Put your hotness to work: thermoelectric generators

VW claims to have developed a thermoelectric generator that will convert wasted heat from a vehicle’s exhaust into a useable amount of electricity (about 30% of the Golf test car’s needs). They also claim a 5% reduction in fuel consumption because of the reduced load on the engine.

Reality check: is this a crazy idea? Not really, the process actually works. It’s just very, very inefficient. They’ve tried this before, and it’s pretty much not worth it to hook up an expensive thermoelectric device for a few watts of power. Apparently the VW engineers have improved the efficiency, but what’s the tradeoff? I am guessing that the device would be prohibitively expensive.

Good idea for more research and study, though. If you get this device cheap enough, and combine it will other efficiency technologies (example: a plug-in hybrid with regenerative braking, direct-fuel-injection, etc.) you might make a pretty big impact in fuel consumption. Let’s hope the net gains of a device like this outweigh, for example, the energy or harmful substances used to produce it. And these technologies would let us use internal combustion engines for a bit longer. The reality is, gasoline and diesel are pretty useful sources of fuel, from a chemical standpoint – lots of energy per unit, relatively easy to store, and still somewhat plentiful. I’m 100% in favor of getting as much bang for our gallon as possible until the party’s over – and that means wringing out as much efficiency as we can to make the dino fuel last as long as possible.

[Source: gizmag]

I’m not sure whether to be flattered or insulted: the Chevy Spark

OK, it’s no Maserati. In fact, it’s a Daewoo. GM owns Daewoo as a company that is called, unimaginiatively, GM Daewoo. It’s best known product in the US is the Chevy Aveo, which is sold as the Daewoo Kalos overseas.

The Spark is a badge-engineered version of the Daewoo Matiz, and is styled after the Chevy Beat concept. It’s been expected for a couple of years now, but it will only be sold in the US starting in 2011. Of course, GM could really sell models like this in the current economic Chernobyl, so I’m not really clear why they haven’t rushed this thing into high gear to push them onto US saleslots ASAP. I guess GM knows better.

Yeah right.

But anyhow, even though the Aveo is possibly the most awful car ever conceived outside of the Soviet sphere of influence, they sell a lot of them. So the even smaller and more efficient (theoretically) Spark should appeal to a lot of folks. If you have a genetic condition that prevents you from discerning between pleasing and unpleasing design elements, and you are in the market for a cheap car, this might be the one …

[Source: Autoblog]

Are you a plumber AND a Europhile? Have I got a car for you …

You might have seen Dodge Sprinters running around, especially if you’re a tradesperson making deliveries. The tall, narrow design has a ton of room and relatively economical features (read: diesel engine) and is great for tight urban areas. It is actually a Mercedes truck design, intended to fulfill the same niche in Euroland as panel vans (like those big Chevy and Dodge truck-based vans used by cable companies to park in the middle of your street and eat donuts) do in this country. I live near San Francisco and these things make a lot of sense in even big American cities.


Well, a smaller version of the same idea is being introduced by Ford. Called the Transit Connect (a name that makes NO sense to Americans, more on that in a second), it’s a small car-based vehicle, essentially a tiny minivan with a really high ceiling. It’s going to get a 2.0L Duratec motor and get fuel economy in the mid-20s. No diesel option is mentioned yet, but there’s an electric version coming out later this year with a 60-100 mile range, depending on options. OK, so that name. Ford Transit Connect. It sounds like a service where Ford picks you up at the airport and drops you off at your car or something. It’s really a cute way of referring to the Ford Transit, a larger van a lot like the Sprinter. But seriously, dudes, change the name. It’s stupid because we don’t get the big Transit.

This should be a pretty cool little vehicle. I was across the pond for a bit back in my wild college days, and I drove a very similar Renault vanlet around for a while. It was a VERY useful little car. And Ford is going to offer a passenger version, which should (as in Europe) attract a pretty significant number of folks looking for an inexpensive but very functional vehicle. Probably the most similar car in the US to the Transit Connect will be the Honda Element, which doesn’t offer as much interior space or a commercial version.

[Source: Jalopnik, Freep.com]

Would you buy a Geely Urban Nanny?

I was joking a bit in the last post about the Geely Beauty Leopard. Well, the name of Geely's pickup is the PU (funny in and of itself), and the delivery-truck version of it is called either the Urban Nanny or the Rural Nanny, depending on how it's configured.

It's based on the old (ancient) platform of the Daihatsu Charade, another really unfortunately named car, that was actually sold in the US for a couple of years.

I know it's problematic to make fun of the names of cars in other languages, but I seriously hope before Geely ever sells a car in the US they learn how to do focus groups with Americans.

Volvo Potentially to Be Purchased By Chinese Company

Several sources are reporting that the Chinese manufacturer Geely is interested in purchasing Volvo from Ford. Geely is known in the US mostly for making cars with funny names, like the BL (which stands for “Beauty Leopard.” Pictured above, lifted from the dictionary next to the word “ironic.”). Ford has spun off much of its former Premiere Automotive Group (PAG) to other companies. Land Rover, Aston Martin, and Jaguar are now owned by Tata of India, and Volvo is really the last PAG marque left.

Volvo hasn’t been good to Ford. Low sales volumes and losses have made Volvo sort of a liability, and the PAG (in my opinion) hasn’t really had much of a halo effect on Ford. I mean, do most people even know that Ford owns Volvo? The connection really isn’t there.

What would a Geely acquisition mean for you as a consumer? Probably not too much – I doubt that Geely would tinker too much with the cars or their direction. Volvo still has a lot of structure in Sweden, including designers and engineers, so my guess is that the Swedes would keep developing the cars for Volvo, and work double duty making the Geely cars themselves better. The real question is whether or not this is a cost-effective way for Geely to get some Western design and engineering experience. I’ll leave that to the beancounters.

