Technology

THE speedo in my 2008 Golf is an average of 10 per cent out. My dealer tested the car and said it was fine. When I approached VW Australia it suggested adjusting the computer from the winter setting. This apparently lowers the speedo by 10 per cent for ``snow driving''. The problem is, my Golf doesn't have the full computer and couldn't be adjusted. VW basically said ``stiff cheese'', because by law the variance can be up to 10 per cent. What can I do? I generally have to guess my speed if I want to do 100km/h and hope the 110km/h I am showing is 100km/h.

MY HUSBAND is extremely happy with his Toyota HiLux except for one thing: the speedo is inaccurate by 6-8km/h when you are doing 100km/h. It's been like this since the day he picked it up and he has queried the problem with the dealer several times when it has been in for a service. The service manager tells him it's not possible to recalibrate the speedo. I find this extremely annoying when I'm driving it -- I have a Toyota Prado that doesn't have this problem. He tends to watch his speed on his GPS, but I don't have the GPS when I drive the vehicle. Why wouldn't Toyota be able to recalibrate the speedo to be accurate, and is it a common fault in the HiLux?

The sparky newcomers are almost everywhere at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, easily the biggest motoring event of the year. But no-one can look past the first battery-powered supercar from a major manufacturer, the Audi e-tron, which turns the mid-engined R8 road rocket into a genuine future car.A giant lithium-ion battery pack and electric motors for each wheel - putting a new twist on Audi's signature quattro drive - ensure the racy red concept car can zap to 100km/h in 4.8 seconds and has a top speed limited to 200km/h. Proving it's now just a flashy fraud, Audi says it has a range of 248 kilometres between recharging.But the Audi e-tron is just the start of the electric action at the show. Volkswagen has converted its tiny Up! cit y car into a plug-and-play runner, Renault has four surprise electric concept cars, and Mercedes-Benz is showing three electric-powered concept cars that get their volts from sources including a conventional home socket and a hybrid fuel cell.Inevitably, there are hybrid cars on the stands of almost every maker - with BMW setting the benchmark - but the serious talk is about a fully electric future in the years beyond 2015. "We are at the tipping point now with electric cars," says the head of Mercedes-Benz, Dieter Zetsche. "Electricity within the car as a growing percentage is the name of the game."Officially Benz only has its concepts but, behind the scenes, it is finalising a battery-powered version of its SLS super-coupe for full-scale production in 2012. The born-again Gullwing currently uses a stonking AMG V8 motor but development of the plug-in SLS already has produced a car with a top speed of 215km/h and a range of 240 kilometre, with an eventual target of at least 250 and 350.The update of the Up! from Volkswagen comes two years after the company first tickled potential buyers with a modern interpretation of the basic Beetle. It lost the rounded body but was compact, cost-effective and capable of converting young customers.This time the plug-in car has 240 kilograms of lithium-ion batteries that allow it to accelerate to 100km/h in 11.3 seconds with a top speed of 140km/h and a range of more than 120km.The car has space inside for three adults and a child - or luggage - despite a body that is just 3.199 metres long. And its trimmed-down equipment means old-fashioned manual adjustment for the windows and mirrors.The E-Up! concept looks headed for production, based on the unveiling speech of Volkswagen's chairman, Dr Martin Winterkorn. "Cars with pure petrol and diesel engines - which in the foreseeable future will continue to be unbeatable for mid- to long-range distances - will be supplemented by cars like the E-Up! in coming years. And that will happen starting in 2013," he says. "The concept now being presented in Frankfurt very realistically shows how we envision such a Volkswagen with pure electric drive technology, visually and in terms of size." Still, it's the e-tron that is drawing the big crowds.It looks like a mildly-tweaked R8 and that is just what Audi wants, as it knows the car is its hero.Visually, the only real differences are the lack of air intakes for the radiators and a clean-up of the wheels and nose, as the 4 70 kilogram battery pack, inverter and computer controller sit in the space behind the seats that is normally filled by either a V8 or V10 petrol engine.But the changes run deep, down to a heat pump for the cabin and a thermal management system for the battery pack. The cabin is also missing the central console needed for a conventional gearshift, there are lightweight ceramic disc brakes and an energy recovery system.Audi says the battery pack can be recharged from a home socket in six to eight hours, although this drops to 2.5 hours with a high-voltage charger. "We are trying to find a concept that requires no compromises," says Michael Dick, the Audi board member in charge of technical development. "Electromobility means more to us than just electrifying conventional cars. Instead, we are dedicated to a holistic approach to all aspects of the topic." 

