Dr Automotive Design and Tools

Tuesday saw the first day that the order books opened in the United States; now it is the UK’s turn for pre-orders.

For Europe, Nissan bills this as the “first step in securing a place on the list to receive the ground-breaking Nissan LEAF and means… British customers will be first in line to receive the car in Europe when it launches early next year. Nissan LEAF deliveries begin in…the UK in March.”

Much like the reservation system that was in place for the US, customers need to go to the Nissan online web site to sign up, along with placing a (fully-refundable) deposit of £257.

Now if £257 sounds like a strange and totally random number as compared to the US $99 dollar special, you would be wrong. Nissan (UK division) gave us the reason behind this number just recently, stating that it was the approximate cost of electricity over one year’s use of the LEAF. (10,000 miles x LEAF elec. consumption rate) x EDF London Band B Electricity Rate inc VAT

After government rebates, the LEAF is advertised for sale as £23,990, but act quick if you want one, Nissan reportedly only has about 1,000 copies to go on sale to the public in 2011.


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Viridity Energy said Monday that it has been awarded a $900,000 grant by the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority to build a system that will capture the energy from Philadelphia subway cars as they brake to enter a station.

The regenerative braking system will collect energy in a large battery installed along the busy Market-Frankford Line. The stored energy will be used to power trains when they leave the station and to earn money from energy sold back to the grid.

"Essentially we're creating a microgrid that is integrated with the transmission grid and operated so that its optimized for efficiency and economics," said Audrey Zibelman, president and CEO of Viridity.

The project, which Viridity hopes to be operating by next spring, will have a battery with between 1 megawatt and 1.5MW of capacity, intended to replace the current system, which cannot capture all the energy from incoming trains.

With the battery in place, the system can power trains when they leave, cutting down on operating costs for Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA).

The battery will be able to make money, too, by providing services to the grid. Using its stored energy, it can make money from grid operator PJM by supplying quick bursts of energy to maintain a steady frequency. SEPTA can also draw energy from the grid at off-peak times and supply it at peak times when the utility is looking to lower usage because energy prices are high.

Viridity's hosted software is like a "network operating service" that optimizes how the energy is pulled into and dispatched from the battery, said Zibelman. The company, which makes money by getting a percentage of customers' revenue, is now evaluating what types of batteries it will use, she added.

"Electric vehicles are on everyone's mind right now as where we need to go, but we have an electric vehicle system already sitting here. Let's use those first," Zibelman said. "It's something could be done in almost any transit system.

SEPTA estimates that it can save $500,000 a year on its electricity spending. If the project is successful, SEPTA hopes to replicate the model system-wide, Joseph Casey, SEPTA general manager said in a statement.


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From among 81 teams and 10 countries across Asia, Thailand and Singapore emerged tops, setting new fuel-efficiency records at the inaugural Shell Eco-marathon Asia, held at the Sepang F1 circuit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The record of 1,521.9 kilometers on a liter of fuel, equivalent to 3,600 miles per US gallon, set by a Thai team was enough to cover a distance from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok.

It even surpassed the record set by the winning team at a similar event held in Houston, Texas in March, of 2,487.5 miles per gallon, equivalent to 1,057.5 kilometres per litre.

In the Urban Concept Category, a team from the National University of Singapore using hydrogen fuel was tops with a distance of 612.4 kilometres/litre.

The kick-off of the event in Asia last Thursday made the Shell Eco-marathon a truly global event for the first time. It has been running in Europe since 1985 and the United States since 2007.

The annual competition challenges students to design, build and drive a vehicle that can travel the furthest distance on the least amount of fuel.

A late surge from Thailand’s Army Transportation Engineering School (ATE-1) saw it outdistanced the rest of the teams in the Prototype Category.

Up to the last hour of the event, Japan’s Clean Diesel Team was leading the way with 1,235.1 kilometres/litre, when the Thai team came from behind to set the record on their fifth and final attempt.

“In our first two track runs our car broke down, and our third and fourth attempts were also invalidated. But we did not give up on our goal of finishing number one,” said Kittiwong Kaewbumrung, driver of Thailand’s ATE-1 Team.

Aside from cleaning their clutch and transmission gear, the team also applied the driving strategies such as minimising the time they turned on their engine to save fuel and to make use of the shape of the track to assist in making turns.

Student teams participated in either the Prototype or UrbanConcept categories. For the Prototype category, teams entered futuristic prototypes – streamlined vehicles focused on maximizing fuel efficiency through innovative design elements, such as drag reduction.

For the Urban Concept category, teams entered more "roadworthy" fuel-efficient vehicles. Aimed at meeting the real-life needs of drivers, these vehicles are closer in appearance to the cars seen on roads today. For both categories, teams can use any conventionally available energy source – including fuels such as diesel, gasoline and liquid petroleum gas (LPG), as well as alternative fuels such as hydrogen, biomass and solar.

