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The Toyota 1/X concept vehicle made its North American debut today at the 2008 Chicago Auto Show. Developed by Toyota Motor Corporation, the Toyota 1/X compact hybrid offers a glimpse into the next era of automotive technological design. The Toyota 1/X redefines from its very roots the idea of what it means to be environmentally considerate. Pronounced 1/Xth, the name is derived from its vehicle mass, fuel consumption and emissions output, each totaling a fraction of that of other vehicles in its class.

The 1/X features an aerodynamic ultra-lightweight design that maintains the interior space of the Toyota Prius hybrid and is approximately one-third the weight of the Prius. Its low 926-pound curb weight is partially achieved through the use of a light but very strong carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) throughout the body frame.

The aerodynamic shape of the 1/X and unique cabin design result in smaller pillars, allowing passengers more visibility and helping to create a greater sense of openness and freedom with its outer surroundings for driver and passengers. The CFRP material is lighter and stronger than traditional metals, creating a shock-absorbing like structure with cross-sections that help absorb energy during an impact.

The 1/X roof is produced from a bio-plastic made from environmentally-responsible material derived from kenaf and ramie plants. The result is a roof that improves heat insulation, emits less carbon dioxide, increases the amount of light entering the cabin, and reducing noise.

On the inside, the 1/X employs four ultra-lightweight seats made of polyester fiber that is knitted three-dimensionally for added comfort. The material functions like a spring or damper that helps create a cushion-like feel for all occupants.

The ultra-lightweight stature of the 1/X also helps contribute to a fuel efficiency target that would double that of the Prius and allow the 1/X to operate with an ultra-small hybrid powertrain located under the rear seat. The system combines a home rechargeable plug-in hybrid unit with a small 500cc 0.5-liter flexible-fuel engine that is 1/4th of the total weight of the Prius powertrain. The hybrid plug-in concept is designed to accommodate a lithium-ion battery that would be rechargeable at home. The result is a vehicle with the possibility of traveling over 600 miles on a small four-gallon tank of fuel and achieving the acceleration performance that is equivalent to the Prius.

In consideration of pedestrians and oncoming traffic, the 1/X is equipped with non-glare headlights. The front of the 1/X is dominated by an LED lighting system that sweeps under and across its large front windshield. The LED system helps eliminate glare emanating from the headlights. At sunset, the entire surface of the LED system softly illuminates the entire front surface. With the headlights on, the LED system surrounds the headlights with a soft light, helping to prevent glare from striking oncoming cars and nearby pedestrians.

The light weight of the Toyota 1/X allowed designers to equip the vehicle with smaller and thinner wheels that help reduce splashing while driving in wet conditions. The tires are designed with central grooves that further help prevent water from splashing in the direction of pedestrians.

The 1/X concept is one more example of Toyota’s commitment to designing clean, safe and innovative vehicles. The Toyota 1/X concept made its world debut at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show.

World premiere at the Geneva International Motor Show (March 5th through March 15th 2009): with the “iChange” the Swiss designers of Rinspeed present a “1-2-3-seater” powered by a 130kw-electric motor. The concept car’s striking body structure adapts via “electronic trick-tail” to the number of passengers: while the sporty and streamlined teardrop shape seats only the driver, two more passengers may join him once the car’s rear end has risen as if by magic. In the blink of an eye the full-blooded sports car turns into a compact sportsvan.

With the Rinspeed “iChange“ the automotive jack-of-all-trades Frank M. Rinderknecht and his partners aim to provide thought-provoking impulses for the automobile industry: “Thinking about variability and the constantly changing energy demand, we have created an extremely flexible vehicle.” The result is a zero-emission car featuring both extremely low weight and aerodynamic drag, thus further reducing the power consumption.

For Mr. Rinderknecht the car’s name “iChange” means more than a flowery phrase: “If we want to preserve our individual mobility in the future, we have to re-think our conception of cars - above all we need to accommodate the ecological aspects.” The best possible answer the big automakers could find for the “iChange” would be a strong “Yes, we can!”

