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Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Rotax Keeps EV Development In-House

I've ridden the Can-Am electric motorcycles twice. Once in Texas, where it was punishingly hot, and once in Austria, where it rained all day. In both instances, the motorcycles performed as predicted,...

News

Manned Systems

Surviving Nature’s Worst: Why IP Ratings Matter for Bevel Boxes in Harsh Environment

Some areas in the U.S. can average up to 70 inches (178 cm) of rainfall annually. In these conditions, it's essential that critical components like...

News

Energy

Tesla Semi “Crushes” SuperTruck 2 in Real-World Efficiency

Usually hosted in Southern California, the Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo moved about 265 miles (425 km) north and east for its latest edition, taking place in Las...

Technology Report

Energy

All-Electric Nissan Ariya Handles Ultra-Cold Temps on Pole to Pole Trek

Chris and Julie Ramsey covered more than 33,000 km (20,505 miles) across three continents in an all-electric passenger vehicle from 1823’s magnetic North Pole to the...

Articles

Energy

Sensing to Solve EV Thermal Challenges

A common criticism of electric vehicles (EVs) is that extremes of heat and cold adversely affect their performance, particularly range. OEMs have been aware of the issue and have innovated and...

Original Equipment

Connectivity

Nikola Producing Battery-Electric Trucks, Fuel-Cell EVs Coming

Fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) are a highway rarity despite decades of technology development. “When I was working in Europe 20 years ago, I was driving fuel-cell...

Editorial

Connectivity

EV, Give Me Heat!

Cabin heating and cooling, and their negative impact on vehicle efficiency and range, are among the challenges still to be solved in battery-electric vehicles. For drivers and passengers, interior comfort — being warm...

News

Electronics & Computers

Arctic Autonomy

In what is billed as “the most extensive pilot [program] in challenging weather conditions, ever,” a trio of Nordic companies is prepping an autonomous public-transport service in Bodø, a Norwegian city north of the...

Articles

Energy

Pumping EV Heat

The Automotive Career Development Center (ACDC) that I founded over 20 years ago provides training and tech support to the world’s independent electric-vehicle (EV and hybrid) technicians, who will be asked to fix and...

The Navigator

Sensors/Data Acquisition

The Navigator: Mapping the Way to Safe Automated Driving

When it comes to automated driving systems (ADS), Tesla CEO Elon Musk often runs counter to the consensus of almost everyone else in the sector. His disdain for lidar sensing is...

Articles

Connectivity

Air Exchange System Shows Potential to Reduce Winter BEV Range Loss

Battery-electric vehicle (BEV) range loss from winter use of PTC (positive temperature coefficient) heating has become a source of major concern as the industry works to...

Briefs

Test & Measurement

SnowMicroPenetrometer Applications for Winter Vehicle Mobility

Characterizing the mechanical properties of snow and their impact on vehicle performance could improve vehicle winter mobility modeling.

Technology Report

Data Acquisition

As Automotive Climates Shift, GKN Ramps up Its Winter Testing

As the influx of electrification continues to roil the industry, seamlessly integrating the hardware and wealth of software it brings with it creates a far broader engineering...

News

Energy

AAA Studies Thermal Effects on EV Range

It’s been a tough winter in much of the U.S. When the Midwest hasn’t been dealing with a Polar Vortex it been smacked by a “bombogenesis.” But even normally temperate seasonal regions like...

Road Ready

Energy

2019 Nissan Leaf plus Nets Extended EV Range

The 2019 Leaf Plus has a longer driving range and provides quicker acceleration than its platform-sharing counterpart, the second-generation Leaf, thanks to a higher-output motor and additional...

Articles

Defense

DATC Spells Progress for Defense Prototyping

A slogging bureaucracy, miles of “red tape,” and a sea of acronyms are just some of the hurdles that keep many suppliers from working with the U.S. defense industry on ground vehicle...

What We’re Driving

Energy

Mercedes-Benz C220d AMG Line Cabriolet

Until relatively recently in Europe, “buy a new diesel car and help reduce CO2”, was accepted by most governments as a responsible piece of advice. In simple terms a late level Euro-6 diesel emits...

News

Energy

BEV Heat Pumps Recovering Cost Investments

Can a heat pump-equipped battery electric vehicle (BEV) overcome major energy losses for cabin heating comfort in cold ambient conditions –and at reasonable system cost? These questions were...

News

Electronics & Computers

Studies Seek to Reduce Range Impact of EV Cabin Conditioning

If the battery-electric vehicle (BEV) is to enter the affordable mainstream, it has to overcome the challenge of 50-60% loss of range from the impact of cabin heating, ventilation...

What We’re Driving

Manufacturing & Prototyping

BMW 440i

When reviewing a new BMW, it’s important to note the car’s most vital attribute first. And that would be…powertrain performance? Steering precision? Chassis reflexes? The optional ($1700) M Sport brakes? While all are nearly...

News

Manned Systems

Rolls-Royce Starts Lean-Burn Combustion Engine Icing Tests

In March, a new demonstrator engine by Rolls-Royce, featuring a cutting-edge lean-burn and low-emissions combustion system for future jet engine programs, began icing tests at the...

News

Power

Send in Yamaguchi!

Ted Klaus is not given to hyperbole. So when the Chief Engineer of Honda’s 2017 NSX says something is “the best,” he means it. And that’s how Klaus described hearing Jack Yamaguchi’s first impressions of the...

Technology Update

Defense

F-35 Gets Cold Treatment in Step Toward IOC Remedy

Since it first became an active cold-weather testing facility in 1947, the 96th Test Wing's McKinley Climatic Laboratory at Eglin Air Force Base, FL, there have been a wide variety of aircraft...

News

Materials

Chrysler Names New Head of Product Planning

Chrysler recently announced the appointment of Benjamin Winter as the new NAFTA Head of Product Planning. With this appointment, he is also named to the Chrysler Group Leadership Team. The...

Briefs

Physical Sciences

AFRL’s Demonstration and Science Experiments Mission

A document describes the Air Force Research Laboratory's Demonstration and Science Experiments (DSX) mission, dedicated to research needed to advance the ability to operate spacecraft in the harsh radiation environment of medium earth orbit (MEO). The DSX spacecraft, to be launched in late 2009...