Mitsubishi Australia boss Robert McEniry says the large car market is getting tougher and an imported replacement for the now-defunct Adelaide-built 380 sedan is not on the cards. "You look at the numbers being generated now by local manufacturers for the domestic market, look at what we were being held up as for the minimum number required, you start to do a comparison ...," he says.The company was reportedly looking at the production version of the Concept ZT for introduction as early as next year but those plans have been delayed. "I think we'll see a replacement model for the 380 but not in the near future," he says.The company's SUV ranks will be bolstered by the arrival of the Triton-based Challenger in November and an as-yet un-named compact SUV, based on the Concept-cX clean-diesel vehicle first seen at Frankfurt motor show in 2007. "We're going to be pretty strong in SUV and cross-over style vehicles, our Tiguan-style car will be in 2WD and 4WD, which will give us more small passenger opportunities as well," he says.The compact slots in below the face-lifted Outlander, which will get a turbodiesel variant but not using the engine powering the Citroen and Peugeot models. "We will put a diesel in it, we were looking at using the PSA diesel, but that's too expensive at the moment. We'll wait until we get an MMC diesel in it and we'll take that, you'll start to see over the next 12-18 months diesels coming into most of our range," he says.The company's Pajero off-road flagship is three years away from an all-new model, but Mr McEniry hinted that clues to its new-generation drivetrain might be seen at this year's Tokyo motor show.Mr McEniry is also extremely determined to get even a handful of the i-MiEV electric cars on Australian soil. "If it doesn't get here there will be trouble, we are desperately trying to shoehorn some, even if it is only 5, out of overseas markets. "The demand for the thing globally is making it difficult for us, otherwise we're in the production schedules for early next year," he says.The straight-talking Mitsubishi boss says like all new technology it is initially going to be expensive. "By this time next year they're aiming to have the price down close to half of what it will be when it's first released, the real issue is in the batteries," he says.Mr McEniry says the sale of the company's former manufacturing site at Tonsley Park in Adelaide's south is progressing. "We have three options on the go at the moment, we'll probably make a decision next month or the month after - I can't give you detail on them, but it would meet our requirements," he says. "We don't get the final environmental remediation plan until the end of next month as well, that's part of a buyer's due-diligence, we're on track with all of that," he says.A timetable for the site sale wasn't being rushed through given the market conditions, but the company has seen the market conditions show some positive signs. "The market is starting to come back, we noticed it a while back, in February - we went cold for a while but there were quite a few groups who are cashed up now," he says.The company has been decommissioning the plant and Mr McEniry says it’s an eerie place to be now. "We've pulled out all the tanks, we've started part of the remediation, we're pulling down the paint plant, inside the factory from the trusses down, everything has been taken out. It's pretty demoralising when you walk through it now, that's where we're at," he says.Conjecture about the future use of the site has been considerable but Mr McEniry says the site redevelopment will be a decade-plus proposition. "I don't think there will be residential, the main option is focussed on the SA government green path, education - which may have student accommodation - no big-box stuff, new technology and light industrial, I think you'll find the front would be retail-related, offices - there are some good ideas around for it but it could take 10 to 15 years, it's not going to be a fast development," he says.The Tonsley Park Plant was originally a Chrysler operation, opened by Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies in October, 1964. The first Mitsubishi rolled off the production line following a change of ownership in 1980 and the Tonsley Park plant manufactured more than 1.1 million vehicles, including 32,044 380 sedans.

Just as Hyundai restricts its luxury Genesis to left-hand drive production, Kia has made a similar decision for the model called VG.Pictures of the VG show it is just as good looking as the Genesis — or better — with European-inspired bodywork with some obvious ties to the BMW design direction.But no-one in Australia should get too excited about the VG. "Unfortunately it is only available in left-hand drive at this stage and we are not likely to see it here," says Jonathan Fletcher, spokesman for Kia Australia."It is certainly a statement that the company's design philosophy has matured - something you can already see in other models from the new Cerato onwards."The VG is officially the replacement for the Kia Opirus, which is sold in Korea, America and Europe.

