Volkswagen AG of Germany and the Toshiba Corporation of Japan have inked a deal in Wolfsburg, Germany today under which they will jointly develop modern electric drive units and the accompanying power electronics for Volkswagen’s new range of electric vehicles. The two companies will also develop lighter and more efficient lithium-ion battery packs which can make electric vehicles more practical and convenient for various commuting needs. Volkswagen’s new generation of electric cars will all be developed using Toshiba’s proven expertise in electric systems. The chairman of the board of management at Volkswagen AG, Prof. Dr Martin Winterkorn, said “Volkswagen is forging ahead with the development of future drive technologies in many different areas. In order to further strengthen our position, Volkswagen is investing in the long term and is offering cooperation projects to other companies. One of the important components in this context is the cooperation with Toshiba. I am convinced that this will be a major step forward towards the development of series production electric vehicles for our customers.”

Volkswagen’s growing strength is evident in the way the company is investing in research and development and this joint initiative is a point in case. The alliance is likely to yield rich dividends for both partners in the future which is leading to environment friendly mobility.

Mercedes-Benz is well know making solid built cars with bullet proof reliability. In a bid to make you feel even safer, the company and has unveiled an armoured E-Guard variant of the new E-Class. Soon to be a favourite with corporate honchos, movie stars and politicians the Mercedes-Benz E-Guard employs a host of safety measures to keep the occupants safely cacooned in the case of any eventuality like an assault, assasination attempt or even a terror strike. The safety equipment list includes bulletproof polycarbonate windows which can withstand up to .44 Magnum calibre bullets, blast-proof floor which can absorb a DM51 hand-grenade and run-flat 17 inch tyres which can run for 50kms at 80km/h even when flat. The windows can also be rolled up and down electrically like in a normal E-Class.

The E-Guard is almost indistinguishable from a standard E-Class as all the modifications have been fully integrated in a seamless fashion, typical of Mercedes. All comforts and luxuries of the regular saloon are carried over into the E-Guard. To deal with the extra weight of the safety equipment and armour, the E-Guard has a special Level II Air Suspension but engine options remain the same as on the standard E-Class. The new E-Guard is available in three engine variants, with an option of the basic ELEGANCE line or the AVANTGARDE line. The price to be safe is a hefty 10,000 Euros over the standard E-Class, which many would eagerly shell out to keep any danger at bay. The E-Guard goes on sale in Europe from April 2009.

The new frugal nature of American carmakers is making them innovate and this new development is a real spectacle. Tired of crunching cars for safety tests, Ford engineers have developed a unique balloon car made of heavy-duty tarp like material. This is being used to test their new Adaptive Cruise Control with Collision Warning and Brake Support technology. The blue balloon car has a special silver patch of reflective paint at the rear which reflects radar back to the adaptive cruise and collision warning systems in the other test vehicle. These tests help the engineer in setting the timing of these systems to ensure vehicle and occupant safety. Just in case the system messes up and there is a crash, the balloon car takes the hit and saves crashing actual cars or repairing them after an impact.

However, the balloon car costs an amazing U.S $10,000, which is as much as a small hatch. Anyways Ford believes that in the long run the balloon will save them loads of cash. The other benefit of using the balloon car is that human test drivers can be deployed for testing as any impact with the balloon is almost harmless on the test track.

Italian tire manufacturer Pirelli has teamed up with Brembo and Magneti Marelli to develop a ‘Cyber Tyre’ for high-end cars. The three famous Italian firms are going to work together to develop this advanced tyre which will go into production by 2011 0r 2012 and will be fitted as OEM on high-end sports cars like Lamborghini’s and Ferrari’s before coming into the mainstream market.

Though tire pressure monitoring systems have become quite common, the new tyre will provide real-time data on the air pressure, load, temperature, friction and more to the car’s computer. This will be made possible by a self-powered microchip integrated into the carcass of the tyre and powered by the motion of the tyre. So as long as the car is in motion (maybe above a certain speed) the information will be gathered by the chip and wirelessly transmitted to the car’s CPU using RFID technology.

The electronics will be provided by Magneti Marelli, while Brembo will work on the brakes for the new tire. The entire system will be made in a way that it can easily be integrated into cars of various manufacturers. When developed the ‘Cyber Tyre’ will help safety by transmitting useful data on the tires’ current condition which systems like stability control and ABS will use to improve traction and safety in all situations. The trio are also developing a similar tire for motorcycles, called ‘Cyber Tyre Lean’.

Mazda of Japan is planning to mass produce cars with it’s latest hydrogen powered rotary engine technology. Mazda has been testing and developing this technology for the last 4 years with the RX-8 Hydrogen RE at its facility in Hiroshima, Japan and has reached a stage when the tech can go mainstream. However supporting infrastructure like hydrogen refuelling stations will be ready for a mass production car only by 2013 and that’s when the car will rollout. The RX-8 Hydrogen RE’s can deliver about 200 km on hydrogen power alone and is dual-fuel so can run on gasoline too. The car can switch from hydrogen fuel to gasoline with only a flick of a switch. In all probability the future hydrogen powered rotary engine car from Mazda will also be dual-fuel.

