Technology

After winning the "Car of the Year 2012" award, the Vauxhall/Opel Ampera that will be rebadged as the Holden Volt here has now also won the 13th International Monte Carlo Rally for electric and alternative propulsion cars.Four Amperas ranked among the top 10 vehicles. The French duo Bernard Darniche and Joseph Lambert managed to beat the entire competitive field. On Sunday, the final day of the contest, the revolutionary electric vehicle reached the finish line in the capital of the Cote d'Azur principality.Some 130 competitors from around 30 manufacturers took part, among them seven Amperas, including one private Ampera team. The other contenders included a Renault Fluence Z.E., a Tesla Roadster sports car, a Mitsubishi I-MiEV and a Peugeot Ion.Apart from the overall victory, the Ampera teams with Charlotte Berton and Olivier Sussot ranked third, Jean-Claude Andruet and Patrick Lienne came in 7th and Hanns Werner Wirth and Daniel Riesen finished 8th.The rally started in the three towns of Annecy-le-Vieux, Clermont Ferrand and Lugano for 550 kilometres via Digne-les-Bains, the capital of the French district Alpes-de-Haute-Provence to Monaco.On the second day, the teams had to complete a distance of 272 kilometres, leading them through Monaco and the original route of the Monte Carlo Rally through the French Maritime Alps. In two days the teams were subjected to regularity tests and had to prove their driving skills by pushing their vehicle s to the limit.Apart from the regularity tests, the focus lay with fuel consumption. With the help of a ratio derived from vehicle weight, CO2 emissions, the energy density of the fuel and its consumption, the organisers were able to calculate a comparison value and draw up an overall ranking.Bernhard Darniche. had already won the legendary Monte Carlo Rally in 1979 and has more than 10 times been successful in winning the special stage over the famous Col de Turini. The Vauxhall Ampera is the first electric vehicle that can go anywhere anytime. A 16 kWh lithium ion battery powers the 111kW/150 hp electric motor. Depending on the style of driving and road conditions, distance of between 25 and 50 miles can be covered in the battery-operated mode, completely free of tailpipe emissions. The electric propulsion system delivers instant torque of 370Nm enables zero to 60mph acceleration in 8.7 seconds and a top speed limited to 160kmh.

Australians are gettng the chance to use their mobile phones to authorise a parking spot. European-born Parkmobile - which lets your mobile phone authorise a parking bay and pay the fee without using a meter - starts in Sydney this week after success in Melbourne.NSW was initially excluded from the concept because of a clause within government legislation that prohibited payments by a mobile phone. NSW Roads minister Duncan Gay, who instigated the change to the legislation, said:"It was clear to us that there was a need to adapt with the times and allow councils and parking authorities to provide an easier way for residents and businesses to park in their area''. Parkmobile's managing director for Australia, Michael Doherty, says more than 5000 Victorian motorists have signed up to use the system. He says growth is daily and he's expecting a similar response from Sydney."Together with the relevant council, we make a number of carbays available on the street or in parking centres,'' he said. "The motorist who's registered with us simply parks in a designated bay, uses the mobile phone's app to confirm the bay and then the payment is deducted direct from the motorist's credit card account.'' Traffic wardens can check the car is legitimately parked by accessing Parkmobile's database through the council-provided hand-held device."There's no extra cost to the motorist - even registering with us is free - as our cost is paid for by the council,'' Mr Doherty said. "The benefit to the motorist is quick and easy parking while the council gets easier policing, lower maintenance of meters and control systems in major carparks.'' Mr Doherty said that Parkmobile, which started in the Netherlands in 1999 and expanded to the US in 2008, has future plans for road sensors that detect a car's identity in a car bay.He said in the future, councils will be able to remove ticketing meters and control gates in major carparks and on streets as more people elect to use Parkmobile's pay-by-phone system.

