R-34
07-14-2003, 11:31 PM
It's an old adage that two heads are better than one. And when the two heads are those of America's (indeed the world's) and Japan's biggest carmakers, the results can be earth-shattering. Well, get ready for the automotive world to be shattered.
Auto giants General Motors and Toyota have entered into a five-year-long collaboration to speed up the development of advanced-technology vehicles in the next century.
As Harry Pearce, GM's vice chairman, said at the announcement, "The agreement could define the future of the automobile."
The agreement lists specific developmental targets. They are:
* A common set of electric traction and control components for future battery electric, hybrid electric and fuel-cell electric vehicles.
* Improvements to batteries and battery test procedures, vehicle safety requirements and inductive charging systems for battery electric vehicles.
* Powertrain and control systems for next-generation hybrid electric vehicles.
* Design of future systems, selection of fuel and the necessary processing to support the production of fuel-cell-powered vehicles.
Synergy In The Making
Besides being the giants of the industry, GM and Toyota both have experience in marketing alternate-fuel technology in the real world. General Motors has been offering an electric car, the EV1, for lease in select markets in the Southwest, and Toyota has been offering its gasoline-electric hybrid compact car, the Prius, to the public in Japan. The Prius will be available here next year.
Officials of both companies feel that there are both marketing and technological synergies to be exploited by their joint effort. They feel that the two companies are on similar research paths in a number of technologies. "Pooling our efforts should result in commercially viable advanced technologies faster and at a lower cost to our customers, and as breakthroughs are reached, suppliers will be able to count on volume production from two of the world's largest automakers," Pearce said.
Faster, Smaller, Better
Work on the first fruit of this cooperative effort actually began before the formal agreement was announced. The two companies are hard at work to develop an improved charging system for battery-electric vehicles. The system, based on GM's Magne-Charge inductive technology, would replace the conductive system used by Toyota on its RAV4-EV, among other vehicles. The new system would also replace the large charge paddle and charge port of GM's EV1 with smaller units, which could be more easily installed on electric vehicles from other manufacturers. An inductive charging system, such as GM's Magne-Charge, is more durable than a conductive charging system and it removes some of the charging componentry from the vehicle, reducing weight and complexity. Already, Toyota is phasing inductive charging into its RAV4-EV program.
popularmechanics.com
Auto giants General Motors and Toyota have entered into a five-year-long collaboration to speed up the development of advanced-technology vehicles in the next century.
As Harry Pearce, GM's vice chairman, said at the announcement, "The agreement could define the future of the automobile."
The agreement lists specific developmental targets. They are:
* A common set of electric traction and control components for future battery electric, hybrid electric and fuel-cell electric vehicles.
* Improvements to batteries and battery test procedures, vehicle safety requirements and inductive charging systems for battery electric vehicles.
* Powertrain and control systems for next-generation hybrid electric vehicles.
* Design of future systems, selection of fuel and the necessary processing to support the production of fuel-cell-powered vehicles.
Synergy In The Making
Besides being the giants of the industry, GM and Toyota both have experience in marketing alternate-fuel technology in the real world. General Motors has been offering an electric car, the EV1, for lease in select markets in the Southwest, and Toyota has been offering its gasoline-electric hybrid compact car, the Prius, to the public in Japan. The Prius will be available here next year.
Officials of both companies feel that there are both marketing and technological synergies to be exploited by their joint effort. They feel that the two companies are on similar research paths in a number of technologies. "Pooling our efforts should result in commercially viable advanced technologies faster and at a lower cost to our customers, and as breakthroughs are reached, suppliers will be able to count on volume production from two of the world's largest automakers," Pearce said.
Faster, Smaller, Better
Work on the first fruit of this cooperative effort actually began before the formal agreement was announced. The two companies are hard at work to develop an improved charging system for battery-electric vehicles. The system, based on GM's Magne-Charge inductive technology, would replace the conductive system used by Toyota on its RAV4-EV, among other vehicles. The new system would also replace the large charge paddle and charge port of GM's EV1 with smaller units, which could be more easily installed on electric vehicles from other manufacturers. An inductive charging system, such as GM's Magne-Charge, is more durable than a conductive charging system and it removes some of the charging componentry from the vehicle, reducing weight and complexity. Already, Toyota is phasing inductive charging into its RAV4-EV program.
popularmechanics.com