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OEMs Explore Options For Optimised Ride And Handling

When we speak of two-wheeler technologies these days, more often than not, discussions are focused around engine development, electronics and suspension. Chassis – that bunch of steel tubes and/or aluminium plates –tends to get ignored. These days, when new bikes are launched, OEMs’ press releases are often filled with details of how engineers extracted every last bit of horsepower from the engine, details of every conceivable electronic rider aid and details of adjustable/active suspension. The chassis? Not so much. And yet, a bike’s chassis,even though it remains hidden under bodywork and lets the engine be the centrepiece in terms of style, remains one of the most important components of a two-wheeler. Chassis design and construction defines the way in which a bike rides and handles, and over the last many decades, OEMs have continued to experiment with various types of construction, all of which have their own positives. Here, we take a look at some of the more recent developments in two-wheeler chassis design.

Goodyear | Investing In Future Technologies For Safe, Smart Commuting

Goodyear | Investing In Future Technologies For Safe, Smart Commuting

Delux Bearings | Bullish About Tapping Into Passenger Car Segment

Delux Bearings | Bullish About Tapping Into Passenger Car Segment

Bosch Limited Walking The Talk On Electromobility

On September 1, 2017, Peter Tyroller, Member, Board of Management, Bosch Group, responsible for Asia Pacific, projected electrification as a future growth area in India. The small-vehicle segments will drive the transition to mass electrification, as urban dwellers seek a simple and affordable alternative to conventional standards, he had said then. Five months since, the company has already taken significant steps in that direction.

Who Takes The Honours In The MPV Battle?

Maruti Suzuki launched the second generation Ertiga in India a few months back. Based on the fifth-generation HEARTECT platform, the new Ertiga is bigger, broader and lighter. Besides the new platform, Maruti Suzuki has also introduced the Ertiga with a new 1.5 l K-Series petrol engine. The motor now boasts of triple digit horse power figures and generates adequate torque. While the Ertiga comes packed with many features and stands tall for class-leading specifications, we bring it alongside the reliable and robust Honda BR-V to stack up the performance of the Ertiga on multiple fronts. In this comparison test, we pitch the Ertiga with the new 1.5 l, naturally aspirated, four cylinder petrol engine against the 1.5 l, naturally aspirated, four cylinder, i-VTEC petrol engine on the BR-V.

Honda Civic Makes A Comeback With Renewed Vigour

Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) is bringing back a car model to the country, which saw reasonable levels of success during its first run here. We’re talking about the 10th generation Civic sedan, which is being rolled out across the country this month. The Civic is Honda’s longest running automotive nameplate, and happens to be the largest-selling model from Honda at present, globally. Auto Tech Review was invited by HCIL to drive the new 10th generation Honda Civic sedan in and around Bangalore. We bring you all that you need to know about the company’s first launch of 2019.

Geared Up To Meet Emission, Powertrain Challenges

BorgWarner has increased its presence in India and South Asia, carrying out an expansion of its Kakkalur facility in Tamil Nadu.

Avishkar Hyperloop Developing First Fully Automated Self-propelled Hyperloop Pod

Avishkar Hyperloop, a student team of IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) Madras, is riding high after it made it to the finals of the 2019 SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition that will be held on July 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California, United States. What’s more, Avishkar Hyperloop is the only Asian team to make it to the final. SpaceX has been organising this competition since 2016 at its headquarters in Los Angeles aimed at encouraging student teams to develop their own versions of Hyperloop pods. The event attracts over 1,000 teams globally; out of which only three teams are allowed to test their pods in the track built by SpaceX.

Futuristic On The Outside & Technology-Centric Within

Toyota Kirloskar Motor, which introduced the Camry in India nearly 17 years ago, has carved out a cosy little spot for itself in the Indian market. Three model changes later, the company recently launched the fourth generation model of the Camry in India at 36.95 lakh (ex-showroom). The new Camry, despite bearing a steep price tag, is packed with several technological advancements in the powertrain as well as in the chassis design. Further, the new saloon now boasts of futuristic looks and voguish interiors. Auto Tech Review got up close with the new Camry on the streets of New Delhi and here is our take on it.

Additively Manufactured Lightweight Hood Hinge

Edag, voestalpine and simufact have developed the additively manufactured LightHinge+ engine hood hinge. The worthwhile result: as well as being half the weight of conventional designs, it also incorporates a pedestrian protection function. The component can be manufactured without tools, is optimised for warpage and requires only minimum post-processing.

