter four-cylinder internal combustion
engine, which starts and takes over seamlessly. Both
internal combustion and electric propulsion systems are
used when driving demands warrant. The Prius’s forward
momentum is recycled into electrical energy through the
car’s motor generator during braking and, like Honda’s
hybrids, this sedan’s power plant turns off completely
when stopped to save energy.” |
