AUTOLIV DESIGNS SUV AIRBAGS
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Autoliv has revealed two new airbag applications specifically
for Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs): the Front Edge Airbag designed to
mitigate the effects of an SUV colliding with a pedestrian, and the
Bumper Airbag, which addresses the problem of such high-hood
vehicles colliding with passenger cars.
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SWISS ENGINEERS BUILD BOND-LIKE
UNDERWATER CAR
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It's called the sQuba,
and conjures up memories of James Bond's amphibious Lotus Esprit
from "The Spy Who Loved Me." That fictional vehicle traveled on land
and, when chased by bad guys in a helicopter, plunged into the water
and became an airtight submarine - complete with torpedoes and depth
charges.
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EYES ON DIESEL RESEARCH
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Using quartz and sapphire
components, high-powered lasers, and scientific cameras researchers
are able to see inside an operating engine, and that vision is
proving to be a valuable aid for finding ways
to reduce diesel emissions.
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DiesOtto: A DIESEL-GASOLINE
TECHNOLOGY BLEND |
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A new twist has been given to the dialogue about whether
the future of the hybrid leans toward the gasoline or diesel
solution, with the announcement by Mercedes of its highly
complex DiesOtto (Diesel Otto-cycle) unita mix of the two based
on a gasoline engine block. Claimed to combine all the
advantages of both engine types,
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ECOLOGY INSPIRES
NEW HYBRID DRIVETRAIN OPTIONS
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The agreement between Getrag
and Bosch is designed to launch a range of parallel hybrid systems
using Getrag PowerShift dual-clutch transmissions and Bosch
electrical architecture for the alternator, electric drive system,
and power electronics. Designed around a six-speed PowerShift
transmission, the resulting systems will feature modular designs
that offer flexibility in the hybrid drivetrain....
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THE BOMBARDIER BEETLE AND THE
CHALLENGE OF EMISSIONS REDUCTION
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The bombardier beetle (Brachinus
Carabidae) must be the most unlikely collaborative partner ever to
become involved in an advanced automotive technology research
project. However, this amazing little insect's ability to spray a
stinging 100°C (212°F) cocktail from its internal "combustion
chamber" over a distance 10 times its own length has concentrated
the minds of a team at a leading British university.
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GM'S SURPRISING
NEW V8 DIESEL HAS NO MANIFOLDS |
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General Motors recently took some of the wraps off of its 2010
Duramax diesel V8, revealing clever design features and technologies
that clearly push the stateof- the-art in Vee-type compression-ignition
engines.
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VIKI III'S 3M
TECHNOLOGIES |
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A 3M demonstration vehicle’s
2007 technology tour provided a showcase of various in-development
and production-ready technologies, including an energy-saving film
that improves the brightness of the back-of-vehicle image.
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ZF SHIFTS SMOOTHLY INTO SECOND-GENERATION
SIX-SPEED |
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Even as it introduces the concept of an eight-speed automatic
transmission that it will put into production in two years, ZF has
made it clear that its strategy is not about the number of gears,
but what those gears can do. Since introducing the 6 HP 26 six-speed
automatic transmission for passenger cars and light trucks in 2001,
ZF has made what it calls "significant advancements" in the recent
technical upgrade of the transmission in the form of the new 6 HP
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ZERODHIFT TORQUES DOWN AMT
TECHNOLOGY |
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Automated manual transmission (AMT) systems are fine in theory
but often less satisfactory in day-to-day use; the down side is the
torque-interruption effect that accompanies ratio shifts. Driving a
car fitted with an AMT invariably calls for a degree of accelerator
control together with an appreciation of engine speed almost akin to
the precision of playing a musical instrument.
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MAHLE
TECHNOLOGIES BOOST ENGINE EFFICIENCY |
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"The combustion engine will have to make one of the important
individual contributions to bringing down CO2 emissions," Heinz
K. Junker, Chairman of the Mahle Management Board, said during
an interview with AEI at the Frankfurt Motor Show. To
demonstrate the influence combustion engine components and
systems can have on overall engine efficiency, the supplier has
applied its entire range of state-of-the-art technology to a
technology demonstrator engine that was developed and
constructed at Mahle Powertrain in the U.K.
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MASERATI GT INSPIRED
BY 2005 BIRDCAGE CONCEPT |
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Maserati has long held a special
place within the rarefied, discerning market sector world of high-performance premium brands. Its racing history and its ability
to consistently create cars that are distinctive in design and
technology have given it a place within a very small niche.
Maserati’s latest model, the four-seat GranTurismo (GT) now entering
production, continues that position.
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IT'S A MATTER OF ECONOMY |
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Amidst the auto
industry's efforts to satisfy horsepower cravings without
sacrificing fuel economy, one solution is poised to gobble market
share in double-digit abundance."We forecast that gasoline direct
injection technology will make up 25% of light-duty vehicle
production in North America by 2015," said Sujit Jain, Senior
Vice President of the Gasoline Systems Division for Robert Bosch.
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GREEN DIESEL PLATFORM DEVELOPS OFF-THE-SHELF
EXHAUST AFTERTREATMENT SOLUTION
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Looming CO2 legislation and
mandatory rules on fuel economy provide the automotive industry
continued pressure to bring down fuel consumption quickly. The time
until strict rules will be in place is only six years in Europe
(2014) and even less in the U.S. According to the Green Diesel
Platform, this challenge means using existing, validated
technologies to bring down CO2 emissions quickly in conventional,
mass-production cars.
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OPTICAL SENSORS ADVANCE BODY
ELECTRONICS |
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Thirty years ago, the first cadmium-sulfide photo resistor was
used in a passenger car to automatically turn on and off the
headlights by detecting ambient light. Today, the base technology
used to detect light has changed to silicon photodiodes and
phototransistors, and as a result body electronics applications have
expanded significantly.
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NEW POWERTRAIN ENHANCEMENTS FROM
VALEO
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To achieve Valeo's claimed 40% reduction in carbon dioxide
emissions, the company calls on a range of powertrain technical
solutions, some already available, others under development. The
largest single reduction is derived from replacing the
conventional cam-driven valvetrain with an electromagnetically
actuated valvetrain (e-valve). The system, which won the Gold
Award in the "Engineering and Advanced Technology" category at
October’s Equip Auto Show in Paris, requires a 42-V power supply
produced by a voltage inverter from the vehicle's 12-V system.
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AUTOMAKERS PREPARE FOR MULTICORE
PROCESSORS
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The auto industry has quickly transitioned from 8- to 16- to
32-bit processors. Now, engineers are gearing up to take the
next step in performance, moving to dual-core processors.
With help from the providers of development tools, the personal
computer world has proven the performance of dual-core devices.
Putting two identical cores on a chip roughly doubles computing
power.
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edit by
Selçuk KAYABAŞI |
