Technology

Your new Mazda wants to watch you sleeping...

The days of having a car key bulging in your pocket or getting lost at the bottom of your handbag could soon be over.

In years gone by it was common to see a heavy black cloud of smoke trailing behind vehicles powered by diesel engines, but that's a thing of the past with today's clean diesel engines. One of the ways vehicle manufacturers have been able to clean up the tailpipe of diesels is the use of a Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF).The DPF is fitted to new diesel-powered vehicles to capture the carbon particulates, soot, coming from the engine and preventing it from being released into the atmosphere and affecting our health.The DPF collects these nasty particulates as we drive along, and periodically they are superheated and burnt off in what is known as a 'regeneration' cycle.There are two DPF 'regeneration' cycles, passive and active.In the case of the passive cycle the DPF warning light comes on signaling the driver that he/she needs to drive the vehicle at a speed nominated in the owner's manual or higher to generate the heat required to burn off the soot.Regeneration can require an owner to drive at speeds above 50 km/h for upwards of 15 minutes to complete the cycle.Owners need to consult their owner's manual to familiarize themselves with this process.Should they ignore the signal, or fail to complete the cycle, they face the possibility of having their dealer conduct a 'forced' regeneration, which obviously costs money, or in an extreme case have to replace the DPF, which is even more expensive.Some DPFs have an active regeneration cycle in which extra fuel is injected into the engine to create the high temperatures required for burn-off. Other DPFs have an injector that injects either diesel fuel or an additive directly into the filter during the regeneration process.

Yet few motorists know how they work or how to maintain them.A battery has two terminals, one marked positive (+) and one negative (-) to which are connected to leads that run to the ignition, starter motor, lights and other electrical components.Inside the typical lead acid battery are lead plates in electrolyte liquid which creates an electro-chemical reaction to produce a charge to the battery terminals.These batteries can get a build-up of lead oxide on the terminals, which need to be cleaned for optimum performance. You should also keep the electrolyte topped up with de-mineralised water, not tap water or acid. Don’t overfill.Batteries are recharged by the alternator, which turns mechanical energy into an electrical charge. A failed alternator can allow the battery to go flat. In this case the battery can be recharged however fully depleted batteries will have a shorter life.Most modern car batteries are either absorbed glass mat or gel cell. These are sealed for life requiring no maintenance. When they go flat, you simply replace them.Electric cars and some luxury models use lightweight lithium-ion batteries (See image to the right), which use lithium-ion instead of electrolyte liquid to create the charge.

I am replacing my car after it was written off. I’ve been told by many mechanics, those in the car trade etc., that the Toyota Corolla is a great car that just keeps on keeping on. I want a near new model and would prefer a hybrid and definitely a hatchback. The drawbacks with the latest Corolla hybrids seem to be the very small boot space and no Apple car play. I have approx. $20,000. Which is the best year for a recent Corolla and do you have any other suggestions?

While driving, my 2011 Holden Cruze will shut down along with the steering. Once I put it back in park it starts straight away. Please advise.

 

How do you change the dashboard, including mileage and radio, to English in a 2002 Mercedes 180?

As a director of BMW's future-focused Designworks division, Annette Baumeister, knows more than most about what the cars of tomorrow will look and feel like, and she says the innovation she's most excited about is moveable steering wheels."I think, for a while at least, the interior of autonomous vehicles will still be focused on the driver in the traditional way, because they'll still have to take over the driving sometimes, or maybe they will just ask their passenger to do it," Baumeister told CarsGuide during a visit to Sydney yesterday."I love this concept of a car where the steering wheel can disappear when you don't need it, and when you do, you can also just slide it from left to right, so either one of you can drive. It really is a fantastic system.Designworks in Shanghai has worked on the design of tractors for John Deere, new trains for various governments, including the Virgin Hyperloop in Dubai, and top-end white goods for Chinese giant Haier. Its clients also include Cartier, Huawei and Coca Cola.And then there are those jobs that don't seem car-related at first, but turn out to be very much about the future of BMW products. Baumeister has worked on creating new first-class cabins for Singapore Airlines, for example."Making intelligent use of space is a Mini slogan, but it fits perfectly with what you're doing when you're designing a first class cabin," she explains."And if you look at business-class or first-class seats, that's very much what we're looking at with the future of autonomous-car interiors - because being driven around will be very much like flying business class."So it's about what can you do in that space, what do you need in there? And obviously at the moment that seems to be all about screens; more and more screens and bigger and bigger."The difference of course is that an airline seat is focused just on one person while a car is about several people."Baumeister is also very excited about the potential uses of hologram technology in cars, which BMW has already shown off in a concept car at CES.While the system so far allows for holographic screens that allow you to operate functions without ever actually dirtying your hands by touching a surface, the future could be far more impressive."There's a lot of exciting things we're looking at with holograms in your vehicle, right up to the point of having one as your personal assistant," she says.I can see her now, floating there and inviting you to ask: "Help me BMW, you're my only hope."

