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December 2007 Newsletter Welcome to our winter update, which could be called the blue-box issue. This is, more or less, a quarterly publication. We are getting closer to a series of engineering breakthroughs that should, in combination with some consumer restraint, significantly reduce our consumption of fossil fuels. New concepts are being developed at a dizzying rate, by groups as diverse as research labs, the military, and traditional vehicle manufacturers. The intense development cycles of automobile racing have helped in this regard. These days, diesel power is de rigueur in events like the 24hrs of Le Mans. Formula One teams are chasing after new ideas, as well as squeezing maximum efficiency out of the old. The solutions, both short and long term, are not likely to come from a single source, such as hydrogen or biofuels. Instead, look for a variety of choices, as well as useful synergies, including more sophisticated hybrids, alternate fuels, much better batteries, solar power and more. The buzzword is energy density, or in simple terms, how much locomotion you can produce for a given cost. Hydrogen is at a disadvantage for mobile applications right now, in part due to the immense infrastructure required to make the fuel accessible. Newer lithium batteries, as durability issues are dealt with, look better and better. Today's best diesel vehicles, such as the upcoming VW Jetta, may beat a Toyota Prius in real-world economy as well as performance. Fuel from algae is, apparently, feasible if not yet economically viable. Green slime as a good thing might be a surprise, especially to carefree and fridge-challenged single folks. Lab pictures show the stuff bubbling in vats, and you can almost imagine cackling witches or crazed scientists stirring the brew. If nothing else, reruns of movies like The Blob will have a resurgence. Even for those with no interest in personal transport, all of these developments will have an effect. Everything is subject to change, from how we heat our homes to the way we run home entertainment systems or computers. ********************************************************************** Air Cars Revisited ********************************************************************** Our last newsletter made mention of an air-powered vehicle, developed by MDI, a French company. Word is that the car is scheduled to go into production in India next year. When will we see it in North America? This really depends on levels of desperation, from governments, consumers, and environmentalists. I"m sure this joke has been made before, but I can't resist it. Maybe the car could be fueled from blasts of hot air provided by blustering politicians. ********************************************************************** The World's First Energy-Autonomous Vehicle ********************************************************************** This one comes from France. That red wine with lunch must stir up a few creative juices. I love the concept, though in this form, it wouldn't be much use during a Canadian winter. Still, it serves to demonstrate what can be done. The power comes from solar panels, aided by a small roof-mounted windmill. Low-flying birds could get a rude surprise. The Eclectic can also be charged in a few hours from a normal AC outlet. ********************************************************************** Synergy at Work: VW Space Up! Blue ********************************************************************** The Space Up!, with a more conventional powerplant, is not that far from production. For some reason, the company is fascinated with exclamation marks for this series of concept cars, which does not detract from a very clever design. The small Volkswagen can be fitted with an electric motor, a diesel or gasoline engine, hydrogen fuel cells, as well as various hybrid combinations. It is part of VW's new generation of compact rear-engined designs. Roof-mounted solar panels help recharge the batteries. This configuration makes for great space!(sorry) utilization. Contrary to popular thinking, getting rid of the front-mounted engine and transmission make it easier to engineer decent crash safety characteristics. The Smart is another example of this. VW engineers admit that despite the functional prototype, with its advanced high-temperature design, hydrogen fuel cells may not be an ideal power source. If storage units (batteries) for electric vehicles reach a high enough energy density, they will be a more practical proposition. It is this lack of battery energy density, rather than apathy, oil company intrigue, or a GM conspiracy, that has been the Achilles Heel in previous electric car designs. click here http://cts.vresp.com/c/?SidorovAdvancedDrive/ce123e5fd2/TEST/c16808013f ********************************************************************** Solar Carports ********************************************************************** A tidy design, but quite expensive. Not very practical, at least where I live, for the winter months. Something with a steeper roof angle, better able to shed snow, might work better. I imagine someone could build a version themselves for less money, but it is good engineering in a turn-key kit. click here http://cts.vresp.com/c/?SidorovAdvancedDrive/ce123e5fd2/TEST/fd23d78c2e ********************************************************************** One Laptop Per Child ********************************************************************** I really hope this program works. The concept is fantastic, making a simple computer available to children throughout the world. I was guest speaker at the MIT media lab some years ago, and have great admiration for the combined creative energy contained within those buildings. A laptop that uses minimal energy, can be recharged with a few pulls on a string, and is weather resistant sounds great for other uses too. Regular consumers pay full price, part of which will go to support the project. ********************************************************************** How to Wreck Almost Anything ********************************************************************** Safety organizations all over the world are touting the life saving benefits of stability control systems, which can reduce power and selectively apply brakes to keep a vehicle from spinning out or rolling over. In theory, single-vehicle crashes could be reduced by as much as 30% if all road-going automobiles were to be fitted with the technology. I would love to see this prediction come true, but it flies in the face of the human ability to screw up. You can put the most advanced traction management system in the world on a vehicle, and all a driver has to do to run the thing into a guardrail or off a cliff is enter a corner too fast for the available traction. The laws of physics win every time. We had a nice little Smart at a recent winter driving school, and I made sure the participants got to experience the joy of excessive entry speed. Under normal circumstances, the Smart is hard to fool. Jump on the throttle, or slam the brakes, and it stays serene. However, overcooking approach speed means the little car sails, albeit calmly, off the chosen path and into the shrubbery, or in this case, a well-placed snowbank. The process is smooth, almost slow-motion, since it is generally neither a front nor rear-wheel skid. The vehicle simply moves down the line of momentum. An advantage to crashing in this fashion is that there is plenty of time to call your friends, or the paramedics, to let them know what is happening. To avoid this sort of incident, stick to the racing rule, slow down enough before you get to a turn or intersection. Electronic driver aids do have their place, and can be very valuable. They are no substitute for good judgement. click here http://cts.vresp.com/c/?SidorovAdvancedDrive/ce123e5fd2/TEST/07df7461f7/active_page_id=88 ********************************************************************** Sticks and Stones... ********************************************************************** According to the latest studies, some twenty percent of drivers read and send text messages while driving. That number jumps to 33% among 18-34 year olds. This is truly bizarre. We already know that a huge number, possibly 80%, of all collisions involve distraction. I suggest to the texting multitudes, and other committed motoring multi-taskers, could you please do this while hang-gliding or parachuting instead? The clean-up is usually easier, innocent people are less likely to get hurt, and if the wind is right, the whole mess gets covered up by the chute. click here http://cts.vresp.com/c/?SidorovAdvancedDrive/ce123e5fd2/TEST/eebe30016b/active_page_id=112 ********************************************************************** Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from all of us at Sidorov Advanced Driver Training. Looking for something particular? Use keywords (example: teenage drivers, corporate programs, winter driving) in the search function below to find additional information on our web site. |
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