Mazda says no RX-9; rotary engine to be used as range extender

Source: J. Lyon via Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0

Wait a minute?? No RX-9? No rotary engine goodness?? This has to be a heartbreaking moment for rotary's diehard. Though I've never driven a Mazda-powered 'dorito' engine, I can see the appeal of its crisp, smooth, high-revving nature. 

With RX-9 out of the picture, don't expect rotary engine to solely power you down the highway. The good news is you don't have to give up on your dorito yet...but with a twist.  

Masamichi Kogai, Mazda CEO, told Automotive News in an interview that rotary engine will still be around, but as a range extender for their hybrid cars. To be blamed: emission and fuel efficiency.

"Considering regulations such as the zero-emissions vehicle mandate, electrification is a technology we need to introduce in the near future. The range extender would be the first." Kogai told Automotive News.

When asked by Automotive News if there's any plan for a future RX-8 successor with range extender, Kogai suggested that the MX-5 (Miata in the US) already offers an "exhilarating experience". I guess this means if you want the thrill of Mazda's sports car, the MX-5 should be in your shopping list.

So, with RX-9 not in the bucket list and you still crave for the rotary's screaming high rev to get you down the road, get a used RX-8, or if you still own one, cherish it till the end! 

Second-generation Toyota GT86 is on its way!

Source: http://pinthiscars.com/image-post/1281-toyota-gt86-2017-9.jpg.html#gal_post_1281_toyota-gt86-2016-5.jpg

Long live the hachiroku! If you're a fan of the GT86, then Toyota has a good piece of news: the second-generation GT86 is on its way! You may have to wait until 2018 or 2019 though.

What sort of engine will it get and will Subaru continue to be Toyota's partner in crime? Autocar spoke with Karl Schlicht, the boss of Toyota European division. Schlicht hasn't confirmed if Subaru will continue to co-develop the second-generation GT86, but is highly likely the partnership is still on the card to take advantage of the low-mounted boxer engine.

"I don't know. But for the concept to carry on, with the low engine, we'd have to do that. There are a lot of reasons to continue with Subaru." said Schlicht.

If you recall, the GT86 was given a mid-life makeover early this year, with revised suspension and for manual model, a slightly higher power (from 200 to 205) and torque (from 205 to 214) plus shorter gear ratio. 

To me personally, there's more to be desired. Though I've never driven the GT86, 200 hp is just too low personally. Toyota, we want more powahhh! Ferrari 458 engine swap anyone?

Audi Q2 deep learning - a step towards autonomous parking

Source: https://www.audi-mediacenter.com/en/photos/album/audi-q2-deep-learning-concept-728

Parking can be such as a frustrating chore and make you pull your hair out. Automakers have addressed it with a suite of automatic parking technology. But, what if the car can learn the art of parking overtime that it becomes so smart you can leave the parking chore wholly to the car? Enter Audi's Q2 deep learning concept.  

How does the concept work? In a nutshell, a pair of mono cameras are fitted front and rear. 10 ultrasonic sensors are placed at points all around the concept. An on-board computer will receive the information and converts the information into signals to control the steering and electric motor.

Source: https://www.audi-mediacenter.com/en/photos/album/audi-q2-deep-learning-concept-728

The concept will then scan for an available parking space by itself. For the purpose of this demo, the parking space is represented by a metal frame as shown in the image above.

After identifying where it is relative to the parking space, it will determine how it's going to navigate itself into the parking space and steer, drive forward and drive backward until it's perfectly parked inside the space. All this is done without human input.

How does deep learning algorithm enables full autonomous parking ability? Through good ol' trial and error. The algorithm will experiment with different number of manoeuvre until it identifies which manoeuvre will increase chances of success. Once it does, you may enjoy a hassle-free parking. The car will do it for you while you delightfully continue sipping your latte.

With the future seemingly heading towards an era of automation, this deep learning concept will, in my opinion, become a viable technological solution to create a more pleasant commuting experience.   

Ferrari 488 Challenge replaces Ferrari 458 Challenge EVO

Source: https://twitter.com/FerrariRaces/status/804846713454415872

Old cars will eventually be replaced by new cars. The same rule applies to race car. Meet the new Ferrari 488 Challenge, the successor to the outgoing 458 Challenge EVO in conjunction with the 25th anniversary since the inception of Ferrari's Challenge series in 1992. The new race car was presented during the Finali Mondiali which took place in Daytona, USA.