All new cars in the EU will be fitted with speed-limiting devices within three years, after a group of key European government officials voted overnight in favour of making a large number of safety measures mandatory on new cars by 2022.Among the measures set to become law are the compulsory fitment of AEB and lane-departure-warning systems, plus driver-drowsiness and attention warnings.But the one system on the approved list that will change driving forever, and the one opposed by both car companies and enthusiasts, is Intelligent Speed Assistance.ISA works by using traffic-sign-recognition cameras, or GPS data, to determine the maximum speed where you are driving, and then automatically restrict engine power and your speed to the prevailing limit.The push for this speed-limiting technology is being spearheaded by the European Transport Safety Council, which says the limiters will reduce crashes by 30 per cent, and save 25,000 lives within 15 years of coming into force.What is slightly worrying is that the ETSC has only recommended a “full on/off switch” - ie the ability to override the system by pushing the accelerator through some kind of detente - during the compulsory roll-out of the technology ”to aid public acceptance at introduction”.The safety body has indicated it will push for even stricter rules in the future, which would seem to indicate systems that are impossible to override.The ETSC has also suggested that “If the driver continues to drive above the speed limit for several seconds, the system should sound a warning for a few seconds and display a visual warning until the vehicle is operating at or below the speed limit again.”And, worryingly, mandatory data loggers would also be fitted to all new cars under the ETSC’s program.This means that, theoretically, even in a Porsche, if you exceed the speed limit at any time your car will, by law, beep and chime and flash lights at you until you stop doing it.And a data logger will record the fact that you did speed, for reasons that may not be in your best interests.Matthew Avery, director of research at Thatcham Research, said the vote result was "great news for road safety”."It's encouraging that a lot of the safety technologies proposed are already fitted as standard on many new cars. In fact, it's not now impossible to get a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating without AEB fitted as standard,” he said.”We would hope the proposed timeline of within three years could be more ambitious.”Avery also reprised the idea of intelligent speed assistance systems but added that the EU had ruled such systems must be overridable, saying: "Drivers like the vehicle to know what the set limit is, but also like to have ultimate control of their vehicle's speed".You really have to wonder how the Germans are going to respond to these rules.But you don’t have to wonder how warmly Australian safety authorities will welcome them, because we asked Samantha Cockfield, lead director road safety for Victoria’s peak safety body, the Transport Accident Commission (TAC).Her organisation would support “mandating safety technology that can help people drive safely and reduce the number of people killed and injured on our roads”.“Speed remains one of the biggest factors in crashes on Victorian roads and while it is not always the cause of a crash, the speed of a vehicle at impact will always determine how badly people are hurt as a result,” Ms Cockfield added.“Technology such as ISA, when supported by appropriate setting of speed limits, can help people to slow down and drive at speeds that are safer, which will go a long way towards reducing deaths and serious injuries on our roads.”

Mazda Australia has confirmed the Japanese brand’s breakthrough ‘Skyactiv-X’ engine technology will be available locally before the end of 2019 in the soon-to-be-launched, fourth-generation Mazda3.Long thought to be the unachievable holy grail of combustion engine design, combining the best attributes of diesel and petrol engine technology, Mazda says Skyactiv-X will be, “the world’s first commercial gasoline engine to run on compression ignition.”Announced at the 2017 Tokyo motor show, Skyactiv-X uses a combustion method Mazda calls ‘Spark Controlled Compression Ignition’ (SPCCI) designed to marry the strong low-end torque of a diesel, with the linear response and free-revving nature of a petrol engine.Still generating an initial fireball with a spark plug Mazda says the technology, “realises a seamless transition between compression ignition and spark ignition, maximising the zone in which compression ignition is possible.”Mazda also claims the SPCCI process “improves engine efficiency by up to 20-30 per cent over current Skyactiv-G engines.”When asked about the local sales potential of a Skyactiv-X-equipped Mazda3, Mazda Australia marketing director, Alastair Doak said, “We’ve haven’t made a volume call yet, I guess we’ll save that until closer to the time. But we think it will appeal to people who love tech for a start. There is a bunch of those higher involvement people who want the latest and greatest.”“But beyond that, the actual performance of the car is great. It feels very lively. It’s a 2.0-litre engine but you can gear the whole car down. It has much shorter gear ratios than those we have today and it feels incredibly fast,” he said.Mr Doak confirmed the Skyactive-X engine won’t replace the new Mazda3’s ‘conventional’ 2.0- or 2.5-litre Skyactiv-G engines and that it would likely be offered on higher grades with a cost premium reflecting the complexity of the new technology’s development.