Dr Automotive Design and Tools

Following the announcement by the Department of Energy that Tesla Motors' loan application under the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) program had been approved Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla held a conference call to answer questions from the press.

The approval of the loan means that Tesla now has the financing needed to proceed with bringing its second product the Model S sport sedan to production. While design and development work has been proceeding since Tesla ran into cash flow problems in fall 2008, some of the production engineering work was put on hold pending the approval of the loan. Tesla can move ahead with its plans to acquire a factory and tool it up to build the Model S. Musk hopes to launch the car in late 2011.

A significant amount of work remains to be completed on the car over the next two years. One area that Musk does not plan to change before production is the basic battery technology. When development of the Roadster began in 2003, no battery manufacturers were building large format lithium ion cells specifically for automotive applications. Thus the engineers at Tesla chose to follow the path of AC Propulsion and use commodity cells designed for laptop computers.

The Roadster battery pack contains 6,831 lithium-cobalt-oxide cells in the 18650 cylindrical format. While these cells have good energy density, some computer makers have had issues with thermal instability. To ensure the safety of the cells, Tesla developed a modular assembly system with liquid cooling. At nearly 1,000 pounds, the 53 kWh pack is bulky and expensive. Estimates place the cost of the pack for the Roadster at nearly $20,000.

Over the last several years, battery manufacturers have been developing larger format cells with new chemistries better suited to automotive applications. The larger cells require few connections, which should result in improved reliability and durability over the life of the vehicle. The new chemistries are also designed to withstand far more charge cycles and exhibit better thermal stability.

The first of these larger format cells are now starting to appear in low volumes on the Mitsubishi MiEV that just went into production with others coming in 2010 on Nissan's new global electric vehicle along with the Chevrolet Volt. When asked about using these new cell types, Musk indicated that although Tesla was talking several cell suppliers, he didn't foresee making the change until Tesla's third product, a higher volume less expensive car arrives sometime after the Model S.

Musk told the call, "I think the laptop format cell, is the right choice for the next few years. In order to go beyond the laptop form factor you want to have economies of scale that approach the size of the laptop industry and we won't be there with the Model S and the current version of the powertrain factory."

"We are going to be doing some experimental work on large form factor cells to make sure we understand how they perform, what the energy density is, what the cost per kWh is." In spite of several manufacturers including Nissan, A123 Systems, LG Chem and EnerDel preparing to launch large scale US production of large format cells, Musk still believes the laptop cells are a better approach right now.

That may well be true for Tesla who are trying to maximize the range of the Model S. The lithium-cobalt-oxide cells provide better energy density at this time. However, over the life of the vehicle these may prove problematic due to the limited number of charge cycles those cells can sustain and complexity of the pack assembly. Other automakers seem to be willing to sacrifice some capacity and range on early vehicles in exchange for the long term durability of other formats.

Il Gruppo Chrysler, risorto dopo la fase di amministrazione controllata, ha completato la lista del consiglio di amministrazione presieduto da Robert Kidder, con Sergio Marchionne, come annunciato da tempo, nel ruolo di amministratore delegato. Del board Chrysler fanno parte: Alfredo Altavilla (Fiat Powertrain Technologies, nomina Fiat), James Blanchard (ex governatore del Michigan, nomina del fondo previdenziale Veba), George Gosbee (Tristone Capital, nomina canadese), Douglas Steenland (ex di Northwest Airlines), Scott Stuart (Sageview Capital), Ronald Thompson (Tiaa) e Stephan Wolf (a capo di R.R. Donnelley & Sons, nomina Fiat). La prima riunione del board è prevista per il 29 luglio ad Auburn Hills, quando si discuterà anche del futuro programma relativo ai nuovi prodotti.
Nel frattempo pare che Fiat abbia, finalmente, trovato il suo partner cinese. Dopo i burrascosi rapporti con Nanjing e le trattative con Chery, il cui progetto per la produzione delle Alfa 159 in Cina, con lo scoppio della crisi internazionale, non è mai stato perfezionato, il Lingotto ha stretto un accordo quadro con la GAC, o Guangzhou Automobile Group, per dar vita a una joint-venture paritetica che produrrà auto e motori per il mercato cinese. L'intesa prevede la costruzione di un nuovo stabilimento nella città di Changsha, capitale della provincia dello Hunan, con una superficie produttiva di oltre 700 mila metri quadrati, che richiederà un investimento pari a oltre 400 milioni di euro. La capacità iniziale sarà di 140 mila auto e 220 mila motori all'anno e potrà essere successivamente aumentata fino a 250 mila auto e 300 mila motori. L'avvio della produzione è atteso nel 2011. Il primo modello che sarà assemblato dalla joint-venture sarà la Fiat Linea (nella foto), equipaggiata da motori Fire 1.4 T-Jet, a iniezione diretta di benzina, da 120 e da 150 CV. GAC è uno dei principali produttori cinesi controllati dal governo (oltre mezzo milione di auto vendute nel 2008) e ha già cooperazioni storiche con altri costruttori stranieri, fra cui Honda e Toyota.
(Fonte: www.quattroruote.com - 6/7/2009)