Unlike the 458 Challenge EVO, the 488 Challenge will introduce turbocharging for the first time in the brand's one-make race series. The engine is directly derived from the production car's 661 hp 3.9 litre twin turbo V8, which won the 2016 International Engine of the Year Award. Ferrari further enhanced the 488 Challenge's aero and chassis which, together with the engine's unique race-optimised engine mapping, smashed the 458 Challenge EVO's Fiorano lap record by a second, now standing at 1:15.5.

The gear ratio for the proprietary F1 dual clutch transmission has been shortened, which will see improvement in acceleration. Shorter gearing aside, the transmission also employs "racing shift strategy" which (whatever it means) enables a blistering 6 seconds acceleration from dead stop all the way to maximum rpm in 4th gear.  

The marque's Side Slip Angle Control system is making its debut in the Challenge series. The system works in conjunction with the traction control, electronic differential and adaptive damper to improve lateral acceleration. This should theoretically endow the 488 Challenge with competitive edge around bends.

Aerodynamic has also been given a good tweak. To improve air flow over the radiators and reduce drag during racing conditions, Ferrari revised the front radiator layout, inverting the rake so it's inclined towards the rear. The front bumper features more aggressive splitter and flicks for more downforce and equalise load between the front and rear. Hot air flow from the radiator is directed rearwards thanks to the triple vents and integrated flaps on the front bonnet. A large rear wing has been added to double the downforce generated.

Out goes the old car, in goes the new car with new goodies. Hope this will spice up the next season of the Ferrari's Challenge Series!

Information Source: http://races.ferrari.com/en/finalimondiali2016/news/ferrari-unveils-488-challenge-world-finals-daytona/

NextEV Nio EP9 smashed Nurburgring lap record; 1341 hp, 0-100 kph 2.7 seconds, 313 kph top speed, 24019 N downforce

Source: http://www.nio.io/ep9

The wave of electrification is stepping up a gear, and now looks like it's ready to zap the Nurburgring. Meet the NextEV Nio EP9. 

The Chinese electric car start-up,who currently competes in Formula E, revealed their new electric supercar a fortnight ago, but already proven to be a capable performer, as evidenced from its Nurburgring lap time. 

How fast is the Nio's lap time? Hold your breath: It's 7:05.12! That's faster than the Nissan GT-R Nismo (7:08.68) and Ferrari 488 GTB (7:21.63).

How does it achieve this feat? For starter, there are 4 inboard electric motors with a transmission for each individual motors, feeding a monstrous 1341 hp and 1480 Nm of torque to each 4 wheels. This remarkable output allows it to sprint from 0-100 kph in just 2.7 seconds and a top speed of 313 kph.

Another possible reason behind its impressive lap time: downforce. NextEV claims the Nio generates a whooping 24,019 N (2449 kg) downforce at 238 kph (149 mph).  That's twice the downforce generated by the stonking Dodge Viper ACR at its top speed of 283 kph (177 mph), where Dodge claimed close to a tonne (1000 kg) of downforce was produced.

Are we heading towards the day where supercars are all powered by electric motors? Sound off in the comment section below.

    

Artistic-looking Mercedes A200 AMG Line

Saw this baby at last month My Auto Fest car show which ran from 10-13 November 2016 at the Mines International Exhibition & Convention Centre (MIECC). This very artistic-looking Mercedes A200 AMG Line seems to have the element of an eye-catcher.

Is this car for sale? Nope, it's not I am afraid, though I kinda wish it was. The paintwork is just nothing short of bizarre.   

Safety Demonstration - ESC, AEB, Blind Spot Monitoring and tyre safety

Driving safety is definitely of paramount concern to every individuals. With road accident on the rise, Global NCAP (New Car Assessment Programme) see it fit to organise the Stop the Crash event in an effort to raise awareness on the importance of safety behind the wheel. 

Just recently from 28 - 30 November 2016, with support from ASEAN NCAP, Stop the Crash took place at Sepang International Circuit. The event consisted of a series of safety demonstration showcasing modern crash prevention technologies in action and how they can prevent accidents from occurring in the first place. The event comprised of demonstration for Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) City, Pedestrian and Inter Urban, Blind Spot Monitoring and tyre safety demonstration. 

