For the first time, Honda will be the host company for the Society of Engineers World Congress in 2009. In keeping with the company's long-standing and competitive motorsports heritage, the theme of next year's event will be "Racing to Green Mobility." Honda themselves are preparing to present 50 technical papers at the Congress and the company will be encouraging other companies to get heavily involved with both presentations and booths as well. Bosch will be Honda's primary Tier 1 partner for the show. The World Congress is an annual gathering of automotive engineers from around the world (see our 2008 Congress coverage here). The event provides around 40,000 attendees the opportunity to share information on the latest technology advancements. The 2009 Congress is scheduled for April 20-23, 2009 in Detroit.

[Source: Honda]

During a panel discussion at the Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress in Detroit today, a group of industry executives projected that diesel engines with grab 20 percent market share in the US by the end of the next decade. BorgWarner CEO Tim Manganello also projected that hybrid powertrains would grab about ten percent of total sales in that same time frame. Toyota Engineering VP Ed Mantey and Ford Product Development VP Derrick Kuzak were were in agreement with those numbers. At their current rate, Toyota alone might be selling a pretty large percentage of those hybrids. While diesel engines are less expensive to produce than hybrids diesel, fuel prices are currently quite a bit higher than gasoline in the U.S. Increased availability of biodiesel in the coming decade may alleviate that problem. It's not clear what percentage of vehicles will end up in both categories as the 35mpg US CAFE standard approaches.

[Source: AutoWeek]

Seems like AutoblogGreen's been on to something these last couple of years as it relates to the greening of the automotive industry. For the first time in fourteen years, the annual DuPont Automotive/SAE survey of OEM and supplier designers and engineers, conducted by Consumer Insights, Inc, found that environmental concerns topped cost as the biggest hurdle automakers must overcome.

Other highlights:

• Fifty-four percent of respondents say that fuel efficient vehicles with reduced environmental impact are important to consumers -- that number seems a bit low to us.
• For the fifth consecutive year, alternatively powered vehicles are predicted to have the greatest impact on the industry.
• Fifty percent of respondents see diesel engine technology as a key focus to help achieve 2020 efficiency regulations, compared with forty-six percent for hybrids
  
• In 10 years, most people predict the majority of vehicles will run on bio-based diesel fuel (27 percent); petroleum-based diesel (20 percent) and E85 (20 percent). Only 18 percent predict gasoline will dominate.

Diesels look to make a strong impact on the American market, according to this survey. We see no real mention of electric cars here, which we believe could makea a big impact in the coming years.

Earlier Jeremy wrote a post referencing a Detroit News article about a panel discussion on Policies and Issues Affecting Consumer Choices of Vehicles and Fuels at the SAE World Congress in Detroit. I attended that discussion along with several others and wanted to share my own thoughts on it. One consistent theme amongst most of the car-maker representatives on the various panels was that there is no silver bullet that will solve the problems we face. Our future will include a diverse array of fuels and energy sources and drive systems, although the consensus seemed to be that the drive systems will migrate toward electrification.

The notable exception to this seemed to be BMW. In spite of their involvement in both the two-mode and mild hybrid systems with DaimlerChrysler and GM, they seemed to be lukewarm to hybrids. Given the actual real world benefits of parallel hybrids, this may not actually be such a bad position. Instead, short term, they seem more interested in start-stop systems and electrification of accessory drives combined with some limited regen braking capability. These systems are being introduced this year on the 1, 3 and 5 series models. The full hybrid systems won't be coming for another 2-3 years at the earliest.

Continue reading after the jump.

So you think even a Smart ForTwo is too much car for you? A Tesla Roadster has more performance than you need? You're afraid of falling off of a Segway? Then check out the single seater i-Swing from Toyota. It first appeared at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show. With a maximum speed of 6mph nothing much too dangerous can happen to you unless the guy in jacked up Hummer doesn't see you, but in that case a real car wouldn't help much anyway.

