EVs are common sights at car shows

Everybody Wants In On The Trend

Nissan executives at this year’s North American International Auto Show got a strong sense of déjà vu while the tallied the number of electric and hybrid vehicles at the event. As far back as 2009, a lifetime by technology standards, the Leaf was snickered at, ignored, and certainly not given its due. Electric cars, and many hybrid-electric vehicles, were considered futuristic and unrealistic from a business point of view. No, electric cars do not currently populate the garages of America, nor are they a common sight on the roadways of most towns and cities, even on the coasts. However, if one looks back at auto shows of the recent past, not just NAIAS, Nissan’s leap of faith and courage in building the Leaf is truly spectacular.

It could have become the laughingstock of the decade if things had not turned out as they did. Speaking of stock, the company might have watched share prices dive right along with credibility and reputation. However, the Leaf was a success. As a result, there are many other alternative fuel cars on display at the Detroit show.

In the meantime, Leaf continues to plug along, as in plug-in. Living up to the words of its corporate acronym, it has become a Leading, Environmentally-friendly, Affordable, Family car. With an equivalent fuel economy of 99 mpg, the Leaf’s official range is 73 miles. Before tax incentives by federal and state governments, the U.S. price of the car is just over $35,000 for 2012 models. That is a bit of an increase from last year, but the new package includes a level 3 charger.

Industry watchers follow the sales figures for both the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Volt to estimate how well the alternative fuel market is doing at any given time.

For more information about the NAIAS and Nissan, see: http://www.naias.com, http://www.nissanusa.com

Tesla was another NAIAS participant

Larry Bell

Larry Bell + is My Perfect Automobile’s Genius Author, but we call him ‘The Expert‘. Here is his full Blog: My Perfect Automobile. Larry lives in San Jose, CA and is also the Expert Author. Larry is a lover of the Automobile as well and shares a passion for Concept, Hybrid and Electric Cars…

The NSX represented the pinnacle of Honda’s sports heyday of the 1980s and ’90s. Launched with input from Formula One great Ayrton Senna, the NSX set a brace of technological firsts — from its aluminum monocoque frame to the variable valve timing that would become a standard on engines worldwide. The NSX wasn’t the fastest or most-powerful supercar, but reflected Honda’s balance between power, weight and handling — a sweet spot that few cars have ever achieved.

Honda mulled replacing the NSX for years with a V-10 powered successor, but the company soon embraced smaller engines and a tight focus on fuel efficiency. Somewhere along the way, it also lost a piece of the racing spirit that birthed the NSX, unleashing a string of unsuccessful to ungainly models that offered little over their competitors.

http://youtu.be/yVC0cIy8Kvg

After last year’s update of the Honda Civic – a freshening that did little to improve the car’s weakening position against tough competition — Honda’s executives vowed to revive the company’s soul. The new NSX, to be sold under the Acura brand, shows they’re serious enough to design the most attractive Acura ever.

The concept retains the mid-engine V-6 layout of the original NSX, but adds in a new Honda all-wheel-drive system that relies on electric motors to power the front wheels. As with its predecessor, Honda vows the NSX won’t rely on brute force, but combine lightweight materials with high technology for supercar performance and respectable fuel economy.

If there’s a disappointment here, it’s that Honda has held back several key details about the NSX concept, including the power its engines and electric motors will generate. But the U.S.-based team developing the NSX for production in Ohiohas three years to get it right.

Larry Judkin

Larry Judkin + is My Perfect Automobile’s General Manager, but people call him Lar’. Here is his full Blog: My Perfect Automobile. Larry lives in San Jose, CA and is also the Co-owner of My Perfect Automobile. Larry is a lover of the Automobile as well and shares a passion for Concept, Hybrid and Electric Cars…

    

Unlikely celebrity at Detroit's auto show

Tires That Boost MPG

Michelin, the official tire sponsor of the 2012 Detroit Auto Show, threw its hat into the ring, so to speak, with the many automakers who were touting their green cars and trucks. While Michelin does not produce vehicles, it does make plenty of tires for them, and its newest iteration, dubbed The Defender, is billed as the single best tire the company has ever offered, boasting fuel saving features along with long life and proven safety statistics. Stopping faster than other tires in its class, and lasting 21,000 miles longer, the main benefit seems to be the tire’s fuel saving capacity.

Not available until April of 2012, the Defender’s data sheet does the math, and shows how an average driver would save $250 in fuel over the life of the tire. Michelin’s North American chairman and president, Pete Selleck, talked economics and environmental issues during his presentation of the company’s newest star. With a large segment of the auto show’s press focused on green issues, the fuel saving aspect of the tire won the lion’s share of media attention.

Astoundingly, the tire comes with a tread warranty for a distance of 90,000 miles, a record of sorts in the tire industry. Extensive testing of tire resistance conclusively shows that the two main ways a tire can contribute to fuel efficiency are through a low rolling resistance and proper inflation level. Rolling resistance is a function of how the tire is made and designed, while the proper inflation level is controlled 100 percent by the car’s owner. Thus, many vehicle manuals emphasize the importance of keeping tires inflated to recommended levels at all times, otherwise the unique designs for low rolling resistance might be nullified. For every 40 percent increase in rolling resistance, there is a corresponding decrease in fuel efficiency of 6 percent.

For more information, see: http://www.michelinman.com

Michelin's Pete Selleck with 'The Defender'

Larry Bell

Larry Bell + is My Perfect Automobile’s Genius Author, but we call him ‘The Expert‘. Here is his full Blog: My Perfect Automobile. Larry lives in San Jose, CA and is also the Expert Author. Larry is a lover of the Automobile as well and shares a passion for Concept, Hybrid and Electric Cars…

It came from beyond: Renault Zoe Z.E.

