US President Donald Trump leaves after speaking at the Major Cities Chiefs Association and Major County Sheriffs Association Winter Meeting in Washington, DC, February 8, 2017.Getty General Motors, Toyota and Fiat Chrysler plan to back President Donald Trump in a contentious battle with California officials over automobile emissions rules, splitting with major rivals including Ford.GM, Toyota and several other automakers plan to intervene on the administrations behalf in a lawsuit filed by environmental groups challenging the U.S. Department of Transportations rule stripping California of its ability to regulate tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions.The move was announced Monday by John Bozzella, a spokesman for the companies siding with the administration, who call themselves the Coalition for Sustainable Automotive Regulation.California and more than 20 other states have filed suit to block the administration’s plan to revoke the state’s powers, a legal battle that threatens to tie up the critical industry standards in litigation for years with an uncertain outcome. With our industry facing the possibility of multiple overlapping and inconsistent standards that drive up costs and penalize consumers, we had an obligation to intervene, said Bozzella, who is also chief executive officer of the Association of Global Automakers, an industry trade group. The decision to intervene in the lawsuit is about how the standard should be applied, not what the standard should be.The Trump administration last year proposed to dramatically ease federal automobile greenhouse gas emission and fuel economy standards that had previously been coordinated with California. California officials rebuffed and vowed to continue to enforcing their more stringent standards, which are in place through 2025.The move by GM and the other companies breaks with Ford, Honda, BMW and Volkswagen, which in July agreed to meet tougher emissions targets set by California. The automakers siding with the administration were harshly criticized by some Democrats, environmental organizations and California regulators.Mary Nichols, chairman of the California Air Resources Board, said in a statement that the state regulator was disappointed in automakers hiding behind the Trump administrations skirts and its assault on public health.Most automakers have urged officials in Washington and Sacramento for more than a year to compromise, but no deal materialized after limited talks broke down earlier this year.Still, Bozzella said he held out hope for a middle ground. We can still reach an agreement that is supported by all the parties, he
Origin: GM, Toyota and Chrysler side with Trump in emissions battle with California
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ZF has developed a pre-crash side airbag that deploys outside the car
Auto parts supplier ZF has been working on a way to make side impact crashes less deadly, and it now has a working prototype for just such a solution. A video demonstration shows an Opel Insignia (a.k.a. Buick Regal) about to be T-boned by a lightweight dummy car, but a split-second before the crash occurs, an airbag along the base of the outside of the side of the car is deployed, taking the brunt of the impact. The system uses a combination of cameras, radar and lidar (a way of measuring distance with lasers) to identify impending collisions and deploy the airbag in time. “Algorithms within the system software decide whether or not a collision is unavoidable and the deployment of the airbag is both possible and beneficial. If these decisions are all affirmative, the system ignites the inflators to fill the airbag, explains a press release. The airbag, which has a capacity of between 280 and 400 liters (five to eight times the volume of a driver airbag) depending on the vehicle, then expands upwards from the side sill to form an additional crumple zone in the door area between the A and C pillars.” In ZF’s home nation of Germany, side-impact collisions where one vehicle strikes another, or one vehicle slides sidelong into an object, account for almost a third of all vehicle occupant deaths. The brand claims its system delivers an “up to 40 per cent reduction in occupant injury severity for side impact collisions.” Of course this is just a test run using a vehicle made of what looks like cloth and not metal, so any automaker who wants to actually use this technology will have much more testing ahead of it. But with lives on the line, it seems likely that we’ll be seeing more of these types of airbags.
Origin: ZF has developed a pre-crash side airbag that deploys outside the car
New Honda e: side cameras confirmed for electric city car
Honda has confirmed that its new electric city car, the Honda e, will feature side cameras in place of wing mirrors as standard when deliveries start in 2020. The Urban EV concept, first revealed at the 2017 Frankfurt motor show, featured the camera system, which Honda claims reduces aerodynamic drag by around 90% compared to conventional wing mirrors. The firm says that improves the efficicency of the entire vehicle by 3.8%, playing a significant role in maximising range. The camera system will feature two modes: a normal mode, and a wide mode with an extended field of view, and Honda claims they reduce blind spots by at least 10% compared to normal mirrors. A special water-repellent coasting will be used to stop water blocking vision. Honda recently opened up ordering for the e, ahead of first deliveries beginning next spring. Mirroring the process of rivals such as Tesla and Peugeot with the e-208, potential customers are invited to cough up a reservation fee of £800 to get “priority status” on the order books. Those customers will be invited to place a full order later this year. The car’s pricing is still yet to be announced, but as with most reservations, the fee is refundable if buyers change their mind. A near-production version of the e was shown at this year’s Geneva motor show and dubbed the Honda e prototype. The car maker has confirmed that name will stay for the production version, and revealed a selection of available paint options for customers at launch. The firm believes the car’s retro design will give it an Apple-style appeal to customers. The prototype shown at Geneva motor show is “95% production ready”, according to the firm. It maintains the styling of the Urban EV Concept, albeit with the addition of an extra set of doors. While Honda has yet to reveal full technical details of the car, its designers told Autocar at the Geneva show that it would offer “more than” 98bhp and 221lb ft of torque. Honda said there have been more than 6,500 people who have expressed interest in the Honda e in the UK. Pricing has yet to be set, Autocar understands a ballpark figure is £35,000. Project manager Kohei Hitomi said the machine had been the subject of an internal “battle” over whether to put it into production, with the positive reaction to the concept being a key factor in it gaining approval. The car is slightly shorter than a Jazz and around 100mm taller than a Mini. Honda has said it will likely have an official range of around 125 miles, with fast-charging capacity to reach 80% charge in 30 minutes. The e prototype is built on a new platform designed for A and B-segment electric cars, with underfloor batteries produced by Panasonic that are similar to those used in the US market Accord plug-in hybrid. The rear-mounted electric motor drives the rear wheels, which employ torque vectoring to give a smoother response and improved handling in tight corners. Although the e prototype’s range is substantially lower than that offered by rival EVs such as the 282-mile Kia e-Niro or BMW i3, which offers 193 miles, Hitomi said it was necessary to keep the batteries small to fulfil its city-car role. “We believe the range is sufficient for this segment of car,” said Hitomi. “Some potential customers might not be satisfied, but when you think about bigger range and a bigger battery, it has drawbacks in terms of packaging. It’s a balance.” As well as featuring cameras instead of rear-view mirrors, there are also flush door handles to further boost aerodynamic efficiency, while the charging port is mounted centrally in the bonnet. The cockpit is dominated by two 12in touchscreens, built into a dashboard finished with a wood-effect trim. The seats – including a two-seat bench in the rear – are covered in polyester, which, as with the wood effect, is designed to make the interior feel like a living room. The e prototype will be built in Japan and go on sale in selected European markets in late 2019, with others following in 2020. It will also be sold in Japan. The firm has yet to set pricing. Hitomi said it is “important” the car is affordable but he added: “A low price is not always a guarantee of success. When you look at Apple products, they are not cheap, but everyone wants to have them because of their added value. We believe it is the same for the electric
Origin: New Honda e: side cameras confirmed for electric city car
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