The past several years has seen a burgeoning in new transportation
technology usually attributed to the quest for environmentally
friendly alternatives and safety. For fuel technology new
developments in ethanol, hydrogen fuel cells, and electric
energy abounds. For vehicular technology – smaller
more compact cars with fuel-efficient construction are hitting
the consumer market. Heavy large gas-guzzling cars are out.
Petite fuel-conservative cars are in.
Smart Cars
Urban development has a huge hand in how transportation planning
is assessed. Pre-industrial cities in European and Asia
were built with bicycles, mopeds and even horses in mind.
While American, Canadian and Australian cities – mostly
post-industrial in design – function with cars in
mind. The Green Revolution then is tricky in urban sprawl
areas where riding a bicycle or even taking public transportation
becomes an ambitious endeavor. Cities like Los Angeles
have less than a 30% of the population using public transportation – regular
bicyclists are almost non-existent. In contrast, go to
any European city to find bicycles part of the traffic
landscape. In car driven cities the only solution is to
make cars greener.
The latest commercial hit: the Smart Car. Engineered by Mercedes
and owned by DaimlerChrysler this car runs off an internal
combustion engine to power its small light frame. The Smart
Car gets as much as 60 miles to the gallon or 4.2 liters
of diesel to 100 km and has low emissions (90 g of CO2 per
kilometer). What makes the Smart Car particularly unique
is its parking friendly size. Not just a novelty, the Smart
Car’s design enables its drivers to park width-wise
and length-wise – a fact that is causing some parking
companies to charge reduced parking fees. In addition to
its pragmatic design the Smart Car is in its initial stages
of using recycled and sustainable raw materials. To add to
its environmental compatibility the Smart Car ‘s gear
shift indicator that helps you select the most economical
gear.
The Hybrid
Hybrids continue to grow in popularity in the auto industry. First introduced
in 1999 Hybrid sales have topped 80,000 in the US alone. British Columbia’s
Yellow Cab Company currently boasts 40 hybrid vehicles to their fleet of 210.
While Toyota and Honda were the first manufactures to put hybrids on the road
other car companies are following suit. In September 2005 Volkswagen also announced
its plans to put an electric-gasoline hybrid car on the market. The Volkswagen
hybrid will be produced both in Shanghai and Germany in 2008 just in time for
the Beijing Summer Olympics.
Many believe the hybrid runs off of electricity (another
strained energy source) in fact it uses gasoline in addition
to a rechargeable electric cell – hence
the name. While the hybrid is running the battery is constantly being recharged
by fuel. The result is an incredibly fuel-efficient low emissions engine. Projections
show (with today’s increasing fuel prices) that hybrids can save its drivers
up to $1000 a month in fuel. In addition hybrid technology uses regenerative
breaking. Energy created by the momentum of the vehicle is fed back into the
battery to create torque for either acceleration or deceleration. Traditional
breaking systems are dependent on friction that creates wasted heat energy. Regenerative
breaking saves energy and money.
The Robot Car
Autonomous driverless cars – or robot cars – are
not as much of a sci-fi fantasy as one might think. In fact,
live and running prototypes have already hit the pavement.
This year forty groups, sponsored by the U.S. military's
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) put their
driverless vehicles to the test on 165-mile Nevada desert
course without the interference of people. Teams were comprised
of university and industrial groups, scientists and students
from places like Stanford University, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
and Volkswagen. Sponsors include big names like Google, AM
General, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Analog Devices and Goodyear.
The motive may seem less philanthropic than environmental
and economic sustainability – but
such technology does offer capabilities in predicting vehicle response and minimizing
human error. At this point the technology is geared towards military use. Mechanical
simulation technology for driverless cars is aimed at limiting human casualty
in combat. In the future some would like to see the technology used for more
everyday applications like aiding the elderly.
Fossil Fuel Alternatives
In the past Kyoto Agreement (and rightly so) was behind
the biggest pull to decrease atmospheric emissions caused
by vehicles. However, recently it’s been the exorbitant
gas prices that are catching people’s attention.
Dwindling oil and natural gas supplies countered by a
heightened global politics make fossil fuel alternatives
more and more attractive. The concept of fossil fuel
alternatives is nothing new. Henry Ford was the first
to put a non-gas run vehicle on the road for his wife
Clara in 1912. But never before has fuel alternatives
seemed more crucial.
Electricity, hydrogen and ethanol (derived from biomass)
are making huge leaps and bounds in the area of renewable
energy. The popularity of the hybrid is a good example.
Electric and fuel cell buses abound such as the Citaro
Mercedez-Benz bus, the DaimlerChrysler NeBus, and the Zebus
-- while the hydrogen highway continues to stretch from
California to Canada. Ethanol development is a particularly
intriguing prospect because of its intrinsically ‘renewable’ nature.
Biomass used to make ethanol can come from any plant source:
plants, grain and even garbage. In Brazil the sugarcane
provides the majority of biomass for ethanol development.
In the United States corn is predominately used. While
in Canada, are looking at the benefits of wheat-based ethanol.
Ethanol is more of a silent contender in vehicle technology
because it is already widely used around the world particularly
in Latin America. But countries like the United Kingdom,
Canada and the United States are pushing for greater use.
Don’t be surprised if ethanol development becomes
an everyday-life phenomenon with more projects dealing
with waste management and more environmentally sound food
production.
In the Not Too Distant Future
If anything current developments in vehicle technology represent
new ways of looking at society. People are not as concerned
with comfort and style as they are with sustainable transportation
and urban development. Smart cars, hybrids and renewable
energy represent a larger movement to healthy and affordable
living. When buses and trains just aren’t an option
it makes sense to look to energy efficient technology.
Do you have a comment or feedback on
this article? Email
us and let us know what you think.
|