Rearview cameras are becoming more prevalent in new cars, but despite that, Kidsafe NSW executive director Christine Erskine says one child a week is backed over by a vehicle and one a month dies in reversing accidents. "But we don't, at this stage, say that rearview cameras should be mandated but certainly investigated," she says. "We don't want them at this stage as we don't want parents and drivers to think that it will solve the problem. It's not the be all and end all." Erskine says rearview cameras are useful, but are only part a "suite of measures" that need to be introduced to protect children such as physical barriers in home driveways. Her comments follow an investigation by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to make rearview cameras compulsory in all new vehicles by 2014 after reports that more than 50 American children are hurt every week in "backovers" and two of those children die. While 17,000 Australians of all ages are injured each year in reversing accidents, most victims are toddlers. The accidents usually occur in a home driveway, typically involving an SUV driven by a parent, according to the Centre for Accident Research & Road Safety (CARRS).  Erskine says a Victorian Coroner's report found families of backover victims believed they had put in enough barriers and thought their children were safe. "It's not a case of parents being slack, but children being inventive about how to get past barriers," she says. NRMA Insurance research boss Robert McDonald says rearview cameras are now standard in 45 per cent of vehicles. He says their 2011 Reversing Visibility Index found 14 per cent of 243 cars tested scored a full five-star rating up from eight per cent on 2010, reflecting the number of manufacturers featuring reversing cameras as an option or standard across a range of vehicles. "Australia has a much higher penetration of rearview cameras than the US and Europe where they are usually only provided as a high-end addition or only in SUVs," he says."Even base-model Commodore and Falcon have them available and Mitsubishi has them almost across the board. "Once people are aware of these extra features and demand them, the manufacturers tend to put them in if they see a benefit in sales. McDonald rejects a move to make the feature mandatory in all vehicles and says legislation restricted to rearview cameras could prevent better technologies becoming available.  "I worry about design by legislation which can be technology restrictive," he says. "We've already seen advanced technology from BMW with a birdseye view of the car. "I'd like to see continued awareness rather than forcing them to be put in. In five years they may be standard anyway." McDonald says there is a "common misconception" that SUVs have the worst rear visibility, leading to calls to ban them in urban areas. "We started the rear visibility survey to see if SUVs had a blind spot and the results show it's extremely variable," he says. "It seems some sedans are worse than SUVs. "We found VZ Commodore - with its high boot and low seating position - was the worst car we tested at the time which was then one of the highest-selling cars on the market." While reversing cameras can cost up to $200 when factory fitted, aftermarket cameras can cost less than $100 and are becoming more popular. Chris Ryan, boss of Strike Group Australia which imports reversing cameras and other car safety products, says sales of the cameras are up 378 per cent. "I think there is generally growing awareness of the benefits and convenience of reversing cameras," he says. "We also see a really big spike in the volume of sales when there is a high-profile incident, for example when rugby star Brendan Cannon tragically reversed over his 16-month-old son. "What people don't realise is this happens on a weekly basis on average in Australia and it's a terrible and preventable problem." CLEARVIEW (NRMA Insurance Reversing Visibility Index 2011) 5 STAR VEHICLES BMW X1 (OEM camera 2010 BMW X3 (OEM camera) 2011 BMW X5 (OEM camera) 2007 Ford Territory (OEM camera) 2011 Holden Captiva7 (OEM camera) 2011 Holden Commodore wagon (OEM camera) 2010 Honda Legend (OEM camera) 2006 Hyundai Accent (Sedan) (OEM camera) 2011 Hyundai i40 (OEM camera) 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee (OEM camera) 2011 Kia Optima (OEM camera) 2011 Kia Sorento (OEM camera) 2009 Kia Soul (OEM camera) 2009 Lexus CT200h (OEM camera) 2011 Lexus GS (OEM camera) 2008 Lexus IS250 (OEM camera) 2005 Lexus IS F (OEM sensors and camera) 2008 Lexus LS460 (OEM camera) 2007 Lexus LX570 (OEM camera) 2008 Mazda BT-50 dual cab (OEM camera) 2011 Mercedes-Benz C-Class wagon (OEM camera) 2008 Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan (OEM camera) 2007 Mercedes-Benz CLS (OEM camera) 2011 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe (OEM camera) 2009 Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan (OEM camera) 2009 Mitsubishi ASX (OEM camera) 2010 Subaru Liberty sedan (OEM camera) 2009 Subaru Liberty Exiga (OEM camera) 2010 Toyota FJ Cruiser (OEM camera) 2011 Toyota Kluger (OEM camera) 2007 Toyota Prado 3-door wagon (OEM camera) 2009 Volkswagen Touareg (OEM camera) 2011 Volvo S60 (OEM camera) 2010 Volvo V60 (OEM camera) 2011 0 STAR VEHICLES Vehicle-Body Type-Year Audi A3 convertible 2008 Audi A5 convertible 2009 Audi A5 coupe 2008 Audi S4 Sedan 2009 Chery J11 2011 Ford Falcon sedan 2008 Holden Commodore sedan 2010 Holden Cruze sedan 2011 Holden Epica 2007 Honda Accord 2008 Honda Accord Euro 2008 Honda Civic sedan 2006 Hyundai Accent hatch 2011 Hyundai i30 hatch 2007 Hyundai ix35 2010 Kia Cerato sedan 2009 Kia Cerato hatch 2010 Kia Cerato Koup 2009 Kia Optima 2011 Mazda 3 sedan 2009 Mazda 6 hatch 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer hatch 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer sedan 2007 Proton Persona 2008 Subaru Impreza sedan 2008 Subaru Liberty sedan 2009 Subaru Liberty Exiga 2010 Suzuki Kizashi 2010 Toyota Corolla sedan 2007 Toyota Prado 5-door wagon 2009 Toyota Rav4 2006