A multi disciplined design specialist has come up with a radical urban transport proposal, called On-Route, which he believes tackles the two biggest problems caused by city-centre transport today; congestion and pollution. Hugh Frost’s Freight*BUSTM www.freight-bus.co.uk is an innovative new design that combines a passenger-carrying bus with that of freight haulage with the minimum of disruption to either service. It can be reconfigured in seconds by the conductor or driver to carry freight and passengers. Furthermore, passenger space and freight space can be easily adjusted to match demand.

-‘On-Route’ is a radical new urban transportation system concept which would see a Freight*BUSTM optimise the carrying of passengers and freight, thereby tackling the problems of both congestion and pollution.

-The Freight*BUS has been designed with a zero-emission propulsion system able to accommodate either a battery fuel-cell system or small bio gas generator to maintain fully charged batteries. It also features other state-of-the art technologies such as distributed wheel motors and completely new inventions, like ceiling-suspended seating and a patent-protected pallet-less lifting and handling device. The ability to turn in its own length and ‘crab steer’ is great for tight fit bus stops and bus station manoeuvres.

-This avant-garde concept requires a whole new way of thinking about urban transportation systems; stakeholders are invited to help take this model to the next level.

Frost’s proposal was submitted to Transport for London (TfL)’s ‘A New Bus for London’ competition, which Mayor of London Boris Johnson launched earlier this year. Although the Freight*BUS was not the final winner of the competition, Hugh Frost, designer and concept originator of the On-Route system www.onroutebus.co.uk and the Freight*BUS still wishes to take his idea to the next level and is now looking for stakeholders to help him do this. These could be in the form of bus or commercial vehicle manufacturers who are interested in developing the Freight*BUS from conceptual state into a full-blown prototype; a municipality which would consider trialling the On-Route system, or stakeholder investors, such as venture capitalists that specialise in environmental transportation solutions.

“Taking London as an example, the most optimistic proposals put the average occupancy of its buses at 25%. However, our calculations show that for around four hours a day, their utilisation drops to as low as 20%,” Frost says. “Despite this, city authorities are tasked with increasing the numbers of vehicles, routes and service frequency to supposedly reduce congestion and improve services. My idea is to put our cities’ buses to good use by using them to provide an alternative city freight system at times of low passenger capacity utilisation. This could reduce the numbers of freight vehicles on city roads by as much as 30%. By using the buses to carry freight in the evening and overnight, the utilisation of these vehicles would be maximised, offering maximum return on investment (ROI) and substantially increased revenue from the vehicles. However, in order to fulfil this dual role, the entire concept of buses, as we know them today, needs to be revisualised.”

With this in the mind, the Freight*Bus has been designed to allow varying combinations of passenger and freight space to match demand. In full passenger configuration, it provides seating for up to 90 passengers - that’s 43 more than the bendy-bus and standing room for a further 40 passengers. With standing room only on the lower deck, it could accommodate 150 people with 52 seated. Meanwhile, in its full freight configuration the Freight*BUS is designed to accommodate 35 freight pods (equivalent to 35 europallets).

Loaded with other State-of-the-Art Technology

The Freight*BUS combines a number of completely new ideas, patents for which have already been applied, combined with leading-edge technology that is already proven in automotive applications or is undergoing extensive on-road trials.

The design of Freight*BUS will readily accommodate battery or fuel cell technology. The 200mm deep space in the main floor of the bus will house batteries or fuel cells and the accompanying hydrogen storage tanks (if required). Indeed, it is envisaged that when fuel cell technology is affordable, that the fleet could be easily switched to this propulsion system, while keeping the drive motors and control systems in place. Similarly, its re-configurable interior design could even be broadly applied to existing vehicles built with combustion engines. However, it is the designer’s view that the latest and emerging advances in battery technology will make the re-fit and the use of hydrogen and fuel cells unnecessary. Freight*BUS would also feature the very latest in other emission-saving technology , such as distributed wheel motors which can be as much as 50% more efficient that central motors.

