4 minute read
WINDSHIELD TIME
from REP May 21
Chances are you spend a lot of time in your car. Here’s something that might help you appreciate your home-away-from-home a little more.
Bridgestone’s Non-Pneumatic Tire Technology “Air Free Concept”
Automotive-related news
EV charging off-peak hours
As electric vehicles proliferate, so will the demand for EV charging – and electricity providers are trying to figure out how to accommodate it. Wallingford, Connecticut has launched SmartCharge New England, described as “a data acquisition, behavioral reward and public outreach program aimed at encouraging customers to charge electric vehicles during off-peak period.” The program is initially limited to 25 participants, who will receive a connected car device that can be installed without a professional by inserting the device into the vehicle’s diagnostic port. Once installed, the device will connect to the local cellular network and transmit data to a cloud-based platform.
Navigation is easier than ever
Factory-installed navigation systems offer better accuracy, more features and better integration than ever, according to a report in The New York Times. Take the navigation system in the 2021 Cadillac Escalade, for example. If you select audio driving directions in the system menu, the voice underscores the required action. When approaching a right turn, the voice comes from the right side of the vehicle. As you approach the intersection, volume increases. If you’d rather listen to the vehicle’s 36-speaker surround-sound system, you can turn off the voice and depend instead on the large, high-resolution display on the vehicle’s 16.9-inch infotainment screen. A heads-up display of route directions
supplements it in the windshield. The system also provides pictures of road signs at key intersections, indicating, for example, which way you should go at a fork in the road. Switch on augmented reality and the vehicle’s cameras provide a picture of the road ahead with a map superimposed. Luxury brands have such systems, as expected. But Chrysler’s Uconnect navigation systems get high marks in Consumer Reports too.
Speeding will catch up to you
Automotive technology is advancing rapidly. But one thing never changes: Speeding kills people – more than 9,000 people every year, per the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. And speeding has become even more acute during the COVID-19 pandemic, as less traffic has prompted some motorists to drive at high speeds on highways and city streets, according to Governors Highway Safety Association Executive Director Jonathan Adkins. Based on preliminary 2019 data, GHSA projected the year would see the highest number of pedestrians killed in more than 30 years. Riders of electric scooters and bicycles are also at risk.
Rooftop solar panels on Hyundai
Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 electric car comes with optional solar panels on the roof. Hyundai says that the solar panels can add up to 2,000 km per year (around 5-6 km per day) of additional range if driven in sunny environments, such as Spain or the south of France, reports Tech Radar. The Ioniq 5 also has the ability to charge other electric vehicles. If its battery level is above 15%, you plug the new Hyundai into another electric car to charge it. Once the Ioniq 5’s battery depletes to 15%, it will automatically stop charging the other vehicle, so it can preserve a little bit of range for itself.
Tires are important too!
Electric vehicles, self-driving cars and alternative fuels are sexy solutions for future mobility challenges. But tire-maker Bridgestone says tires can be pretty cool too, according to the Consumer Technology Association. For example, the company’s airless tires use a spoke structure along the inner sides to support the weight of the vehicle. No more flat tires or tire punctures – and the tires are more recyclable than conventional ones. Meanwhile, the company’s run-flat tires allow drivers to safely continue for up to 50 miles at 50 mph after a puncture or flat tire. Reinforced sidewall supports help support the weight of the vehicle.
Drive a Porsche to work
Here’s your chance to drive a Mercedes-Benz or Porsche to your next call. Both companies are among several others (including Ducati and Harley-Davidson) who are catching the wave of electric bikes. Credit the coronavirus pandemic, which has ignited bike sales of all stripes, but none so much as e-bikes, according to The New York Times. While retail unit sales of bicycles from January to October 2020 were up 46% from a year earlier, electric bikes were up 14%. Measured in dollars, regular bikes were up 67% and e-bikes 15% – so don’t expect a discount. Though car companies traditionally have failed in previous attempts to sell electric bikes, they might encounter more success today, given cities’ efforts to manage pollution and restrict motor traffic in overcrowded streets.
Plug into the streetlight
Kansas City plans to piggyback electric vehicle charging on existing streetlights as a way to improve access in areas currently lacking charging options, reports Energy News Network. A federally funded pilot project is being led by the nonprofit Metropolitan Energy Center, whose partners include the city and utility company Evergy. They hope to install chargers on 30 to 60 streetlights before the end of the year. As envisioned, the light poles would be equipped with one charger each. Customers would pay for each kilowatt-hour of power. Planners want to locate the charging stations near “points of interest,” such as stores, apartment buildings, schools and churches. They collaborated with the Missouri University of Science and Technology to map those sites and found about 300 lights that met the criteria.
