Cars as efficient as electric trains to be created over the next decade

Richard Parry-Jones, one of the leading automotive engineers in the industry, has made a prediction that the eco-friendly cars which will be available by the end of this decade will be as efficient as an electric train. Parry-Jones, who once worked for Ford and is currently the chairman of Network Rail and the head of the Automotive Council, made this statement during a recent transport conference held in London.

Toyota Prius Hybrid Car

He went on to say that the automotive manufacturing industry is aiming to achieve a carbon emission rate of 40g/km; given that the average number of passengers in a car is 1.6, this works out at just 25g/km per person, a figure which is not dissimilar to that of the most eco-friendly electric trains running today. Parry-Jones declared this a ‘remarkable development’ when one considers that the average emission just 12 years ago was 140g/km.

Today, the Toyota Prius, Plug-in Hybrid, is considered to be one of the most efficient cars on the market; this vehicle has a C02 emission rate of 49g/km. The Prius model is currently available in Europe, Japan and the USA and uses a surprisingly small amount of petrol, at 2.1L/100km.  The new plug-in hybrid differs from the conventional Prius in that it comes with a much larger battery, which is can be fully charged within just 90 minutes. A battery with full power can then be used for running the car for about 15.5 miles and once it becomes depleted, the car’s standard piston engine automatically begins to run, and can charge the battery once more while the car is on the move.

There are many other manufacturers who are catching up with Toyota’s technology and ultra efficient cars are expected to be more commonplace over the coming decade. The CEO of Volkswagen, Martin Winterkorn, announced just last year, during the Qatar motor show, that the company were in the process of producing a small line of vehicles which will be based on a low emission diesel engine, which when in the combined cycle uses no more than 0.9L/100km, making it four times more efficient than its current Toyota Prius rival.

In the transport conference in London, Parry-Jones commented on the rise of new technology in cars, and predicted that vehicles with in-built traffic management devices and inter-communicative abilities will be available in the near future. He also discussed the idea of networks of vehicles which are digitally controlled under a single system. However, all of these potential advances in automotive technology will be dependent on financial initiatives. Manufacturing companies are now hoping to attract more funding for such projects from private investors.

Article sponsored by www.carwarranty.co.uk.

Peugeot Strengthens Hybrid Car Choice with new 508RXH

First it was the Prius that really started the hybrid trend in the UK. Then along came the Honda Insight, the Lexus GS450h and other hybrid saloons. Hybrid SUVs also started trickling in, in the form of the Lexus RX450h and even a Porsche Cayenne hybrid, which certainly raised some eyebrows!

Peugeot 508RXh Review - Diesel / Electric Hybrid

BMW have also now got a hybrid 5-Series on offer and a myriad other manufacturers are jumping on the bandwagon. One of them is French car maker Peugeot, with their new 4×4 508RXH which is now available to order, for delivery in May.

The 508RXH diesel-electric hybrid crossover estate car is Peugeot’s answer to the Audi A6 and A4 Allroad models and the Skoda Octavia Scout, aiming to be a luxury, high-up, robust, go-anywhere kind of car. Complete with plastic bumpers and other 4×4 hints, the 508RXH will be able to confidently tackle various hilly or generally adventurous terrains – not that we suspect a great many of its future owners will take theirs of the beaten track.

Its primary market will be business people, so equipment and specifications need to be abundant. The 508RXH will therefore come kitted out with front and rear parking sensors, a parallel park system like that in the Ford Focus, sat nav, a panoramic glass roof, heavily sound-proofed side windows to keep the noise down, a USB socket and a HUD – leaving its owners wanting for nothing.

The 508RHX will also be supremely green, boasting very low emissions of just 107g/km. How does its ‘Hybrid4’ diesel-electric system work? The front wheels will be powered by Peugeot’s 163bhp 2-litre HDi engine and the back wheels will be powered by a 37bhp electric motor. Impressively (although we’re not sure how this will impact on pedestrians!) the Peugeot 508RXH will be capable of running in fully silent and electric ‘ZEV’ mode.

It won’t be a slow-coach either, producing 200bhp. For all you corporate customers, Business In Kind for the 508RXH will be low too at just 12%, with combined economy expected at 68.9mpg.

So will the influx of hybrid cars in all shapes and sized from various car manufacturers, affect the extended car warranty market of tomorrow? It’s hard to say for certain, and many extended second hand car warranty firms don’t currently provide warranty cover for hybrid vehicles due to their expensive, complex and still relatively unchartered battery systems. But it’s fair to assume that hybrid and also fully electric cars will start shaping used car warranty packages at some point soon, as this is certainly where the future of the automotive industry is headed.