Meet George Jetson’s new car. It may not fly, but the Nissan Leaf runs entirely on electricity, can automatically charge itself without having to plug in and will send its owner a text message when it’s fully charged.The 95 per cent production-ready electric vehicle was unveiled at the official opening of the company’s global headquarters in Yokohama.While bristling with technology, the Leaf looks like any five-door small family hatchback; even less radical than the Toyota Prius hybrid.The only telling feature of the streamlined hatch is the blank looking front since there is no radiator grille. It doesn’t need one as the electric motor has less cooling requirements than an internal combustion engine.Nissan Australia senior corporate communications manager Jeffrey Fisher said the Nissan EV would go into production next year and be available in Australia in 2012.He said the vehicle was 95 per cent production ready, so most of the sleek design and interior computer graphics will be retained in the production version.Nissan product planning chief Andy Palmer said the Leaf would be “the same price as a similar C segment car” plus the cost of the battery. “We haven’t decided on the final price yet. We will lease the battery but the cost of operating the vehicle will be less than a similar C segment vehicle.The Leaf is powered by a front-mounted synchronous AC electric motor designed and developed in house and delivering 80kW of power and 280Nm of torque. The 24kWh capacity laminated compact lithium-ion battery pack is housed under the floor so it doesn’t compromise cabin or cargo space. It consists of 48 slimline modules comprising four flat cell batteries, rather than conventional cylindrical batteries for more efficient cooling.Nissan battery pack design chief Sadao Miki said the lithium-ion batteries developed by Nissan are also lighter, more compact, cheaper, more reliable and have a longer life. The batteries are made in Japan by Automotive Energy Supply Company which is a joint initiative established in 2007 with NEC.The car has a range of about 160km on the open road without airconditioning and about 20 per cent less in the city. It can be recharged off 240-volt mains in eight hours or 80 per cent charged on special quick charge “pumps” in about 30 minutes.A small pop-up section of the nose underneath the Nissan badge has two sockets for the mains or quick charge plugs. Three blue lights on the dashboard indicate charging progress with all three lit when full.The thin battery pack is located under the floor providing a flat interior floor and smooth air-flow under the car, reducing aerodynamic drag.Nissan EV spokesman Toshimi Abo says the Leaf will be backed by a global data centre that integrates satellite navigation and the internet to ensure the car is always charged and available for use.This includes a display on the car’s satnav map that shows the maximum range of the vehicle for the current state of battery charge and the location of recharging stations within the range radius.It also features a timer function which will start the car’s airconditioner or battery charging at a specified time.The air-conditioner can be programmed to cool or warm the cabin to a set temperature while the vehicle is being charged so that it doesn’t drain the vehicle's battery.Charging can be set to start at a specified time at night to benefit from cheaper electricity rates and can be programmed and monitored by mobile phone or the internet.A text message can be sent to the driver when the battery is fully charged and the vehicle is ready for use.Nissan Motor Company Australia managing director Dan Thompson said they had already held discussions with all levels of government about a range of incentives that would help convince motorists to go electric.“The states have been the most receptive,” he said. “Three years (before the electric car arrives) seems like a long time, but to get the infrastructure in place it isn’t.Thompson said they would also talk to companies such as shopping centres, cinema chains, fast food outlets as well as service stations about installing battery charging infrastructure.“We’ll talk to any business that wants to keep people longer at their business,” he said.Thompson said they would target fleet sales first, then private buyers.On Friday, Journalists were given a one-lap drive around the company’s Yokohama testing ground in an electric Tiida test vehicle which features the same drivetrain platform as the new electric vehicle.The little hatch was noticeably quieter, smoother and more torquey than the petrol model. While it doesn’t pull as smartly off the line as some hybrids, it has a linear power delivery. Steering feels heavy and the car turns in a little slow thanks to the 150kg extra weight.However, that weight, which is mostly due to the 300kg battery, is placed low and central, and with a lighter motor than the petrol engine up front, it provides an almost 50-50 weight balance.There is no engine compression effect, so it doesn’t slow when you take your foot off the accelerator. It therefore requires extra braking coming into corners, an issue with which drivers will have to become familiar.

