Category Archives: Transport
Mitsubishi Electric has been chosen by Volvo as a partner to develop next-generation automotive infotainment systems for all Volvo vehicles launched from November 2013 onwards. Since 1969, Mitsubishi Electric has been supplying Volvo with car audios, navigation systems and other infotainment equipment. All intuitive technology that is available at the driver’s fingertip is included in Volvo’s recently established Sensus brand. Sensus is the interface that promotes instinctive communication with the car, connecting it to the driver’s digital world – and the central Infotainment module is a core component in this web of interactivity.
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A new study by civil engineers at MIT shows that using stiffer pavements on the nation’s roads could reduce vehicle fuel consumption by as much as 3 percent — a savings that could add up to 273 million barrels of crude oil per year, or $15.6 billion at today’s oil prices. This would result in an accompanying annual decrease in CO2 emissions of 46.5 million metric tons. The study, released in a recent peer-reviewed report, is the first to use mathematical modeling rather than roadway experiments to look at the effect of pavement deflection on vehicle fuel consumption across the entire U.S. road network. A paper on this work has also been accepted for publication later this year in the Transportation Research Record.
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The 6th Busan International Motor Show will kick off on Thursday with a completely different look at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center from May 24 to June 3. At the International Motor Show Toyota will unveil the 86, an ultra-light rear-wheel drive sports car, for the first time in Korea.
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South Korea on Thursday unveiled a next-generation bullet train with a maximum speed of 430 km/h, the HEMU 430X. The HEMU on a test run covered a 28.2 km distance at a speed of 150 km/h from a station in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province. The faster and bigger successor to the KTX-Sancheon is Korea’s second bullet train developed with local technologies and its production has been carried out in the city by Hyundai Rotem, the train maker.
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Honda today unveiled the new UNI-CUB personal mobility device, designed for harmony with people. Featuring a compact design and comfortable saddle, UNI-CUB offers the same freedom of movement in all directions that a person enjoys while walking. Japanese astronaut Mamoru Mori compared riding a prototype of the new UNI-CUB personal mobility device to his experience of flying on the space shuttle.I felt like I was floating. That is just like how I felt in outer space, said Mori, who serves as chief executive director at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, which will be testing the new Uni-Cub single-seater with the automaker.
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Hyundai and Kia are voluntarily recalling 218,000 Tucsons and Sportages after a study by the South Korean Ministry of Environment revealed that they discharge significantly more of the air pollutant nitrogen oxide than the legal limit. The ministry checked four new models launched by Hyundai, Kia, Renault Samsung and GM Daewoo to see whether they comply with emission standards, and found that that the Tucson 2.0 and Sportage 2.0 discharge 21 percent and 18 percent more NOx than the acceptable standard. Current regulations allow the Korean environment ministry to order the responsible carmakers to stop releasing or selling specific models, but the ministry decided to recommend they voluntarily recall already sold cars and improve those currently in production by the end of this month.
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Denso has developed a smaller and more efficient condenser, which helps increase fuel efficiency, while allowing carmakers to have greater design flexibility inside the engine compartment. Compared to conventional models, Denso’s new Global Inner-fin Condenser (GIC) is 30 percent smaller. To more efficiently transfer the refrigerant’s heat flowing in the tubes, the size of the tube’s inner fins were reduced and the density of inner fins inside each tube were maximized, which increased the heat transfer area by 20 percent. The new inner-fin tube has 25 percent more room, which enables even more amount of refrigerant to flow in the tube without increasing power consumption.
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Toyota unveiled the Toyota RAV4 EV —an all electric compact SUV jointly developed with Tesla today at the 26th International Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS26) in Los Angeles, California. The RAV4 EV—based on the Toyota RAV4 compact SUV and fitted with a Tesla electric powertrain—achieves a real-world cruising range of approximately 100 miles (approx. 160 km).
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Renault Nissan announced a big step in the Russian market on Thursday, heading for control of the Lada brand to become the third-biggest auto force in the world. Avtovaz owns one of the biggest car factories in the world at Togliatti, a town on the banks of the Volga River about 1,000 kilometers from Moscow where the company has its headquarters. The company plans to raise production to nearly 1.4 million vehicles per year by 2015. The move by Renault Nissan to control Russian auto group Avtovaz, for $750 million, highlights the importance of the Russian market, the third biggest for the three manufacturers, after China and the United States.
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Kia Motors on Wednesday unveiled its new K9 large sedan, which is packed with sophisticated technologies developed together with affiliate Hyundai Motor. Kia spent some 500 million dollars since 2008 on developing the most luxurious model in the K-series. At the launch in Seoul, Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group chairman Chung Mong-koo said all state-of-the-art technologies have been used in the development of the K9 for the safety and convenience of drivers. The K9 shares the same platform with Hyundai’s Equus but is 7 cm shorter to give a more dynamic impression.
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