With the latest battery technology, an 80% recharge is possible in around one minute. This could be done at bus stations or other major stops, with a recharge point built into key bus stops. These one minute recharges do not seriously affect battery life and can be performed within the duration of a standard stop. Alternatively, in the short term, the electric drive and battery storage system could be ‘hybridised’ with a small, efficient, clean burning LPG fuelled, 2 litre generator to top up batteries on the move. Adopting the all battery concept will enable off peak green energy to be stored in the vast reservoir of battery energy that would be created by large fleets of the Freight*Bus.

In respect of carriage versatility, seating is suspended from the ceiling and can be configured for almost any combination of passenger and freight space between these limits. This is achieved by designing the seating to be folded away. In fact, each two person seat (on both decks) can be folded into the ceiling in seconds. Seats are fixed to the ceiling through special anti-vibration mounts to improve ride quality. In terms of the vehicle’s freight-carrying capabilities, a pallet-less lifting and handling device is key to easy loading/unloading. Indeed, a crucial part of the interior design is a compact, low cost pod handling system, which has patent protection.

Route Consolidation

When looking at the idea of consolidation in relation to bus routes and passenger transport, Frost quickly realised that not only were there opportunities to improve bus routing and linking with other transport services and types using consolidation principals, but that there is an even bigger opportunity to use the buses for freight as well as passenger movement that would reduce the numbers of goods vehicles on city roads (especially light goods vans which are responsible for 15% of all UK carbon emissions from all forms of transportation) by as much as 50%. He remarks: “We looked at passenger and freight systems end to end and concluded that there is sufficient overlap to be able to build on and integrate existing infrastructure of both passenger and freight systems. However, it will be necessary to develop consolidation centres and cross-docks for freight movement, and hubs for passenger and freight delivery and collection. Many of these elements already exist and can be linked into existing infrastructure such as bus/rail stations and depots; haulage/sorting depots etc. Hubs would also be located at major bus stops, and concentrations of retail, commercial and light industrial units.

Frost points to studies which have already been carried out in London showing that the implementation of alternative freight systems, including the use of ‘Consolidation Centres’ in city areas can give exceptional results. One such study found a 68% reduction in construction vehicles entering the City of London for the project, an average journey time reduction of 2 hours, a circa 75% reduction of CO2 emissions, and a 10% reduction in local distribution journey times. The On-Route Bus supports the existing aims of the London Freight Plan as set out of in the Mayor of London’s existing Transport Strategy.

Nissan NV2500 Concept

Nissan North America, Inc. today announced its Nissan NV2500 Concept, which makes its public debut in early January at the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. One of the largest concepts vehicle ever created by Nissan, the innovative NV2500 Concept previews the company’s entry into the North American Commercial Vehicle (CV) market in 2010 and is designed to highlight multi-purpose utility solutions in the real world.

It’s hard to go unnoticed in a 2010 Camaro, but the Camaro Black Concept suggests a stealthy approach to street style. From its matte black-finished hood and ground effects to its dark wheels and red-glowing HID headlamp halo rings, the Camaro Black Concept is a sinister-looking urban tuner vehicle.

The Camaro Black Concept prowls the streets with the following equipment:

-Chevy Accessories ground effects package and rear diffuser
-High-intensity discharge headlamps with unique red “halo ring” color
-Revised, darker grille finish
-RS tail lamps with dark-tinted lenses
-Color-matched exterior badging
-SS-model spoiler
-Matte black hood finish
-Tinted glass
-Chevy Accessories 21-inch wheels with darkened finish
-Brembo four-wheel disc brake package

The interior also carries a slightly sinister ambience, with:

-Red LED instrument lighting and red footwell ambient lighting
-Black chrome trim accents
-Dark-finished accents, including the shift knob, radio face, steering wheel ring, gauge trim and door handles
-Custom sill plates
-Leather-covered seats with grey accent stitching
-The Camaro Black Concept also features Chevy Accessories’ premium audio upgrade package, along with MTX speakers.

