Will your next car talk to traffic lights? Are diesel
engines on their last gasp? Have electric vehicles charged into the mainstream?
Those are some of
the questions new technologies and vehicles may answer in 2017.
The auto industry’s
present is starting to sound a lot like science fiction, thanks to technologies
with names like V2X communications, smart infrastructure and e-axles.
Some of what’s on
the horizon:
Cars
that talk to each other
Cadillac
CTS sport
sedans will offer a revolutionary system in 2017 that allows them to share information
about driving conditions like weather, speed, sudden braking, accidents and
more. It’s the beginning of vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, a
wi-fi-like technology that will eventually be standard on every new car.
“It increases
drivers’ awareness of what’s beyond their line of sight,” said Sam Abuelsamid,
Navigant Research senior analyst.
It’s also key to “platooning,” which will allow packs of
vehicles to drive close together at high speed without slowdowns or accidents.
Audi recently began selling several models with
vehicle-to-infrastructure capability, which allows traffic lights to tell
vehicles when they are about to turn, increasing safety and enabling stop-start
systems to save maximum fuel. Las Vegas is the first American city where
traffic lights communicate with cars, but others will follow.
V2X communications, incidentally, essentially means “vehicle
to whatever,” a catch-all phrase for upcoming systems linking vehicles to one
another, traffic lights, weather information and more. It’s an important part
of the web of technologies that will lead to fully autonomous vehicles.
Is diesel dead?
Chevrolet and Mazda will test America’s appetite for diesel
cars and SUVs in 2017. Diesel sales plummeted when the technology’s prime
purveyor, Volkswagen, got caught up in an emissions-cheating scandal.
“We don’t know what consumer demand for diesels (is),
because the largest traditional provider can’t sell them,” IHS Automotive
senior analyst Stephanie Brinley said.
Diesel powered versions of the popular Chevrolet Cruze compact
sedan and Mazda CX-9 family crossover SUV could show whether the
technology — which delivers high fuel economy and excellent performance — has a
future in the U.S.
The Cruze and CX-9 will certainly be the most fuel-efficient
non-hybrids in their classes, but will the people who lined up for VW diesels
buy them? Will they even know Chevy and Mazda want their business?
“Chevrolet and Mazda will have their work cut out finding
diesel buyers and telling them new options exist,” Brinley said.
Autonomous vehicles
in the real world
Fiat Chrysler is building an intriguing part of the future
in its Windsor, Canada, assembly plant, which will produce about 100 autonomous
Chrysler Pacifica plug-in hybrid minivans as part of Google’s vehicle
development project.
Google won’t sell any of the self-driving minivans to the
public, but they will rack up countless miles testing the technology’s
readiness and safety in the ultimate family vehicle.
Critics have mocked minivans as boring, but the Google
Pacificas are an exciting look into the future.
Google chose the Pacifica as its production-vehicle test bed
in part because the minivan’s size makes it ideal to carry the myriad sensors
autonomous driving requires.
The Pacifica’s height also makes it a tall platform to give
sensors the best possible view of the van’s surroundings.
The great test of the technology may be whether Google is
confident enough to allow testing of its self-driving minivans by independent
evaluators.
Demand for electric cars will face a crucial test this year,
as the Chevrolet Bolt brings a new level of affordability and
practicality to the technology.
The Bolt’s EPA-rated range of 238 miles on a single charge
and base price just under $30,000 after tax incentives should put the roomy,
zero-emission hatchback in competition not just with other environmental
heroes, but family vehicles like the Honda Accord, Hyundai Sonata and
Ford Escape.
Other electric cars, including the Kia Soul and Volkswagen
e-Golf, are increasing their ranges dramatically, though not nearly to the
Bolt’s level. And don’t forget Tesla’s eagerly awaited 3, which aims to
challenge the Bolt for the longest range at the best price.
“Electric cars are getting better thanks to more
energy-dense batteries,” said Bill Visnic, Society of Automotive Engineers editorial
director.
If EVs don’t move into the mainstream this year, you have to
wonder whether the technology will ever make the leap.
48 volts strike like lightning
How does a hybrid car that costs a mere $500 more than a
base-model sound to you? Shock absorbers that turn the energy generated when a
wheel hits a pothole into more miles per gallon? Superfast heated seats and
steering wheels?
That and more is on the horizon as automakers adopt 48-volt
electric systems. Excluding hybrids, modern vehicles use 12-volt systems. The
more powerful 48v units enable a range of features for more comfort, better
performance and improved fuel economy, but at a lower cost and with less risk
than hybrids’ 300v systems.
“The German manufacturers are likely to bring 48-volt
systems to market first. Mercedes’ all-new engine family uses 48V electric
superchargers,” said Lindsay Brooke, editor-in-chief of Automotive Engineering,
the magazine of the Society of Automotive Engineers. “Forty-eight-volt systems
offer a lot of bang for the buck, including hybrids that give you 70% of the
benefit of current high-voltage systems for 30% of the cost.”
The Bentley Bentayga luxury SUV is the only
vehicle currently sold in the U.S. with 48-volt features, an adaptive
suspension. Look for that to change soon.
Electrifying axles
for fun and fuel economy
How do automakers simultaneously meet soaring demand for
SUVs and rising fuel economy standards? Suppliers are lining up to sell them
electrically powered axles. Already available on the Volvo XC90, BMW
i8 and plug-in hybrids and the Toyota RAV4 hybrid, e-axles, as
they are called, will show up on a number of new vehicles soon, including the Mitsubishi
Outlander plug-in hybrid.
Adding a rear e-axle to a front-wheel drive vehicle can
improve performance, handling, and foul-weather ability at lower cost and with
less fuel consumption than conventional four-wheel-drive systems. Expect to see
more of them, particularly as 48v electric systems become more common.
“It’s a rare fusion of technologies that can simultaneously
offer engineering benefits and give buyers some of today’s most desirable
features,” SAE editorial director Visnic said.
