http://spectrum.ieee.org/apr08/6078
Quote:
Top 10 Tech Cars By John Voelcker
First Published April 2008
It's the environment, stupid
When a sexy silver Ferrari F430 Spider has “Bio Fuel” emblazoned on the doors in bright green, you know the world has changed. Yet that was the sight at a major auto show early this year. As one industry commentator put it, “Green is the new black.”
Consider that Europe is debating not whether to cut carbon emissions from vehicles but simply when to do it and by how much. The average new car on Europe's roads now emits roughly 160 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer; the European Commission proposed last year to lower that to 130 g/km by 2012. But Europe's carmakers seem likely to have missed a voluntary 2008 target of 140 g/km.
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At first I thought someone had played an April fools joke by substituting a "Motor Trend" or "Car and Driver" article for "Top 10 Tech Cars" but somehow, I don't think so. There are so many technical aspects that could have been covered but to mention "cast-iron cylinder liners are pressed into it [aluminum block RJW]" just set the tone for the rest of the article.
I subscribe to IEEE Spectrum to learn about new technologies or better models or improved integration of old technologies. But this article had exterior photos, eye-candy, of pretty shells and text that could have been a list of techno-terms without engineering content. There were no systems sketches or illustrated parts or engineering graphs . . . something that would show there really is something new here.
That same day I recorded another tank for my five year old Prius, 53.3 MPG. Bought used, it has delivered 52.3 MPG for the past 50,000 miles, both highway and city and its existence and years of efficient service quietly says at the pump we can do better. Certainly this article should have done better. Perhaps it was just an April fool joke.
Bob Wilson
IEEE Spectrum - disappointed