As someone who put safety first, I recently went to the event on 30th November (Wednesday) to have firsthand experience on these newfangled safety technologies. Things weren't rosy as I had no clue of the exact location of the event. Thankfully a friendly security guard pointed me to the paddock. And paddock it was! For a moment, I felt like an upcoming F1 superstar ambling around the pit lane vicinity.      

Ok, I digress. The whole point I came to this event was to experience the demonstration of crash prevention technologies - ESC, AEB, Blind Spot Monitoring and tyre safety in action. With that said, let's get to the thick of the action shall we?

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

Imagine in this hypothetical example: You're trundling along the highway. You're cruising at say 80 kph. Suddenly, a crate came rolling into your path. Your instinct went into overdrive, so you swerve your car to one side, hoping to avoid the crate. When you think the danger is over, a huge rock stood in your escape route. You instinctively swerve to one side, only this time the car became wildly out of control and spun around like a doughnut. You became a mere passenger, unable to stop the car from spinning around. 

This is where Electronic Stability Control (ESC) will come in handy. Applying ESC to the same hypothetical example above, you would have easily avoided hitting the 2 obstacles without spinning out, as ESC will pull your car back in your intended direction. With ESC, you'll be able to:

• retain control during emergency manoeuvre (car remains stable and straight).
• increase confidence in handling emergency situation.
• keep yourself, your passengers and fellow motorists safe.

ESC works by applying selective braking to the appropriate wheel (say braking the front left will stabilise the car, ESC will apply the front left brake as an example). The image above shows the sensors that work with ESC. 

The one called 'yaw rate sensor' monitors the side-to-side motion (when the car turns left or right so to speak), while the 'steering angle sensor' measures how far the driver has turned the steering. 

These sensors will compare each other's readings and if any deviation is detected (say the car turns too far right with minimal steering input), the ESC computer will select the most appropriate wheel to brake and prevent you from rolling upside down, knock down your GF's gate or fall off the cliff.

The video below (recorded by me) will demonstrate the car's behaviour during emergency manoeuvre, with ESC on. The car was driven up to somewhere between 70-80 kph.

As you can see from the video above, the car still points 'straight' (doesn't spin out) even when the demonstrator abruptly yank the steering one way the other. Watch the video below (ESC off) and you will see the difference ESC makes. The car was again driven up to 70-80 kph.

  

   

With ESC off, the car spins around, facing the wrong direction as depicted in the video above. 

The demonstrator later told me ESC is only as good as the tyres, so if you have 4 bald tyres, you might as well throw away the ESC.  

Despite that, after experiencing the effectiveness of ESC in preventing skidding, I can't think of a reason not to have ESC. Thank god Malaysian government has made ESC mandatory on all new cars sold in Malaysia by June 2018.

Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) City, Pedestrian and Inter Urban

If you've been keeping abreast with the automotive news, you may have come across the term Autonomous Emergency Braking or AEB. In case if you've no idea what it is, let me fill you in.

AEB is a safety feature that prevents you from hitting a vehicle or pedestrian by automatically applying the brakes. Yep, it actually brakes for you, handy when you fail to spot a car in front of you has stopped or a child has carelessly crossed in front of you, due to exhaustion after a hard day at work. Of course, this is by no means an excuse for distracted driving. As a driver, it is important that you pay full attention behind the wheel and not be complacent.  

So how does it work? AEB relies on camera and array of sensors to detect obstacles such as a pedestrian, a car, etc. If it detects collision with the obstacles exemplified are imminent, the system will initially issue audible warning to the driver to take action (your car will make a beep beep beep sound or a long chime depending on manufacturers). If the driver doesn't take action, the system will automatically apply the brakes, even when the driver fails to physically hit the brake pedal. Accident averted, ladies and gentlemen👍

At the event, the AEB demonstration was divided into 3 sections: (1) City (approaching a stationary dummy car), (2) Pedestrian (a dummy carelessly crossed the road), and (3) Inter Urban (approaching a slow moving dummy car). In all 3 demo, the demonstrators never physically applied the brake pedal even after the car warned them to brake. In the video below (recorded by me), you can hear the warning sound, followed by braking action, which was done by the car, not by the demonstrator.

