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Cool cars: Five trends to watch
Tomorrow's cars will be cleaner and greener, but they will also bristle with high-tech features to make driving easier and safer.
Thu, Jul 16 2009 at 4:48 PM
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0NE TO WATCH: Toyota's tiny, fuel-sipping iQ. (Photo: Toyota)
Green as I am, I’m also a techie who loves cool apps. Tomorrow’s cars will not only be ultra-clean, but they’ll also use advances in downsized and affordable technology to offer a range of useful features. So think small, think environmentally friendly, but also think high-tech.
Small cars (and diesels, too). Cars will get smaller, whatever happens to fuel prices. Two of the big sales success stories in recent years have been the Smart car and the Mini. I think the Ford Fiesta and the Fiat 500 will also do well in the U.S. Right now, Americans are moving from big SUVs to smaller crossovers, and the trend will continue. Soon we’ll be importing the microcars that clog European and Japanese roads. Take a look at the tiny Toyota iQ, the smallest four-passenger car in the world, with a 1.4-liter turbodiesel engine and as much as 52.3 mpg. Its minuscule rivals, in Europe, are often diesels such as the VW Polo Bluemotion 1.4 TDI (61 mpg). Diesels are definitely worth a second look (particularly because we have the cleanest low-sulfur diesel fuel in the world).
Stereo systems will further merge with home electronics. The Ford Sync system was a pioneer in allowing consumers to hook up not only their iPods, but also USB-enabled hard drives — and have the whole thing read by the head end. That’s going to go global. Now almost every car has at least a mini-in for a ‘Pod, and even lower-end cars are getting advanced connectivity. Larry Burns, the retiring fuel cell and EV guru at General Motors, told me yesterday that connectivity for cars is going to be the next big frontier. Owning a car used to be the ultimate freedom, but for kids like his teenaged daughters, it’s all about iPods, cell phones and PDAs.
The future is electric. My previous post profiled eight EV start-ups, many of them in Silicon Valley and many headed by former computer guys. Some are producing plug-in hybrids, and some battery cars, but batteries and some form of electric plug are what they have in common. That’s why the federal government is pouring $2 billion of stimulus funding into building battery factories in the U.S. — otherwise we lose all this business to Asia.
Passive safety is on the way. The Toyota Prius — the most fuel-efficient hybrid on the road — is also a leader in keeping its passengers safe. The second-generation Prius earned very high ratings in government crash testing, and the third-gen bristles with cool high-tech safety stuff. Among the optional features are Lane Keep Assist and Intelligent Parking. The first one uses cameras to make sure you stay in your lane, and the second can guide your car into a parallel parking space. There are also seatbelt pre-tensioners, and stability control. In Sweden, I took part in a demonstration of an innovative system that sensed an upcoming impact and actually slowed the car to a crawl by applying the brakes. Another system can read eye movements meaning the driver’s about to fall asleep. The Europeans are exploring — and mandating — pedestrian safety devices for cars. Expect to see a whole lot more of this kind of preventive safety measure on cars and trucks.
Navigation systems will become intelligent (and maybe gain “awareness,” too). The first in-car CD-based navigation systems were so novel that the maps and cool voices giving directions was more than enough. GM’s OnStar added such great features as finding a lost car in a parking lot and accident assistance. But tomorrow’s systems will do more, including advising you of traffic congestion ahead, steering you around accidents, giving you fast-breaking weather tips, pointing you toward Mongolian restaurants in your area, providing movie times and making reservations, and much more. The latest Magellan Maestro unit includes a number of these features, including “SmartDetour,” which prompts you to route around congestion, live traffic updates, and even a 3D-view feature. According to CNET, “Experts say upcoming navigation systems will be more active, thanks to cellular or satellite links to real-time weather, road or traffic information that can be displayed over location maps. Satellite connections are typically more robust than cellular ones in remote locations.” As a VW exec explains it, “Next-generation navigation systems will have connectivity and map a certain state of the road, whether it’s closed or snowy, or even traffic-heavy, to give you an understanding of conditions.” A safe road could be green, and an icy one red, for example.
Here's a video on what the next Ford/Sirius stereo-nav system can offer:
My navigation system can't wait to see what's around the corner. Neither can I.
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I shouldn't even comment here, as I am female. But I thought, perhaps
that cars, trucks, and engines, and vehicle style, advertised as "sexy" leads me to believe vehicles are an extension of a mans "ego"
You don't have a ten second car now do you? :)
You must hate America. If you drive anything but American and you live here you should die. Or at least move away. I wish you could feel the pain of watching families break down because another factory failed. I hope you get laid-off and you have to face the challenge of telling your children that you couldn't afford to buy them a birthday present this year. I bet you probably have a nice American flag on your toyota camry.
whether the source of the electricity is renewable or not, EVs are still an improvement over the internal combustion engine because they use the energy far more efficiently.
...lies an actual point, which is that we need to be using clean energy to produce electricity for EVs. Granted, that is a goal, and one that is hardly being ignored--because of global warming, I expect we'll be out of coal entirely in 10 years.
...that nuclear and hydro-electric comprise the majority of electricity sources in some states?
that the solar energy from the sun that hits the earth in one day is enough to power the entire US for a year?
So enough energy hits the entire Earth in a day to power the US for year? So let's do some math, we need to cover 1/365 of the Earth with solar panels to break even every day Earth's total area is approximately 200,000,000 sq. miles, so we to cover approximately 550,000 sq. miles of Earth with solar panels to power the US. That's an area that is about twice the size of Texas. Good Luck with that!
Think of all that wasted space where you could put PV cells that could recharge your car battery and run your house system. The wasted space - your roof.
They have ways to amplify the energy (mirrors)
good luck with logic.
No they have ways of concentrating the energy with mirrors to increase efficiency in collection, you cannot amplify energy (without using more energy). So the mirrors would still have to cover the same amount of land.
Remember when you actually looked forward to new cars coming out. Have a look at this collection of ugly boring crap, welcome to the green dream. Hopefully we'll wake soon.
I'm willing to bet that 61mpg VW Polo is NOT in American gallons, which is larger than the Euro gallon. Not to mention California emissions standards crippling that MPG even further. Hooray!
Really? You claim that the American gallon is different than the European gallon? You may want to research that a bit. There is no such thing as an "American gallon" or a "European gallon." In most all European countries, they use the LITER, which is NOT a gallon at all. Both are measures of volume from separate measurement systems.
That would be like calling the meter a "European yard." You understand?
It's actually an Imperial gallon and yes - it is different than an American gallon. Also it's a litre - not a 'liter' (yes your American spelling is just plain incorrect). I'd call you mentally challenged but you're obviously American so there's really no point.
You understand? Don't worry - I don't expect you to.
Although UK drivers now buy fuel in Litres,mpg is still in common use as a comparison statistic between different vehicles..and the UK Gallon to US Gallon conversion is 0.83x...
It's been shown several times that such things actually make people worse drivers a they end nup paying far less attention to the task of driving,instead relying on the car to do everything for them.
Plus it's a huge pita to have your car nagging you or innapropriately stopping due to the fact that computers are far from infallible devices incapable of making the snap descisions a human mind can.
No thanks.
The Fiat 500 has not actually been slated for a US release, it has simply been mentioned as a possibility.
Yes, technically, the Fiat 500 has not been approved for U.S.sale, but I consider it a near-certainty. Come back and say 'I told you so' if I turn out to be wrong.
Uncle B, that was the most passionate bit of reading I've had the pleasure to gaze upon in a long time, thank you, and amen!