Hyundai is already near the top of the fuel economy ranks in the U.S. market, but that's not enough to meet future requirements. Currently, Hyundai trails only Honda and Toyota in the CAFE race. Going forward, Hyundai plans to upgrade its powertrains and reduce mass to get its conventional vehicles to use less fuel. On the propulsion front, the Korean manufacturer plans to shift to direct injection with both normally aspirated and turbocharged engines. Sister brand Kia already showed the Koup concept last spring in New York with a gasoline turbocharged direct injection engine. That engine will likely appear in Hyundai and Kia production models in the coming years.

Lee Hyun-soon, Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group's R&D boss told Automotive News that Hyundai will add six speed automatic transmissions to smaller and mid-sized cars and an eight speed automatic to the larger Genesis within two years. In addition to more efficient drivetrains, Hyundai will use aluminum, plastic and high strength steel to reduce the weight of its vehicles. While Hyundai is working on hybrids that are expected to start hitting the market sometime in 2009, Lee also said that the weight and cost of batteries means the company doesn't plan any full EVs anytime soon.

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

The philosophy of Lotus founder Colin Chapman was always to make his cars as light as possible. He is reported to have said at various times "to add speed, add lightness" and "simplicate, than add lightness." Over the years, Lotus cars have often been among the lightest of their kind and innovations in weight reduction continue to this day. The work that Lotus has done in developing low mass vehicle structures for cars like the Lotus Elise and the Tesla Roadster is set to expand with the acquisition of Holden Lightweight Structures Limited. Worcester, UK-based Holden has been assembling the aluminum chassis for the Elise and other Lotus models and will now be renamed Lotus Lightweight Structures as it becomes part of Group Louts plc. As mass reduction becomes increasingly important to reducing fuel consumption and emissions in the coming years, Lotus is hoping the acquisition helps them better serve its engineering client base. The Hethel-based company can provide its design expertise as well as manufacturing capabiity. The Lotus press release is after the jump.

The current GMT920 full-size SUVs from General Motors are very likely to be the last of their kind from the Detroit automaker. Even though new fuel economy standards give the big trucks a break based on their footprint, radical changes are likely for the next-generation models. A fully-equipped Tahoe is well over 5,500lbs and a big part of reducing fuel consumption in the next few years will be weight reduction. One step in that direction will be a shift from the body on frame designs these vehicles have used since their inception over to a uni-body structure. Ford already declared that the next-generation Explorer will be a uni-body and GM has their Lambda platform crossovers which are nearly as large as the GMT920s. Sales of the Tahoe are already down 10.5 percent this year and that trend is likely to accelerate. The next-generation models that are due to debut around 2012 will almost certainly make the jump to a smaller, lighter platform. In fact, a distinct possibility might be an SUV derived from the Zeta platform like the Denali XT pickup concept that was shown at the Chicago Auto Show this year. Without the pickup bed and with a slightly taller roof, this design could likely shave nearly 1,000lbs off the current SUVs. Regardless of the design direction that GM follows, the maxi-sized SUVs and pickups will likely never reach the sales heights they once did, meaning that GM is planning to scale back production capacity. The current 1.7 million annual capacity will probably drop to somewhere around 1 million. GM recently announced plans to cancel one shift at each of four truck assembly plants. Going forward, that production will likely be consolidated to fewer plants.

[Source: Bloomberg]

Click on the image for a gallery of high-res images of Hyundai's recyclable QarmaQ concept.

Click here to see Autoblog's much larger gallery.

We reported on Hyundai's recyclable QarmaQ concept back in mid-February. Now that the Geneva Motor Show is under way, Hyundai have released full details of the vehicle which was co-developed with GE Plastics. The QarmaQ Advanced Technology Demonstration Vehicle (aka 'concept') packs in 30 different environmentally progressive technologies which we will see more of as Hyundai selectively incorporates them into its new models between 2008 - 2014. The QarmaQ is said to be lighter, stronger and more economical than any current production CUV in its class. The extensive use of advanced composites and plastics also means that it also offers significant recycling advantages both in construction and eventual disassembly.

Saving weight was a key factor in the design of the vehicle with the most obvious example being the wrap-around windscreen. The GE Lexan material windscreen uses polycarbonate glazing materials and reduces weight by up to 50 percent compared to glass while simultaneously allowing bolder shapes to be formed. The tailgate also breaks new ground by being made as a one-piece component structure incorporating even the tail light assemblies through advanced bonding techniques to achieve higher integral strength matched with lower weight and simplified vehicle assembly.

Powering the plastic marvel is a Euro5 emission compliant advanced 2-litre diesel engine incorporating high pressure fuel injection and fine fuel spray atomization for higher torque and better power output. A Catalyzed Particulate Filter system dramatically reduces regulated emissions including NOx and particulate matter making the QarmaQ one of the cleanest diesels yet.

