The Tesla Model S represents the cutting edge of electric car technology. But is it reliable? Data from over 1,300 Consumer Reports subscribers supplies an answer.
Consumer Reports: Survey 1,300 Tesla Model S owners on reliability [VIDEO]
Swiss electric car sets acceleration World Record
An electric racing car developed by students at ETH Zurich and the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts on Monday set a world record for acceleration, the universities announced.
The “grimsel” car sped from zero to 100 kilometres an hour in just 1.785 seconds, at a military airport in Dübendorf in the canton of Zurich, smashing the the previous record.
The previous record of 2.13 seconds was set by Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.
Operated by a student team from the Academic Motorsports Club Zurich (AMZ), The grimsel car, reached a speed of 100 km/h in less than 30 metres, ETH Zurich, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, said in a news release.
Thirty students from the two swiss universities developed and built the racing car in less than a year.
Weighing just 168 kilograms, the carbon-fibre vehicle generates 200 horsepower through four-wheel drive, ETH said.
Four specially designed wheel hub motors create a total torque of 1,630 Newton metres (Nm), with torque distribution controlled individually for each wheel to maximize acceleration, the university said.
AMZ was founded in 2006 ivy ETH students and produces a prototype racing car to compete in various student formula competitions in Europe every year.
The grimsel car will be presented to the public at “Student Power Day” on November 9th at the ETH Hönggerberg campus, with test rides planned between noon and 2pm.
Nissan LEAF Sets Annual U.S. Electric Vehicle Sales Record – Again
With more than two months remaining, Nissan LEAF has shattered the record for the most U.S. electric vehicle sales in a single calendar year, surpassing the previous record of 22,610 that it set in 2013.
“With nearly 20 electric cars or plug-in hybrid models on the road today, Nissan LEAF remains at the head of the class, outselling the nearest competitor by 50 percent through September,” said Brendan Jones, director, Nissan electric vehicle Sales and Infrastructure. “Since the initial launch in 2010 our primary goal is to bring electric vehicles to the mass market in a practical and fun-to-drive package, and we continue to deliver electric cars to more new buyers than anyone else.”
LEAF sales in 2014 through September are up more than 36 percent compared to the same period last year. With more than 142,000 LEAF sales globally since launch and more than 64,000 of those in the U.S., Nissan is the global leader in electric vehicles. (Nissan will announce October U.S. sales on Monday, Nov. 3.)
“Nissan LEAF owners are eager to share their enthusiasm with neighbours, friends and family, and that passion makes them some of our best salespeople,” said Jones. “We’ve seen a ‘cul-de-sac’ effect where the first LEAF owner in the neighbourhood becomes the community champion for electric cars, educating neighbours on the benefits of going electric, even sometimes handing the keys over for a test drive.”
With seating for up to five passengers, the all-electric Nissan LEAF boasts an EPA-estimated driving range of 84 miles on a fully-charged battery and MPGe ratings of 126 city, 101 highway and 114 combined.
The starting price of a Nissan LEAF is about $22,000 after the available maximum $7,500 federal tax credit, and LEAF offers the benefits of lower running costs and less scheduled maintenance. LEAF offers a wide range of standard equipment plus a variety of available premium features such as leather seats, 17-inch alloy wheels and 7-speaker BOSE® energy efficient audio system.
Volkswagen to launch over 20 electric vehicles in China by 2018
Volkswagen AG said on Tuesday it would launch more than 20 models of battery-driven cars in China over the next few years.
"In the near future, Volkswagen will be offering Chinese drivers over 20 NEVs, from small cars to large-sized SUVs, from plug-in hybrids to pure electric cars," Jochem Heizmann, head of Volkswagen Group China, said.
Heizmann was speaking to reporters in Shanghai, where the German carmaker is launching a week-long campaign to promote e-mobility in China's financial hub.
Volkswagen lags global rivals including BMW, Tesla Motors and Nissan in selling pure electric cars in China.
Volkswagen has previously said it plans to introduce into China more than 15 electric or plug-in hybrid cars for Volkswagen and other brands it owns by 2018, many of which will be locally produced.