Slow sales - running well behind forecasts - have derailed the GM green hero in the past week, after it took hits from a high prices and a safe scare last year.GM decided last week to 'idle' the Volt factory, which means stopping production temporarily, to clear a backlog of around 6000 unsold cars and adjust output to the actual showroom demand in the USA.Production at the Hamtramck factory in Detroit will be stopped for five weeks and 1300 workers will be idle, following first-year sales that only hit 7671 against a prediction of 10,000 and only 1626 deliveries in January. But Holden says the Volt drama will not affect its local plans, with the car already locked-in for sales in 2012."There are no concerns," Holden spokesperson, Emily Perry, says bluntly. "Honestly, the market dynamics in the US are not appropriate for us to talk about."She refuses to discuss or acknowledge the potential impact of the shutdown on local confidence, particularly after last year's Volt fires, and says Holden is not worried about pricing the Volt too high.Early guesstimates put the likely Volt price in the $65,000 range, based on the $48,800 sticker for the Mitsubishi iMiEV electric car and the $34,990 base price for the Toyota Prius, as well as the complexity of the range-extender hybrid drive system - which uses an onboard petrol engine to charge the car's battery pack - in the Volt."We're confident we have the right strategy for the vehicle. We haven't given any pricing," she tells Carsguide. "It's a one-of-a-kind vehicle. But of course we plan to sell more than just one."The first Australian Volts should arrive within two months to begin local engineering work and evaluation runs and, although Perry will not comment, customer deliveries are likely by August."Our vehicles are not affected by the situation in the US. For us, we have no concerns and we're really excited about the launch."

