Environmentally friendly, economical cars have been around for a while but were unable to fight their way into the limelight. Archaic motoring attitudes have changed, technologies have improved and now green cars are the way of the future. Here we detail the past, present and future of green cars explaining what step manufacturers are taking to combat climate change and reduce your fuel bills.
Before the dawn of mass produced petrol vehicles automobiles ran on water. By this I mean steam which was considered the way of the future for a time. Petrol engines came surpassed them but also on the scene was the electric vehicle. During 1832 and 1839 electric vehicles were extremely popular in Europe because they were quieter and more efficient that their petrol cousins. This spread abroad to the USA where a fleet of New York taxis were entirely electrically powered.
At its pinnacle Henry Ford’s wife even drove a Detroit electric Coupe which could get 80 miles on one charge. Later in 1907 Henry Ford then released the mass produced Model T which wiped the floor with electric cars in terms of price and performance.
The internal combustion engine evolved with Rudolph Diesel creating his more efficient engine which didn’t take off until Citroen, General Motors and Mercedes Benz began diesel engine production.
During the ‘60s small cars came into popularity with models like the Austin Healy Spirit and the famous Mini. Electric cars also began to make a faint comeback with the flower power movement converting vans such as the Volkswagen camper.
Many concepts cars came and went during the following years but it wasn’t until the hybrids came and bridged the gap between combustion and electrical engines. Green cars are growing exponentially with all manufacturers taking steps to make their range more green and produce the next wave of vehicle technology.
Mille Chilli
Il cambiamento climatico, impronta ecologica and andando verde or in English, climate change, carbon footprint, going green. These are the words that were being spoken in the meetings at Ferrari’s head office. Ferrari have set themselves the challenging goals of increasing their fuel economy by 40% and reducing emissions by 25%, whilst still maintaining their trademark high performance supercars.
A perplexing problem indeed! To overcome this, the extraordinary designers at Ferrari are going with the theory of ‘less is more’ and are rumored to be designing an incredibly light supercar. This car is being tipped to weigh around 1,000 kgs making it nearly 300 kgs lighter than the Enzo, fantastically 90 kgs lighter than the Mazda MX-5 Miata and only just heavier than the super light Lotus Elise. The figure of 1,000 kgs is leading speculators to preempt its future name calling it the ‘Mille chili’ which is Italian for a thousand kilos, however Ferrari have denied this.
The less is more concept is only applying to the structure of the car, the engine is by no means less than one would expect from Ferrari. They have opted, unusually, to put a V10 engine opposed to the V8s or V12s they usually put in their road cars. This may be due to the recent years of Formula 1 success they have had with a V10 engine. Either way this will output around 600 bhp meaning the ‘Millechili’ will have one the highest power to weight ratios in the world.
In addition Ferrari are improving other aspects of their design to increase fuel efficiency such as improved transmission and active suspension to adjust the ride height for maximum aerodynamic efficiency.
All in all they are leading the way in super cars that don’t cost the earth but at around £250,000 I’ll let you decide.
Honda Roadster
Honda are set to unveil a new futuristic two seater sports car that has much lower emissions and generally better to the environment.
The new car is designed as a lightweight high performance sports car with a sharp, sleek design. It appearance has elements of the Honda Civic but in a much more futuristic, aggressive style. The new aerodynamic shape is built from super lightweight materials and when combined with a more efficient, lower emissions engine is more environmentally friendly.
The new car named the Open Study Model (OSM) has been designed in Honda’s special research and development centre in Germany. It is another example of their progression towards a greener future after the development of the Small Hybrid Sports Concept and the Honda Accord Tourer Concept.
Honda have stated that the OSM is not set for production however during its display in the British International Motor Show later this month they are listening to feedback from punters.
Other exciting debuts from Honda include the CR-Z lightweight hybrid sports car and the new FCX Clarity, Honda’s first hydrogen fuel cell production car. These new models represent a change in consumer attitude towards cleaner fuels and less dependence on oil and Honda’s commitment to tackling climate change.
This year it is the 60th birthday of Honda and to celebrate they have taken on an arena at the motor show to put on an exhibition named ‘The Power of Dreamscape’. Aiming to highlight their innovation over the 60 years in cars, motorbikes and all other technologies. Expect to be entertained!
Over the last 15-20 years a dark cloud has formed over the motor industry and industry bosses have been hoping it would blow over. Now after reams of scientific proof and physical evidence it seems the dark cloud of climate change is happening and we are going to have to adapt to deal with it. Advanced technologies like hydrogen fuel cells and solar powered cars are years from mass production so BMW are doing what they can. They have called this new strategy EfficientDynamics and it is all about maximising fuel efficiency.
Auto Stop-Start
Whenever you stop whilst driving for instance at the lights or in a traffic jam and you take it out of gear the engine will automatically stop. When you’re ready to go again and you put your foot on the clutch to put it in first the engine automatically starts up again. In the old days this would have taken up more fuel but these advanced engines it has proven to be more efficient with no loss of responsiveness.