China, suffering from worsening pollution, has stepped up efforts to promote use of electric cars, having rolled out incentive policies and tougher fuel-efficiency and emission rules. Beijing has set an aggressive target of putting 5 million green vehicles on Chinese roads by 2020.
Electric-car drivers going solar powered
Owners of electric vehicles have already gone petrol-free. Now, a growing number are powering their cars with sunlight.
Solar panels installed on the roof of a home or garage can easily generate enough electricity to power an electric or plug-in gas-electric hybrid vehicle. The panels aren't cheap, and neither are the cars. A Ford Fusion Energi plug-in sedan, for example, is $7,200 more than an equivalent gas-powered Fusion even after a $4,007 federal tax credit.
But advocates say the investment pays off over time and is worth it for the thrill of fossil fuel-free driving.
"We think it was one of the best things in the world to do," says Kevin Tofel, who bought a Chevrolet Volt in 2012 to soak up the excess power from his home solar-energy system. "We will never go back to an all-gas car."
No one knows exactly how many electric cars are being powered by solar energy, but the number of electric and plug-in hybrid cars in the U.S. is growing. Last year, 97,563 were sold in the U.S., according to Ward's AutoInfoBank, up 83 percent from the year before. Meanwhile, solar installations grew 21 percent in the second quarter of this year, and more than 500,000 homes and businesses now have them, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.
Tofel, 45, a senior writer for the technology website Gigaom, installed 41 solar panels on the roof of his Telford, Pennsylvania, home in 2011. The solar array — the term for a group of panels — cost $51,865, but after state and federal tax credits, the total cost was $29,205.
In the first year, Tofel found that the panels provided 13.8 megawatt hours of electricity, but his family was using only 7.59 megawatt hours. So in 2012, Tofel traded in an Acura RDX for a Volt plug-in hybrid that could be charged using some of that excess solar energy. In a typical year, with 15,243 miles of driving, the Volt used 5.074 megawatt hours.
Tofel used to spend $250 per month on gas for the Acura; now, he spends just $50, for the times when the Volt isn't near a charging station and he has to fill its backup gas engine. Charging the Volt overnight costs him $1.50, but the family makes that money back during the day when it sends solar power to the electric grid. He estimates that adding the car will cut his break-even point on the solar investment from 11.7 years to six years.
Powering a car with solar energy isn't for everyone. Among things to consider:
SITE
A south- or southeast-facing roof is a necessity, and there can't be shady trees around the house. Sam Avery, who installs solar panels in Kentucky through his company, Avery and Sun, says dormers, chimneys and other design features can hamper an installation.
"If people do have a good site, it's usually by chance," he says. "I have to retrofit a lot."
COST
The cost of installing solar panels has come down, from $8 to $10 per watt eight years ago to $3 a watt or less now. But it's still a huge investment.
Bill Webster, 39, a graphic designer at a nonprofit in Washington, D.C., paid $36,740 for his solar array in Frederick, Maryland, three years ago, or around $3.60 per watt. Tax credits reduced his net cost to around $20,000.
Before the installation, his family was paying $1,500 per year for electricity. Now, he pays $5.36 per month, the administrative fee for connecting to the grid. That fuels his home and his all-electric Nissan Leaf, which uses around a third of the energy that his solar panels generate. Webster thinks he'll break even on his investment in six years.
Some solar companies offer leasing programs, which let customers pay a fixed monthly cost for panels. There are also some incentive programs; Honda Motor Co. offers $400 toward the installation of panels through SolarCity, a company that installs them in 15 states.
Buyers also could consider a smaller system just to power a car. A Leaf needs around 4.5 megawatt hours of electricity per year to go 15,000 miles. Eighteen 250-watt panels — a $13,500 investment at $3 per watt — would produce that much electricity.
THE CAR
For Webster, who has a predictable roundtrip commute of less than 50 miles and lives near a lot of electric charging stations, an all-electric car like the Leaf makes sense. But for Avery, who lives in rural Kentucky, the Volt was the better choice because he needs the security of a backup gas engine.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's fuel-economy website — www.fueleconomy.gov — lists the number of kilowatt hours that a car uses to travel 100 miles, which can help potential buyers calculate their energy needs.
