The Case For The Autonomous Car

(LATEST CAR NEWS) YES, YOU SHOULD BE worried about Google testing autonomous cars. It has been testing driverless Toyota Priuses and other models since competing with General Motors and other teams in the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s autonomous vehicle demonstrations of the late 2000s. The ubiquitous computer search engine company has been reticent in talking about its project to Motor Trend, though The New York Times’ November 13, 2011, expose on Google X, the company’s research lab, reported that the autonomy project is part of a secretive effort to open and establish new markets and technologies.

“Unimpressed by the innovative spirit of Detroit automakers,’ The Times reported, “Google is now considering manufacturing them in the United States, said a person briefed on the effort".

One non-innovative Detroit automaker is experimenting with driverless cars too, though its efforts are more practical and palatable to those of us who don’t want to give up the wheel, throttle, and brakes, much less the gearbox. GM’s futurist. Chris Borroni-Bird, director of Advanced Technology Vehicle Concepts, says some form of autonomy will be on the road before the end of the decade.

“You can address some of the aging population trends by keeping a vehicle almost the way it is and making it autonomous.” Borroni-Bird says. “but in an urban context you almost need to rethink what the automobile does, in terms of range and speed and key performance requirements, and what it looks like:’

The result so far is GM’s Segway-based EN-V bubblecar concepts, last year renamed as part of the Chevrolet brand. When such vehicles hit the road sometime in the future, Borroni-Bird says, they’ll likely look much different, but they’ll work much the same. The Chevy EN-V is designed to be a small, electric car that could have one, two, three, or four wheels, one or more seats, and be part of a megacity’s car-sharing program.

EN-Vs will have top speeds in the 25-mph range to coexist safely with pedestrians. bicycle messengers, and other vehicles, and can get a quick recharge during the day, between ride-share customers. “It does things a bicycle and walking can’t do, and it does things a bus or train can’t do,” Borroni-Bird adds. “It’s kind of swimming upstream against what people want. But we recognize that we can’t keep

The Case For The Autonomous Car : GM DOESN’T WANT TO REPLACE DRIVERS

Cadillac Converj

General Motors plans to produce a luxury car project again, after getting approval from the executive production.

Luxury cars to be produced is the Cadillac Converj. Converj will be launched in 2013 and claimed to be the best car models in its class. Previously, this Converj Cadillac concept car was introduced at the Detroit Auto Show 2009.

In his debut at the Detroit Auto Show, it turns out gave a great and positive impact on this Cadilac.

Many consumers who like the car concept. Since then, General Motors gave the green light to produce this car in the future.

This car will be the latest version and can display better acceleration in accordance with the Cadillac tradition. However, the issue price of the car, the management of General Motors can not be sure. LATEST CAR NEWS.

Cadillac Converj Soon Produced

EARLY this month, General Motors (GM) began to build factories that will be the first electric motor production facility operated by the United States's biggest carmaker that. Factory which was established not far from Baltimore, Maryland is dedicated to making important components required by electric vehicles.

The facility was built with an investment worth U.S. $ 244.5 million complex will stand on land the GM in Baltimore, bordering the Allison Transmission plant in White Marsh, Maryland.

The plant is scheduled to be completed in 2013, will operate the first time to produce electric motors for vehicles and plug-in hybrid GM's next generation. The factory is expected to employ about 190 employees in its operations.

Electric motor component manufacturing facility uses the most electricity generated by rooftop solar power plant capable of producing a power of 1.23 mega-watt. Power generated by solar panels is expected to contribute 9% of the energy needed factory.

GM Plant in Baltimore is known differently because it uses renewable energy and produces no waste. Therefore, this plant was awarded status as a plant with zero waste in 2007. All waste generated during the plant operates every day, will be sent to the recycling process, reused or converted into energy. LATEST CAR NEWS

GM Build Environmentally Friendly Electric Motor Factory

LATEST CAR NEWS - In internal combustion engines both gasoline and diesel fuel that is burned not only generate power but also heat engines. In ordinary vehicles, most of the wasted heat. While this heat energy can be utilized.

Manufacturers of thermoelectric devices, BSST in Irwindale, California and General Motors (GM) independently assemble their first prototype thermoelectric generator to try on commercial vehicles and SUVs.

Prototype thermoelectric BSST try them on a BMW and Ford, while GM apply to SUVs. Both will have tested thermoelectric generator devices on the highway in the late summer of this year.

Researchers at the GM was giving final touches on the prototype by using a thermoelectric new class called 'skutterudites'. This unit looks promising thanks to the low cost of production of material consisting of cobalt arsenide compounds and rare elements such as ytterbium which showed better performance at higher temperatures.

So far, computer models show that the tests on the Chevrolet Suburban produces power of 350 watts that can be used to improve fuel efficiency as much as 3%.

The biggest problem is finding a balance to create the electrical contacts and good heat. To generate electricity, thermoelectric devices require high temperature gradient by utilizing two contradictory material. At the same time, these differences create many barriers for contacts to heat and destroy the entire system.

This is where researchers BSST play a role. Currently BSST are investigating material

Other than using a combination of thermoelectric hafnium and zirconium which seems to function well at high temperatures and increase the efficiency of the generator until it reaches the range of 40%

Saves Fuel with Time Heat Machine