Recent Posts
German power company RWE is attempting to standardise the charging infrastructure required for the large-scale adoption of electric cars across Europe, including a standard plug to connect cars to charging points.
The company intends to begin work on the system during the second half of this year, and has already shown a prototype of the plug. Compatible with a domestic 230-volt or the more powerful three-phase 400-volt supply, it can help charge an electric cars battery much faster than a domestic supply can, as well as offering a secure and weatherproof connection.
RWE claims that using one of its charging points with 400 volts can cut the charging time of an electric car with a 20kWh battery from the six hours needed with a domestic socket to one hour.
The technology has been developed with 20 European car makers, including Daimler, BMW, VW, GM and Fiat, and Japanese manufacturers with a European base, such as Toyota. RWE is testing the charging stations in Berlin, using Smart Fortwos.
Countries across Europe currently use different plug standards for their charging stations, and the standard can vary within each county depending on who made the charging point. According to Bart Biebuyck, a Toyota engineer involved with the project, the driver of an electric car travelling from the UK to Italy would have to carry four different plugs to be able to recharge en route.
RWEs infrastructure plan includes proposals for a billing system for power use based on the method mobile phone providers use. The plug and cable contains a data line, so when the car is plugged in the system automatically recognises it, selects the right power output and bills your account for the power you use. Initially the service will only be available to users with an RWE contract, although the firm plans to open the service to everyone.
However, the plug has its disadvantages. It would make it impossible to plug your car into a domestic socket, meaning you may have to get an RWE charging point wired in to your home. And for the system to work across Europe, energy firms would need to co-operate on supply and billing methods.
[ Click here to read more articles]
General Motors has taken the wraps off the new Astra slated for production later this year, despite the uncertainty surrounding the future of Opel and Vauxhall.
The sixth-generation Astra is all-new, and shares nothing with the current model; the platform is new and the engine line-up has been lifted from the Insignia and Corsa range.
The first car to be launched at the Frankfurt motor show in September will be the five-door hatch. Joining the five-door next year will be an estate, followed by the distinctive three-door Sport Hatch model with its coupé-like styling, although we wont see that car until 2011. The VXR, which will be based on the three-door, wont come until 2011, either.
Like the current model, the three-doors styling is very different from that of the five-door. Wider rear wings, a lower roofline and a different front-end design with larger intakes will set the three-door apart, and the blade design in the cars flanks has been reversed to sit behind the front wings, in the style of the Insignia.
One model will not be replaced, at least immediately. There wont be a new Twin Top coupé-cabriolet model; instead, GM will continue to make the current car well into the new Astras life cycle.
The new Astra is, inevitably, larger than the current model, mainly because of more stringent crash legislation. At 4400mm long, it has grown by 110mm, but the wheelbase has also increased by 71mm to 2685mm, which improves leg room for the occupants.
Underneath is General Motors new Delta platform, launched earlier this year in the Chevrolet Cruze and due to form the basis for another four cars. But the Astra does not have multi-link rear suspension, as had been rumoured. Instead, theres a reworked version of the Astras clever torsion beam set-up, originally engineered by Lotus.
That means the new Astra will not be able to match the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golfs more sophisticated multi-link rear axles, but Vauxhall claims the new suspension takes the Astras ride comfort into a different league. The car also gets wider front and rear tracks, which Vauxhall claims will help improve stability and agility.
The Astra will also be available with a version of the Insignias FlexRide system an electronic damper control programme with the same Standard, Sport and Tour settings. Other Insignia carryover technology includes the Adaptive Forward Lighting system, which adjusts the headlight beam according to weather conditions and road layout, and the road sign recognition system.
The Astra will be the first GM product to use a new 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, which in effect replaces the current cars 1.8-litre unit.
The 1364cc engine has the same output as the 1.8, with 138bhp, but has 170lb ft of torque, which will give it a diesel-like surge but with petrol engine responses.
The other advantage is 10 per cent better fuel consumption and CO2 emissions compared with the 1.8; that equates to around 44mpg and 160g/km.
The rest of the petrol engine range will include a 99bhp 1.4 (not related to the new turbo unit) and a 177bhp turbocharged 1.6 shared with the Insignia. There will be four diesels: a 1.3 with 94bhp, a 1.7 with 108bhp and two 2.0-litre units, shared with the Insignia, with 128bhp and 157bhp.
An Ecoflex model will go on sale next year, with a version of the current cars 1.7-litre diesel. A GM source suggested that the car could produce less than 100g/km of CO2.
Although Vauxhall hasnt yet released any pictures of the interior, our spy photographers caught the new Astras cabin while the car was testing in Germany a few weeks ago. You can see the picture in our image galley by clicking on the link above.
Heavily influenced by the Insignias cabin, the Astra has a similar centre console, wrap-around fascia and instrument pod with four individual dials. Much of the switchgear on the centre console is from the Insignia, along with the climate control panel.
GM Europes blade design theme, used on the Astras rear wings, is repeated in the door trims (and the rear lights).
The Astra goes on sale in December. Pricing has yet to be confirmed, but expect the entry-level 1.4 five-door to undercut the entry-level three-door Focus.
[ Click here to read more articles]
Seat has unveiled its Ibiza Bocanegra, a more extreme-looking version of the Ibiza Cupra, at the Barcelona motor show
[ Click here to read more ]
Lotus will convert its new 2 2 Evora into a strict two-seater for its convertible version, due within the next three years
[ Click here to read more ]
BMW has confirmed that it made a loss in the first quarter of 2009, but the German brand claims that the results are better than expected
[ Click here to read more ]
BMW is planning to roll out a cheaper, near-£10,000 Mini to take advantage of the UKs upcoming scrappage scheme, according to company sources
[ Click here to read more ]
This is the next step in Renaults plans to launch an electric car in the next two years. This prototype Renault Kangoo Be Bop ZE contains most of the technology that will go into production in 2011
[ Click here to read more ]
|
|
Recent Comments
I've not commented on anything yet :(
|
Add Comments
Read More