Though Mazda hasn’t declared which model will sport the new engine, it’s possible that it’s next gen RX-7 sports car which is due to debut in 2010 gets the cutting edge technology as it has the jaw-dropping looks and appeal which is needed to showcase Mazda’s new hydrogen technology and its commitment to preserving the environment.

Now you can roam the world in 3D on the internet through other people’s trips. Google Earth’s latest innovation lets you mark an entire road trip and document place marks and pictures along the way which friends and family can view in 3D. When starting out a trip the origin needs to be marked and then each place of importance/activity can be marked along with specific pictures and notes e.g: sightseeing stops, eateries, motor sport venues etc. You can send links of your trail to friends and family who can check your trip out trough Google Earth’s three dimensional rendering of the view from start to finish. Learn more through googletouring.com’s tutorial on how to start documenting your own trips.

Volkswagen’s BlueTDI engine technology, a next generation turbo diesel developed especially for the North American market is set to debut in the Jetta in mid 2008 according to a company release. This common rail engine is based on the high-tech TDI, which was first introduced in Europe in 2007 with the Tiguan. The BlueTDI engine already satisfies the Euro-5 standard that comes into effect in autumn 2009 but in order to meet specific operating conditions in some states of the U.S. (eg- California), this 4 cylinder engine was modified.

The Jetta BlueTDI is touted as one of the cleanest and most economic
cars of its class in the world. On the highway, for example, this engine can reach up to 60 miles per gallon! The 2.0 litre engine is also not a slouch with 140 PS and 320 Nm of torque.

When all the automobile giants are in race to reveal nonpareil automobiles at the Geneva Auto Show, Lotus has plans of its own.
In a bid to combine performance with economy and reduced emissions, Lotus Engineering is all set to roll out the Lotus Exige 270 E Trifuel. As the name suggest, this Trifuel machine runs over three fuels, gasoline, bioethanol and methanol.

The Exige 270 E Trifuel is to be launched within a week and it would be powered by a 1.8 litre 2ZZ-GE VVTL-i engine with a Roots type supercharger and intercooler capable of accelerating the light weight car from 0-60mph within 3.9 seconds. The engine produces maximum power of 270 bhp at 8000 rpm, with 260 Nm of torque at 5500 rpm, when run on standard gasoline. However, its performance is said to increase, when run on alcohol fuels like methanol and bioethanol. Between ethanol and methanol too, the performance differs. The Trifuel Exige provides better performance, when methanol is used as fuel rather than ethanol. The reason being that at high heat methanol vaporizes faster than ethanol, which eventually results in better performance.

The 2ZZ VVTL-i engine, has a twin cam profiles, a high-speed cam and a low speed cam with the switch point between these two cams being completely variable. It is totally dependent upon driving conditions and engine load. This enables the Lotus Exige 270E Tri-fuel deliver seamless performance even at maximum revs of 8500rpm.

What is exciting is that the Lotus can also be run on any combination these three fuels. Being ‘Green’ gets a whole new meaning with this Lotus.

You would know of Tata as the Indian company behind the Nano $2500 micro car but the company is actually a large conglomerate which has diversified into many industries including IT with their group company Tata Consultancy Services. TCS as it is better known has been providing IT consultancy to some of the leading companies in the world which also include the Italian sports car maker Ferrari. Ferrari uses TCS developed software in it’s road cars and F1 car. Their latest automotive client is Chrysler who have signed TCS on a multiyear contract to provide a comprehensive portfolio of IT services to support the automaker’s sales and marketing operations. Though most of us in this part of the world have not heard about TCS, Tata’s IT consulting business last year grossed $4.3 billion in revenues from global clients.

So Tata just doesnt want to compete with global auto manufacturers, it also wants to partner with them in helping them grow. Wise move aint it?

Mercedes ‘Bionic Car’ on Display at ‘Design and the Elastic Mind’ in NY
Mercedes Benz’s concept models of the ‘bionic car’ are going to appear at New York’s Museum of Modern Art as part of the “Design and the Elastic Mind” exhibition. The exhibition held at the famous “MoMA” would showcase cutting edge innovations from the fields of design and science. The exhibition is on from February 24th.

The Mercedes ‘bionic car’, was first unveiled in June 2005 at the Innovation Symposium organized by Daimler AG in the US capital. It boasts of slippery aerodynamics and is a lightweight concept inspired by nature, hence the name ‘bionic car’. The concept car features a clean and economical next gen diesel engine with BLUETEC technology, which cuts down on fuel consumption and reduces emissions and has been put into production models since 2006. Mercedes claims that in the US driving cycle, the bionic car can give upto 84 miles per gallon and is atleast 20% more economical than a comparable production model. The diesel motor produces 140 bhp.

The ‘bionic car’ is the work of Engineers, designers and biologists at Mercedes who have worked in sync to produce this unusual fish like two door car which looks ‘odd’ to say the least. If it’s objective is to be showcased at exhibitions then good, else i dont think it should ever come into production in it’s current guise.