Other technological innovations include cruise control that works with satellite navigation to slow vehicles for corners, an automatic transmission that selects a higher gear ratio for quicker starts and injecting certain aromas into the cabin to reduce boredom and stimulate the driver's brain.Nissan Australia senior corporate communications manager Jeffrey Fisher said the innovations may go into production over the next few years."But they are not necessarily for us (Australia). Some may but it's probably down the track," he said. "We will look to see if they are available and cost effective and whether they fit certain models. "Some may be included as a standard feature, so then we would get them, but that's not yet decided."Nissan's ‘Forest’ airconditioning is the result of the company's studies into the effect of forest air on people. The study found that a combination of fragrant kapur wood, lavendar and essential oils promotes calm and focus in the brain.It also found that leaf alcohol in most plants has a calming effect that also reduces fatigue. These aromas would be periodically sprayed into the vehicle's cabin using an interchangeable aroma cartridge with a one-year lifespan.The airconditioning system also detects odours and smells such as smoke to increase or decrease outside airflow, regulates the humidity to keep the windows demisted while avoiding the "over-drying" of conventional systems, filters allergens and pollens, and generates plasmacluster ions in the cabin air to kill germs and minimise odour.Nissan has also developed two driver-aid systems which synchronise the vehicle's satellite navigation, engine, braking and steering. The Navigation-Cooperative Intelligent Pedal lifts the accelerator when the satnav recognises an approaching corner. The lifting pedal prompts the drivers to take their foot off the accelerator, slowing the vehicle.It doesn't take control from the driver, but Nissan claims it will reduce the driver's workload.Nissan's Driver Stability Assist system synchronises brakes, steering and engine response to control the vehicle on winding roads.It senses an increase in driver input on the steering wheel and brake and accelerator pedals and acts to stabilise the vehicle with optimum distribution of force at each wheel depending on the radius of the corner.The driver-air systems will be available in the new Japanese Fuga this year which is not destined for Australia, Fisher said."The Fuga is just a technology mule for some of their innovations," he said.

In case you're wondering, that's that tag given to the generation born after the start of the internet age. There is no alphabetical link between Gen-X and Gen-Y and now Gen-I, but there is a technology trail that ties them as tightly as a 14-year-old to an X-Box.So, who knows what we'll be driving when the kids of Gen-I are old enough to get a license for the road? I was thinking about this as I rocked my own Gen-I youngster last week as I was tuned to the Discovery Channel.The spur was a multi-part documentary called FutureCar. It fast-forwards to the year 2030 and looks at everything from car bodies to on-board brains, fuels and even safety and design. And it does it with plenty of detail, high-definition pictures and access to some of the smartest and most-innovative thinkers in the car world today.I have spoken to many of the experts who appear in FutureCar and they know their stuff. Many are visionaries. But it's the way the package is put together, with truly fascinating dives into technology and design, that makes FutureCar so inspiring. It shows there is a future for the car, and well beyond 2030.I'm not convinced about cars that drive themselves, or some of the radical shapes and powerplants, but there is a lot to see and learn in this Discovery Channel production. There is virtual reality and haptic technology, wheel motors that replace engines, nanomaterials, farm fuels and even a look into what 'speed' will mean in the future.My order for a full DVD set is on its way to the USA and it's something I can definitely recommend, either to cable watchers or internet shoppers who will find FutureCar with a basic google search. Goodness, it even sounds like I'm coming to grips with the latest technology. Not bad for a baby boomer.

