Nissan to Showcase X-TRAIL Diesel Prototype

At the G8 Summit meetings, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. will showcase a showcase a diesel prototype of its X-TRAIL SUV in an effort to show its support on environmental issues. Nissan announced that it will showcase the X-TRAIL diesel prototype on June 19-21 at the 2008 Integrated Exhibition of the Environment in Hokkaido and also on July 7-9 at the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit’s International Media Center.

Referred to as "Post New Long-term Regulations", by October 2, 2009, Japan is slated to introduce its new emission regulatory standards. In September this year, Nissan plans to introduce the X-TRAIL diesel which will meet with the more strigent standards.

As delegates and members of the media the G8 Summit will offers an ideal platform for Nissan to showcase its latest clean diesel technology that will have the opportunity to test drive the product and see related technology exhibits. The Nissan version on the X-TRAIL employs advanced technologies to deliver high torque and powerful acceleration, based on the M9R diesel engine co-developed with Alliance-partner Renault, as well to improved fuel-economy while meeting the demands for cleaner emission standards globally. Including to the diesel technology incorporated are the Piezo-electric-controlled injectors, Common rail system (1600 bar), Variable nozzle turbos, Diesel particulate filters (DPF), Lean NOx-trap catalysts, and the sophisticated control system for precise modulation of the DPF and catalysts in tandem with the driving conditions. The company aims to introduce new technologies, products and services that can lead to real-world reductions in vehicle CO2 emissions, under the Nissan Green Program 2010 mid-term environmental plan.

Knight Rider LED Light Scanner

Muscle Car Blog are already well educated about the new Knight Rider original NBC 2-hour movie. They have posted a ton of news about the show as huge fans of the original 80's show starring The Hoff. They are excited about the upcoming movie and hope NBC turns it into a new series.

With all of the the entertainment news shows and websites focusing on the actors, MCB are all about the cars. They know that the new KITT car is a Shelby Mustang GT500 KR that throws down 550HP off the showroom floor. But what makes the new KITT so special? What made the original KITT so special? It's that buzzing red light in the front, just under the hood. It's as iconic as David Hasselhoff when it comes to Knight Rider history. MCB Webmaster Chris Duke recently had the opportunity to sit down with the inventor of the new KITT LED red light scanner for an exclusive interview.

Here is the interview with Pierre Hoffmann, President of Auto Indulgence, Inc. based out of Lomita, California. Pierre's company is well known for its work on designing and installing lighting in the movie "2 Fast 2 Furious" and several episodes of "Monster Garage".

MCB: Pierre, did you watch the original Knight Rider TV series in the early 80's starring The Hoff?
PH: Yes!

MCB: Are you somehow related to "The Hoff" since your last name is Hoffmann?
PH: Um, no.

MCB: What do you remember from those days when the original Knight Rider series aired?
PH: The red scanner in the front of the car and the action of the stunts in the show.

MCB: How old were you back then?
PH: I was 17 when I started watching and it was one of my favorite shows, because of all the action. I don't think I missed a show. I think it kind of helped me to get in to business for myself, as I was always into making things and making money. I would make custom parts for cars or electric components, then sell and install them.

MCB: How did you originally get involved with the new Knight Rider movie?
PH: I worked with Ted Moser from Picture Car Warehouse in the movie "2 Fast 2 Furious". My Auto Indulgence crew and I did all of the StreetGlow lighting products in the movie and his company built the cars for that movie. When the producers from Knight Rider were looking for someone to make the scanner for them, Ted called us to take care of it.

MCB: Tell us about the iconic KITT light scanner! How many LEDs are in that bad boy?
PH: There are 480 total, 240 per side.

MCB: What kind of LEDs are they?
PH: They are super bright red LEDs, however I cannot disclose the exact ones we used.

MCB: In what sort of pattern are they mounted? Simple rows or something tricky?
PH: We used three rows, with 80 in each row.

MCB: How many prototypes did you build before you found that one that worked best?
PH: We did many different prototypes to get what the producers were looking for. The first unit made was made with 24 red Luxor1 universal LED units, the units we used had 12 surface mount LEDs for a total of 288, or 144 on each side. The idea was to make the lights beat like a heart beat. We provided them with a sample that had a MP3 player to simulate with sounds of different heartbeats that were connected to a music interface to flash the Luxor1 lights to the look like a heart was beating.

Big Rig Jig

Mike Ross, leader of the Big Rig Jig project, wants the sculpture to represent the oil economy even earlier than he heard about the green theme of this year’s festival. Dub the Big Rig Jig, this bizarre sculpture made its debut at the annual Burning Man festivities in Black Rock City, Nevada.