Under the hood is the production 3.6L V-6 that produces 300 horsepower. A Chevy Accessories engine cover provides a suitable accent.

One of the most iconic cars of the legendary Trans Am road racing series was the distinctive blue-and-yellow Camaro of Mark Donohue. He was a dominant racer in the series and drove his #6 1969 model to the series championship that year.

With the assistance of GM’s High Performance Vehicle Operations, North Carolina-based Riley Technologies re-created the look and feel of that standout racecar with a tribute that looks, sounds and drives like it’s ready to do battle with its contemporary pony car competitors. In fact, the heritage-inspired racer is more than concept. It is an early prototype for the Grand Am Koni Challenge GS racing class. Racecars like the GS Concept are offered and manufactured by Riley Technologies for the 2009 Grand-Am season.

The GS Concept features the race-ready suspension, reinforced chassis and drivetrain conform to the specifications required of racecars certified for the series. In fact, this racecar has already logged many hours on the racetrack as Riley team members worked to dial-in the chassis and powertrain. Additional features include:

-Seam-welded production Camaro body-in-white
-Carbon fiber hood, trunk lid, doors and fenders
-Production LS3 V-8 engine (used with solid engine mounts)
-Tremec 6060 six-speed manual transmission with close-ratio gearing
-Three-inch exhaust system with Coast Fab mufflers
-C&R racing aluminum radiator
-Upgraded engine oil cooler
-Transmission and differential coolers

The GS Racecar Concept is shown at SEMA just as it was last driven off the track, with the grime, brake dust and body imperfections commensurate with a day’s worth of racing. Indeed, it isn’t a car that spent hundreds of hours in a body shop in a quest of sheet metal perfection. It displays the bruises of competition and wears them as badges of honor.

Like Donohue’s ‘69 Camaro racecar, the GS Racecar Concept wears a deep blue paint scheme that is accented with yellow graphics, a yellow-painted interior and yellow racing wheels.

NASCAR star Dale Jr. is fan of vintage Camaros – he cruises around in a Pro Touring-style ‘72 Camaro powered by a GM Performance Parts LS crate engine – and the heritage-inspired design of the 2010 Camaro appeals to him like a checkered flag at Daytona. His vision for the car was channeled to GM’s designers and crafted in a multi-color combination of style, capability and comfort.

They started with a new Camaro SS that uses the standard 6.2L V-8, but modified to use E85. Taking advantage of E85’s favorable octane rating, the engine was calibrated to deliver a few extra horsepower, with the exhaust exiting through GM Performance Parts’ new headers. It’s backed by the SS’s available six-speed manual transmission and GM Accessories’ short-throw Hurst shifter. Additional performance enhancements include a Brembo brake package and a lowered ride height, giving Dale Jr.’s Camaro a sleeker look to match its road-hugging capability.

A custom gray-over-white paint scheme blends the high-performance drivetrain with serious style. It is accented with an orange stripe separating the gray and white sections. Also generating attention on the exterior is a set of 21-inch, five-spoke wheels inspired by the Camaro Convertible Concept. They feature dark-painted center sections on the spokes that complement the body’s gray color. The wheels are wrapped in Pirelli P-Zero ZR-rated performance tires.

Additional exterior details include:

-Chevy Accessories grille
-Chevy Accessories ground effects and rear diffuser
-Chevy Accessories exhaust system
-Early Camaro-style “dovetail” rear spoiler
-Production high-intensity discharge headlamps
-Production RS taillamps

Similarly, the interior is outfitted for performance and style, including:

-Custom-trimmed leather-and-suede-covered seats with accent stitching
-Leather-trimmed steering wheel, shift knob, door armrests and center console lid, with accent stitching
-Carbon-fiber treatment on the instrument panel and door panel inserts
-Racing-style aluminum pedals
-Production-optional four-pack auxiliary gauge cluster
-Revised gauge cluster with unique graphics and colors
-Custom sill plates

Dale Jr. also specified Chevy Accessories’ upgraded audio system for the Camaro, which is matched with a Boston Acoustics speaker system, including amps and subwoofers.