Archive for April 8th, 2010

“Who reads a 300-page manual anyway?” asked John Krafcik, head of Hyundai’s North American operations at the New York International Auto Show last week.  Krafcik was there to introduce the new Equus, a full-size luxury sedan that Hyundai brags is comparable to the Mercedes S-Class and Lexus LS460 in terms of space and features.

When the Equus goes on sale this fall, the roomy rear seat and powerful V8 engine aren’t the only things expected to make waves.  Hyundai is eschewing the traditional printed owner’s manual in favor of a brand new Apple iPad.

Customers will, “have a gorgeous color touchscreen loaded with the manual electronically, as well as photos of the whole Hyundai lineup,” Krafcik explained.  The device will even come pre-loaded with special software to make scheduling the occasional service appointment easy.

Yep.  There’s an app for that.

Chris Hosford, a spokesperson for Hyundai notes, “We thought it was keeping the vehicle in tune with the owners we expect to attract.”

Tech-savvy owners aside, it’s clear that Hyundai is trying to ride the same wave of hype that the iPad is enjoying right now.  At $499 a pop, it’s a very cost-effective way to advertise a new luxury car.

The potential for the device in an automobile is also very exciting.  Luxury cars today come equipped with a myriad of high-tech features that can often be difficult to understand and operate.  Creating an electronic manual – one with photos and videos – could be a great way to educate new owners and overcome some of these hurdles.

Hyundai’s new flagship is months away and it remains to be seen if affluent customers will still be lured in by the iPad’s charm when the car goes on sale – or if they’ll pay the expected $50,000 – $60,000 for the privilege.  In any case, playing with an iPad sure beats reading a manual.

It’s not easy being green.

Automakers were dealt a tough blow this week by the Environmental Protection Agency in a ruling that decided that only the first 200,000 electric or fuel cell vehicles produced by each automaker will qualify for official “zero emissions” credit under new fuel economy rules.

Manufacturers have been tasked by the government to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions of their fleets by 30% to 250 grams of carbon dioxide per mile by 2016 (equivalent to 35.5 miles per gallon).  Electric and fuel cell vehicles, which produce no direct carbon dioxide emissions, were being counted on in some cases to improve the average and compensate for gas guzzlers elsewhere in the fleet.

“Right now, it’s pretty clear that the credit is needed for these vehicles,” a senior government official admitted to Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Under the new rule, any EVs produced after the cap would be held accountable for a share of the smokestack carbon dioxide created when power plants generate electricity.

David Friedman of the Union of Concerned Scientists explained, “Their tailpipes may have zero emissions, but you have to get the electricity from somewhere so they are not truly zero emissions.”

Automakers disagree, arguing that the new rule would be like accounting for the emissions created by the oil industry for conventional gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles.

Gloria Bergquist, a spokesperson for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, noted, “There is no precedent for holding companies responsible for the CO₂ generated by electric utilities.”  She argued to USA Today, “It’s unfair to base our compliance on what is entirely outside our control.”

Jim Kliesh of the Union of Concerned Scientists explained, “The issue is really [that] we want a true accounting of emissions.”  Ignoring the carbon dioxide associated with electric vehicle, “would be poor public policy,” he said.

But as the bankruptcies of GM and Chrysler demonstrated last year, the auto industry is on very shaky ground as it recovers from a severe collapse in sales and is being forced by global regulations to research and develop new fuel-saving technologies.

In other words: profits are down just as costs are skyrocketing.

And for an industry that requires enormous economies of scale to survive, Bergquist argues that 200k units over five years is unreasonable.  Nissan plans to produce 150,000 electric vehicles globally in 2012 alone, with a significant portion of those units slated for the US.

In some respects, the government recognizes the strategic need for oil-free alternatives.  President Obama has called for one million electric vehicles by 2015 and there are numerous state and federal tax incentives available to encourage sales.

But capping the CAFE benefit of electric vehicles at 200,000 units reduces a major incentive for manufacturers, who may now choose to invest their R&D dollars in other technologies.  The late-breaking decision also sends mixed messages to a slow-moving industry that needs stable regulations and plenty of time to research, design, and retool to meet them.

