Technology

Kia in the US has released a teaser image of the funky Kia Track-ster Concept.The Track-ster – based on the boxy Kia Soul made virally famous with the Kia Dancing Hamster series of commercials – will be unveiled Chicago auto show next week.Penned at Kia’s California design studio, the Track-ster is essentially a sports coupe take on the Soul, and warps its boxy lines slightly with a higher waistline and large alloy wheels under swollen wheel arches.Kia said the Track-ster will carry a turbo engine. However – unlike the Soul-ster that preceded the production version, Kia says this concept won’t make it from show to showroom.

As carmakers turn to the environment as the next tool to market their wares, GM has raised the bar with their Ecologic sticker. It is a step up from the standard fuel consumption stickers seen on new cars in Australia and the US and comes after GM realised many potential buyers want information on what impact their purchase will have on the planet. All 2013 Chevrolets sold in the US will have an Ecologic sticker affixed to the rear driver side window explaining the vehicle's impact on the environment throughout its life cycle. GM North America president Mark Reuss said at last month's Washington Car Show that "customers want companies to be honest and transparent about their environmental efforts and sustainability goals, and rightly so.Putting an Ecologic label on each Chevrolet is just one more way for us to share our environmental progress." The Chevy Sonic that goes on sale in March will be the first vehicle to have the Ecologic labels applied.The sticker shows the environmental impact in three areas: Before the road - aspects related to vehicle manufacturing and assembly. On the road - fuel-saving features such as advanced engine technologies, aerodynamics, lightweight components or low-rolling resistance tyres. After the road - what percentage by weight of the vehicle can be recycled at the end of its lifespan. The data will be verified by Two Tomorrows, an independent sustainability agency that audits companies' environmental initiatives. Holden spokesman Sean Poppitt says there are "no immediate plans" to introduce the innovative label in Australia."As with all GM product and initiatives, we'll look at it to see if it's appropriate for this market and `never say never' as it's a very nice idea," he notes. 

Dick Johnson yesterday said reducing the tolerance of Queensland speed cameras to match the rest of Australia at about 3km/h over would "not save one life or stop one accident"."This is just another typical example of 'let's look as if we're doing something'," Johnson said. "They won't change the road toll over night with one stroke of a pen."Allan Moffat, who admits to being snapped by a speed camera at 43km/h in a 40 zone in Victoria, agrees that low speed tolerances won't reduce the road toll.The former Ford opponents are not only united on the speed camera issue, but also by Moffat's son, james, who now races for the Dick Johnson Racing team. They suggest that training young people in road safety before they learn to drive is the key to reducing the carnage."The only way they will change the road toll is to start teaching kids at eight years old about the dangers," Johnson said. "This won't be fixed over night; it will take a generation to fix."We need to use the internet and social media to educate them." Moffat believes road safety education should be "drilled into them" from the early teens."We need to bombard the youngsters that it's not a joke driving a car; it's serious," Moffat said. "Unfortunately governments don't want to have the responsibility or spend the money to do something about it."Johnson said he had worked with the police and governments for many years on road safety, but was yet to see his education plans put into action."I had a program that was ticked off by John Howard, but the bureaucrats thought it was too expensive; not for the government but for learners," he said. "The problem is people spend more money on their pets than on their kids and keeping them safe."Their comments follow calls by Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety research officer David Soole to drop the speed camera tolerance level after community consultation.

The DPF on my 2008 Mazda 3 diesel has failed through being clogged. The car is under warranty but Mazda has refused my claim because the DPF cycle was not reset at each oil change, some of which I did myself. I had not been advised when we purchased the car, or at any subsequent services at the dealer, or indeed when we purchased oil and filters at the dealership that Mazda has a requirement that at each oil change the computer (DPF) must be reset by the dealer. I don't agree with Mazda's rejection of my claim, which I believe is valid. The car has been serviced as per maintenance schedule, the major services have all been carried out by the dealer, oils and filters for changes other than major services were all sourced from the dealer, and we have extended warranty time on this vehicle. How can a company require that you return it every 10,000 km to have the DPF reset?

Maersk and the US Navy are testing the biofuel on an extended voyage of the container ship Maersk Kalmar. The biofuels test is the first collaboration between Maersk and the U.S. Navy's Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA). During its month-long, 6500 nautical mile voyage from Bremerhaven, Germany to Pipavav, India, the ship will use 30 tons of biofuel. Engineers and crew onboard are testing blends ranging from 7 to 100 per cent. The team is also analyzing emissions data on NOx (nitrogen oxides), SOx (sulphur oxides), CO2 and particulate matter from the fuel use, along with effects on power efficiency and engine wear and tear. Maersk Kalmar has two key attributes that make it a suitable vessel for biofuel testing. The 300 meter-long container ship has a dedicated auxiliary test engine, which reduces the risks of testing, and its fuels system has a special biofuel blending equipment and separate tanks. These programs fit well with the Navy's interests in increasing fuel efficiency and reducing emissions.

