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Technology is advancing at a breakneck pace, and while this is exciting for most, we have a social responsibility to ensure that new developments do more good than harm. The automotive industry is a sector in which change is happening rapidly, and the cars of the future promise to be bigger, better and more beautiful than ever. And while owning a car is largely redundant in many cities because public transportation is so reliable, there will still be times when you want the sense of freedom and control that comes with owning your own vehicle. But, with global resources dwindling and many buyers becoming more environmentally conscious, will traditional cars as we know them still have a place in society?
No carbon, all the fun
Cars and power plants have something in common, as they both rely on fossil fuels to generate electricity. But where many governments have taken a proactive approach to moving toward more sustainable power generation methods for our homes, workplaces, and recreation, the auto industry has been slow to make similar changes – until now. Naturally, no one wants to drive a nuclear-powered car (at least we hope not), and solar or wind power isn’t particularly reliable in smaller mobile setups.
We’ve had some success with storing kinetic energy through regenerative brakes, but generating electricity inside our cars just doesn’t make sense. So engineers have skipped this step entirely, relying instead on external electrical power, which is stored in on-board batteries and directed to the motors that drive the shafts. The success of this technology has been astonishing, not only to improve fuel economy and therefore reduce the environmental impact of our vehicles, but the same technique can also be used to improve performance in already sporty engines. .
However, hybrid technology was only the beginning, and now, more and more automakers are charting their business roadmaps and making promises that they will produce more fully electric cars. Tesla is a prime example of this practice, showing that performance and efficiency don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Following suit, Lexus has announced that all of its future products will be electric vehicles (EV). But it is not the only company that gets on the green bandwagon; BMW and Mercedes-Benz each have several models in the works to challenge the market dominance of Tesla and Porsche.
Who is taking you home tonight?
Our daily drivers are more than what’s under the hood. While engineers work to maximize mileage and minimize environmental impact, others are passionate about improving safety and comfort for drivers and passengers alike.
Advanced driver aids were considered a luxury not so long ago, but now every vehicle produced in the States must meet certain requirements, such as being equipped with a backup camera. But most manufacturers go well beyond this, with features like blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, and lane assist that come standard on even the base model of many affordable nameplates.
However, automakers are always pushing the limits, which is why we see more new vehicles equipped with even more sophisticated devices such as large infotainment screens, color display screens, and even autonomous driving systems. In most places, this is still a very new technology that requires a lot of caution and testing. But as time goes on and we put more and more our reliance on computers than they seem to manage all aspects of our daily lives, it doesn’t seem so unlikely that we will soon allow them to plan our routes and even take us around town. . Fortunately, advancements in driver assistance features are as useful to an artificial driver as a real one, which is why the two seemingly disparate systems work hand in hand to provide a remarkably safe driving experience, at least in theory.
Commercial applications
However, not only commuter vehicles have begun to adopt this revolutionary technology en masse. Certainly, we couldn’t just replace the entire public transportation system, but it’s only natural that larger people carriers like buses and vans will start moving in the direction of alternative fuels as well. Gasoline-powered buses are true greenhouse gas factories, but we overlook it because they do less damage than if each passenger drove their own car. But that does not mean that there is no room for improvement.
Electric buses are perhaps even newer than personal cars, and only a few cities around the world have made a real effort to add them to their existing fleets. Most of these are in China believe it or not, and only a few can be seen on the roads of the US However, some states like California are taking the matter more seriously. By 2029, every new bus purchased by Golden State must produce zero carbon emissions.
Those in the freight industry are likely to take a similar approach. There are already several automakers entering the ground floor of what is sure to be a lucrative business. Daimler has a model that will go into production in 2021, the Freightliner eCascadia, while the Phoenix-based Nikola Motor Company is almost ready to launch the Nikola One and Nikola Two. Of course, Tesla does not plan to sit idly by and let others invade his territory. The Tesla Semi was originally scheduled to debut in 2017, but several delays have plagued the project. Still, it is likely to be the first electric freighter on our roads, with a launch planned for late 2020.
What to expect
New cars are released every day, and even more are planned for the next few years. Naturally, not all the information has been released for the latter, but here is a short list of some of the more exciting upcoming cars:
- BMW X8
- Mercedes-Benz EQS, EQE and EQC
- Mazda MX-30
- Aston Martin Valhalla
- GMC Hummer EV Pickup
Each of these vehicles will have at least one hybrid powertrain, like Aston Martin’s V6 biturbo engine that is rumored to make around 1,000 horsepower, or an all-electric setup like the Merc EQC, which relies on a pair of engines. to develop over 400 hp and 560 pound-feet of torque. This means that they will have much better mileage than their predecessors, but you can also expect a much higher starting MSRP than a gasoline-powered variant. The Mercedes is planned to go on sale for around $ 67,900, while the Aston Martin will cost it in the region of $ 1.3 million.
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