James Tseng, Senior Team Member of the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Urban Concept team, attributed their exemplary teamwork for their victory in the Shell Eco-marathon Urban Concept Category.

“Each member of the team really contributed and did the job to the best of their ability,” said Tseng.Speaking after he launched the event on Thursday (July 8) afternoon, Shell Executive Vice President for Global Business to Business and Lubricants Tan Chong Meng, said:”We have really seen some cutting edge ideas in action - clever vehicle designs, innovative use of energy types, good fuels, lubricants and smart driving habits. Some of the vehicles look like capsules or pencils, with sleek lines for minimal resistance and drag. I can’t help noticing that the drivers are often the most petit ladies who can be persuaded to squeeze into the confines of the vehicles to keep its weight low.

“What these young minds are doing is not very different from what we at Shell are also striving to do to meet the world’s growing demand for energy, with mobility being one key part of this. We call this quest ‘smarter mobility’”

For the first Asian run of the event about 80 per cent of the teams made it on to the track, comparable to teams who participate in Europe and the United States. While many of the teams were participating for the first time, standards for design and aesthetics of the cars were high, said Norman Koch, Engine and Vehicle Technology Manager for Shell Global Solutions.

“What was most striking was the level of enthusiasm and commitment of the participating schools which I believe is as high, if not even higher, than the other regions that held the Shell Eco-marathon,” he added.

Other than the Shell Eco-marathon On Track Awards for Prototype and Urban Concept Vehicles, Off Track Awards were also given for Safety, Technical Innovation, Communications and Marketing.

“The Off Track Awards complement the Shell Eco-marathon Track Awards because the competition is a total perspective.

“While the cars are tested for their fuel efficiency, it is also important that the students work in a safe manner, articulate their thoughts well, demonstrate innovation in their design and have teamwork,” Azman Ismail, Managing Director, Shell Malaysia Trading Sdn Bhd and Chief Judge of the Off Track Awards said.

“Everyone is very competitive, but what we see on site is what swung our decision,” Ismail added.

For the Safety Award, first place was given to NUS Urban Concept of National University of Singapore. Second place went to Philippines’ Atalanta of Mapua Institute of Technology and third place went to Autodesk Zeal Eco-Power of China’s Tongji University.

The winners were selected based on the safety features of their vehicles and the way they had practiced safety in their work areas. “Safety is vital to us because human resource is vital. We don’t want any of our team members to be injured,” Tan Bor Yow, NUS Urban Concept Team Leader said.

In addition to the 3 safety awards, the judges also gave Special Recognition to Malaysia’s Team Piston 1 of University of Malaya and Philippines’ Team Grigio of Don Bosco Technical College for demonstrating safety compliance during the three days of the competition.

NUS Urban Concept of National University of Singapore also bagged the Technical Innovation Award while Autodesk Zeal Eco-Power of Tongji University also won the Communications and Marketing Award.

“This is a brilliant event, a result of outstanding planning and sharing of learnings across the different Shell Eco-marathon events, making the competition truly on a global level. The number and quality of teams were exceptional, as well as their general organisation and efficiency,” says Mark Singer, global manager for the Shell Ecomarathon.

The Shell Eco-marathon Asia 2010 is supported by our global sponsors Autodesk and Michelin. Local sponsors include Sepang International Circuit, Malaysian Airlines, Ericsson, Celcom, Leeden, Uvex and Red Wing Shoes. We wish to thank all our partners for working closely with us to make this a safe and successful event.


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Pike Research has announced a new report that looks at the growth of the battery power electric (BEV) and plug-in electric hybrid vehicle (PEHV) market over the next five years from 2010 to 2015 and how that market will grow around the world.

According to the research firm, over the next five years China will emerge as the top adopter of PEHV and BEVs with 3.2 million sold over that period for an annual compounded growth rate of 106 percent.

Coming in a close second for the same period according to Pike Research will be the United States. The research firm estimates that in the U.S. 841,000 of these vehicles will be sold accounting for 26 percent of the global market. China by comparison is expected to move 880,000 PEHVs and BEVs for 27 percent of the global market.

“PHEVs and BEVs will complement, rather than displace, the market for conventional hybrid electric vehicles,” says senior analyst Dave Hurst. “Electric vehicles will follow the lead of hybrids and will be launched in the small car segment for consumer markets initially, with the small SUV segment close behind. Because of their low weight and good aerodynamics, smaller vehicles are far more efficient to better extend the electrically powered driving range, and the smaller vehicle segments also allow the use of a smaller, less expensive battery.”

