Hybrid-Only Sai Car Unvelied by Toyota for Japan Market

After the Prius, there's Sai, another hybrid-only model from Toyota. It's recently unveiled for the Japanese market. It's costlier and bigger than the Prius. Government incentives are making hybrids extremely popular in Japan and a monthly sales average of 30,000 per month is expected beginning Dec 7, 2009, when the Sai sales will begin.

Like other automobile companies, the global economic crisis and stricter environmental laws has led to slumps in sales of regular combustion engine cars. The age of hybrids appears to have arrived and consumers are switching, opting for new technology automobiles that switch between a fuel-burning engine and an electric motor.

Compared to the Prius which gets 38 kilometers per liter, the Sai delivers a bit less at 23 kilometers per liter. That's still twice the mileage of a regular gas guzzler. One reason why the Sai is less efficient is the 2.4 liter engine. The Prius only has a 1.8 liter engine. The Sai is also bigger and roomier than the Prius - using an unorthodox dashboard design. However, the instrument panel that divides the dashboard in the middle looks dangerous in a collision, especially if a kid is seated in the passenger side.

Toyota hopes that with the release of the Sai, hybrids will become more popular and boost company sales even more.


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Toyota Recalls Cars on Floormat Issue - Are There Other Dangers?

Toyota never anticipated that the holding mechanism of the floormat of some of its cars (left) like the Camry and Prius could cause the accelerator pedal to get snagged (top) and stuck (the secured floormat would keep pushing on it). After accidents have happened attributed to the design, the recall was initiated on specific car models, although more could be added to the list. Toyota has recommended that the floormat of the drivers side of affected car owners be removed and not replaced.

Interestingly, although there seems to be no accidents reported relating to this. There had been some concerns about the seat slider handle that were used in old Corolla models. You know that handle that you pull at the near the bottom of your seat to slide it forward and backward? Yes, that's the one. Well, it turned out that shoes can sometimes get snagged on this. The picture on th eleft shows a knob that's diagonally placed. It's those with a horizontal design that can be a problem.

The shoes prone to this are rubber or hiking shoes that have those extensions at the heel end that you can use to hang them up to dry with (left; encircled). Yes, it's happened and it can come as a surprise when the driver suddenly realizes that he or she can't move his foot forward to press on the clutch! It can take several seconds to realize what has happened and at high speeds, it can be a very distressing situation.

While the concern is easily solved by wearing shoes ideal for driving, the problem is that that the knob handle design for the seat slider could still cause accidents. The good news for Toyota is that other brands of cars may also have knobs that can snag some shoes. Designers should take a close look at this for the safety of consumers.

Toyota has had recall issues in the past.


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One Liter Car Technology Changes the Automotive Industry

One liter of fuel for one thousand kilometers used to be only a dream. But now that Volkswagen has come up with the L1 concept car, this dream has become something very real. The company says the L1 is close to production and this could only mean that it expects a huge demand for the car. It adds that for this car to become commercially viable, there has to be three things: a supremely efficient powertrain, great aerodynamics, and light engineering.

The L1 commercial car is going to be a hybrid, likely using a two-cylinder, 39-hp turbo-diesel engine combined with a 14-hp electric motor. It's also going to have a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. Technically, it can reach a speed of 100 kph but fuel economy is sacrificed here with the engine burning 1.38 liters per hundred kilometers.

The superb aerodynamics of the L1 is possible because it is slim, so slim it's described as cigar-shaped. Instead of having the seats side by side in pairs, they're lined up like in a jet fighter. It's also quite low which keeps air resistance minimum in the undercarriage.

The light weight of the L1 is achieved with the use of a carbon fiber body, thus much of the weight comes from the engine and chassis. The total weight of the car is less than a ton at 838 pounds. As it is, the physical design of the L1 might not be appealing to a wide audience, but it's the idea of a super fuel-efficient vehicle that's the main attraction. With just a little tweaking of the Volkswagen design engineers, they can make a new commercial L1 (the L2?) which will be more down-to-earth and family-friendly.

We can expect other companies to follow the example of Volkswagen and see more of this kind of 1- liter car.



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Hydrogen Cars Set for Commercialization with New Storage System

Hydrogen engines, along with other new engine and fancy gadget systems for automobiles, are likely set for commercialization with a new hydrogen storage system developed with the help of funding from General Motors. According to GM researchers led by Issam Mudawar, this storage system aims to make the task of filling-up with hydrogen as easy as filling-up with gasoline. The secret to a quick fill is the heat exchange system which allows the gas to be absorbed by metal hydride powder.

The process of hydrogen absorption by the metal hydride produces heat that slows down the process and at least 40 minutes would be needed to fill a hydrogen tank that allows a traveling distance of 300 miles. With the special heat exchange and removal system similar to what's used in refrigerators plus cooling fins, the time needed to get a full tank is reduced to only 5 minutes, almost the same as what's needed to get a gasoline tank full. This is what would make the hydrogen car practical and ready for commercial production.

The hydrogen gas is used to power fuel cells that run the electric motor of hydrogen cars. The main advantage of using these electric-hydrogen cars is it produces zero emissions with only water vapor as the byproduct of the energy conversion needed to run the car. Water or course, is harmless and is beneficial for life on earth. There's now a system being developed that can extract hydrogen from urine. This is a good way to make hydrogen gas cheap and readily available. People and animals like cows produce tons of urine everyday and they are good sources of hydrogen.

