 Newer Cars and CAFE Standards will Change Automobile Design
By: Jon Dougal
Date: June 2009
Ednote: With new car design centered on electricity driven vehicles how will dwelling unit’s design change? Can smaller “conveyances” be housed in the double door opened living rooms/entries of suburbia/urbana? Will we choose to work only within the battery charge distance to work, and will our work offer charging stations where we park? Some of the options for commuting offer tantalizing options.
President Obama's new efficiency standards requiring a fleet-wide (CAFE) fuel economy average of 35.5 miles per gallon will have a dynamic effect on auto design we hope.
U.S. manufacturers must gear to compensate for Chyrsler’s new owner’s European slanted designs. U.S. Fiat, with its diminutive 55.5-mile-per-gallon Fiat 500, and China’s entry into the U/S/ auto market, by newcomer BYD, maker of the staid hybrid-electric F3DM sedan.
Motor City (aka-Detroit) has a strict agenda to makeover design thinking. Automobile production if very similar to commercial building in that it takes four years to produce a new product (vehicle), and a that model may only last seven years. Some newer models like Honda's sleek CR-Z and Ford's "eco-oriented" Euro models suggest the modern direction we may expect by 2014.
Incremental Improvement
While the idea of plug-in cars is the romantic fantasy of enviros, practicality and politics (even economics) will dictate that automakers continue to extract that last few miles per gallon from internal combustion engines.
BMW, says the company will bring a gasoline-powered and highly efficient X1 compact SUV to market by 2014
BMW will push for another 10% mpg by using smaller (read: lighter), forced-induction engines that generate more power. Ford and Mercedes have also said they'll bring 4-cylinder, turbo-charged engines to the U.S. in the next several years. Germany’s Audi has joined the light-engine focusl, committing to building a next-generation S5 that weighs hundreds of pounds less.
At the recent Auto Show in Motor City, Chinese automakers Brilliance and BYD ("Build Your Dreams") exhibited cars positioned for the U.S. market.
We already are aware that Asia leads the green-power front. Toyota, Nissan & Honda have been working on battery power for sometime, and will probably make the quantum leap to hydrogen-powered vehicles before the laggard US industry.
Some Potential Car Designs of 2014
Source: Forbes.com
1. Alfa Romeo Milano
Marketing: Set to debut at the Frankfurt Auto Show in September, the Milano is expected to boast a 120-horsepower 4-cylinder or 265-hp V6 engine. It sold briefly in North America (and was called the 75 elsewhere) in the late 1980s and early 1990s but disappeared when Alfa left the continent.
Impacts: Experts are speculating that the five-door Milano will form the basis for a new Chrysler sedan. It'll go on sale in Europe first, then likely come to the U.S. a few years later.
2. BMW X1
Marketing: BMW designed the X1 to combine the characteristics of its X-line SUV models with those of its smaller sedans in a new, "compact SUV" format.
Impacts: Based on the much-lauded 1-Series, the 6-cylinder X1 promises superb handling in a beefed-up, all-wheel drive format.
3. BYD F3DM
Marketing: This plug-in electric hybrid car went on sale in China late last year. It uses an electric motor and a 67-horsepower, 1-liter gasoline engine (for a combined output of the equivalent of 168 hp). It's tough to get specifics from the Shenzhen-based company, but BYD said at the Detroit Auto Show it would bring products to the U.S. in 2011. The F3DM or F6DM could follow shortly after.
Impacts: In September 2008, billionaire investor Warren Buffet bought a 10% share of BYD for HKD1.8 billion. He has also reportedly been involved with consulting with the company on how to breech overseas markets--a positive sign for the hybrid's chances in the U.S., where it will face off with GM's Chevrolet Volt.
4. Cadillac Converj
Marketing: This "grand touring coupe" was created to show GM's electric technology (called Voltec) inside a sporty body style. It has a 40-mile electric-only range and can charge in eight hours on a regular, 120-volt outlet. Top speed is 100 miles per hour; top power is 120kW.
Impacts: If Cadillac can bring the Converj (or a similar production-ready car) to market, it will show GM can make electric technology both luxurious and practical for daily drives.
5. Ford C-Max
Marketing: The multi-purpose C-Max has been on sale in Europe since 2003; some experts think it will be one of the vehicles Ford plans to eventually bring to North America as part of its multiyear "One Ford" global product plan. Other confirmed new-to-the-U.S. cars are the Focus and Fiesta, due to hit stores next year.
Impacts: Part of Ford's survival goal is to use more, 4- and 6-cylinder engines that use its "ecoboost" technology to produce the same power as a 6- or 8-cylinder, respectively; it will place some of those engines in vehicles it brings over from Europe. The success or failure of that plan could have long- lasting ramifications for the company.
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