The future of automotive industry

Electric

It is the future of automotive industry, I suppose. Many makers had gone far to reach their goals in having the most advanced and efficient vehicle their firm could produce.

The design

For years, people had doubted the existence of electric cars. They had forgotten that once, in 1930’s the electric powered vehicle are set to lead the pace of commuting people technologies rather than gasoline power, alongside ethanol-fuelled vehicle of internal combustion engine. Their numbers are far greater than that of gasoline powered vehicles, and Henry Ford himself, preferred to have ethanol as fuels for his vehicles. The automotive industry was not meant for gasoline.

Why electric? Because of efficiency and ease of design. All you need to do is to design a sub-frame and a careful placement of everything; from the batteries to the powerful motors to spin the tires. Then, you can proceed to developing the shapes and materials to be used. An electric car would not weight more than its petrol equivalence, and would not be much more complicated either.

Today’s car safety features, coupled with lower weight, and less variables, can manage to integrate all those electric thingy. Plus, some space efficient cars of today mass-marketed ones are easily converted to electric with minor modifications.

Simplification of things

The driving aids, like distributive braking, anti-lock brakes, limited slip characteristics, power bias and many more can be electronically adjusted (all those EBD, ASR, ABS thingy). All you have to do is a trial-run, a computer and an engineer/a programmer to take it all in.

All that, coupled with some motors to get what you need, instantly, and efficiently

Maintenance

How much it cost to maintain an electric car? It might not be as much as your petrol/diesel equivalence as well. Take it as an automatic washing machine, with four motors and four wheels, and equipped with all fuzzy-logic-you-know-what, and there you goes. It does not that expensive to manage. The manufacturer might as well equip your car with limited reliability motors that needs to be changed when it’s worn, but cheaper priced. But, that’s a different matter.

The performance

Without gearing, outright performance is deliverable. Electric motors perform differently as opposes to their Internal Combustion (IC) counterparts. Maximum torque are instant, and most of them, are produced with supercar-like performance ability, like Lightning GT and Venturi Fetish, to name a few.

The thrills

A programmer again is needed to program your electric vehicle so that it imitates your IC equivalence. All they have to do is to make some ‘gearing’ and octane ‘surge’ with their programming ability. Some sounds generation from the best car-maker of the world can also be integrated within the car so that it won’t be too quiet (since when this is important? Irony, Lexus is still developing sound eliminating technologies for years. Ha-ha). It is just an expense little of performance and efficiency to have some good thrills.

The job

Apart from mechanical engineering and automotive engineering disciplines, future automotive engineers might come from electrical engineering and programming background. And it has taken place right now as well.

Many other job related would exist, while it will eliminates some as well. For example, many engineers/technician are needed in multi-phase-motor field, while many will lose job on lubricant development field.

Many also find places in power supplies to home and workplace, where people need their cars to be recharged. Many also will find places in development of materials and composites, to compliment the car manufacturing demand and lightweight design.

But, people still need to commute. Thus, cars are changing where it should, base on people demands of energy and efficiency. Changes are necessary, furthermore in the most significant industry like this, where all the standards in industry were made.

The future

Many makers are getting there, General Motors (US) are developing their Volts, Mitsubishi with their IMEV EvoX that scheduled to be mass-marketed in 2010, Nissan with their Cube-based model in 2011 and many more. Those major car-makers are looking at things alike and see that they can’t be ignorant towards the future of high-efficiency, zero-emission vehicles.

So, why are we still years behind?