In short, people considering powering a car with solar energy have some math to do. Or maybe they don't. For Avery, the environmental benefit outweighs everything.
"The reason to go solar is not to save money," he says. "The real reason to go solar is that we have to do it."
Electric-car drivers going solar powered
Owners of electric vehicles have already gone petrol-free. Now, a growing number are powering their cars with sunlight.
Solar panels installed on the roof of a home or garage can easily generate enough electricity to power an electric or plug-in gas-electric hybrid vehicle. The panels aren't cheap, and neither are the cars. A Ford Fusion Energi plug-in sedan, for example, is $7,200 more than an equivalent gas-powered Fusion even after a $4,007 federal tax credit.
But advocates say the investment pays off over time and is worth it for the thrill of fossil fuel-free driving.
"We think it was one of the best things in the world to do," says Kevin Tofel, who bought a Chevrolet Volt in 2012 to soak up the excess power from his home solar-energy system. "We will never go back to an all-gas car."
No one knows exactly how many electric cars are being powered by solar energy, but the number of electric and plug-in hybrid cars in the U.S. is growing. Last year, 97,563 were sold in the U.S., according to Ward's AutoInfoBank, up 83 percent from the year before. Meanwhile, solar installations grew 21 percent in the second quarter of this year, and more than 500,000 homes and businesses now have them, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.
Tofel, 45, a senior writer for the technology website Gigaom, installed 41 solar panels on the roof of his Telford, Pennsylvania, home in 2011. The solar array — the term for a group of panels — cost $51,865, but after state and federal tax credits, the total cost was $29,205.
In the first year, Tofel found that the panels provided 13.8 megawatt hours of electricity, but his family was using only 7.59 megawatt hours. So in 2012, Tofel traded in an Acura RDX for a Volt plug-in hybrid that could be charged using some of that excess solar energy. In a typical year, with 15,243 miles of driving, the Volt used 5.074 megawatt hours.
Tofel used to spend $250 per month on gas for the Acura; now, he spends just $50, for the times when the Volt isn't near a charging station and he has to fill its backup gas engine. Charging the Volt overnight costs him $1.50, but the family makes that money back during the day when it sends solar power to the electric grid. He estimates that adding the car will cut his break-even point on the solar investment from 11.7 years to six years.
Powering a car with solar energy isn't for everyone. Among things to consider:
SITE
A south- or southeast-facing roof is a necessity, and there can't be shady trees around the house. Sam Avery, who installs solar panels in Kentucky through his company, Avery and Sun, says dormers, chimneys and other design features can hamper an installation.
"If people do have a good site, it's usually by chance," he says. "I have to retrofit a lot."
COST
The cost of installing solar panels has come down, from $8 to $10 per watt eight years ago to $3 a watt or less now. But it's still a huge investment.
Bill Webster, 39, a graphic designer at a nonprofit in Washington, D.C., paid $36,740 for his solar array in Frederick, Maryland, three years ago, or around $3.60 per watt. Tax credits reduced his net cost to around $20,000.
Before the installation, his family was paying $1,500 per year for electricity. Now, he pays $5.36 per month, the administrative fee for connecting to the grid. That fuels his home and his all-electric Nissan Leaf, which uses around a third of the energy that his solar panels generate. Webster thinks he'll break even on his investment in six years.
Some solar companies offer leasing programs, which let customers pay a fixed monthly cost for panels. There are also some incentive programs; Honda Motor Co. offers $400 toward the installation of panels through SolarCity, a company that installs them in 15 states.
Buyers also could consider a smaller system just to power a car. A Leaf needs around 4.5 megawatt hours of electricity per year to go 15,000 miles. Eighteen 250-watt panels — a $13,500 investment at $3 per watt — would produce that much electricity.
