10 Techno-Cool Cars

mrv writes "The IEEE Spectrum picks their '10 Techno-Cool Cars'. The article picks vehicles from the 2003 or upcoming model years, that feature significant jumps in performance, convenience, or comfort, are technologically bold, and otherwise cool (for engineers, not just the 'motorhead' type)."

Hybrids?

[kevinvh]

Almost half the cars on the list were cars running on alternate fuel sources/hybrids.. that's nice and all, but not what I would consider "Techno-cool".

Oye, more tech != good?

[binaryDigit]

I have an '89 750il, which for it's time was way high tech. Antilock, electric everything, fly by wire throttle. And of course, one of the most hated things about this vehicle is all the electronic doodads. When it works it's great. When it doesn't, rottsaruck. BMW is having some problems now with it's latest 7 series and their on board computers going wacko. There was a funny post about it, can't remember if it was here or not, some guy even video taped his car doing strange stuff (cell phone not working, stereo acting strange, car doesn't want to accelerate, etc).

I can see the mechanics repair books now:

Replace head gaskets 2hrs
Replace starter 2.5hrs
Debug car suddenly speaking in German 40 man hours

Funny thing about the last problem is that it is one that actually occurs!

Toyota Fine-S

[Anonymous Coward]

Check it out [motortrend.com]

For some reason it's gotten almost no press, even though it's both amazing looking (like a car version of the Tron cycle) and uses impressive technology.

But does it work in Europe?

[airrage]

Frankly, all this concept from an industry severely lacking it in, seems, well contrived. Yet, I am drawn to a couple of the designs, and the fuel mileage on some is outstanding.

The problem is the pump (or the adapter) if you will. What we need to do is insure that any pump can supply and type of fuel seamlessly.

Reminds me of the Universal Adapter ad from IBM. Where the engineer is spouting all the things that can be integrated, and yet when asked 'Does it work in Europe?', he replies, 'You need an adapter for that'.

We typically accept this type of stuff in new technology -- serial was good for a long time -- but USB was good too. It allowed for one cord for many devices. It was hub in nature. We need to get the same thinking into the universal fuel pump so that these cars have a chance.

The car alone is risky, the infrastructure is even more so, I mean how much dark fiber is buried around the US?

Best Feature

[(54)T-Dub]

"a card in the driver's wallet opens the car and lets him start it up by simply pushing a button."

Rotating Headlights

[riedquat]

The rotating headlights on the Volvo safety concept car are hardly a new feature - they were present on the far more attractive Citroen DS [retromobile.com], amongst many other features before its time.

Re:Where is the Honda S2000

[Anonymous Coward]

The Honda S2000 does not have the highest horsepower per liter ratio for a naturally aspirated engine. That honor belongs to the Mazda RX-8, which produces 255 horsepower from 1.3 liters of displacement. That's 196 hp/l, significantly greater than the 120hp/l figure of the Honda S2000.

The Honda S2000's engine has over 50 moving parts. The Mazda RX-8's Renesis motor has only five (2 rotors, 1 shaft, 1 flywheel, 1 counterbalance). Feel free to read up on the wonderful Wankel Rotary engine at http://www.howstuffworks.com/rotary-engine.htm [howstuffworks.com]

P.S. Honda's Suck.

Greenhouse Gases

[LongJohnStewartMill]

The FCX is the first car for the U.S. market that is powered purely by fuel cells. It meets zero-emissions standards by exhaling water vapor--no noxious fumes and no greenhouse gases.

As far as I know, water vapor is a greenhouse gas. Others are Carbon Dioxide, Methane, and Nitrous Oxide. This was told to me by an Earth and Atmospheric Science professor in university, so the source is reputable.

Re:No RX8?

[Neon Spiral Injector]

Yep, I was going to make the same post. The rotary isn't that revolutionary anymore as a concept, but now Mazda has one that runs clean and makes almost 200 HP per L naturally aspirated (I'm sure with a little tuning it will reach that mark.)

Of course I'll stick with my car for a bit, at least until I get it done. (See sig.)