This story does the rounds every 6 months or so. The BBC, the Telegraph and various other anti-hybrid media report that Japan is considering the introduction of noise-making devices for near-silent hybrid cars following safety fears from vision-impaired pedestrians.

"Vision-impaired people feel that hybrid vehicles are dangerous", a transport ministry official told AFP. The top-selling hybrid vehicles run almost without any sound when they change from fuel to battery mode.

The ministry of transport has brought together a panel that will draw up a report by the end of the year. The panel is considering forcing manufacturers of hybrid cars to introduce a sound-making function that alerts passersby to the presence of a vehicle.

"Blind people depend on sounds when they walk, but there are no engine sounds from hybrid vehicles when running at low speed," the transport ministry official said.

The world's most popular hybrid, the Prius, was launched by Toyota in 1997.

Paul Nolasco, a spokesman for Toyota Motor in Tokyo, told the BBC it had no immediate plans to add noise-making devices to the hybrid vehicles. "But if it becomes a social concern, it is something we will have to address", Mr Nolasco added.

Political BS

Despite the fact the Prius has a top speed of only 34 Mph in EV mode, Toyota saying they have no plans to install these devices and the transport ministry only saying they plan to 'study' the problem (to placate a politically noisy minority group), the mainstream media always over dramatise this into the imminent introduction of rediculous noise making devices on anything powered by electricity.

The same media never include any mention of the fact that most vehicle noise is made by the tires not the engine or the fact that blind people don't actually walk down the middle of the road.

They also conveniently fail to mention the kind of negative impact having a siren on hybrids would have on hybrid sales. All these 'media reports' sound like they're calling for laws that resemble the Locomotives Act of 1865 which required any motorized vehicle to be preceded by a man with a red flag.

A more realistic proposal would be a law requiring all Vision-impaired people to wear day-glow safety vests when walking near roads, exactly like out-door workers, including Police, are required to do by current occupational health and safety laws.

If vision-impaired pedestrians are required to wear safety vests they can easily be identified by road users if they jaywalk, so drivers can simple use the universal noise making device already installed in ALL road vehciles, and sound their horn.

PROBLEM SOLVED at minimal expense and zero inconvenience to the majority of those affected!

Toyota will launch a hybrid version of its Auris hatchback this autumn, and the car will be built in the UK at the Burnaston factory in Derbyshire.

The Auris Hybrid Synergy Drive will share its petrol-electric drivetrain with the new Prius — so that means it has a 98bhp 1.8-litre Atkinson-cycle petrol engine and an 80bhp electric motor.

But it will cost less, partly because it is a smaller car and partly because it will be less well equipped. The Auris will give Toyota a more direct rival for the Honda Insight, although Toyota’s hybrid system is more sophisticated than its rival’s.

The lower weight and smaller size could make the Auris hybrid Toyota’s cleanest model when it is launched at this autumn’s Frankfurt show, undercutting the new Prius’s 87g/km of CO2.

The hybrid Auris launch will follow the arrival of the new Prius this month, and will in turn be followed by a hybrid RAV4.

The three models are all built on the same platform; they are part of a strategy aimed at boosting Toyota’s annual hybrid sales to a million units. The firm’s wider aim is to base its image on offering models with strong environmental credentials.

Toyota plans to start mass producing plug-in hybrid vehicles in 2012, with a projected first-year output of about 20,000 to 30,000 units, the Nikkei business daily reported on Saturday.