Pike

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"A prima vista" può sembrare un professore di materie umanistiche in una piccola facoltà di lettere: veste in modo casual, fuma sigarette e sciorina citazioni storiche. Ma la prima impressione può essere "fuorviante". È l'immagine con cui la rivista Fortune, uscita oggi in Italia e anticipata dai media nei giorni scorsi, inizia un ampio reportage su Sergio Marchionne, amministratore delegato dei gruppi Fiat e Chrysler. Il magazine descrive il manager e la strategia con cui sta rilanciando Chrysler dopo avere riportato in attivo la casa torinese. Marchionne è veloce nelle decisioni, lavora in continuazione, è reperibile 24 ore al giorno, sette giorni alla settimana e, senza falsa modestia, mostra "un'incrollabile fiducia nelle proprie capacità". Il "velocista" del risanamento Chrysler – nota il magazine - "non è un bohèmien": colleziona orologi svizzeri e possiede diverse Ferrari. Dietro la sua cultura umanistica c'è l'uomo d'affari: egli "combina il fascino del venditore con la capacità analitica dello statistico". Ed è convinto che il suo vantaggio competitivo sia la velocità. "Spazzando via strati di management e prendendo decisioni in fretta si avvicina al mercato e sforna nuovi modelli più rapidamente dei suoi più lenti rivali". Il "personale approccio alla velocità" di Marchionne, sottolinea Fortune, è stato messo in evidenza quando nel giugno 2009 Fiat ha acquisito il 20% della Chrysler post-bancarotta e lui è diventato CEO di entrambi i gruppi. Ha spezzato la vecchia catena di comando di Chrysler e l'ha sostituita con un'organizzazione orizzontale con lui in cima. I suoi 25 massimi dirigenti fanno rapporto direttamente a lui. Ha riorganizzato non solo il management, ma anche lo staff: ha setacciato l'azienda per valorizzare i giovani manager che vogliono "assumersi più responsabilità, essere disponibili in ogni momento, mettere l'azienda al di sopra dei propri interessi". La nuova collezione Chrysler, che sarà svelata al pubblico nei prossimi tre mesi, dimostra "quello che la velocità può fare": entro la fine dell'anno conta di rinnovare 16 modelli, il 75% dell'offerta. Ma il gran colpo Marchionne lo tiene in serbo per dicembre, quando porterà la nuova Fiat 500 negli Stati Uniti. Secondo Fortune, il successo o il fallimento della versione americana della Cinquecento, costruita in Messico, sarà decisivo nel delineare l'immagine futura dei prodotti Chrysler. Con il suo stile di manager "non ortodosso", Marchionne ha ristrutturato la Fiat ed è riuscito a restare a galla nell'affollato mercato automobilistico europeo. "Se un tipico a.d. italiano fosse stato sulla mia poltrona, l'azienda non sarebbe dov'è ora", dice "immodestamente". Chrysler ora è in condizioni migliori della Fiat nel 2004: "Mentre il mercato automobilistico U.S.A. rimane debole, Chrysler ha registrato un piccolo utile operativo nel primo e secondo trimestre" e dovrebbe riuscire a cavarsela fino all'arrivo dei nuovi modelli. Le ambizioni di Marchionne negli U.S.A. "vanno al di là di Chrysler", scrive Fortune. Vuole portare negli Stati Uniti ("un pezzetto d'Italia") oltre a lanciare la nuova 500: "ha promesso di riportare l'Alfa Romeo di Fiat in America dopo 18 anni di assenza". C'è però il nodo della qualità: "Il maggiore punto interrogativo che pende sull'intera impresa Fiat-Chrysler è la qualità del prodotto", sottolinea la rivista U.S.A., ricordando la scarsa reputazione di Fiat quando lasciò il mercato americano nel 1985. Marchionne è "categorico": afferma che la qualità di Chrysler "non deve essere seconda a nessuno" ed è soddisfatto dei progressi fatti finora ("Chrysler ha fatto in 12 mesi quello che Fiat ha fatto in 5 anni"). Fortune conclude osservando che nell'alleanza Fiat-Chrysler costruita da Marchionne manca una rete di sicurezza: "Marchionne non ha pubblicamente designato un numero 2 né alla Fiat né alla Chrysler". "E non ci sono molti che sceglierebbero di seguire il suo esempio".
(Fonte: http://money.cnn.com - 26/8/2010)

If you have Netflix you can do it instantly, or you can catch various clips on You Tube. Stick with the ones loaded by wintershollywood, they have the original audio ...Once upon a Wheel, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0413072/ a cool movie that Paul narrated, and got greasy wrenching on a 71 Super Bee, and takes a look at a lot of racing stars, the Unsers, Andrettis, Pettys, and so on. A lot of