Ross wants people to feel vulnerable and in danger while they gaze up at the towering structure. The inside is full of silk plants to remind visitors that oil ultimately comes from nature.It achievable to crawl up through the entire structure and feel the constraint of the oil industry as you squeeze among structural braces and various pipes inside the tankers.

The most appealing interpretation of the piece is the Las Vegas Sun’s panorama image, which allows viewers to navigate around the scene. Furthermore there are 1500 photos, including the one troysandal shot that appears atop this post, returned in a Flickr search for Big Rig Jig. It’s certainly worth the time to examine the first few pages of photos, several are quite eye-catching.

Too Many Cars, Too Heavy Traffic

A Japanese team has found the underlying cause of traffic jams when there is no obvious reason for the delay.

Many traffic jams leave drivers baffled as they finally reach the end of a tail-back to find no visible cause. An accident? Construction work? A bottleneck? No, just too much traffic, says a team led by Prof Yuki Sugiyama of Nagoya University, who has spent more than a decade puzzling over the problem.
    
In the New Journal of Physics a study by his group explains why we're occasionally caught in jams for no obvious reason.

The real origin of the snarl up often has nothing to do with obvious obstructions such as accidents or construction work but is simply the result of there being too many cars.

The team discovered the importance of traffic density by applying techniques to model the movements of lots of particles to real-life moving traffic. The research shows that even tiny fluctuations in car-road density cause a chain reaction which can lead to a jam.

The team also studied cars driving around a circular track with a circumference of 230m. They put 22 cars on the road and asked the drivers to go steadily at 30km/h (19mph) around the track. While the flow was initially free, the effect of a driver altering his speed reverberated around the track and led to brief standstills.

Prof Sugiyama says, "Although the emerging jam in our experiment is small, its behaviour is not different from large ones on highways. When a large number of vehicles, beyond the road capacity, are successively injected into the road, the density exceeds the critical value and the free flow state becomes unstable."
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The research suggests that it might be possible to estimate the critical density of roads, making it possible to build a road fit for the number of drivers that need to use it.

Mathematicians led by Dr Gábor Orosz of the University of Exeter have done similar work and he comments: "Many researchers believe that the effect of spontaneous jam formation (caused by tiny fluctuations above a critical traffic density) is the main reason for traffic jams and this view is supported by Prof Sugiyama."

The Exeter work is different because the reaction time delay of drivers is included, revealing that the late reaction of drivers even one second can have big knock on effects when driving at much higher speeds than in the Japanese study.

"In a typical situation a vehicle dropping its speed from 80 mph to 65 mph may cause a ripple that later vanishes while dropping its speed from 80 mph to 62 mph may cause a ripple that is amplified and leads to traffic jams."

Heavy traffic on highways does not automatically lead to congestion but can be smooth-flowing, he says. "We are currently developing algorithms for radar-guided computer-controlled cruise-control devices that could cut down over-braking and keep traffic smooth."

[via: Telegraph.com.uk]

There Is Freedom In Sunroof

Almost all of the world’s largest automakers have discovered that secret.  Now, Ford Motors offer the same feature in its mid-size crossover sport-utility vehicle (SUV) Ford Edge as well as in its latest Lincoln MKX crossover that boasts of its Vista Roof, which allows a wide view for rear and front passengers.  Other upcoming models such as the Ford Flex crossover, along with the Lincoln MKS sedan, will also have this unique feature. 

One of the best things about competition, particularly in the auto market, is that it promotes product excellence among car manufacturers. 

Catching up with Ford is General Motors (GM), the world’s largest automaker,  which also has its own version of vehicles with sunroof.  It is installed in its new Cadillac SRX, a five-door, mid-size crossover that is considered as one of GM’s luxury brands. GM’s Acadia, a crossover equipped with touchscreen control that allows easy mapping, as well as  Saturn Outlook and Buick Enclave buyers  can also enjoy the sunroof feature.

Japanese automaker and the world’s second largest car manufacturer Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) took the challenge with its upcoming 2009 Venza crossover sedan that will offer a glass roof.

As a sentimental maxim goes, “It’s not about arriving at the destination but the journey that counts.”   I think that’s primarily the reason why it is forecasted that vehicles with sunroof will reach up to 700,000 in just a span of  four years.

Sun roof is that feature in a vehicle in which conventional roofs are replaced by shatter-resistant roof or glass roofs to give passengers what Consumer Reports Senior Director David Champion tags as “air of space.”   This feature amounts to more or less than $1,200 to $2,000.