Automotive Reviews

Monday, January 25, 2010

American Solar Car Story

The purpose of this article is to address the technological innovation brought by the Michigan Solar Car team to the auto industry. This project was successfully tackled by a small group of one hundred Michigan's brightest students and their 300 sponsors.

Recently, I went to the 2010 Detroit Auto Show. It was awesome! So much glamour and so many vehicles to choose from. But, in this article I am not going to talk about the automakers and their vehicles... I will be discussing about one vehicle that was pioneered twenty years ago and had a tremendous response in support from its sponsors and its students from University of Michigan. Yes, it's about the UM school's tenth generation of its solar car named "Infinium". What a remarkable solar vehicle! Its team mission succeeded. The UM Solar Car team won several racing awards in two competitions, national and international.

One of the young team members, a sophomore student told me how proud he was about the entire team accomplishments, a wide array of leading edge technologies and many team innovations.
Solar car racing at Michigan celebrated its 20th year of existence. What an accomplishment!
The solar car team won most of the North American Championship, five out of nine times. At the World Championship contest finished 3rd, three times. That's a great performance.

It all started twenty years ago when a group of Michigan passionate students won the GM Sunrayce. The Sunrunner 1990 solar car took the first place GM Sunrayce and 3rd place World Solar challenge.
The advances in battery technologies used in the solar vehicle had helped the breakthrough in the hybrids. Its carbon fiber composite body shared similar usage on Grand Prix race cars and commercial aircrafts.
Regenerative braking systems had been used since 1989 and implemented in hybrid vehicles since.
Advances in solar cells and collector systems were commonly used in large solar power plants.

The main components of the Michigan solar car were:

carbon fiber composite body and chassis
electric motor
custom build suspension
solar cells
low friction wheels
solar collector (concentrator) system

For car enthusiasts the Continuum 2007 solar car specifications are listed below:

weight (w/o driver) - 475 lbs (215 kg)
size - 16.4 ft x 5.9 ft (5 m x 1.8 m
top speed - 87 mph (140 kmh)
max torque - 37 lb-ft (50.2 N-m)
nominal power output - 2.5 hp
max. power output - 12.3 hp
max. array output - 1900 watt
fuel type - sun
batteries - 30 kg (lithium polymer)
fuel economy - infinite

A few words about the solar vehicle races.

The World Solar Challenge was founded by Hans Tholstrup in 1987. It takes place in Australia and starts in the North of Australia at Darwin and ends up in the South in Adelaide, about 1800 miles race. Race results: 3 third place finishes. The North American Solar Challenge race was founded by GM in 1989. Its length from start to finish is 2500 miles. The race itinerary starts in Dallas, Texas and ends in Calgary, Alberta. Race results: 5 National Championships.

Michigan Solar Car Team organization is comprised of 4 units: engineering, business, operations and strategy. UM Solar Car team budget expenses of $2,600,000 included the cost of: vehicle, strategy, business, operational and logistics.

Among the most known UM Solar Car sponsors are: GM, Ford, Dana, Denso, Shell, Roush, Alcoa, SKF Group, Detroit Auto Dealers Association, Molex, Tel-X Corporation, Vector Group, A123 systems, Delta, AT&T, Motorola, Bowne, Cytec, Michelin, 3M, Kaiser Aluminum, Visteon, ArvinMeritor, and many more.

Media companies that covered the solar car team are: ABC, Boston Globe, CBS, CNN, Discovery Channel, ESPN, New York Times, MSNBC, Popular Mechanics, USA Today.

UM Solar Car team is continuously seeking sponsors and donations. As part of the non-profit University of Michigan, the Solar Car Team is a 501(c)3 organization. All donations are eligible for tax exemptions, whether cash and in-kind donations of materials and select services.
UM Solar Car Donors and Sponsorship Levels are listed below:

1. Platinum ($100,000 or more, at least $25,000 cash)
2. Gold ($25,000 to $99,999, at least $5,000 cash)
3. Silver ($10,000 to $24,999)
4. Bronze ($2,500 to $9,999)
5. Crew (under $2,500)

UM Solar Car team is a legacy of excellence. List of past Michigan Solar Cars Names, Model Year and Awards won:

Sunrunner 1990, 1st place GM Sunrayce, 3rd place World Solar Challenge,
Maize & Blue 1993, 1st place GM Sunrayce,
Solar Vision 1995,
Wolverine 1997,
Maize Blaze 1999,
M-Pulse 2001, 1st place American Solar Challenge, 3rd place World Solar Challenge,
Spectrum 2003,
Momentum 2005, 1st place American Solar Challenge, 3rd place World Solar Challenge,
Continuum 2007, 1st place American Solar Challenge,
Infinium 2009,

