EVs in the news again

Renault Leaf.

Bangkok is going to have some electric vehicle (EV) recharging stations. As reported in the Pattaya Mail, the Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) unveiled Thailand’s first EV charging station for the public, with a total of 10 stations expected to be launched by the end of this year.

According to MEA Governor Atorn Sinsawat, the agency supports the use of environmentally-friendly electric cars, as the vehicles run on clean energy. The first EV station is now open for use at the MEA’s headquarters, with nine more to be built before the end of December. Members of the public can use the station’s services for free until July 31, 2013.

The agency also plans to order 20 electric cars for its own use within the next four years. This is good, as I do not know of too many EV’s running along Sukhumvit at present to use their free top up charge!

However, is the push for EV’s just a passing fad and Bangkok is leaping on the wagon a little too late? Are EV’s something that will again go on the back burner when it becomes obvious we won’t run out of oil?

One interesting group in the manufacturers is the Renault Nissan Alliance, led by Carlos Ghosn. This was founded in 1999, and its objective is to rank among the world’s top three vehicle manufacturers in terms of quality, technology and profitability. And the Renault Leaf EV technology is now available through your friendly Renault Nissan dealer (as long as there is a recharging station around the corner).

Carlos Ghosn, President and CEO of Renault and President and CEO of Nissan said, “To reconcile the demand for individual mobility with the preservation of the environment and high cost of oil, the Renault Nissan Alliance is committed to the development of “zero-emission” vehicles (ZEV).”

The ZEV concept was not just an American movement, as in November 2008, UPS announced an order of twelve electric vehicles from Modec, the manufacturer of the world’s first purpose-built zero-emission van. Six vehicles were introduced into UPS’s UK fleet in February 2009. The remaining six were in operation in Germany.

Modec vehicles were designed around a large, removable battery cassette. Two battery capacities were available; offering 160 km range or a 100 km range, on a single overnight charge. However, this was Utopia, as Modec went bust last year. The world is still not convinced that “clean energy” is top priority.

Interestingly, globally, the UPS people have been utilizing alternative fuel vehicles for more than 70 years. It currently operates the transportation industry’s largest private fleet of alternative fuel vehicles. UPS’s use of alternative fuel vehicles dates back to the 1930’s with electric vehicles in New York City, and today the company uses alternative fuel vehicles in Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, the UK and the US. But this alternative fuel position didn’t stop Modec going to the wall.

Do you know where your car is. Right now?

Wouldn’t it be great if someone stole your car, but you could hit a “kill switch” and make it stop right where it is. Right now! Well, that technology is with us, right now.

I spent an interesting hour with Rob Scarr at Securitas to see the latest developments in GPS trackers, and came away amazed at the technology, and quite frankly, amazed at how inexpensive it is.

Securitas vehicle tracker.

Today’s trackers provide ‘real-time’ vehicle tracking and history which is so detailed it will take your breath away. The very small device (and it really is a black box) will return information such as going over the pre-set speed limits, time sitting idling, collisions and towing. All this is available through GPRS/GSM data-loggers.

All the above is in addition to giving an accurate position of where the car is to within five meters, and you can even see it on Google Earth/Google map. You can erect ‘geo-fences’ which will automatically let you know if the vehicle strays outside from where it should be.

Of course the “kill switch” feature, by which you can cut the car’s ignition circuit will also make stealing your car far more difficult. With one of these, your stolen car won’t even get to the Cambodian border!

Despite the fact that most new vehicles have burglar alarms, have you ever seen anybody do anything about a car parked at the side of the road with the flashers and horn going? Even when it is being winched onto a slide-on truck!

With the costs of vehicles these days ranging from 500,000 baht for a cheapie, up to several millions of baht for luxury cars, simply having insurance does not get your car back, but a tracker can. The Securitas tracker costs 795 baht + VAT per month on a three year contract, complete with free fitting, monitoring and reporting. I reckon that’s a bargain.

If you want to know more, contact Rob Scarr at Securitas Thailand, 081 377 0122 or email Rob.Scarr@securitas. co.th.

Our Mitsubishi Mirage an econo-hit in Japan

Our Mitsu Mirage.

Our Thai Mitsubishi Mirage has gone on sale in Japan returning fuel consumption as low as 3.7 liters per 100 km on the Japanese JC08 test cycle, for the smallest engine version.

