Posts Tagged safety
21st Century Complete Guide to Hydrogen Power and Fuel Cell Cars: FreedomCAR Plans, Automotive Technology for Hydrogen Fuel Cells, Hydrogen Production, Storage, Safety Standards, Energy Depart
This comprehensive set of two CD-ROMs provides a thorough collection of documents covering research into using hydrogen as a fuel and developing automobiles powered by hydrogen fuel cells. There is extensive material from the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, and NASA. Hydrogen and fuel cells have the potential to solve several major challenges facing America today: dependence on petroleum imports, poor air quality, and greenhouse gas emissions. Th… More >>
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2010 The Zenvo ST1 Super Sports Car By Danish Design
Fledgling Danish supercar manufacturer Zenvo has just released the first official images and final details for the ST1, a brand new supercar from a brand new manufacturer that will join the ranks of the automotive world’s elite should it make its production date of early next year. The Zenvo ST1, on paper, looks to compete with the likes of Pagani, Koenigsegg, SSC and Bugatti for the fastest and meanest cars in the world. Probably most expensive as well, though no base price information has been released as of yet.
The car is 100% Danish design. Danish design has always been cutting edge design, but this is the first Danish designed supercar.
With an electronically limited 233 mph top speed, the ST1 won’t be breaking any production land speed records, though. Presumably Zenvo threw the governer into the equation to simplify safety and aerodynamic precautions, as one 200+ mph speeds are reached, stress on tires and body components increases very quickly.
The design of the Zenvo ST1 is made from free flowing accelerating lines creating the shape of the wheel arches, the roof line, side line and the lower side air intake. The sharp lines are connected by muscular organic surfacing creating dramatic reflections. Contrasting the general surfacing the design features a race car inspired lower carbon splitter.
The theme of the front is repeated in the rear which is designed around the big diffuser necessary for high speed stability. As on the front the center volume is flanked by large air exits extracting hot engine air as well as housing the exhaust and rear lights.
The rear spoiler mandatory for a car capable of extreme high speeds is partly integrated in the rear wing. It has a unique aerodynamic design following the raked shape of the rear end.
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Ford announces dual clutch PowerShift gearbox
Ford Motor Company announced today it will introduce an advanced dual-clutch PowerShift six-speed transmission in North America in 2010 for the small-car segment.
The new gearbox will deliver the fuel efficiency of a manual gearbox with the convenience and ease of a premium automatic transmission,making it a key enabling technology as Ford targets best-in-class or among-the-best fuel economy with every new vehicle it introduces in North America.
Overall, Six-speed transmissions already have helped vehicles such as the 2010 Ford Fusion achieve best-in-class fuel economy, while at the same time allowing the Ford Flex and Ford Escape to achieve unsurpassed fuel economy in their respective segments.
Ford is leveraging six-speed transmissions, advanced internal combustion engines such as EcoBoost, hybrids, full electric vehicles, vehicle weight reduction and electric power-assisted steering to improve fuel economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions fleet-wide by 30 percent by the year 2020.
Compared to traditional automatic four-speed transmissions, PowerShift can help reduce fuel consumption by up to 9 percent depending on the application.
PowerShift provides the full comfort of an automatic with a more sophisticated driving dynamic, thanks to uninterrupted torque from the dual-clutch technology, which consists essentially of two manual transmissions working in parallel, each with its own independent clutch unit. One clutch carries the uneven gears – 1, 3 and 5 – while the other the even gears – 2, 4 and 6. Subsequent gear changes are coordinated between both clutches as they engage and disengage for a seamless delivery of torque to the wheels.
PowerShift, unlike conventional automatic transmissions, does not need the heavier torque converter or planetary gears. In addition, the dry-clutch derivative eliminates the need for the weighty pumps, hydraulic fluids, cooling lines and external coolers that wet clutch transmissions require. As a result, the dry-clutch PowerShift transmission can weigh nearly 30 pounds less than, for example, the four-speed automatic transmission featured on today’s Ford Focus.
Differentiating PowerShift even further in terms of its customer appeal is its shift quality, launch feel and overall drive dynamic, which are all facilitated by an expert blend of Ford-exclusive electro-mechanical systems, software features, calibrations and controls. These unique driving features include:
• Neutral coast down – The clutches will disengage when the brakes are applied, improving coasting downshifts and clutch robustness as well as reducing parasitic losses for increased fuel economy.
• Precise clutch control in the form of a clutch slip to provide torsional damping of the engine vibration – This function improves noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) at low engine speeds and enables lower lugging limits for improved fuel economy.
• Low-speed driving or creep mode with integrated brake pressure – This function simulates the low-speed control drivers are accustomed to from an automatic transmission. The amount of rolling torque in Drive and Reverse is precisely controlled, gradually building as brake pressure is released.
• Hill mode or launch assist – Prevents a vehicle from rolling back on a grade by maintaining brake pressure until the engine delivers enough torque to move the vehicle up the hill, providing improved driver confidence, comfort, safety and clutch robustness.
source:ford
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