THE CAR
For Webster, who has a predictable roundtrip commute of less than 50 miles and lives near a lot of electric charging stations, an all-electric car like the Leaf makes sense. But for Avery, who lives in rural Kentucky, the Volt was the better choice because he needs the security of a backup gas engine.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's fuel-economy website — www.fueleconomy.gov — lists the number of kilowatt hours that a car uses to travel 100 miles, which can help potential buyers calculate their energy needs.
In short, people considering powering a car with solar energy have some math to do. Or maybe they don't. For Avery, the environmental benefit outweighs everything.
"The reason to go solar is not to save money," he says. "The real reason to go solar is that we have to do it."
Electric-car drivers going solar powered
Owners of electric vehicles have already gone petrol-free. Now, a growing number are powering their cars with sunlight.
Solar panels installed on the roof of a home or garage can easily generate enough electricity to power an electric or plug-in gas-electric hybrid vehicle. The panels aren't cheap, and neither are the cars. A Ford Fusion Energi plug-in sedan, for example, is $7,200 more than an equivalent gas-powered Fusion even after a $4,007 federal tax credit.
But advocates say the investment pays off over time and is worth it for the thrill of fossil fuel-free driving.
"We think it was one of the best things in the world to do," says Kevin Tofel, who bought a Chevrolet Volt in 2012 to soak up the excess power from his home solar-energy system. "We will never go back to an all-gas car."
No one knows exactly how many electric cars are being powered by solar energy, but the number of electric and plug-in hybrid cars in the U.S. is growing. Last year, 97,563 were sold in the U.S., according to Ward's AutoInfoBank, up 83 percent from the year before. Meanwhile, solar installations grew 21 percent in the second quarter of this year, and more than 500,000 homes and businesses now have them, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.
Tofel, 45, a senior writer for the technology website Gigaom, installed 41 solar panels on the roof of his Telford, Pennsylvania, home in 2011. The solar array — the term for a group of panels — cost $51,865, but after state and federal tax credits, the total cost was $29,205.
In the first year, Tofel found that the panels provided 13.8 megawatt hours of electricity, but his family was using only 7.59 megawatt hours. So in 2012, Tofel traded in an Acura RDX for a Volt plug-in hybrid that could be charged using some of that excess solar energy. In a typical year, with 15,243 miles of driving, the Volt used 5.074 megawatt hours.
Tofel used to spend $250 per month on gas for the Acura; now, he spends just $50, for the times when the Volt isn't near a charging station and he has to fill its backup gas engine. Charging the Volt overnight costs him $1.50, but the family makes that money back during the day when it sends solar power to the electric grid. He estimates that adding the car will cut his break-even point on the solar investment from 11.7 years to six years.
Powering a car with solar energy isn't for everyone. Among things to consider:
SITE
A south- or southeast-facing roof is a necessity, and there can't be shady trees around the house. Sam Avery, who installs solar panels in Kentucky through his company, Avery and Sun, says dormers, chimneys and other design features can hamper an installation.
"If people do have a good site, it's usually by chance," he says. "I have to retrofit a lot."
COST
The cost of installing solar panels has come down, from $8 to $10 per watt eight years ago to $3 a watt or less now. But it's still a huge investment.
Bill Webster, 39, a graphic designer at a nonprofit in Washington, D.C., paid $36,740 for his solar array in Frederick, Maryland, three years ago, or around $3.60 per watt. Tax credits reduced his net cost to around $20,000.
Before the installation, his family was paying $1,500 per year for electricity. Now, he pays $5.36 per month, the administrative fee for connecting to the grid. That fuels his home and his all-electric Nissan Leaf, which uses around a third of the energy that his solar panels generate. Webster thinks he'll break even on his investment in six years.
Some solar companies offer leasing programs, which let customers pay a fixed monthly cost for panels. There are also some incentive programs; Honda Motor Co. offers $400 toward the installation of panels through SolarCity, a company that installs them in 15 states.
Buyers also could consider a smaller system just to power a car. A Leaf needs around 4.5 megawatt hours of electricity per year to go 15,000 miles. Eighteen 250-watt panels — a $13,500 investment at $3 per watt — would produce that much electricity.
