Archive for November, 2009
Top Safety Picks for 2010 from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
Posted by: | CommentsEach year the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety releases a list of safe vehicles that meet its standards of “crashworthiness”. Their tests help determine how well a vehicle protects the driver and passengers in an accident. The winning 27 vehicles this year were classified into the following groups: Large Cars, Midsize Cars, Small Cars, Midsize SUVs (Sport Utility Vehicles), and Small SUVs. Tests determine how well the vehicle provides protection in front, side, rear, and rollover (new this year) crashes. The winning vehicles also needed to have electronic stability control. (Read how Electronic Stability Control works at HowStuffWorks.com or watch the video below from Ford about their AdvanceTrac system.)
Below is how vehicles are evaluated by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (see full press release):
The Institute’s frontal crashworthiness evaluations are based on results of 40 mph frontal offset crash tests. Each vehicle’s overall evaluation is based on measurements of intrusion into the occupant compartment, injury measures recorded on a Hybrid III dummy in the driver seat, and analysis of slow-motion film to assess how well the restraint system controlled dummy movement during the test.
Side evaluations are based on performance in a crash test in which the side of a vehicle is struck by a barrier moving at 31 mph. The barrier represents the front end of a pickup or SUV. Ratings reflect injury measures recorded on 2 instrumented SID-IIs dummies representing a 5th percentile woman, assessment of head protection countermeasures, and the vehicle’s structural performance during the impact.
Rear crash protection is rated according to a two-step procedure. Starting points for the ratings are measurements of head restraint geometry — the height of a restraint and its horizontal distance behind the back of the head of an average-size man. Seat/head restraints with good or acceptable geometry are tested dynamically using a dummy that measures forces on the neck. This test simulates a collision in which a stationary vehicle is struck in the rear at 20 mph. Seats without good or acceptable geometry are rated poor overall because they can’t be positioned to protect many people.
In the roof strength test, a metal plate is pushed against 1 side of a roof at a constant speed. To earn a good rating for rollover protection, the roof must withstand a force of 4 times the vehicle’s weight before reaching 5 inches of crush. This is called a strength-to-weight ratio. For an acceptable rating, the minimum required strength-to-weight ratio is 3.25. A marginal rating value is 2.5. Anything lower than that is rated poor.
And the 2010 winners were:
Large cars
Buick LaCrosse
Ford Taurus
Lincoln MKS
Volvo S80
Midsize cars
Audi A3
Chevrolet Malibu built after October 2009
Chrysler Sebring 4-door with optional electronic stability control
Dodge Avenger with optional electronic stability control
Mercedes C class
Subaru Legacy
Subaru Outback
Volkswagen Jetta sedan
Volkswagen Passat sedan
Volvo C30
Small cars
Honda Civic 4-door models (except Si) with optional electronic stability control
Kia Soul
Nissan Cube
Subaru Impreza except WRX
Volkswagen Golf 4-door
Midsize SUVs
Dodge Journey
Subaru Tribeca
Volvo XC60
Volvo XC90
Small SUVs
Honda Element
Jeep Patriot with optional side torso airbags
Subaru Forester
Volkswagen Tiguan
For more information, go to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety website – www.iihs.org
This week, Daimler and the City of Austin (Texas) entered into a partnership to assist with urban mobility. The car2go program (a subsidiary of Daimler) uses 200 smart fortwo vehicles in a car sharing initiative. According to Mayor Lee Leffingwell, “This pilot-program partnership between car2go and the City of Austin represents a significant step toward helping us alleviate congestion, reduce emissions and increase the use of public transportation.” What is neat about this program is that Daimler negotiated parking fees within Austin in exchange for free driving minutes for City of Austin employees driving on City business. This means that all users don’t have to pay for parking. (Read Daimler’s or Austin’s press releases.)
Since car2go vehicles are not always in the same spots, you can use an interactive location system to find the nearest car.
car2go Location System
Car sharing is a great solution for dense urban population mobility issues. The City of Austin’s barter system with exchanging parking spaces for free driving minutes for City employees is a great way to keep the operation costs down while alleviating the most frustrating aspect of using a car in a city – parking it.
Nissan LEAF Electric Car Debuts in Los Angeles
Posted by: | CommentsNissan is debuting its all electric car, the LEAF, in North America today in Los Angeles. (See the tour schedule.) The LEAF, which will be available in some states in 2010, will be mass produced in 2012. With a driving range of 100 miles, the all-electric LEAF will meet the needs of most commuters. Nissan has partnered with some states and municipalities on the development of an electric-vehicle infrastructure: Tennessee, Oregon, Sonoma County (CA), San Diego, Phoenix, Tucson, Washington D.C., Seattle, Raleigh, and Vancouver. To make electric cars work, you need quality cars, advanced battery technology, and an accessible charging network – Nissan is working on all three.
Watch the video on Nissan’s vision for the Zero Emission’s future.
Nissan Zero Emissions Video
Ford Motor Company uses Wheat Straw to Make Plastic
Posted by: | CommentsFord Motor Company announced on Wednesday November 11th that it will be the first automotive manufacturer to use wheat straw-reinforced plastic, a more environmentally friendly product than plastic used previously, in a vehicle.
This natural fiber based plastic will be used in the production of interior storage bins on the 2010 Ford Flex. Even though the usage is small, Ford predicts it will reduce CO2 emissions by 30,000 pounds per year. What is great is that it creates a sustainable product for wheat straw, wheat’s waste byproduct.
Read the complete press release. Click below for a larger image.
WHEAT STRAW-REINFORCED PLASTIC
Who’s hiring in the auto industry? Tesla Motors!
Posted by: | CommentsWill California become the new Michigan in automotive manufacturing? If the EV (electric vehicle) market takes off jobs will be bountiful in small start-ups. Just take a look at Tesla Motors…a company only a handful of years old…is looking for design engineers, CNC machinists, firmware engineers, manufacturing engineers, project engineers, technicians, sales advisors, and more. After a quick search of their website, over 140 jobs were listed.
Tesla’s criteria:
* You must have a genuine passion for electric vehicles and electric propulsion systems. Without passion, you would find what we’re trying to do too difficult. There are much easier jobs.
* You must want to work in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial company.
* We are building real products — not presentations. This must excite you. You must be a builder.
Even with unemployment hitting double digits (10.2% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics), some companies are hiring!
Ford’s Inflatable Seat Belt
Posted by: | CommentsAccording to the Wall Street Journal, Ford Motor Company announced today that they will be combining air bags with traditional seat belts to add a new level of safety for rear occupants of vehicles – especially children. Check out this video from NBC’s Today Show.
Ford's Inflatable Seat Belt
Here is the video released from Ford…