But, here's one big BUT. The demonstrator told me the moment your car is FULLY stopped, you MUST take control of the brake pedal or your car will roll forward and BAM whatever obstacles standing in your way. 

Also, the AEB has a prescribed maximum allowable speed range it will function. Exceed the range and the system will not work. In the case of the Volvo (I forgot the model name) I sat in for AEB City, the demonstrator said its AEB will function only up to 50 kph. Above 50 kph and you're on your own (you've been warned). I believe the speed range is manufacturer specific, so do ask the car dealer on your specific car's AEB speed range if your new car does come with AEB. 

Blind Spot Monitoring

You're cruising down, say, a two-lane road. You decided to switch lane. You've checked your mirror. All clear. So you assume it's safe to make a lane switch. As you're making the switch, suddenly you're greeted by a honk. You glanced over your shoulder and realised somebody was alongside you, eventhough your mirror suggested the coast is clear.

That folks is a classic example on why it is important to check your blind spot before you change lane. You've probably been through this experience, where a clueless motorist change lane and nearly side-swipe you. Checking your blind spot can help reduce your chances of getting into an accident, as this too has helped me stay safe on the road.

In a bid to reduce the likelihood of accident caused by neglecting or forgetting to check the blind spot, manufacturers are increasing the fitment of Blind Spot Monitoring system.

The system monitors for any objects, such as cars, motorcycles, and cyclists, lurking in your blind spot. This is made possible by, as mentioned by the demonstrator, 2 sensors located behind the front bumper, 1 on the right side and 1 on the left side.

Should there be anything caught in your blind spot, the sensors will inform the control unit, which then lights up an icon on the side view mirror where the blind spot falls (if say a car falls in your left side blind spot, the icon will light up on the left side view mirror).

Do watch the video below to see the system in action. I recommend viewing in full-screen for optimum viewing quality.

  

Tyre Safety

What a way to wrap up this post with the most important, yet the most taken for granted safety aspect of an automobile - tyres. It doesn't matter if your car spells B.U.G.A.T.T.I V.E.Y.R.O.N, nor does it matter if your engine makes 5000 horsepower, none of that matters if your tyres are not performing at its best. Think about this: Your car's only mean of contact with the road is none other than the 4 black, oversized-rubber doughnut. 

For this segment, participants were exposed to the effect of improper inflation pressure. The cars used for the demonstration were 2 identical BMW 3 series. The difference was one had all 4 tyres properly inflated (2.4 bar front and rear), while the other one had lower rear inflation pressure (2.4 bar front and 1.4 bar rear).

The purpose of the demo was to show how inflation pressure can affect the car's handling characteristic during an emergency manoeuvre, such as high speed evasive manoeuvre. 

For the purpose of the demo, the demonstrator would drive up to 60 kph towards a bunch of cones, then abruptly yank the steering one way the other to simulate a high speed evasive manoeuvre.

I, together with 2 other participants, first boarded the Bimmer with all 4 properly inflated tyres. What we observed were the car felt 'composed' and 'stable' during the manoeuvre. It's as if the tyres were firmly planted to the tarmac that the car just glide its way through without any fuss.

Then, we boarded the same Bimmer, but with lower rear inflation pressure. It was obvious from our observation this will have detrimental effect to the car's handling, as the car's back end started to 'drift out'.

This shows that we should not underestimate the role that tyre pressure plays in keeping your car safely planted to the road so that you can reach your kampung in one piece.

Now I am done rambling about why tyre pressure is important to safety, now let's take a look at when to check tyre pressure and the tools needed to check tyre pressure:

1. Check your tyre pressure before you begin driving. If you need to check the pressure after driving, do wait for roughly around 6 hours to let the tyres cool down. Why? As you're driving along, the heat generated by the tyres rubbing against the road surface will heat up the tyres, thus increasing its pressure. I've checked my tyre pressure before and after driving and it does increase.
2. Buy either a digital tyre pressure gauge or a simpler pencil-type pressure gauge from any D.I.Y store. The pencil-type gauge looks something like this:

In case if you're wondering, I did record the demo, but after reviewing the video, it's hard to see the difference just by watching the video. You had to sit in the car during the demo (like I did) to really feel the effect. 

I hope this post has enlightened you on the advancement in automotive crash prevention technology. Do give a thumbs up in the comment section below if you have learnt something new!