THE CAR
For Webster, who has a predictable roundtrip commute of less than 50 miles and lives near a lot of electric charging stations, an all-electric car like the Leaf makes sense. But for Avery, who lives in rural Kentucky, the Volt was the better choice because he needs the security of a backup gas engine.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's fuel-economy website — www.fueleconomy.gov — lists the number of kilowatt hours that a car uses to travel 100 miles, which can help potential buyers calculate their energy needs.
In short, people considering powering a car with solar energy have some math to do. Or maybe they don't. For Avery, the environmental benefit outweighs everything.
"The reason to go solar is not to save money," he says. "The real reason to go solar is that we have to do it."
Electric-car drivers going solar powered
Owners of electric vehicles have already gone petrol-free. Now, a growing number are powering their cars with sunlight.
Solar panels installed on the roof of a home or garage can easily generate enough electricity to power an electric or plug-in gas-electric hybrid vehicle. The panels aren't cheap, and neither are the cars. A Ford Fusion Energi plug-in sedan, for example, is $7,200 more than an equivalent gas-powered Fusion even after a $4,007 federal tax credit.
But advocates say the investment pays off over time and is worth it for the thrill of fossil fuel-free driving.
"We think it was one of the best things in the world to do," says Kevin Tofel, who bought a Chevrolet Volt in 2012 to soak up the excess power from his home solar-energy system. "We will never go back to an all-gas car."
No one knows exactly how many electric cars are being powered by solar energy, but the number of electric and plug-in hybrid cars in the U.S. is growing. Last year, 97,563 were sold in the U.S., according to Ward's AutoInfoBank, up 83 percent from the year before. Meanwhile, solar installations grew 21 percent in the second quarter of this year, and more than 500,000 homes and businesses now have them, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.
Tofel, 45, a senior writer for the technology website Gigaom, installed 41 solar panels on the roof of his Telford, Pennsylvania, home in 2011. The solar array — the term for a group of panels — cost $51,865, but after state and federal tax credits, the total cost was $29,205.
In the first year, Tofel found that the panels provided 13.8 megawatt hours of electricity, but his family was using only 7.59 megawatt hours. So in 2012, Tofel traded in an Acura RDX for a Volt plug-in hybrid that could be charged using some of that excess solar energy. In a typical year, with 15,243 miles of driving, the Volt used 5.074 megawatt hours.
Tofel used to spend $250 per month on gas for the Acura; now, he spends just $50, for the times when the Volt isn't near a charging station and he has to fill its backup gas engine. Charging the Volt overnight costs him $1.50, but the family makes that money back during the day when it sends solar power to the electric grid. He estimates that adding the car will cut his break-even point on the solar investment from 11.7 years to six years.
Powering a car with solar energy isn't for everyone. Among things to consider:
SITE
A south- or southeast-facing roof is a necessity, and there can't be shady trees around the house. Sam Avery, who installs solar panels in Kentucky through his company, Avery and Sun, says dormers, chimneys and other design features can hamper an installation.
"If people do have a good site, it's usually by chance," he says. "I have to retrofit a lot."
COST
The cost of installing solar panels has come down, from $8 to $10 per watt eight years ago to $3 a watt or less now. But it's still a huge investment.
Bill Webster, 39, a graphic designer at a nonprofit in Washington, D.C., paid $36,740 for his solar array in Frederick, Maryland, three years ago, or around $3.60 per watt. Tax credits reduced his net cost to around $20,000.
Before the installation, his family was paying $1,500 per year for electricity. Now, he pays $5.36 per month, the administrative fee for connecting to the grid. That fuels his home and his all-electric Nissan Leaf, which uses around a third of the energy that his solar panels generate. Webster thinks he'll break even on his investment in six years.
Some solar companies offer leasing programs, which let customers pay a fixed monthly cost for panels. There are also some incentive programs; Honda Motor Co. offers $400 toward the installation of panels through SolarCity, a company that installs them in 15 states.
Buyers also could consider a smaller system just to power a car. A Leaf needs around 4.5 megawatt hours of electricity per year to go 15,000 miles. Eighteen 250-watt panels — a $13,500 investment at $3 per watt — would produce that much electricity.