Manual Honda Hybrids: better on hwy, worse in city

[raygundan]

Honda's hybrid Civic and Insight both have options for manual transmissions. The Civic does better with manual on highways, as does the Insight. The CVTs are much better than traditional automatics, especially in town. Note the tiny difference between highway and city on the Insight CVTs, and the fact that city mileage is better on the CVT civic than the manual civic. And, oddly, the Hybrid Civic CVT gets better mileage in the city than it does on the highway, much like the Toyota Prius. It is also important to note that yearly emissions are lower with the CVTs.

Insight:
61 city/68 hwy (manual) 3.50 tons/yr emissions
57/56 (CVT auto) 3.10 tons/yr emissions

Civic Hybrid:
46/51 (manual) 4.10 tons/yr emissions
48/47 (CVT auto) 4.00 tons/yr emissions

Also, the non-hybrid Civic HX can be ordered with a CVT (good for comparison, and isolation of CVT performance):
36/44 (manual) 4.90 tons/yr
35/40 (CVT auto) 5.20 tons/yr

Numbers are quoted from this site [fueleconomy.gov]. I really wish they'd label the trim lines-- it's hard to pick one civic from another without them.

CVTs are Continuously Variable Transmissions. The gear ratio is smoothly variable in realtime-- no fixed "gears" like traditional manual and automatic transmissions. This allows the car to select the most efficient gear ratio all the time. It also makes my HX CVT accelerate much more like the manual. No "slip".

Hope that helps!!

Bugatti Veyron...

[Chicane-UK]

I guess the petrolhead in me was hoping to see the Bugatti Veyron in there. Yeah, sure it wouldn't exactly make it in there for safety, but for engineering perfection it pretty much has it in the bag. The engine is a Volkswagen developed 16 cylinder, 8 litre, 64 valve quad turbo lump outputting 1001BHP..

Acceleration on this machine must only be comparable to a ride in a jet plane.. 0-62MPH is estimated at just over 3 seconds, and do from 0-186MPH in little under 14 seconds. And the top speed is around 250MPH.

If you fancy Slashdotting someone, try this link for more information and pictures :

http://www.gizmo.com.au/public/News/news.asp?artic leid=1290 [gizmo.com.au]

Re:Greenhouse Gases

[LongJohnStewartMill]

Huh? Modded Troll? Wha? How is that a troll? I was just saying that water vapor is a greenhouse gas, which is a common misconception.

Diesels that smoke

[ishmaelflood]

I think you'll find it difficult to eliminate the cold start smoke directly, as it is due to cold fuel hitting cold cylinder walls, and so not burning properly. Inevitably when the engine is cold this will happen, unless you have a pre-warmed block (which is feasible, but wastes energy). Since it is only once per journey I don't think a great deal of effort is justified in getting rid of it.

The other black smoke you see when (typically trucks or tractors) hit the throttle hard is a calibration issue. There's no reason why the mixture has to be set that rich, except that it makes more power. The maximum demand stop on the fuel rack (sorry I don't know the proper name for it) can be wound in, which will reduce or eliminate the black smoke, but it will reduce the maximum power of the engine.

All of this smoke is solvable downstream by fitting particulate traps, but at present these are either messy or expensive.

Audi Multitronic Transmission

[RedWizzard]

I would have liked to have seen something about Audi's "Multitronic" [audiworld.com] continuously variable transmission. I guess it's evolutionary rather than revolutionary, but it's a big deal in that it's the first time a CVT has been shown to be practical with a performance engine. According to Audi the Multitronic has both better acceleration and better fuel economy than a manual gearbox. It's the first nail in the coffin of the traditional automatic.

Re:You'd have a spare tank...

[arivanov]

Alternatively - drive in Eastern Europe.

All public transport in Eastern Europe as well as all taxis have been running on natural gas using a similar system (the french version which converts any carbeurator based design) for 15+ years now. There is a gas station every 10 km on major roads and every petrol station sells gas. Even Shell surrendered to the laws of economics and started selling natural gas.