A plug-in hybrid version of the Mitsubishi Outlander will hit the roads in Europe later this year ahead of a global roll-out of the emission-reducing powerplant.The third-generation Outlander will initially be sold in two-wheel and four-wheel drive variants and some markets will have the choice of a 2.0-litre petrol and 2.2-litre diesel engine.Australia misses out on the diesel, though Mitsubishi president Osamu Masuko says an oilburner will be offered if the company identifies enough demand."If there is a need of course we have to consider diesel," he says of the growing Australian demand for diesel-powered SUVs.Masuko says the plug-in hybrid will account for around 20 per cent of Outlander sales globally, with that figure to increase during the model life of the SUV.He says and pure electric drive for the small A and B segment vehicles represent a major component of Mitsubishi's future strategy, highlighting the electric-powered i-MiEV's ability to power homes during blackouts as an example of the advantages EVs have.Mitsubishi plans to start sales external feeder in Japan next month and says the system can provide up to 1500 watts of power to run a household during electric grid power failures.The system is a reversal of the energy management system used to recharge the car during periods of low power demand. On a smaller scale, the hybrid Outlander will also have a socket to accept domestic appliances -- meaning families will be able to power hairdryers and recharge phones during camping trips.An electric-only Mitsubishi will also tackle the famous Pikes Peak hillclimb in the US in July this year and Masuko says it will showcase EVs ability to match internal combustion cars for acceleration.Masuko discounts - for now - the idea of pure electric high-performance cars but says the next Mitsubishi Evo, which is due in around two years, could well have a hybrid variant.

The FT-Bh concept is as spacious as an average five-door compact car, yet is projected to use half the fuel and produce half the emissions.FT-Bh, which stands for Future Toyota B-segment (Yaris size) hybrid, will make its debut at the Geneva Motor Show at March 6.Engineers focused on five key pillars to achieve maximum fuel economy and minimum emissions: weight reduction, optimum aerodynamics, powertrain efficiency, thermal energy management and electricity saving.This "total vehicle" approach has resulted in a car that weighs less than 800kg - at least one-third less than most compact cars - with a downsized full hybrid powertrain and a 30 per cent gain in aerodynamic efficiency.These feats have been achieved by adopting an economically viable production framework using common materials and procedures - not exotic materials or expensive techniques.Other cars on the Toyota stand include the new 86 sports car, which is due on sale in Australia around the middle of the year.The company will also display the NS4, a next-generation plug-in hybrid, and the FCV-R, which represents the next step towards mass production of hydrogen-powered cars. 

It also has the compact Almera, a Diesel Dualis, and the battery-powered Leaf, as well as another sharpening tweak to the GT-R supercar to fold into a richer product mix. Then there are four upscale Infiniti models in a big brand stretch at the top end of the Nissan family. The flood of new models is intended to get Nissan onto many more Australian shopping lists, as the company looks to overtake Hyundai and Mazda to become the country's favourite pure import brand."We will be putting eight new products into the market in the next 12 months. We have four on the Nissan side and four from Infiniti," says Dan Thompson, managing director of Nissan Australia. "There are also the regular updates across the other models like the 370Z. It's all coming together within two years. It's great." Thompson is nearing the end of his time in Australia before taking up a promotion in Europe in April, but is clearly still committed to a product update that's easily the biggest since Nissan closed its local manufacturing operation in Australia. "We've got a lot happening. Leaf is in June, that's the next one to come," Thompson says. "Then Almera, then Patrol, then Pulsar. It's all in the next 12 months. Probably the biggest challenge is probably prioritising things. It's going to be a busy, busy period."Thompson says the return of the Pulsar nameplate - which was dumped byJapanese management in favour of the Tiida - is a big event. "We've got big plans for the Pulsar and there is a lot of good stuff we're going to do, especially with the hatch," he says. Right now, he says Nissan is working towards the end of the Japanese financial year and its target of overtaking Mitsubishi in Australia. "We're also up there again in the top three fastest-growing brands. We're starting to get there. We've had seven percent-plus market share for a while now."But Thompson says it's the new cars that are going to make the biggest difference. "We've got the new GT-R landing this month. And that's a pretty big update for just a running change. "We've got the update to the Z, which is the US cycle. We've got Dualis diesel coming towards the end of the year. And we have some other big stuff. "We've got lots of good little running changes for all the core product. We've got a new Navara product coming this month out of spain. With the capacity constraints in Thailand we moved the ST, our best selling variant, to Spain. We're scrambling to find capacity."