Toyota has said it would start leasing 500 plug-in cars globally by the end of this year, primarily for government and corporate use, but has not said when it would commercialize them.

Plug-ins can be cleaner than regular hybrids as they can run purely on electricity but the need for more batteries makes them expensive.

Toyota wants to price its plug-in hybrids at a comparable price to Mitsubishi Motors Corp's all-electric car, which debuts this month to fleet customers in Japan at 4.59 million yen ($47,800) before government subsidies, the Nikkei said, without citing sources.

Toyota's new Prius gasoline-electric hybrid costs less than half that, starting at 2.05 million yen in Japan.

Toyota's plug-ins will be able to run 20-30 km (12.4-18.6 miles) on battery power alone at full charge, the paper said.

Toyota has said the car will be powered by lithium-ion batteries developed and produced by its joint venture with Panasonic Corp, Panasonic EV Energy Co.

A Toyota spokesman said the company could not comment on future product plans.

Toyota's plug-in hybrids would fan competition against General Motors Corp's much-hyped Chevy Volt plug-in, which can also be charged at home through an electric socket.

GM is aiming to launch the Volt -- a showcase vehicle for its effort to reinvent itself after filing for bankruptcy last month -- by the end of 2010 and plans to have a total 14 hybrid models in production by 2012.

German auto maker Volkswagen hopes to turn out its first all-electric car in 2013, VW head Martin Winterkorn said Friday.

"We are going to use our New Small Family line to offer our first electric vehicle in 2013," he said in a speech, according to an advance text.

"And in 10 years at the latest we want to offer a large number of all-electric vehicles at affordable prices and with the autonomy that our clients expect."

Winterkorn added that VW was aiming for 1.0-1.5 percent of the global all-electric vehicle market by 2020. This is an amazing turn around from Winterkorn who only three months ago poured cold water on the idea of EVs by stating he thought electric vehicles won't have a majority share in the market for another 15-20 years

Another German manufacturer, Daimler, in late June launched Germany's first hybrid vehicle almost 10 years after market leader Toyota.

German companies until now have mainly focused on diesel engines and, as a result, hybrids represented only 0.2 percent of the market last year, with the sale of 6,500 Toyota, Lexus or Honda models, according to national registration figures.

Volkswagen in late May signed a preliminary agreement with BYD of China to produce hybrid or electric cars, having reached a deal in February with Toshiba of Japan on the development of engines for such vehicles.

Technology capable of generating electricity by extracting energy from heat that is otherwise just wasted is a fairly new branch of renewable technology. A typical co-generation plant uses waste heat from a gas or steam turbine for hot water or space heating. This Waste Heat Engine (WHE) developed by Cyclone Power Technologies operates at temperatures as low as 225F (107 C). The engine can generate up to 10kw from heat sources such as industrial ovens or furnaces, concentrating solar thermal collectors, engine exhaust and biomass combustion.

The compact, lightweight 18 lb (8 kg) Waste Heat Engine is a six-cylinder radial steam engine capable of running on waste heat as low as 225 °F (107 °C) and pressure as low as 25 psi (172 kPa). The engine achieves maximum efficiencies at 600 °F (316 °C) and steam pressure of 200 psi (1.4 MPa), at which point one Waste Heat Engine can generate 16 hp (12 kW), 30 lb-ft (41 Nm) of torque, and a little over 10 kW of electrical output. The only drawback is the typically low 12% energy efficiency common with most reciprocating steam engines. On the plus side the piston-based steam engine operates at a maximum of 3000 rpm which means it is well suited to drive any standard generator.

Due to its patent-pending valve mechanism and radial spider bearings, which allow for efficient piston movement, the WHE will self-start immediately upon the introduction of steam to the cylinders. This makes the engine well suited for passive or secondary energy production like co-generation or small scale solar thermal applications.

Over the following months, the company's new WHE/Generation division will launch a consumer-oriented web site, and contract with manufacturers and installers to handle forecasted sales of these systems.

The first WHE system will be installed at Bent Glass Design in Hatboro, PA. This system will harness waste heat from the customer’s glass manufacturing furnaces, and is expected to produce enough electricity to light their 65,000 ft2 facility while providing a quick payback possibly within two or three years.