The i-Swing can operate in either two or three wheel mode with a top speed of 12mph in the latter mode and 5mph when standing tall. At that pace you can cruise alongside someone walking while taking up little more space. The device is operated by a pair of joysticks on the end of each arm rest. Some more information from Toyota along with a video of the i-Swing in action can be found after the jump.



[Source: Toyota]

At the DaimlerChrysler booth at this years SAE World Congress, one of the vehicles on display is a cutaway of the latest generation Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-Cell. I spoke to DCX representative Scott Freeman for a few minutes to get a rundown of the latest generation of DCX fuel cell vehicle. The B-Class is a tall wagon-type vehicle sold in Europe. The latest fuel cell B-class has the entire fuel cell system located under the floor and doesn't detract from normal interior volume.

The Ballard Power Systems fuel cell stack sits under the front seats and although details were not being disclosed it is likely the same type used in the HySeries Drive Ford Edge. Further back, under the rear seats are a pair of compressed hydrogen storage tanks. The tanks store gaseous hydrogen at 10,000 psi which seems to be the level that many car-makers are converging on as a pressure that allows them to store a reasonable amount of hydrogen in the minimum space. While Scott said that the B-Class has a range of 250 miles, he declined to state how much H2 was being stored on board.

Under the cargo area is a lithium ion battery pack, that works to provide transient power to supplement the fuel cell stack under acceleration and heavy load conditions. The B-Class basically works as a parallel hybrid and has no plug-in capability at this time. Currently there are about thirty of these vehicles in use in Europe and North America including one that is being used by campus police at Wayne State University in Detroit.

Behr Gmbh is a German supplier that specializes in cooling and heating/ventilation/air conditioning systems. At the SAE World Congress this week in Detroit they are introducing three new components that are intended to reduce diesel emissions and improve driver comfort. They have developed a positive temperature coefficient heater that starts pumping warm air into the vehicle cabin as soon as the engine is started so that a driver doesn't have to start the vehicle and leave it idling to warm up. Similarly a no-idle air conditioning system targeted at the truck market allows drivers to keep the temperature in the vehicle comfortable without running the engine. Finally cooling systems for exhaust gas recirculation help to reduce NOx production on diesel engines.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. req'd]

Thousands of automotive engineers will meet in Detroit this week as the SAE World Congress opens. The show's theme is "Engineering for Global Sustainable Mobility -- It's Up to Us." No doubt there is more pressure than ever on engineering teams to improve fuel economy and reduce greenhouse gases. President Bush has made clear his goals on reducing gas consumption and foreign oil dependence, and every politician in the news is proposing some type of restriction or tax on cars and trucks. Studying the possibilities and setting a direction will be a priority for all automakers. The engineers know they can do it.

"The same engineers that lowered emissions for photochemical smog by 99 percent and lowered traffic fatalities by 75 percent over the last 30 years, have more than doubled fuel efficiency. Engineers are amazing animals. Give them a problem and define what you'd like to have done, and they deliver," praised Richard Schaum, SAE president for 2007.

While I love to read and write about automotive technology, it will not be the savior the world needs to correct global warming or reduce oil consumption. I still believe human behavior can do more. Unfortunately, there isn't a World Congress for that topic but maybe Earth Day is good substitute.

[Source: David Shepardson / Detroit News]

Every spring thousands of automotive engineers from around the world gather at Cobo Hall in Detroit for the Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress. The four-day gathering includes hundreds of technical sessions on all kinds of topics related to automotive engineering. There is also an exhibit floor with hundreds of booths occupied by companies that supply components and development tools to the industry as well as some of the car-makers themselves.

The theme of this years congress is Engineering for Global Sustainable Mobility and there will be lots of sessions and panels on topics like hybrid, electric and alternative fuel technology. Toyota will be the official host of the 2007 conference from April 16-19. If you're a member of SAE you can register for free. If you're not a member but you are interested in learning about the latest technology, it will be $750 to get in. If you can't make it to the Congress, ABG will be there and will bring you some of the highlights of what is revealed. The Toyota press conference is after the jump.

[Source: Toyota]