Recharging your car in twenty minutes

Recharging your car in twenty minutes

The future is now, it seems. Later this year, you’ll be able to almost completely charge an electric car in 20 minutes. We’ve already reached the point where we can do it wirelessly, and now we’ll be able to do it in the time it takes to cook a frozen pizza.

It's as simple as using a single standardized connector that accepts DC fast charging, which was developed by the Society of Automotive Engineers. It’ll be used first by BMW and GM, though Audi, Chrysler, Daimler, Porsche and Volkswagen are reported to be following suit. Specifically, the BMW i3 and the Chevrolet Spark EV are the first two cars to employ the DC fast charge.

“The DC Combo quick charger changes the game,” said GM’s director of advanced vehicle commercialization policy Britta Gross. “Imagine stopping off for a cup of coffee, plugging in your vehicle at the fast charge station outside, run in for your cup of coffee, 10 minutes, 20 minutes later, you have a fully charged vehicle.”

The charger itself is strikingly simple. It uses a single car connector for AC and DC charging, which means it's compatible with the older, standard AC charging stations. But the DC charging is the fast one, bringing the BMW i3 to an 80 percent charge in 20 minutes.

That’s enough for about 80 miles of driving. Obviously, cars with larger batteries will take a longer time to charge, but the BMW i3 offers a pretty good average estimate. AMAZON GIFT CARD GENERATOR

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Squba, world's first swimming car!!!

Squba, world's first swimming car!!! 

Touted as the "world's first real submersible car", the sQuba was apparently inspired by the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me. According to a company representative at the Motorshow, the convertible sports car works just like any regular automobile on land. But once it hits the water, three engines powered by onboard Lithium-ion batteries convert the car into a submersible vehicle capable of going at 6km/h on water and 3km/h underwater up to a depth of 10m. However, unlike Bond's bubble-sealed Lotus Esprit submarine, the sQuba remains open-topped and won't leave your tux all dry and pressed when it gets to land again. 

Not surprisingly, the concept sQuba needs to come with diamond-coated non-slip textile seats and fabrics that drain off water quickly, among other innovations. It's just a pity the exhibitors weren't able to demo the vehicle's underwater capabilities. Now that would really have been a treat for car enthusiasts. 

For the Motorshow, the sQuba will be landlocked. Fortunately, the sQuba isn't the only highlight at this year's event. Car makers also unveiled a handful of new vehicles, including the Subaru 7-seater Exiga, third-generation Honda City and new Nissan Murano SUV. Visitors will also get a chance to see the Honda RA108 Formula One car up close.

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A few issues plaguing Google’s self-driving car

A few issues plaguing Google’s self-driving car

A few issues plaguing Google’s self-driving car

Self-driving cars are the future and various groups are currently working on perfecting their self-driving cars and preparing them for the masses. Oxford University tested out their own self-driving car system recently to much success. It’s able to perform well on regular commutes and in traffic jams, and the team is currently working on a system that will allow their car to easily map surrounding areas. Google’s self-driving car system is doing well too, being able to perform daily tasks with ease, and most of time being able to drive better than humans. A few reports from Google’s team, however, state that there are a few flaws that need to be worked on. While Google’s self-driving car may be able to handle normal driving tasks, it can hit a few roadblocks under certain circumstances. These problems are fixable, but will require much creative thinking amongst the Google team (something they are obviously pretty good at). The 3 issues plaguing the self-driving car system include: Driving in snow, driving in areas with unsuspected changes in the road, and driving in areas where a human is directing traffic.

While driving in the snow, the car’s sensors have a hard time analyzing the lane markers on the road, which it needs to be able to do in order to stay correctly in its lane. When the cars come across an unexpected change in the roads that is not recorded in its mapping system, it becomes lost and is unable to find its way around, or find an alternate route to its destination. And last, while driving through areas where traffic needs to be directed by a human, such as construction zones, the car is unable to analyze the traffic director’s gestures and thus becomes confused.

The engineers are currently working on fixes for these problems, and it may require some out-of-the-box thinking. Development of self-driving cars is advancing further and further and I can’t wait for them be available to the masses. Currently, the prices of self-driving car systems are speculated to cost an arm an a leg, but the teams are working on reducing those costs down to a much more affordable price tag.

[via Business Insider]

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Volvo Introduces the World's First Car Equipped With Pedestrian Airbags

Volvo Introduces the World's First Car Equipped With Pedestrian Airbags

Swedish carmaker Volvo has unveiled the world’s first car with external airbags to ensure the safety of pedestrians and protect them from serious had and neck injuries. The airbag is located under the hood and inflates at the base of the windshield while enabling the driver to see ahead. The new Volvo V40 hatchback goes on sale in Australia today.

In addition to the external airbag mechanism, the new car—which was recently unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland—also features a pedestrian detection system. Once a pedestrian steps in front of the vehicle, the car’s brakes apply automatically if the driver doesn’t react fast enough. If the sensors detect an imminent collision with a pedestrian while driving at high speed, the airbag pops-up and inflates in a U-shape.

Numbers state that there has been a decrease in pedestrian deaths in Australia, but these still account for 13 percent of all traffic related fatalities. According to Volvo, nearly 12 percent of all road accident deaths in the US are still pedestrian related.

“It’s fantastic technology and every car should have it,” said Harold Scruby, road safety campaigner and the chairman of the Pedestrian Council Of Australia. She pointed out the lack of federal regulations when it comes to pedestrian protection, which is partially to blame for a small number of cars like Volvo V40 on the streets.

