By KEVIN WALKER
Michigan Correspondent DETROIT, Mich. — Electric vehicles of various stripes made an appearance at this year’s North American International Auto Show (NAIAS).
The Chevrolet Volt, a cross between a pure electric vehicle and plug-in hybrid, is making its debut this year as a commercially available vehicle. General Motors will make 10,000-25,000 units this year and 60,000-120,000 in 2012, depending on the supply of batteries and demand.
“That was kind of a milestone,” said John McElroy, host of a Detroit television program on the auto industry.
Toyota, maker of the Prius – a hybrid vehicle now in its third generation – is coming out with three other electric vehicles to meet the needs of different kinds of consumers. Ford will also offer the Focus in a pure electric format, to be called the Focus Electric, beginning with the 2012 model year. In fact, five new electric Ford vehicles will be available by 2012 that are either pure electric, plug-in hybrid or conventional hybrid.
On the opposite end of the “practical” to “totally impractical” spectrum is the Porsche 918 RSR, an award-winning racecar that’s partly powered by electricity. According to McElroy, the flywheel runs a generator to generate electricity, but the car is also gas-powered.
“Every time you step on the brake it gets the flywheel running,” he said. “It’s a racecar. They’re going for the ultimate performance.”
Somewhat in the background of all this is Johnson Controls, a Milwaukee, Wis.-based firm with design division headquarters in Plymouth, Mich. This year it featured a demo car at the show called Ie:3. It markets its ideas and inventions directly to original equipment makers.
The tagline for the Ie:3 is “inspired efficiency.” The 3 stands for the three benefits yielded by the Ie:3: automakers can delight vehicle buyers, differentiate their products and deliver sustainable features.
“We’re really trying to represent what is in the Johnson Controls portfolio,” said Tom Gould, director of industrial design at Johnson Controls. “Everything we show is very real. The vehicle is kind of a hub – of all the technology, where we’re going with our company.”
The year 2015 is the target of every invention and innovation the company is hoping to sell to the carmakers right now. Among its past achievements is the RiAct headrest, what the company describes as an active, mechanical head restraint that is activated by the movement of the occupant’s body.
RiAct and similar technologies were a reaction to the federal government’s mandate that carmakers do something to lower the number of whiplash injuries, due mainly to rear end crashes.
Innovations featured in the Ie:3 fall into four categories: battery technology, seating, interior technology and electronics. Saving space and lightening the load are both important when it comes to an electric car, Gould said. According to the company, the Ie:3 can go 100 miles on a single charge.
“The battery pack is probably a little larger than what you’d have in a hybrid. The prismatic cells are packaged more in a rectangular format so you can pack them in a little closer. It’s just the batteries driving the electric motor,” he said.
Gould also said today’s customers don’t want to give up the amenities they’re used to, but since they’re downsizing that means space needs to be saved somewhere. He said the small car, or B segment, is the fastest growing car segment today. The company gained 45 percent of space with the Ie:3 compared to its comparison vehicle, a Kia Soul.
“Philosophically, we want the seating to be really comfortable,” Gould said. “At the same time there was a lot of light-weighting within the vehicle.”
The front row passenger seat folds flat allowing room for a suitcase if desired. Part of the car’s interior is made of so-called “PP Thin,” or polypropylene thin, a film-like material Gould described as extremely durable. The instrument panel is also covered with a thin film to protect it from moisture and to make it easier to clean.
“We also worked with a lot of mesh materials on the surfaces of things,” Gould said. “It gives it a unique look.”
The Ie:3’s designers tried to make a lot of the materials recyclable, including the seats, which are made of the company’s own Faser Tec seat pads, derived from natural fibers. Other features include a computer that can tell the driver if there is enough of a charge to get to the appointed destination and back, if necessary, and a small bin that can charge a cell phone inductively, without it being plugged in.
“The vehicle knows how far it can go on the charge that it has,” Gould said. “You tell the car where you want to go.” |