While on the topic you will never see this honda in some other EU countries like Great Britain. The government income here depends so heavily on indirect taxation through fuel duty that such vehicles are outlawed. You can drive using the abomination calledl LPG. You cannot drive on natural gas.

Personally...

[chunkwhite86]

I don't want a car that's cool from a geek perspective. I want a car that's cool from a motorhead perspective.

Asking for a car that is cool from a geek perspective is like asking for a computer that's cool from a motor-head perspective.

I personally dislike all the electronic gadgets and doo-dads. I drive a Porsche 911, special ordered to have NO sunroof, NO power locks, NO heated seats, NO power windows, and yes folks... NO stereo. I absolutely love it. It is the best car in the world. Powerful, reliable, clean... And no wacky electronic gadgets standing between me, and the most ultimate driving experience available to a human.

Save the gadgets for your cubicle.

Locating a Refueling Station for your NGV

[gregger]

I really want to buy the Civic GX. You get to use the HOV lane with 1 person (in California), and you get all the power of a "real" vehicle. Something the Honda Hybrid is missing. The Hybrid supposedly has a $2,000 federal tax deduction [cleancarcampaign.org] associated with it, but I talked to a dealer yesterday and he said the program was over. He might be lying.

The refueling station isn't available yet. The GX is however. In the short term, you can find CNG refuelling stations on Web sites [ngv.org] all over.

This site lists sites in California [cngvc.org] and a couple other states [cngvc.org].

These stations are open 24 hours a day and allow you to use a credit card or a fuel card (from PG&E) to do a "quick refuel." A quick refuel takes place in about the same time as a regular car does at a gas station. Phill, the Home Refueller [fuelmaker.com] from FuelMaker is supposed to be out in late 2003. This would allow you to refuel overnight and get a few more miles out of each "tank."

The price of CNG is a little less expensive on a mileage basis compared to gas (at least in California). It really depends on the price of unleaded.

One contributor said keeping a spare fuel tank around might be an option, but I think those tanks at gas stations are LPG (propane), not CNG (methane). Maybe not, but the GX's tank is certainly bigger than what you find at the gas station.

So, yeah, it's sort of a "commuter-only" car. I wouldn't be able to take this up to the mountains. Though if you look at the CA map, you'll find a number of stations that could allow you to get pretty far around California anyway.

The problem I think about is that I'm not going to be "saving" much in terms of fuel costs. The Hybrid might save you some more money per year, or at least trips to the gas station. The CNG car does pollute even less than a hybrid does. Another plus is that a CNG vehicle operates more like a "real" car than a hybrid.

Speaking of batteries, is the process for making the batteries more pollution causing? What about disposal?

TTFN

How about the ten LOWEST tech cars?

[Black Rabbit]

What I'd like to see is a list of the ten lowest tech cars...easy to fix, cheap to run and repair, something i could get seriously dirty and take a hose to the inside. Why does just about every car these days come pre-yuppie-fied? I'd prefer to ditch things like ABS, any sort of airbag, auto-door locks, auto-trans, auto-dome lights...you get the idea. This is all shit that has done nothing more than add to the price of a new car, and a good deal of it is totally unnecessary. Just give me four wheels, a reliable engine with adequate power, a body that won't rust out in less than a decade, canvas seats, and a decent manual transmission. Do any cars like these exist at all, or am I condemned to fork out extra for power windows and heated seats on even the lowest end econobox?

The two things I mention that are safety related, namely ABS and airbags, can be replaced by a far more effective five point harness and good driver trtaining. Ever see a race car with either ABS or airbags?

If fuel cell cars ever become popular...

[jrstewart]

...Will Los Angeles have a humidity problem?

While not on the level of CO2, water vapor is a greenhouse gas. I also wonder if it might affect local climates.

I don't know how much water vapor fuel cell cars emit, or the environmental impact of refining hydrogen for them to use, but nothing comes for free.

(yes, yes, fuel cells are a vast improvement over burning gasoline.)