In Japan, even the larger engines Mirage where it goes without fuel-saving idle-stop technology and aerodynamic enhancements, results in a higher Japanese fuel consumption figure of 4.3 L/100 km, but even that is frugal.

Mirages fitted with idle-stop are claimed to be the most economical non-hybrid petrol cars available in Japan and qualify for the Japanese government’s “eco-car” tax breaks, as it does in Thailand.

Japanese market Mirages use a 1.0 liter three-cylinder petrol engine producing 51 kW of power at 6000 rpm and 86 Nm of torque at 5000 rpm, and are sold exclusively with an automatic continuously-variable transmission (CVT).

The variant here has the 1.2 liter three-cylinder producing 57 kW at 6000 rpm and 100 Nm at 4000 rpm, with CVT.

The good fuel consumption figures reflect the weight of less than 900 kg and claimed drag coefficient of 0.27.

The Mirage has been a sales success and more than 33,000 orders have been taken since the books opened on March 28 this year.

In Japan, more than 5000 Mirages have already pre-ordered since June 26 and Mitsubishi has set a sales target of 30,000 units for its domestic market by the end of its fiscal year ending on March 31 next year.

Ground Control to Major Tom

Ford S-Max.

Ford Motor Company has begun real-world testing of future technologies as part of a research program aimed at advancing car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure communication on European roads. Benefits from this research will eventually be seen in the Ford Global Cars of the future.

“Car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure communications represent the next major advancements in vehicle safety,” said Paul Mascarenas, chief technical officer and vice president, Ford Research and Innovation. “Ford is committed to further real-world testing here and around the world with the goal of implementation in the foreseeable future.”

Ford is contributing 20 specially equipped S-MAX models to a 120 vehicle fleet being used to test 20 experimental driver assistance technologies as part of the four-year research project “Safe Intelligent Mobility - Testfield Germany” or more simply known as simTD. The project’s goal is to better understand the potential for car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure communication technologies to improve traffic safety and personal mobility.

Experts believe roads could be made safer and traffic congestion reduced by using mobile communications technology to integrate vehicles with each other and with transport infrastructure. Engineers from Ford’s European Research Centre in Aachen, Germany and simTD research project partners have up to now tested the developmental technologies in a controlled environment. The technologies will now be tested on public roads in and around Frankfurt in real-world driving conditions.

Technologies being tested as part of the simTD research project include:

Electronic Brake Light, which delivers a message from the vehicle in front to a following vehicle if an emergency braking procedure is carried out, even if the incident occurs out-of-sight, for example around a bend in the road. Ford is leading the development and integration of this application Obstacle Warning system, which enables a vehicle to inform other road users of the presence, position and type of potentially hazardous obstacles on the road.

Traffic Sign Assistant, which remains in continuous contact with traffic management centers to access up-to-date information on variable speed limits, temporary restrictions and diversions, as well as providing details of current and approaching permanent regulations, such as fixed speed limits and right of way.

Public Traffic Management, provides exact traffic prognosis based on comprehensive information. This includes identifying likely traffic scenarios and their impact at the point in the journey when they are encountered rather than at the point of departure. In-car internet access, which, for example, can enable the driver to reserve and pay for parking en-route.

“The vehicles will cover thousands of kilometers in test drives and evaluations to gather valuable research data from every-day driving scenarios,” said Christian Ress, technical expert, Ford Research and Advanced Engineering.

The increasing use of car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure technology is part of Ford’s “Blueprint for Mobility,” which was outlined by Executive Chairman Bill Ford during his keynote address at the 2012 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February. The “Blueprint for Mobility” details the company’s early thinking on how to tackle the issues of mobility in an increasingly crowded and urbanized planet between now and 2025.

Autotrivia quiz

Last week, in an effort to beat the ‘Googlers’, I asked what is the common viewing component in an MGTC and a MAZ tractor? This common component is manufactured by the same process and has been the subject of law suits and anti-trust legislation and the technology dates back to 1905. Enough clues, what was it? It was the windscreen glass, pioneered by Triplex and is called the flotation process over molten tin.

So to this week. In 1959 a driver in the UK was found guilty of a charge and fined three pounds. What had he done and how did they catch him?

For the Automania free beer this week, be the first correct answer to email [email protected]