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Ferrari World’s most Powerful Brand

Ferrari World’s most Powerful Brand

A case in point is Ferrari, owned by Italian car giant Fiat, that achieved the highest brand rating in the Global 500 despite being a niche sports car manufacturer with a much smaller enterprise value than many of the other global brands in the Top 500.

“I often think that the Italian genius for car design is based in the language of craft,” comments world renowned design critic Stephen Bayley. “Theirs is a workshop vocabulary with words for a car’s features and contours many of which simply don’t exist in English. If you have a word for it you can draw it. That word is beauty,” he says.

A key driver of brand value is revenue. Clearly Ferrari cannot compete in terms of the size of the multi-national brands. However its brand rating takes into account other financial metrics such as net margins, average revenue per customer, marketing and advertising spend as well as qualitative measures such as brand affection and loyalty.

Taken together, Ferrari outperforms not only rival auto manufacturers BMW, VW, Mercedes Benz, Lexus and Audi but all brands worldwide.

Ferrari today announced record results for the first nine months of 2012, recording an increase in net profits by 7.6 per cent to €244m on a turnover of €2.43 billion.

“It is always a pleasure to top any list and still more so when the competition includes some of the world’s most famous companies. This achievement proves that even in very tough economic times, Italy can still offer the world businesses of excellence,” commented Ferrari Chairman Luca di Montezemolo. “Behind this acknowledgement are exceptional products made by equally exceptional men and women. They made it possible and for that I thank them.”

David Haigh concludes: “As the Global 500 powerfully demonstrates, customer expectations of brands are much higher than ever as trust becomes a critical business issue in a time of increased economic uncertainty. To fulfil such expectations, brand owners must continue to innovate whilst at the same time deliver quality with value, choice with social responsibility and sustainability with growth.

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Denso Wireless Smartphone Charger For Vehicles

Denso Wireless Smartphone Charger For Vehicles

Denso Corp. of Japan is proud to announce that they believe they are first out of the blocks when it comes to the inaugural wireless smartphone charger designed for use in a vehicle worldwide. This charger is tipped for a rollout this coming spring, and will be available for those who have set their eyes and hearts on the “Toyota Avalon Limited” which will be sold to folks living in North America. At the moment, if you want to charge your exhausted smartphone’s battery when driving, you will need to hook up a charger and the smartphone via a cable, but with the new charger from Denso, all you need to do is place your device on the charging pad, and drive away cheerfully.

This wireless charging pad will play nice with smartphones that are compatible with the “Qi” wireless charging standard, but fret not if your smartphone fails to fall under such a criteria, as there is always a Qi-compatible cover to remedy that situation. Now, you just got to make sure that your smartphone does not go flying all over the place on the wireless charging pad especially if you tend to tackle those corners at high speeds.

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In-Vehicle Cell Phone Repeater Kits

Wilson 801201 Wireless Vehicle Amplifier

The Wilson 801201 is a mobile wireless amplifier designed to improve the cell-phone reception for one user in a vehicle.

• Dual Band - Works with all networks (except Nextel iDEN technology).
• Full Kits Available (Scroll down the page)
• Behind-headrest low-profile antenna or phone cradle with integrated antenna.
• Designed for installation in cars, trucks, and other vehicles.
• Supports one user at a time.
• Improves standard CDMA and GSM voice signals and also EVDO, HSDPA, UMTS and EDGE (see full list) data transfer services.
• 30-day money-back guarantee.

Product Overview

The 801201 is a wireless dual band in-vehicle repeater designed for single user use. It provides significantly improved signal strength, and is a wireless unit. The amplifier is powered by your cigarette lighter socket using a supplied power adapter. An AC power supply is available separately.
The Wilson 801201 was recently upgraded to a thinner, more streamlined case. New serial numbers start Wilson 803201, but the product number remains unchanged.


Installation options:
The Wilson 801201 includes a low-profile antenna for wireless use. The 801213 Kit combines the 801201 amplifier with a phone cradle.
Wireless - The kit also includes a low profile internal antenna, that can provide improved signal wireless as long as it is installed no more than 1 foot away from the user's phone. We recommend installing this behind the driver's headrest.
Cradle - See Wilson 801213 Cradle Kit.
Wilson Electronics have a reputation for making reliable high-performance amplifiers, and most customers who purchase kits with the 801201 amplifier are very satisfied with the signal improvement.


Technical Specifications

Product Reference           801201 (Also known as the 803201)
Frequency:                  US PCS 1900 MHz Band 
Uplink:                             1850 - 1910 MHz
                                         Downlink: 1930 - 1990 MHz
                                         US Cellular 800/850 MHz Band 
                                         Uplink: 824 - 849 MHz
                                         Downlink: 869 - 894 MHz
Gain (up/down):          40dB / 40dB
Linear Output power: +30dBm maximum
Max Output Power: 3 Watts (cell site controlled)
Max RF (up/down): +35dBm / +10dBm
Noise Figure (down): 3dB Nominal
Flatness (up/down): +/- 4dB
Isolation:                       > 90dB
Power Consumption: 6V, 0.5A - 1.5A (subject to Uplink Power)
Connectors:                  FME Male, 50 Ohms
Dimensions:                 4.5 * 3.5 * 1.25 (inch)
Weight:                         1.5 lbs

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