ChargePoint CEO James Brown says they have installed more than 50 public charging stations since their first was installed on May 24, 2010. "Since then we have installed points from Townsville to the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth and New Zealand," he says. This comes as the company has become the first in Australia to feature on satnav units, thanks to a collaboration with digital mapping company NAVTEQ. "Integration into the NAVTEQ map means drivers can easily navigate to their nearest electric vehicle charge points with a minimum of effort," he says. The navigation software will also allow motorists to unlock the charging stations ready for the recharge before they pull up at the outlet. "We would see the viability of our business going hand in hand with the introduction of more electric vehicle models this year," he says. "2012 will be a watershed year and profitability will come in a couple of years when the scale of electric cars on the road takes hold. At the moment we are still in that investment period." Brown says the next step is a rollout of stations into regional areas. "It's like an octopus with tentacles lowly spreading," he says. "We would anticipate upwards of 3000 ChargePoint charging stations within three years." ChargePoint has more than 300 users even though the number of manufacturer model EVs is only about 150 because most EVs have several registered users. ChargePoint customers can sign up via the internet or phone for free. The charging stations take about four hours to fully charge a 15amp EV such as the Mitsubishi i-MiEV or the coming Nissan Leaf. Brown says a full charge from flat would cost about $3 and provide more than 100km of range, compared with more than three times that cost for a petrol-powered car. While ChargePoint does not yet have quick-charge stations that can recharge an EV in as little as 20 minutes, Brown says they are "working on getting quick charge stations now".

The startling boast from one of the world's last remaining independent mass-market car companies comes as it prepares to unveil a new 1.6-litre turbo-diesel engine in Europe.Part of Honda's Earth Dreams Technology, the engine - to be introduced in the new Civic later this year - shows fuel economy has overtaken acceleration as the mark of the new-age car."It will be the lightest engine in its class, delivering sub 100g/km CO2 levels and a class-leading balance of fuel economy and performance,'' Honda says.The 88kW/300Nm 1.6-litre diesel - expected to claim about 3.5 L/100km to put it on par with cars including the Renault Clio diesel - will be shown at the Geneva motor show in March. More engine variants will unfurl over the next three years.Honda will also display at Geneva its NSX Concept, EV-STER and a prototype of the European CR-V. - The Honda NSX is confirmed to return to production - after the nameplate finished in Australia in 1997 - within three years. Honda has confirmed the NSX Concept will go on display at next month's Geneva motor show after its debut at Detroit in January.This concept car is being evolved to become a production car and go on sale within three years, Honda says. It has a mid-mounted V6 hybrid engine and Honda's all-wheel drive system.

The UK government rebate off the cost of a plug-in van is an extension of the Plug-In Car Grant which offers 25 per cent - up to 5000 to motorists buying a new plug-in car. Government Ministers have also re-confirmed there is funding secured for this grant until 2015. There is nothing like this scheme available in Australia and nothing planned. The purpose of the consumer grant in the UK is to enable the purchase of ultra-low carbon vehicles which could otherwise have been unaffordable.The consumer will also benefit from lower running costs over the lifetime of the vehicle. The UK Government has adopted the position that electric vehicles are the arrowhead for a low carbon revolution in motoring and as more models come to market sales will gather pace. The subsidy will have the effect of influencing businesses vehicle buying decisions in favour of low carbon models. From As of now, ultra-low carbon van manufacturers will be able to apply to be part of the Plug-In Van Grant - which will help to improve local air quality in cities, reduce carbon emissions and meet Government carbon reduction targets. To be eligible for the scheme, vans will have to meet performance criteria to ensure safety, range, and ultra-low tailpipe emissions. Consumers, both business and private will receive the discount at the point of purchase.