Brake Energy Regeneration
Whenever you take your foot off the accelerator or press the brake, the car will divert wasted kinetic energy towards the battery alternator to recharge. When you press back on the accelerator the alternator will be decoupled so all the energy is directed towards acceleration again increasing fuel efficiency.
Electric Power Steering
The conventional hydraulic power steering system was heavy and required constant power to maintain at equilibrium. BMW have engineered a lightweight electric motor system that only uses power when necessary and also increases the responsiveness of the mechanism as a double benefit.
Lightweight Engineering
BMW have hired some of the worlds best material scientists to work on how they can change the way they build their cars to decrease the weight. Everything from the crankshafts to the cup holders has been evaluated to provide the best in strength, durability and weight. A lighter weight car not only improves fuel economy but also improves handling and responsiveness.
Optimum Shift Indicator
They have taken some technology from their top-draw automatic transmission gearboxes and incorporated it into the manual. A display will indicate the optimum gear to be in to maximise the fuel economy. This optional indicator lets you know when you are making the most of your fuel economy.
Reduced Resistance
BMW have looked at how to manufacture their tires so they maintain the same grip and traction but reduce their rolling resistance. Using anti distortion material in the side walls and heat resistant materials they have combined all these qualities maximising efficiency.
Low-Friction Fluids
Every aspect of the mechanisms in these cars that involves lubrication has been analysed and new low-viscosity, low-friction fluids have replaced the old ones. Transmission fluids, engine oil, final drive fluid all contribute to minimising wear and reducing resistance.
Active Aerodynamics
In addition to the new smoother body shapes the traditional BMW front grille that we all know and love has become a little more intelligent than before. During the start of the journey the vents are shut to the engine helping it warm up quicker and also reducing wind resistance. Once heated up it will open up allowing air to the engine and brake pads. Throughout the journey these key temperatures are monitored and the vents react accordingly.
High Precision Direct Injection
The new engines, in cars like the fantastic new BMW X6, use high pressure jets to spray the fuel into the engine so its a perfectly mist of air and fuel around the spark plugs. This reduces wasted fuel in the combustion chamber and means less can be used.
These new technological advances have been widely acclaimed having won three prestigious green car awards and other manufacturing prizes. Until the next generation of cars come along we are going to have to make the most of what we have and in true German engineering style they are making their already efficient cars even more efficient.
The designers at Ford have paved the way for the future, not only of Ford, but for many of the car manufacturers. The new Ford Focus ECOcentric is a beacon shining light on the future of the car industry. With grand, prophetic statements like this you might expect the following report to be a dramatic description of sci-fi technology. Apologies if I dissapoint, however the following does hold implcations that spread far and wide.
This new Ford Focus is a fantastic family hatchback providing loads of the normal things you would expect to find in any car in this range. The roomy rear seats fold down and with the spacious boot space there is ample room to pack anything in. It has CD system, air con, front ‘comfort seats’, theatre style lighting and all the other things a car in this range would be expected to have. It has impecible safety features such as ABS, braking assistance, air bags and anti-theft immobilisers. In addition to all these it comes with a sporty satin aluminium trim, Ecrin upholstery and leather and aluminium steering wheel.
I admit, none of these features represent to the future of day to day car design and this may seem like any other Ford Focus in the range. However a few small changes have been made that represent a big change. They have modified the shell, reprofiled the front grille and added a spoiler making it more aerodynamic. The wheels run flush with the body kit and are thinner than normal reducing the rolling resistance. The suspension is also lowered a full 1 cm from the nearest in the range. The engine has only a few minor electrical modifications but is now running on low viscosity transmission oil for a smoother run.
These minor changes have a dramatic increase on the efficiency of the car and make this one of the ‘greenest’ cars around. Ford have changed the way they are designing their cars and are appealing to the climate concious buyer. There is no dramatic advence in technology just a remodelling of the old.
The standard Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi engine will now get a staggering 65.6 miles per gallon and only emits a miniscule 115 g/km CO2. Ford quoted that on one tank you could drive 765 miles, thats Plymouth to John o’ Groats with a bit left to spare. The beauty of this is that by keeping the engine, sporty chassis and dynamic suspension they have lost none of the exciting, fun qualities developed over years but gained an eco-warrior. What Green Car? voted this the Car of the Year 2008 beating the Toyota Prius with a score of 33 to 35.
What this represents is a shift, if only for the short-term, away from hybrids, hydrogen fuel cells, electric cars and the likes and move towards redesigning existing technologies to maximise their potential. For those fans of the old internal combustion engine there’s still life in the old girl yet. The motor industry have been burying their heads in the sand over climate change but now Ford are making real steps to tackle it with this the first in the ECOnetic range.
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