Analysis: Ok, I've got to say it - what is with that name? Supposedly "QarmaQ" is derived from traditional Inuit dwellings, constructed from earth, whalebone and animal skins. Whatever. Seriously, will someone please let me name Hyundai's concepts so that we can keep their engineers busy with things they're good at?

Apart from that though, I'm totally impressed with this effort which sounds like it has a lot in common with the advanced composite technologies used in the Chevy Volt concept. Thanks to extensive use of advanced materials, the QarmaQ is 60 kg / 132 lbs lighter than a comparable vehicle made with traditional materials which would cut annual greenhouse gas emissions by more than 200 kg.



Full press release after the jump including details of the QarmaQ's pedestrian safety technology.

Related:

• Geneva Preview: Hyundai's "environmentally friendly" CUV
• The Chevy Volt Concept: the inside story on its super-lightweight construction
• Geneva Preview: Hyundai's i30 and HED 4 concept CUV

[Source: Hyundai]

Over past two decades motor vehicles have gotten hundreds of new features and amenities and made big advances in safety in performance. Unfortunately all those cool stability controls, big brakes, air bags, rear seat entertainment systems, heated seats and on and on and on, have one thing in common: weight. Every one of those cool features adds mass. And since Force = Mass * Acceleration (at least at speeds well below the speed of light, but this isn't Physics III so we won't go there today), more mass means more force is required to maintain acceleration. Mass is the enemy of efficiency, performance and to some extent safety.

AutoWeek has an interview with DCX board member in charge of R&D Thomas Weber about climbing vehicle weights. Weber wants to halt the seemingly inexorable climb in vehicle weight, which is particularly difficult as we move to alternative power-trains. Batteries are heavy, even lithium ion types. According to Weber, weights have climbed between one-half of 1 percent and 1 percent per year. Some manufacturers have made progress on some vehicles, such as the latest generation of Jaguar XJ, which dropped several hundred pounds thanks to a switch from steel to aluminum construction. Of course that adds cost, so we will have to pay in some way. Go check out the interview at the Read Link.

[Source: AutoWeek]

Click on the image for a gallery of high-res images of the BMW 3 Series Convertible.

BMW debuted its new 3 Series Convertible to the Australian public at the Brisbane Motor Show on Friday. Featuring a retractable hard-top roof for the first time, the 3 Series Convertible boasts the fastest operating three-piece retractable hard-top in its class taking just 21 seconds to fold into a compartment behind the rear seats.

Brisbane show-goers are the first to see the new BMW models since their world debut at the North American International Motor Show in Detroit. Set to go on sale in Australia in late March, the 3 Series Convertible comes with the choice of 160 kW 325i straight-six, magnesium-aluminium engine, or the new top-of-the-range all-aluminium Twin Turbo 225 kW six in the 335i.

In discussing green technology with Toni Andreevski, PR & Corporate Communications Manager for BMW Australia, I learnt that BMW, through its dynamic efficiency strategy, have turned to plastic panels to reduce the weight of their vehicles in a bid to simultaneously improve performance and fuel economy. Highlighted in the picture above, this 335i panel is made of plastic for just the second time in a BMW model, the first being in the 6 series. Unlike the 6 series though where the panel is painted separately to the rest of the body and then attached at a later time, BMW have developed a system where they can attach both steel and plastic panels to the frame and paint the entire car in one step while still achieving a completely uniform finish across all the panels.

Mr. Andreevski also highlighted the pitfalls of some current hybrid implementations where boot space is drastically reduced which BMW feel is impractical for their customers. Instead, BMW has been following a dual-burn hydrogen / petrol research strategy alongside development of their current fuel efficient diesel range. As another example of trying to reduce vehicle weight, Mr Andreevski indicated that development is progressing well in producing the hydrogen fuel tanks for the Hydrogen 7 model from aluminium instead of steel to halve their weight from 200 kg / 440 lbs to 100 kg, and later from carbon fibre composites to halve the weight again to 50kg.

Unlike hydrogen concept cars under testing by other manufacturers, Mr. Andreevski was proud to say that the BMW Hydrogen 7 has been produced to full production spec which involves crash testing, incineration tests and even shooting bullets at the hydrogen fuel tank.

Analysis: I can only imagine that painting steel and plastic body panels and achieving a uniform finish must be very difficult. Now that BMW has worked it out, they will be in a position to swap plastic panels in and out as they desire to reduce vehicle weight while still maintaining the ideal 50/50 weight distribution. Lighter cars are faster cars, but they are also more fuel efficient cars as the Hyper Car concept has shown us.

By the way, for the record I found the BMW's iDrive system to be far easier to use than most auto journalists give it credit for.

Full press release for the release of the BMW 3 Series Convertible follows after the jump.



Related:

• eGMCarTech: BMW 5 Series diesel to reach U.S. by 2009
• BMW pumps up 1 Series Down Under with next-gen diesel
• Step right up! How automakers have placed their bets on future powertrain technologies

[Source: BMW]