THE CAR
For Webster, who has a predictable roundtrip commute of less than 50 miles and lives near a lot of electric charging stations, an all-electric car like the Leaf makes sense. But for Avery, who lives in rural Kentucky, the Volt was the better choice because he needs the security of a backup gas engine.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's fuel-economy website — www.fueleconomy.gov — lists the number of kilowatt hours that a car uses to travel 100 miles, which can help potential buyers calculate their energy needs.
In short, people considering powering a car with solar energy have some math to do. Or maybe they don't. For Avery, the environmental benefit outweighs everything.
"The reason to go solar is not to save money," he says. "The real reason to go solar is that we have to do it."
Electric Cars No Longer a Niche in Norway [VIDEO]
Norway, rich in petroleum, is also a global leader in renewable energy use, at 98%, and that cleaner, more inexpensive electricity is helping to drive the push of electric vehicles into the mainstream market.
Roughly one in six cars sold in Norway is an EV, a whopping 15% share.
Norway has the most EVs per capita of any country, although its love for zero-emission vehicles didn’t develop overnight.
For nearly three decades, nascent support for EVs by owners and local governments has grown into national incentive schemes and a robust charging infrastructure.
Norway’s Head of the Parliamentary Committee for Energy and Environment, Ola Elvestuen, says the incentives had created the nationwide EV market.
“They took away all the taxes on electric cars and we introduced the other incentives: You could park for free, charge for free, you can use the bus lanes and toll roads for free. And slowly in the beginning, but for the last few years, it has really taken off,” said Elvestuen.
Since sales began in 2011, Nissan LEAF has become the nation’s third best-selling car with over 15,000 on Norway’s roads.
Visio.M unveil low cost 450 kg carbon fiber electric car
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An attractive electric vehicle at an affordable price that provides safety and comfort combined with a reasonable driving range: that was the goal of the Visio.M project. The participating researchers at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen who put together the car in collaboration with specialists from industry are now unveiling it to the public.
More and more people are considering the purchase of an electric car. Whenever possible, it should run on renewably generated electricity. They want to conserve fossil resources and make a contribution to the environment – while playing the role of pioneers in an unstoppable trend over the next few years.
In the Visio.M collaborative project researchers at TU München, together with experts from industry have been exploring what an all-round, sporty, low-price and safe electric car might look like. The result of the undertaking, which has been funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research for two and a half years to the tune of 7.1 million euro is a very small vehicle that sets new standards regarding efficiency and safety. The researchers will unveil their car to the public at the eCarTec from 21st to 23rd October 2014.
Speedy lightweight
The Visio.M has a driving range of around 160 kilometers and space for two people and luggage. With only 15 kilowatts of engine power, the car can achieve a top speed of 120 km/h (75 mph). Its design is sporty and self-confident. The features fulfill all significant requirements of a normal car, from infotainment and navigation assistance to climatization.
The electric motor draws its energy form a 13.5 kWh lithium-ion battery comprising consumer cells and is mounted behind the seats. The battery weighs almost 85 kg and can be charged from a 230 V socket in only three to four hours. The total cost of ownership, including initial investment and operating costs, will be lower than that of a comparable combustion engine car.
Decisive for the great energy efficiency of the Visio.M is its light weight. The passenger compartment is made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic with aluminum in the front and rear sections, as well as the roof frame. All windows are made of polycarbonate. This material weighs only half as much as glass but, thanks to a special coating, is equally resistant to scratches and weathering. The researchers also saved weight in chassis, steering and transmission by using special light-weight constructions. Without the battery, the Visio.M weighs only 450 kilograms.
"Light weight is essential for an electric vehicle," says Prof. Markus Lienkamp, Chair of the TUM Institute of Automotive Technology, "because more weight requires more battery performance for the same range and thus generates higher costs. More weight also means poorer driving dynamics at the same performance. But we want a car that is affordable and fun to drive."
Safety first
An all-round, mass market car must guarantee effective passenger safety. Especially in collisions with heavier vehicles, small cars must provide a safety zone in spite of their small dimensions. The passenger compartment of the Visio.M consists of an innovative, multi-section monocoque made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic combined with ultra light sandwich materials imparting it with exceptional rigidity.