As that classic British comedy team used to say, “And now for something completely different.” The Renault concept car called the Zoe Z.E. (zero emissions) has the look and feel of a character from a science fiction film, or one of those kiddie-friendly dinosaurs on early morning television. With gull-wing doors and a swap-out battery pack, the James Bond circa 2050 car is about as concept as concept gets. You would have to look hard to find a more futuristic model in all of Detroit’s vast Cobo Center, and even then, you would not be successful.

No one, even inside the company, can say for sure whether or when this concept will see the light of day. The inexplicable honeycomb roof, pivot-forward gull doors, and eerie interior seem totally of another time and place, but the company says in all seriousness that a production model would get about a 100-mile range from its lithium battery pack.

Nothing having to do with the Renault Zoe is typical. Case in point: During early publicity for the car, a woman surfaced who litigated against the car maker in order to protect the legal provenance of her own name, which is Zoe Renault. She claimed in court that the car would cause undue public humiliation for her and her family. At trial, the judge ruled in favor of the auto company. Game, set, and match. You can’t make this stuff up.

Even the video clip, which is essentially an advertisement for the car, is strangely off-the-wall, with its close ups of random body parts, unusual angles, and cinematography that might have been done by Fellini. One thing is for certain. If the Renault Zoe Z.E. ever hits the marketplace, it will have no competitors within a mile of its niche. The year 2525 will belong to Zoe Z.E. and no one else.

For extensive information about Renault’s Z.E., see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_Z.E.

Larry Bell

Larry Bell + is My Perfect Automobile’s Genius Author, but we call him ‘The Expert‘. Here is his full Blog: My Perfect Automobile. Larry lives in San Jose, CA and is also the Expert Author. Larry is a lover of the Automobile as well and shares a passion for Concept, Hybrid and Electric Cars…

Fuel-cell car

An announcement several weeks ago that General Motors and BMW were cooperating on development of a fuel cell vehicle was reported in major media outlets, but now there is talk that the two auto giants will strike a hush-hush deal during a get together at the NAIAS Detroit Auto Show next week. Several unofficial news sites have mentioned the story as being a rumor, or even behind-the-scenes news leaks by those in the know.

Here are the facts: On Dec. 12, BMW officially announced that the company was talking with GM about cooperating on a fuel cell development project. Saying nothing about the dates when such talks were held or would be held, BMW spokespersons merely noted that the two auto companies were exploring the idea of fuel cell technology together. While press reports were widespread, there was actually only a single source for the story, a lone magazine in Germany called WirtschaftsWoche, which indicated that BMW and GM were looking to ink a formal deal in January.

Since the Detroit Auto Show is held in January, and because high-level representatives from both companies will be on hand, it is a likely scenario that the deal could be signed then and there. The timing would be perfect, for several reasons.

BMW’s domestic competitor, Daimler AG, has leapt ahead of the pack with fuel cell research, looking to offer a Mercedes B-Class fuel-cell car in about two years. For the past decade, while Daimler went forward with fuel cell research, BMW apparently lagged, thus the move to team with GM could be proof that BMW is trying to play catch-up by latching onto the U.S. automaker’s heavy research investment into fuel cells. For the record, GM has already spent more than $1.5 billion on fuel cell technology.

While the whole situation seems very secretive, chances are that GM and BMW are merely joining forces to save a bit of money by combining research facilities and discoveries, a common practice in the auto industry. For more information about each company, see their websites, at:
http://www.bmwusa.com
http://www.gm.com

Under the hood: Hydrogen fuel-cell car

Larry Bell

Larry Bell + is My Perfect Automobile’s Genius Author, but we call him ‘The Expert‘. Here is his full Blog: My Perfect Automobile. Larry lives in San Jose, CA and is also the Expert Author. Larry is a lover of the Automobile as well and shares a passion for Concept, Hybrid and Electric Cars…

Honda Civic concept from last year's show

One of the biggest, most prestigious, and in fact the only automotive show in the United States to receive the coveted “distinguished sanction” from Paris’s International Organization of Carmakers, the North American International Auto Show will open to the public on January 14, 2012 in Detroit, Michigan. This year’s event is even more anticipated than usual because of the current alternative fuel revolution in the automotive industry. All of the largest manufacturers in the world are expected to bring out exotic concept cars, alternative fuel vehicles, completely redesigned new models, and countless other firsts.

The press preview, still weeks away, is already a literal media circus, with more than 5,000 credentialed journalists planning to be in Detroit for the duration of the show. Press Preview days open on Jan. 9, with more than 35 official media conferences on the roster. The famed Cobo Center, as well as the Joe Louis Arena, will be the center of press days’ activity. The NAIAS is typically the biggest show on earth for new model and concept car unveilings, and the 2012 event aims to please, as over 40 new models will be introduced to the world press.

Prius will be at NAIA 2012

Major carmakers typically use the NAIAS as a venue for making other important announcements. Look for some of the Japanese and Korean companies to have headline-making press releases during the event. For many companies on the periphery of the manufacturing business, their representatives attend only one show per year, and this is the it. Any revelation about the inner-workings of a firm, from a change in management to a new product idea, gets magnified attention at the NAIAS.

Organizations know that the world is watching, so if they have something to say, 5,000 reporters will be happy to listen. That sort of publicity is priceless for smaller entities that want to get their information out. This year’s event Chairman, Bill Perkins, says that 2012’s announcements will, “… absolutely rock the automotive industry.”

Larry Bell

Larry Bell + is My Perfect Automobile’s Genius Author, but we call him ‘The Expert‘. Here is his full Blog: My Perfect Automobile. Larry lives in San Jose, CA and is also the Expert Author. Larry is a lover of the Automobile as well and shares a passion for Concept, Hybrid and Electric Cars…