The system in the Lexus we were piloting could find the street we wanted, but tried to take us into a road that was barred. And kept ignoring the public street that would have given us access, as we kept circling past it in growing amusement. To be fair, the Audi satnavs also have a problem with that part of the world.And the one in the BMW X5 that Navman sent us out in contradicted their gadget on several occasions.The Navman itself didn’t have any trouble with the difficult location. But that’s not the big news about the new range. Nor, for that matter, are the tap/slide wide screens and the other lollies they’re trumpeting.The real attraction of the new MY range in our opinion is the more accurate speed limit information. Where other previous systems have offered an average for stretches of road – fairly useless for sections where speed limits see-saw wildly – the top two models of the five in the Navman MY series give accurate alerts whenever you enter a different speed zone.Navman spokesman Marcus Fry says these can be updated on an annual basis, and they hope to do it even more often.And across the range you also have alerts for revenue cameras, accident black spots, rail crossings and school zones.Unfortunately the school zone alerts run all the time, not just in school hours – which means you still have to take your eyes off the road to check.But for those more concerned with bells and whistles, the range has plenty to amuse and inform – with the aim of turning the gadget into a shotgun-riding ‘mate’, according to Navman marketing director Wendy Hammond.“People really should feel like they have a reliable and knowledgeable ‘mate’ in the car who knows the area – a resource from which they can get good directions; find a sportsground; Google a restaurant; keep an eye out on speed and safety cameras; alert about traffic incidents ahead, and even take overseas with them to have the maps and guides they need on holiday,” she says.These matey features include extended lane guidance and 3D junction views, the ability to search for local information on TrueLocal and Google, Lonely Planet and Wcities travel guides, intuitive ‘Smart Find’ destination input that uses a keyword search, and traffic information that includes weather updates.There’s also a function that advises the most fuel-efficient route, plus a mileage expense and digital logbook.Not all those features are standard. And – like everything else with buttons these days – you can get an inbuilt music and video player. But only in the top-line model.Prices start at $299 for the MY30 and add another $100 to each model as you move through the MY50T and MY55T to the MY500XT. 

With abundant local supplies of LPG and LNG transport analyst and managing director of energy group Rare Consulting, Mark McKenzie, told a gaseous fuels conference last week that Australia must secure its energy independence."We have a looming fuel deficit by 2030," he says."Australia's oil self-sufficiency will decline from 54 per cent in 2007 to less than 20 per cent by 2030 and possibly as low as 10 per cent if forecast new oil supply discoveries are not realised."McKenzie believes gas is a fuel of the future, particular given that transport consumes three-quarters of conventional oil supplies in Australia."There is a good strategic fit for gas," he says."The other thing about LPG is that we've got all the infrastructure in place."Currently there are 3200 LPG filling stations throughout Australia."That's one in every two service stations," McKenzie says.McKenzie sees LPG as a passenger car mainstay with LNG and CNG being more widely used in the heavy duty transport sector.The benefits of LPG are well documented. It delivers lower emissions, can be used in diesel engines, has lower engine wear and is half the cost of petrol.Australia too is believed to have about 65 years of gas reserves, according to Geoscience Australia.McKenzie also believes that newer-generation and more reliable LPG injection systems from carmakers and the after-market LPG fitters will help accelerate demand.However, another conference delegate, GM-Holden's energy and environment director, Richard Marshall, warned that Australian motorists are unlikely to switch to LPG in any great numbers while petrol prices remaining relatively cheap in global terms.Government incentives have helped induce buyers into LPG-powered vehicles and its tax-free status means it is cheaper at the pump compared to petrol.On the LPG excise question, McKenzie accepts there will be some impact on growth once it comes in from 2011 but he says the fuel must start paying its way.LPG receives no excise until 2011 at which time an excise of 2.5c a litre will apply, increasing by 2.5c each year until July 1, 2015, when it will be capped at 12.5c a litre.McKenzie says that the Federal Government could use an excise-free inducement for the development of other new fuel technologies like bio-fuel."One of the challenges in terms of some of the new fuels, particularly bio-fuels is that they will not be competitive without that excise exemption, ever," he says."We should be looking for fuel sources that really just need a window of exemption to allow them to gain a foothold in the market on the understanding that they will be able to pay their way in the future."Last year about 120,000 ex-factory and retro-fitted LPG cars were sold.Another conference delegate, Tony Fitzgerald of Orbital Autogas Systems in Perth, expects that by 2015 150,000 LPG-fueled vehicles will be sold each year.Of those about 80,000 will be ex-factory systems, with liquid injection and sequential vapour systems will take over from older LPG fuel systems.Less than 5 per cent of Australia's LPG fleet currently use newer sequential injection systems but Fitzgerald believes the rate of growth will accelerate."One of the challenges the LPG industry faces at the moment is the range and degree of some of the technology," he says."And some of this needs improvement."