Forget the plug and the battery: Safety rules
Micro cars as safe as a Hummer
Could safety be more important than the battery?
Most energy used by a car is wasted moving just the weight of a vehicle. Thus, many have pointed out that simply making vehicles much lighter would have a dramatic impact on reducing fuel consumption, at a far cheaper cost than adding batteries.
Unfortunately, lighter vehicles means less safe vehicles as well.
Nonetheless, if a gas-guzzling SUV is inefficient by design, does adding a massive lithium-ion battery pack and plugging it into a coal-powered grid make that SUV that much more efficient?
Regardless, if autos could be made much lighter, not only would conventional vehicles achieve vast improvements in fuel economy, but battery-powered vehicles could then use far less battery and achieve much cheaper, mainstreaming-possible, prices. And such capabilities already exist today.
Despite the hype, the battery is not the most important automotive development ever, or even recently. Instead, it’s software.
According to Continental Automotive Group, for example, software could make the smallest micro cars – the future car of the world – just as safe as much larger vehicles through driver-assisted technologies, such as “blind spot detection, automatic braking, and lane departure warning” according to InsideLine. In fact, Continental’s ‘Vision Zero’ envisions the possibility of zero crashes and zero deaths in automobiles thanks to such technologies.
Already, luxury cars are beginning to roll out similar features, as programs such as the Darpa Challenge prove that these luxury capabilities are only the beginning of how software could – will – revolutionize the auto industry.
Of course, without any doubt, the battery is in an incredibly important development in the auto industry. Yet, a major breakthrough in algae-based biofuels or hydrogen production, for instance, could instantly make the battery much less significant.
Software, on the other hand, offers the ability to make every kind of vehicle much more efficient, regardless of powertrain or fuel. In fact, software offers the ability to develop entirely new business models around personal transportation that are almost unimaginable today – yet so very close.
Plugging-in the box we drive today is not cost-effective for the masses according to almost every single bit of evidence. We must think outside of the box, and software offers the greatest potential to build new boxes.
The lenses are restricted in their resolution the less the resolution is the better the quality is. I will do my best to answer your questions when I’m free.
[...] Continental Automotive Group’s ‘Vision Zero’ suggests that quite soon all cars, regardless of weight and size, will be equally safe as new technologies enable cars – similar to some super chess program - to analyze and to foresee potential dangers well before drivers and react independently of the driver. [...]
right now, perhaps for a long time, we have a huge political divide in the country with a good number of people who see any kind of a tax intended to force people to do something different … as un-American or Marxist social engineering.
I don’t think many of these ideas will go forward until we have more agreement and those who oppose such tax ideas are pretty sure they’re going to make things even harder to accomplish in Congress come the fall elections.
There’s a huge irony here and that is the folks who will decide these issues are the ones in the middle depending on what side they come down on.
I note that even now – with thousands of gallons of oil despoiling the environment, killing critters and devastating the economy that the very people being most affected are ….begging the President not to shut down the remaining rigs… because if he does the area will be economically devastated.
So …we are so invested…addicted to oil… that much of the economy of the Gulf States depends on it… even as the oil washes ashore…
sad……
Hmmm, tax the weight and use that for your highway infrastructure fund, slowly replacing the current fuel tax that does the same thing.
Thoughts, gang?
of course since today’s battery-powered cars are heavier than non-battery powered cars……….
i don’t want to say yes, simply because i haven’t really thought that idea through, but it sure seems like it could be just that easy.
is the answer to simply tax weight?
totally concur larry.
take those light cars and add hybrid technology – which would need a much smaller battery pack because of the reduced weight – and the gains in fuel economy would be almost unbelievable.
likewise, since most americans buy more car than they can truly afford, such vehicles would be like a tax credit/stimulus for consumers.
possibly, even more important, such vehicles actually have a chance of resonating in the developing world – home to billions of future auto consumers.
we don’t have lithium here in america, but we do have immense software knowledge and savvy, plus the kind of high tech skills to help mature materials like carbon fiber. we need to take advantage of our strengths.
We are, in fact, using energy to move metal around.
What would be interesting would be to compare what a minimal energy footprint vehicle could be in moving people around (one that would shield folks from the weather).
If we DOUBLED our average fleet MPG.. what effect would that have on energy use?
I think we can make stronger, lighter cars and get significant gains in energy efficiency in doing that.
Absolutely, cypress. I’m a very big fan of carbon fiber et al and am particularly excited about BMW’s plans to use carbon fiber in its upcoming megacity vehicle. Unfortunately, however, thus far carbon-fiber has been relatively expensive, although the day will definitely come when that is no longer the case.
Still, I completely agree that it’s time for automakers to step up.
Likewise, scale will also make software-driven safety features quite inexpensive.
If we just think a little bit outside of the box, make a few long term investments, much can be achieved without any major technological breakthroughs. Again, it really is time for automakers to step up.
Lighter does not necessarily equate to less safe if advanced materials technology such as carbon fiber reinforced plastics and advanced structural design concepts are used. Formula 1 car drivers can walk away from crashes well in excess of 100mph because of these ideas. Boeing is building it’s next generation of commercial airplanes with these ideas, to take advantage of lower weight, and less maintenance for the life of the airplane. Commercial airplane travel has proven far safer than automotive travel. It’s time the automakers step up.