Auto Trends

Blade Runner, originally uploaded by bradfordcox

One source of worry that the seemingly perfect electric car has come across over the years is its ultra quiet nature. At first, the thought of a vehicle making absolutely no sound, sounds great. That is until you go to cross the street with a handful of grocery bags and a dark pair of sunglasses… blam! You never even saw that EV (Electric Vehicle) coming, or I should say… heard it coming.

The biggest concern for the electric vehicle, is that neither people or animals will be able to hear them coming. This is especially of concern for handicapped pedestrians with poor hearing and/or eyesight. Well, it just so happens that the solution is just as simple as pumping out the tune of a vehicle from the cult movie classic, Blade Runner, over the loud speaker.

It probably never occurred to anyone that perhaps those really cool jet sounds that futuristic cars made in movies for the past 50 years, were nothing more than sound effects designed to keep pedestrians from being run over. Nissan has been playing around with this idea for awhile now, and has deemed that the sound effects from the movie, Blade Runner, were the most appropriate for their Leaf EV.

As you can imagine, such an idea would open a host of other possibilities for electric cars, such as the roar of a big block 427, the swoosh of a 757 airliner, or perhaps even the scream of the Star Wars Millennium Falcon setting into hyper-speed. Remember those kids who used to tape playing cards to their bicycle spokes, so it sounded like a motorcycle (or more like a 2-cycle moped)? Well, it’s the same idea, but only for a car.

Some have even proposed that an EV’s sound effects could be as interchangeable as downloading a new ring tone for a cell phone. Perhaps one day you feel like pretending your driving an F1 supercar, but the next day you’d rather pretend your Chauffeuring Captain Kirk aboard the Starship Enterprise. The possibilities would be as endless as…

Your worst nightmare!

Volkswagen L1 - enlitersbilen , originally uploaded by Fordonsnyheter

Volkswagen has been working on their L1 (1-liter) concept vehicle for awhile now, and this year it has been bestowed as the most fuel efficient hybrid in the world. It sucks down a measly 1.38-liters of diesel per 100 kilometers, or in other words, about 170 miles per the gallon. How’d they do it? Let’s take a look:

Aerodynamics and Weight Reduction
The Volkswagen L1 has been completely designed from the ground up to drag across the wind at a minimum of 0.195. Compare this to most cars and trucks which ride the CD (Coefficient of Drag) spectrum between 0.30 and 0.45, that’s a pretty slick outer shell. The Honda Insight and Toyota Prius, both considered fairly aerodynamic for this day and age, only come in at 0.25 CD in comparison.

The sleek shell is predominantly made from lightweight carbon fiber reinforced plastic, weighing in at just 273 lbs. The 0.8-liter 2-cylinder diesel engine and hybrid powertrain come in at an abysmal 270 lbs. The electric pathways make up a paltry 44 lbs, the chassis 174 lbs, and the interior layout only 77 lbs. All these components add up to a grand total of just 840 lbs without the driver.

What’s Under the Hood
The Volkswagen 0.8-liter diesel produces around 27 horsepower and 74 lb-ft of torque, and is assisted by a 14-horsepower front-wheel, lithium ion, electric motor. The 14 electric ponies can also be translated into about 40 percent additional torque, thanks to the wonders of electric motor technology.

The powertrain is directed by a 7-speed direct shift gearbox, so although this is far from being a real road burner (99 mph top speed), at 170 miles per the gallon, you can afford it not to be. Within 10 or 20 years down the line, you could probably save up enough money to buy a Tesla Roadster (or the latest equivalent) with the difference you’ll be paying at the pump.

Toyota Prius 2010, all photos originally uploaded by coches.blog2.es

The family of Toyota Prius vehicles is set to grow over this next year, but they won’t necessarily look much like each other. Automotive News reported today that Toyota executives made an announcement during a meeting with the 60 largest dealers in the Las Vegas area, that the name, Prius, could soon find its way on a number of Toyota hybrids sold in the US.

Instead of a Prius being associated with a particular type of hybrid model from Toyota, it would now be attached to a much larger family of hybrids. While they may not look anything like their current parents, they will be related by at least one similarity… their hybrid powertrains.

Up until now, the hybrid models of Toyota have been characterized by the addition of the word, Hybrid, placed after its original model name. For instance, the Camry Hybrid and the Highlander Hybrid. In the future however, the Prius name will adopt both these hybrids and they will be all become one big, happy family.

What Toyota is ultimately hoping for, is the brand recognition of its very popular Prius name to help boost the lagging sales with the rest of their hybrid vehicles. The word, Prius, has come to be somewhat of a magic phrase, describing a very exclusive group of hybrid-driving, green conscious consumers.

Toyota has insured dealers that Prius would not become a sub-brand however, like the Scion and Lexus, but rather remain a model reference to its hybrid powered status. The real question now, is will this relatively simple cross-referencing tactic prove to boost the lagging sales in Toyota-ville?

Well… maybe yes, but most likely no!

Source: Automotive News