UM Solar Car team is a perfect example of green technology put to work. The solar car is a shining proof in promoting alternative energy sources and developing advanced technologies. It enables the solar team to expand our public outreach.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

2009 Sport Car Prindiville Lamborghini Murcielago

Lamborghini Murcielago Wallpaper

Lamborghini Murcielago Picture

Lamborghini Murcielago Intreior View

Of original Lamborghini, only the lid before compartment remains the same one - even the panel of roof is changed. There is a drapery before more BOLD and more authoritative, the attracting sills, a drapery postpones more dynamic by which exits a titanium particularly conceived fol�tre the exhaust, the doors handle-less of `with the electric opening remotely, and a cover restyled of motor cavity with the transparent hoods of cooling.

All the panels of body are in the carbonfibre extraordinarily of completion. Murcielago by Prindiville also comprises has announced the interior, increased by employing leather rich and the aluminium accents hand-with completion. But there are also the contacts of `little which indicate the depth of our attention to the detail - aluminium vents particularly machines, for example.

Land Rover a Fantastic 4X4 in All Weather

In my life time I have made a few mistakes such as women, jobs and especially with my choice of cars. The first car I ever purchased was a Ford Sierra which I purchased from a friend of mine. At the time everybody I knew owned a Sierra. It was alright for a period of time but it just wasn't the car for me. Anyway, on one snowy and very icy night I crashed it into a tree so maybe I am just annoyed at the car even though it was probably my fault.

Nowadays I drive a second hand Land Rover. In my experience this is a fantastic car to drive in the snow which is very apt considering the weather we are experiencing at the moment. When I crashed the Sierra 20 years ago technology and overall safety of a car was nowhere near as advanced as it is today. I feel safer in a Land Rover mainly due to the fact it is designed to cope with different types of terrain and adverse weather conditions. When I purchased my used Land Rover I couldn't believe how reasonably priced it was especially when I compared it with a new Land Rover.

There are certain problems though with owning a 4x4 vehicle. Firstly the fuel consumption is high which is what you might expect from a car that weighs over one tonne. This is the same though for any larger vehicles currently on the road such as people carriers. Secondly there is the cost of servicing the Land Rover but this is the case for lots of cars under a certain age. As the car is heavy it can be sluggish to get up to speed and move off the lights particularly because it is a diesel.

I did look at a few other vehicles before deciding upon a second hand Land Rover. I really liked the Chrysler Jeep Cherokee. The 4x4 certainly looked the part with its beefed up wheels and bodywork. However the driving performance was not to my style in some ways it felt heavier than the Land Rover. I also tried out the Toyota RAV4 because I have always had a soft spot for Toyota because in my experience they have been reliable and easy to drive. However the price of a second hand RAV4 that I test drove was out of my league in terms of finance which was a shame because I really enjoyed driving it.

So far I feel that I have made the right decision to purchase a Used Land Rover. But I will probably buy a different 4x4 vehicle in the next few years. Who knows perhaps I will purchase a second hand Cherokee.

The Tango Electric Car

There is a new electric car being displayed at the Detroit Car Show 2010. It is the Tango Electric Car made by a company out of Washington called "Commuter Cars". While there seems to be a flood of new electric cars, this one is definitely different. It is a 2 seater car with the seats behind each other and not next to each other. Think Honda Goldwing Motorcycle size when thinking about the Tango.

The next surprising thing is the performance of this car. It comes with 2 electric engines and can go faster than 130 mp/h easily. At least that is what the manufacturer is telling about the Tango. This electric vehicle weighs in at about 1 ton and according to Rick Woodbury, the designer of the car, it has better road maneuvering than a regular sports car.

And since the Tango car is so small and thin, can you imagine how many of those you can fit into a standard 2-car garage? This car is approx. as long as my current pickup truck (Ford F-150) is wide. Christmas at the mall would be interesting because it should be easy to find a parking spot for this vehicle. However, I am not sure how you would transport any Christmas presents as this car does not have any real storage areas.

Do not get too excited, this car is hard to get. For one there is the big ticket price tag of roughly $150,000. And second it takes about 1 month to have one of those electric cars build. But if you manage to a) have enough money to buy one and b) the patience to wait for it to be build, at least then you would drive the same car as George Clooney. I guess ever since George Clooney was seen driving a Toyota Prius, he got a first shot at every other electric vehicle. Rumors have it that he also owns one of the few Tesla Roadster's. The Tesla Roadster is a 100% electric sports car and one of the most visible projects in this field.