If all cars used hydrogen fuel, the world would indeed be a better place with air that's more breathable. With the practical technology for hydrogen production and storage and now available, tomorrow looks very green.



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Nissan Electrifies Us with the 2011 Leaf

Nissan seems to have gained ground on being a pioneer of sorts when it comes to mainstream electric cars with the unveiling of its fully electric vehicle, Leaf during the opening formalities of the new headquarters in Yokohama, Japan, the city that's been touted as the city with almost zero emissions. Yes, it's certainly green technology and Nissan says the car cleanses the air just like leaves purifies it. It sounds like an advertising claim from the forties and fifties, but it certainly drives home the main selling point for the new car.

The compact hatchback will be launched next year in Japan and in the United States as a commercial vehicle, well ahead of some competitors' electric vehicles (EV). It's an effort through which the company hopes to gain an advantage of being a world leader in the EV industry. Nissan believes the more robust Leaf will best earlier releases of EVs by Mitsubishi and Subaru.

While the Leaf isn't really designed for long drives, it's pretty ideal for city driving with a maximum speed of 90 mph and a range of a100 miles per charge, which usually takes 30 minutes depending on the charging station used.

On a regular 220-volt-current outlet, the charging time is 6 hours, which is good enough for an overnight "juicing." This gives the Leaf enough power to its 170 hp electric engine for enough torque pep (207 pound-feet) to it's acceleration to best others out there - or at least according to reports.

The Leaf is a good start at making EVs more mainstream, but there's still the problem of the number of charging stations and the charging time. To compensate, Nissan has incorporated in the vehicle a communication system that informs the driver where to find stations and how fast the chargers are. That's a little bit of comfort, as long as you are in a city and there's no prolonged power outage just when you need electricity.

For now, the Leaf costs just a little bit more than your regular combustion compact of the same model, at $28,000 to $35,000, but it should appeal to environmentalists and the price is expected to drop with more competitors entering the EV market. The batteries are not included in the price of the Leaf. The batteries are leased, which is good since that would lead to efficient recovery for recycling when the batteries are no longer useful.



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Prius Wins WhatGreenCar Car of the Year for 2009

One of the most expected cars for 2009 is the Toyota Prius. Being hybrid and with the latest technology to boot, it's one car that pioneers the new age of automobiles - cleaner and greener. The Prius was chosen from a short list of only 10 finalist-candidates - cars available in Britain in 2009:

Citroen C1 ev'ie electric
Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric
Toyota iQ
Ford Fiesta ECOnetic
Toyota Prius hybrid (third-generation)
Volvo S40/V50 DRIVe start-stop
Honda Insight
Volkswagen Passat BlueMotion 2
BMW 318d saloon
Citroen C3 Picasso compact-MPV

The selection process included test-driving at Imperial College in London. There were six drivers recognized as environmental experts. The judges were impressed at how the Prius seamlessly integrated green technology into the design. It has a lighter and more compact powertrain, better fuel economy at 72.4 mpg, and 14% less greenhouse gas emission than the previous model at only 89g/km.



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Recognizable Artificial Sound Alert System for Hybrid Cars Needed for Pedestrian Safety

Hybrid cars are so silent when in electric mode. This is the reason why regulatory groups have been discussing about how to implement an artificial sound system that would help alert pedestrians, visually-impaired people in particular, about their presence or approach on the road. It's been shown that blind people use hearing to be alerted about moving vehicles while alongside or crossing the road. Unfortunately, the new silent-engine technology makes it harder for them to determine the presence or movement of hybrid vehicles.

Hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius have been touted as almost silent when running on electricity and that they need an artificial sound for the safety of pedestrians. Although there have been reports of a low frequency sound while moving over bumps, this is still not enough to serve as an audible warning to the visually-impaired (it's also been described as annoying). Some service centers have told complaining clients that they could not replicate the sound, but Prius owners still hear it.

Because of new laws - one of which has been introduced by the US Congress - developers and regulatory groups have proposed an artificial "running" sound as a standard "operating sound" for hybrid vehicles. For now, that sound is still a big question mark. Common sense would dictate that it has to be pleasant, yet loud enough to alert people, and yet quiet enough so as not to contribute to road noise pollution.

A company called Vehicle Engine Acoustics has already produced a sound system with speakers under the four wheel wells that simulate real combustion-engine sound. Ideally, it should also replicate starting up, acceleration, deceleration, and engine rpm increase while in neutral. The company says it's the standard, but that clients can pick other sounds. It's interesting, but imagine a highway filled with hybrid vehicles emitting all manner of sounds from barking dogs, to screaming women, to twittering birds? Wouldn't that create more confusion? How will blind people know it's a car coming and not a babbling brook? These questions need to be addressed by lawmakers.



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The Car and Curves Blog Is Up

Have you noticed that wherever there are cars, there are almost always curves? Yes, the two go together, and in this blog, you'll find lots of cars and curves, on the road or otherwise. But that's not all that you're going to get in this blog.

You'll find lots of visual motoring delight in Cars and Curves but there are also news, tips, and all manner of car things that you'll find both useful and entertaining at the same time. Let's not forget tons of videos and pictures to complement them all! Just take this video footage of a 2010 Ford Mustang champion drifting in Japan. So, enjoy your stay.



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