Is this new rule short-changing electric vehicles and automakers or is it a fair move to account for carbon emissions created elsewhere on the grid?

Like many of you “spirited” drivers, I respect and fear the Ford Crown Victoria.  Since the Chevrolet Caprice retired in 1998, the Crown Victoria Police Interceptor has been the cruiser of choice for most precincts.  According to Ford, 75% of all police cars are Crown Vics.

After 31 years of service, you probably know to hit your brakes for the roof-mounted emergency light bar, enormous taillights, and innocuous “Police Interceptor” badging on the black plastic rear.  Nothing lasts forever, though, and Ford’s enduring “Panther” chassis is being phased out, meaning that the cops are set to receive new whips.

First, you’re probably wondering–why do the boys and girls in blue still rock the old-school?

Sure, the unibody underpinnings of modern family sedans are lighter and more fuel efficient.  But the Crown Vic is a workhorse.  When a cruiser gets damaged in a PIT maneuver on a perp, it’s cheap and easy to fix thanks to that body-on-frame construction.  Although a few early cases of rear-impact combustion (source: SafetyForum.com) recall the Pinto, Ford’s post-2005 Crown Vic cruiser has been tested to withstand up to 75-mph rear crashes!

Equipped with “severe duty” suspension and a beefed-up cooling system, a typical Crown Vic can last well over 200,000 miles.  Most of all, officers love its size, comfort and performance.  Enormous amounts of confiscated drugs can fit in the trunk and the V8-powered rear-wheel drive sedan suits the Fuzz’s driving maneuvers well enough.

That being said, even Ford realizes that the times, they are a-changin’.  Enter the 2012 Police Interceptor.  Based on the full-size Taurus, Ford claims the new Police Interceptor will be safer, comfier and faster than its predecessor.  The new cruiser adds a hostof advanced new safety gizmos like blind spot monitoring, rearview camera and electronic stability control.

More impressive is the ingenius product planning that went into the cabin, whose seatbacks were specially designed to accommodate bulky utility belts.  The front-wheel drive powertrain produces predecessor-besting power while sipping only 18 mpg city and 28 mpg highway and the crazy-fast all-wheel drive EcoBoost model gets 17/25 (still better than its predecessor’s 16/24).  If you’re doing 80 in a 55 and see flashing lights from an EcoBoost beast, don’t even think about a high-speed chase.  You can’t run OR hide.

The Chevrolet Police Patrol Vehicle’s optional V8 engine makes it part police cruiser and part muscle car.  It’s based on a powerful sports sedan that’s sold in Australia and General Motors is counting on police officers to prefer to adrenaline-pumping drive of their car to the more relaxed feel of the Ford.

Sportiness can only get you so far, which is why this Chevy cruiser also has police-specific features, like cutouts in the seat for utility belts and a full-size interior with enough room for officers, equipment, and the occasional perp.  But will it be cop-centric enough to win sales?

The freshest entry to law enforcement comes from Carbon Motors, who claims to be engineering the world’s first purpose-built police car.  The E7 cruiser certainly contains a boatload of firsts, including stealthy built-in emergency lights.  Speeders and perps on the lookout for a traditional roof-mounted light bar could be in for quite a surprise.

Precincts will be more pleasantly surprised by the E7’s targeted 250,000-mile target lifespan, and officers will love that it’s faster to sixty than a Volkswagen GTI.  Integrated shotgun mounts and 360-degree license plate scanning will make criminals think twice (or 360 times!) about grand theft auto and a thrifty BMW-sourced diesel engine could get up to 35 miles per gallon on the highway.

The E7 is still under development and Carbon Motors will have to prove that it can fight crime in way that’s affordable for police fleets.  No prices have been announced yet and some precincts are nervous about the repair costs on that high-tech diesel engine.

Whether police choose to secure the handcuffed inside the suicide (rear-hinged) rear doors of an E7 or the more traditional doors of a Ford or Chevy offering is anybody’s guess.  Likely it’ll all depend on pricing, which remains unreleased for all three.  With a whole slew of modern technology at their fingertips, tomorrow’s officers will be comfortable, quick, safe, and effective no matter which cruisers they choose.  And I’ll sure be slowing down!