The Koreans starred, the Japanese mounted a comeback, and One Ford hit the headlines with an extended family of Focus-based newcomers that it is certain to make a big hit in Australia. But it was one car and the commitment of its company chief that made the most impact as America fought back on the opening day of the 2011 North American International Motor Show.The Indian industrial giant's four-seater electric eMO - short for electric mobility -- was developed for the Michelin Challenge Design display, and is an engineering study unlikely to be put into production.The maker is claiming a 160km range and a 105km/h top speed from the front-wheel-drive electric vehicle's 18.4-kilowatt battery system.Tata Technologies is part of the 100-plus company Tata Group that employs more than 400,000 worldwide, but is not part of Tata Motors.It is headquartered in Singapore and employs more than 5400 engineering and design personnel to consult with automotive and aerospace manufacturers, as well as their suppliers.Tata Technologies is taking up the challenge from the Indian government, which has nominated this decade as the country's Decade of Innovation.Tata Technologies president Warren Harris says the eMO - which it says could retail for as little as US$20,000 without subsidies - is a demonstration of Indian automotive engineering talent."It is a tangible example of the capability of Tata Technologies to engineer a full vehicle - a first for any India-based engineering services company," he says.The eMO has a steel safety cage around the passenger cell but has body panels made from recycled material and some polycarbonate materials used in the windows.Tata Technologies - which registered 15 patents during the eMO development process - says the eMO is an example of "right-size" urban transport.Vehicle Programs and Development group president Kevin Fisher says the company believes most vehicles on the market are actually oversized and over-specified for the majority of consumers daily use."Our objective was to find the right size for this type of electric vehicle with the appropriate range and speed, without reducing safety and daily usability," he says.

That's the finding of research from JATO Dynamics, the world's leading provider of automotive intelligence. The analysis finds that the incentive schemes vary widely across the region and show a lack of correlation to EV sales. It finds that: Although Denmark appears to be a heaven for EVs in Europe with tax exclusions that can potentially amount to 20,588 Euros per vehicle, there were only 283 registrations or 0.32% of all vehicles registered in the country. Spain (6,500 Euros) and Great Britain (6,400 Euros) have almost identical subsidies but GB registered almost five times the volume of EVs (599 versus 122) in the period. Sweden registers an almost identical volume as Spain (111) but subsidises each vehicle by only 470 Euros Total EV registrations were only 5,222 in the first half of 2011. Jato's Gareth Hession said the discrepancies highlight the apparently low influence of price on purchase decisions across the region. "Given this it's reasonable to conclude that sales are more affected by other factors such as the degree of urban geography, market maturity and charging infrastructure than was previously thought." These local factors include the ability to use bus lanes and free city-centre parking in Oslo and exemption from London's Congestion Charge all of which appear to exert a greater influence than point of purchase incentives. The research also confirms a 10-fold increase in EV registrations across the region over the same period in H1 2010 5222 compared to 507.

The plan by Europe's biggest carmaker includes wind farms and hydroelectric dams to help minimise its carbon dioxide emissions and trim the amount of energy required to produce each vehicle.The investment comes as part of Volkwagen's push to reduce the environmental impact of its factories by 25 per cent by 2018 - the same year it aims to overtake Toyota as the world's biggest car producer. It will also give VW a supply of "zero-emission" energy for its fleet of electric vehicles due to go on sale next year.The company's latest move is to extend its "Think Blue" environmental strategy - which has already led to more than 130 vehicles having CO2 emissions of less than 130g/km - to the factory floor. It is now investing in everything from extra insulation to cut heating and cooling costs to robots that automatically shut down during breaks and presses that use 40 per cent less energy than existing machines.That program will involve more than $60 billion being spent on new plants and equipment across the globe. And it's not just altruism driving the program - Volkswagen sees major financial and marketing benefits in being an eco-carmaker."Sustainable, efficient production is a clear competitive advantage," VW board member Prof. Werner Neubauer says.The VW Group sold more than 7.2 million cars in 2010 and forecasts sales of more than 10 million vehicles by 2018. VW's Chattanooga plant in the US last month became the first carmaking site to earn platinum Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification.The Tennessee plant was purpose-built to save energy with features such as:15cm of mineral rock wool insulation, resulting in 720,000Kw savings a year.LED exterior lighting to reduce energy by 68 per cent and save up to 262,500KWh a year.Collected rainwater is reused to flush toilets and cool the welding machines Reflective white roof to reduce the "heat island effect" by up 10 degrees.Low-flow water fixtures and no-touch sensors throughout the plant reduce water usage by 30 per cent.Similar technology will progressively be rolled out acress the company's global network of car production sites.

... networked EV charging stations now installed in all our mainland capital cities. EV infrastructure provider ChargePoint has just completed two public charging outlets in Perth, adding to existing sites in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Townsville, the Sunshine Coast and Adelaide and bringing the total number of the company's charging outlets up to 50. The move precedes this year's (2012) local introduction of electric vehicles ranging from the Nissan Leaf and Renault Fluence ZE. CEO James Brown says it is a sign of things to come. "With major car manufacturers moving rapidly to bring EVs on line, the country needs state-of-the-art infrastructure to support them and we are providing that," he says. "It is anticipated that several thousand charging stations will be located throughout Australia over the next three years as electric vehicles gain market share". ChargePoint says operating the open access charging stations is straightforward and only requires use of a free network card, available from ChargePoint (either online from www.chargepoint.com.au or by phoning 1300 300 885).

I am having a disagreement with a local Mercedes-Benz dealer over how an electronics module in my 2007 GL500 failed during a routine service. I am convinced they accidentally damaged it while cleaning battery terminal corrosion and allowed drops of acidic liquid to enter and destroy the module. While not being able to offer an explanation as to how the module was damaged, they disagree. The dealership is polite, but firm that they will not refund the $2600 (in addition to the $930 for the routine service) I had to pay them to get my car repaired. Is there a body that can help me resolve this?