In addition, the engineers have developed a safety concept that includes a systematic anticipatory analysis of the surrounding traffic. The 360° monitoring of the immediate vehicle vicinity via radar and camera sensors makes it possible to detect critical driving situations early on. This information is not used for driver assistance or warnings. When the car detects an imminent unavoidable collision it activates the integrated passenger protection systems just before the actual crash takes place.
Novel structural airbags are mounted in the bumpers and doors. Fractions of a second before a crash a gas generator fills these pressure tubes, which then act as additional absorption elements.
Adaptive seat-belt tensioners and force limiting systems reduce the forces acting on the passengers. A two-point belt combines with the normal safety belt holds the passengers firmly in their seats. When the system detects an imminent side collision, the passenger on the crash side is pulled toward the inside of the vehicle together with the seat just before the collision, thereby moving away from the immediate danger zone. The pre-acceleration of the passenger reduces the crash forces acting on the passenger and increases the effectivity of the side airbag. A potential collision between the driver and passenger is prevented by an interaction airbag mounted between the seats.
Ergonomic design
In contrast to conventional cars in which the heel of the driver is defined as a fixed point for the adjustment functions, in the Visio.M the driver's eyes serve as a fixed point. This allowed the researchers to position the safety systems and the traffic perspective optimally. The driver's seat must only be adjusted vertically. In exchange the pedals are adjustable.
Control elements for the radio, air conditioning and navigation assistance are accessible via a central touch display, which is also adjustable. The human-machine interaction consists solely of swiping gestures that can be made on the entire display. The driver does not need to hit any buttons and a quick glance is sufficient for visual orientation.
At the core of the system is an open software architecture that can be extended at any time with additional elements. This opens the door to things like accessing home music collections via cloud applications or performing compute-intensive applications like energy-efficient route planning based on current weather and traffic conditions from a central server. All kinds of premium services can be implemented in this way. In the future, for example, a rental car might be delivered to a customer's door via remote control. This concept has already been implemented experimentally.
Large driving range
Many aspects must be brought together before the vehicle can achieve a large driving range in spite of its relatively small battery. These include light weight, low aerodynamic drag, an efficient drive train, minimal rolling friction and energy-saving air conditioning. The researchers have optimized these parameters in the context of the Visio.M project. Thus the 1.55 m wide and 1.31 m high two-seater now has excellent aerodynamics. In addition to low vehicle weight, the combination of low coefficient of drag of only 0.24, small frontal area of 1.69 square meters and tires optimized for low rolling resistance (115/70 R 16) further reduce the energy consumption.
The active "torque vectoring" differential also contributes to overall efficiency: A small electric machine in the gearbox that can be operated as an electric motor or as an electric generator distributes the force optimally between the two back wheels. Because of the improved stability while braking in curves, significantly more energy can be recovered than without torque vectoring. At the same time the car becomes much more agile and safe, because of the optimal distribution of drive ad braking forces.
Energy-saving air conditioning
Special attention was paid in the Visio.M to the design of the air-conditioning and heating systems. Wherever warmth is generated, it is recovered for heating the car when required. So-called Peltier elements are integrated into both the cooling aggregate and seats. These electrothermal converters can heat as well as cool. This allows environmentally friendly operation without the use of coolant fluids. During very cold weather an ethanol-based heater can be switched on for driving range independent heating. The aggregate with a thermal performance of approx. 4.5 kW is especially useful for deicing the windscreen. An intelligent controller finds the optimal solution for energy efficient and comfortable operation of the air-conditioning system.
Electromobility for the masses
During the development of the Visio.M, the various systems were subject to numerous trials to test their functionality, safety and reliability. The result is an electric car that should find great interest, especially in industry. Prof. Markus Lienkamp is optimistic: "With the Visio.M we have demonstrated that it is possible to build a very light and at the same time safe car with overall costs that we expect to be lower than those of comparable combustion-engine cars. But it is still a long way to serial production because almost all components must be adapted to the manufacturing conditions of large series."