[Sources: NYT, Edmunds, Autoblog]

Sick again ... more sporatic posting and lame excuses.

It seems that I'm about as healthy as the Detroit 3. But hey, that means lazy blogger is ok! So here are some old Toyota ads.

Let's start with this gem: in Japan, there's a whole genre of ads where a western movie star says a token word or two, and drives a car around in a usually nonsensical situation. I can't embed these videos (sorry), so make the jump over to Jalopnik and enjoy watching Roger Moore drive the crap out of a Toyota Corona. Trust me, it's worth watching the whole thing.

And in this amazing, absurd song-and-dance commercial, you'll notice even the strange looking team of muscle-men like front wheel drive. "Oh what a feeling!" indeed.

Uh, this one? I like old Celicas probably more than anyone, but this ad does not want to make me buy one. I agree with Jalopnik that the swinging mailbox that makes it nighttime is a little absurd.

Basically, after seeing this ad about a Corolla FX from outer space, I can't believe anyone bought Toyotas at all!

Jing Qi! China passes US in total auto sales

Despite a worldwide recession that is affecting even China (after significantly growing it’s economy for most of 2008), the Chinese bought about 795,000 new vehicles in January of ’09. That compares to approximately 657,000 vehicles sold in the US.

For whatever it’s worth, this is the first time in history that China has surpassed the US in vehicle sales. But don’t expect me to scream “oh no, we’re going to be overrun by crappy Chinese cars!” I feel like the learning curve isn’t going to be too much steeper for China than it was for Korea. It took the Koreans, particularly Kia and Hyundai, only a decade or two from making bad copies of other cars to being serious rivals to Japanese automakers in terms of quality and design. Want proof? Look at the new Hyundai Genesis. Compare that to a Hyundai Excel from 1990 and you’ll understand that motivated companies with advantages in labor costs, and some help from foreign expertise, will catch up really quick. Realistically, I give the Chinese another 10 years, and possibly less, to make very competitive cars. And I don’t expect the Koreans to give their market position up easily, so expect a price, feature, and quality war in the near future. Chinese automakers like BYD (“Build Your Dreams,” actually one of the better manufacturer names) are already very serious about hybrid technology, too.

That will be good for consumers, trust me. You’ll benefit in the long run.

[Source: Freep.com. Bnet Autos]

Auf wiedersehen, beschissen Bangle-Arschen!

(Goodbye, crappy Bangle-butts!) For those of you unfamiliar with Mr. Bangle or his atrocities, know this: in high school, my car-loving friends and I adopted the word “Bangle” to mean, well, the same thing as a four-letter work starting with an “F” commonly used to describe (with “-ed” on the end) the state of the economy. That same meaning of “completely and totally screwed” applies to what Mr. Bangle did to the styling department of BMW.

According to the ever-accurate wikipedia, Chris Bangle (who is American) went to BMW in 1992, apparently after deciding that becoming a Methodist priest was less exciting that making ugly cars. There, he imposed a strange, twisted design philosophy. Before Bangle reached BMW, they were known for their driving dynamics, not their styling. Case in point: the BMW M5 of the late ‘80s. Ugly as sin, but a great driver. Later M5s, notably the 1998-2003 edition, were handsome in an UNDERSTATED way. They did not need to be flashy to convey the point that they were fast, luxurious, and exclusive. Fast forward to 2002, when the 7-series that was styled by Bangle’s team was unleashed on an unsuspecting public. It had a butt that looked like it had grown an unfortunate tumor, and it was shocking and polarizing. No longer was BMW going to eschew gimmicky tack-on elements, they were going to fully embrace them! Bangle said, “let the world have FLAME SURFACING,” and despite the fact that no one knew what the hell he was talking about, suddenly people noticed that their BMWs looks like they had been poorly folded out of cardboard, with clashing lines and edges. This Z4 is a prime example, with strange shapes scalloped into the sides, awkward meetings of panels, and a frumpy tail. All hallmarks of the Bangle style. But in any event, the point of the matter is that Bangle is gone, and despite all of the harm he’s done to BMW and its competitors (like Infiniti and especially Acura, whose cars have been beaten with the ugly stick of late), hopefully BMW will decide a new styling direction would help them sell more cars.

[source: Jalopnik, Reuters]

Hug your sad Salesperson: Sales off sharply for January

Reuters is reporting some bad news. Auto sales are near a 27-year low for the month of January. The numbers (make sure small children or people sensitive to strong images of corporate failure are not looking):

Ford: 40% drop in January domestic sales, capping 10 months of declines of more than 10%

Toyota: 34% drop for US sales

Nissan: 30% for US sales

Shockingly, on the news that rental car agencies were sharply cutting back on purchases, Chrysler expected sales to be off more than 35%. Why did I say “shockingly” (in a sarcastic manner)? Well, that’s to be expected when the only people who buy your cars are rental agencies. I mentioned a while back that the Dodge Avenger and Chrysler Sebring twins are pretty much the archetype of a car so foul that only rental car agencies will buy them. The economy is so bad the agencies are balking.

If any Chrysler execs are reading this (which, trust me, they aren’t for several reasons, one of which is that they are allergic to good advice), you might want to consider making cars that don’t look like rejected props from Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs.

Symphonic Exhaust: Jay Leno's Lotus Elan

If you read my posts about Lotus (see HERE and HERE), then watching this video might help you further understand my appreciation from the quirky little English manufacturer.

If nothing else, the sound the twin-cam in this little Elan makes is simply unearthly.

Enjoy!