In the meantime, you can count on leading used car warranty experts like Warrantywise to continue to provide exceptional levels of cover to owners of all makes and models of conventional diesel and petrol cars

Living in the country as I do, I am often walking the narrow quiet lanes around my home in Herefordshire. As you can imagine my peaceful idol is often disturbed by a motor car or two which also use the lanes. There is nothing wrong in that, as long as they are not moving too fast that is, as because I can hear them, I move to the side of the road and let them pass.

'Silent death' risk of electric cars

But what will happen when electric cars start to move out of the cities and into the countryside, will they have to make them noisy, just so people like me have time to get out of the way? The alternative of course is that the driver of the car gives a polite hoot of their horn, but I cannot see this going down too well with some (when was the last time you heard a bicycle bell) as they may (a) be given a fright or (b) may take offence at being asked to move.

Not a New Issue

This is not a new issue, in fact the BBC raised the issue back in May 2011, when the first signs of pressure on electric vehicle manufactures started. This was to do with the fact that in cities the increased number of these totally quiet cars were starting to make things difficult for the hard of hearing.

Trolleybuses and Silent Death

Even that is not new however, as back in the days of electric trolley buses, the number of people killed by these silent vehicles caused the occurrence to be nick named ‘Silent Death’. Of course the electric trolley bus is no longer with us, but the number of electric cars and buses is bound to increase as the efficiency of the power units and especially the batteries and the range that they provide improves.

Manufacturers are Taking Note

It seems that the manufacturers are starting to take notice too, Nissan being amongst those planning to fit loudspeakers to their cars for the safety of other road users.  Of course, those thinking that the electric car will reduce noise levels in cities, and rejoicing in the fact, are upset that there are plans to make them noisy on purpose.

As ever, the result will be  a compromise, the amount of sound being produced being the minimum possible to make things safe. Of course, the issues for urban and country will be different, so perhaps the sounds and their levels will have to be different too, all quite a lot to think about.

What Happens In The Countryside?

Of course it will be some time before the electric car makes it in numbers to the countryside, perhaps one of the first to make it there in the UK being the Vauxhall Ampera. This is not a totally electric car, it having a small petrol driven generator on board. This mixture gives a range of some 360 miles in all, and at least when the generator is running it will emit some noise, but I doubt whether it will be as noisy as a conventional car.  So the noise issue, or at least the lack of noise, is going to rumble on and as I say, is something that will be perhaps, of more concern to residents in the countryside than those in the city, the latter are after all expecting cars to be about.

In the meantime your motor car will of course require engine oils and other automotive fluids (as do their electric cousins ) so if you feel like a change from the big name producers, then check out the products made by www.exol-lubricants.com, after all sometimes it pays not to buy everything from the ‘big boys’

Hooray the Nissan Leaf is World Car of the Year, but doesn’t it look a bit like a frog? Is this statement true of all the green, hybrid, economically geared cars for sale today.

So are all eco chariots ugly, let’s start by looking at where it all started. Hybrids first broke onto the market some 12 years ago with Honda and Toyota releasing the Mk1 Insight and Prius, to be honest no one paid much attention and continued to buy Fords mighty Focus’s instead. The Insight was perhaps a bit too futuristic looking with its wheel covers and lack of back seats for all the hybrid gubbins, not to mention that Honda didn’t actually make it for long losing £10k on every one they sold. While the Prius looked just a bit too normal in comparison with no defining features at all, except that “hybrid synergy” badge on the boot. So when Toyota released the Mk2 Prius one would assume they would have made it look slightly less dull and ordinary, however this was not the case as the car merely evolved into a slightly odd looking hatchback with yet again no real defining features at all, and the Mk3 isn’t much better. Honda it seems then decided to jump on the bandwagon and released the Mk2 Insight, which unlike the original futuristic looking car looked alarmingly similar to the Prius. It was almost like Honda thought “Toyota are onto a winning formula with that Prius so let’s just copy it!”

Nissan Leaf

Now onto the Nissan Leaf, this car is billed as the first all-electric family car, a world first, an evolution in the car world, the future of motoring…. However instead of taking this opportunity to create something truly outstanding and worthy of all its hype Nissan seems to have created a car that looks like a bloated frog. Now I personally have nothing against the idea of electric cars, if they can legitimately have enough battery life to actually get you places and are not a glorified mobility scooter like the G-Wiz. But what I do not understand is how some manufacturers think that just because it has good mpg and will apparently save the world it allows them to be lax with the design, particularly when there are some beautiful used cars for sale for the same money.

The flip side of this is that many car manufacturers and even one of the ugly culprits, Honda, are able to make stunning looking eco cars. Take for example the Honda CR-Z, a modern hybrid take on the classic CRX. Lexus has also done well with the design of their new CT and the hybrid version of their big saloon the GS. Finally let’s not forget the Tesla Roadster and new Model S due in 2012. Both these cars manage to be sleek, elegant and beautiful while also being fully electric.

So my question is, is it really that hard to make a green car look like something you’d actually want sitting outside your house? After all they are going to be the future of motoring in the 21st century.