Improving Performance Through The Use Of Driver-In-The-Loop Simulations

With practical, financial and legislative restrictions on real world testing, Driver-in-the-Loop (DIL) simulation has become one of the cornerstones of professional motorsport. It now plays a vital role in everything from concept design to driver training. Recent advances at Ansible Motion with this tool have made sports car development at Honda R&D Sakura more powerful.

Important To Build On Fame II Subsidies By Indigenising Electric Vehicle Components

Cleaner mobility is an absolute need, and there’s widespread acceptance that of all alternate fuel technologies available in the market, electric mobility is the most pragmatic solution.

“India Will Be The Most Diverse Business Model In The World”

In the market for over a decade now, Volkswagen India hasn’t exactly set sales charts afire. Last year, the VW Group launched an ‘India 2.0’ project to drive the next phase of growth in what it recognises as an extremely important market. Auto Tech Review recently spoke to Steffen Knapp, Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars to understand the company’s views on a variety of subjects. Clearly, the company’s commitment to India is unwavering.

Indo-Pacific Region: An Opportunity In The Making For Engineering R&D

Engineering simulation has evolved significantly over the last few decades.

Ashok Leyland's Legacy Plant Embraces Technology

For 70 years since it started operations, Ashok Leyland has remained one of the country’s leading players in the commercial vehicle (CV) industry, especially in the truck space, and boasts of a long-standing manufacturing history. Auto Tech Review visited the company’s mother plant in Ennore, Chennai, where operations began wayback in 1948. Auto Tech Review met up with KV Natarajan, Plant Head – Ennore, Ashok Leyland Ltd, to understand the various developments that have taken place at the company’s oldest plant as well as the trends in the commercial vehicle segment in India. Natarajan also provided information on the highly-customisable product portfolio, continuous modernisation of the facility, increased utilisation of automation technologies, sustainable methods of manufacturing and the preparedness for BS VI emission norms.

A Diesel-hybrid Solution is the Most Pragmatic for India as of Today

Notwithstanding the current challenges, Volvo Buses, pioneers of luxury bus transportation in the country, is preparing itself for the next stage of evolution and believes in the long-term potential the Indian market offers. We recently caught up with VRV Sriprasad, Managing Director – South Asia, Volvo Buses to discuss the road ahead for the company in India, and his dream of making the Indian operations a strategic hub for the Volvo Group.

Automatic Transmissions – AMT Takes on AT, CVT, DCT

The transmission is, of course, a critical part of a vehicle’s powertrain, since it transfers the engine’s power to the driven wheels. Automotive engineers aim to minimise power losses in the transmission, while maximising efficiency. An efficient transmission system can help improve fuel economy in a big way, while ensuring that most of the power produced by the engine actually gets to the wheels, thereby maximising acceleration and top speed.

Filters & Filtration Technologies – The Lifesavers!

In a country which is running parallel to big polluting nations hand in hand, knowledge is of utmost concern.

Coasting As A Real Driving Function

Depending on the driving profile and without the aid of additional advanced driver assistance systems, mild hybrid vehicles with electrification of 48 V do not require the internal combustion engine for propulsion for up to a quarter of the driving time. The engine can therefore be disengaged and stopped, which – depending on the operating strategy – reduces actual consumption by up to 8 % on average. According to developments at Continental, additional potential savings can be achieved by predictive Energy Management (pEM). An overall technology view is required for drivers to understand and accept the vehicle behaviour.

Developing Range Of Solutions For Mobility Megatrends

Electronics has been facilitating a range of new technologies across various industries, especially the automotive sector. The fundamental structure of electronics can be broken down to the microchip that acts as the brain for almost every kind of electronic system present. These microchips are made by semiconductor companies, which collaborate with manufacturers of electronic technologies across a wide spectrum of industries. One such company is Texas Instruments (TI), and this is their story.

Making Ink From Particulate Matter In Vehicle Emissions

Air pollution is one of the prime concerns for global warming and climate change around the world.

Emission Technologies Pull Factors

The stringent emission standards and the gradual shift towards hybrid and e-mobility have brought in a paradigm shift in emissions technologies.

“Customer Acceptance Of BS VI Diesel Engines Will Determine Its Future”

Jeep will soon be introducing its BS VI-compliant diesel engines for India, beginning with the Compass Trailhawk variant. On the sidelines of the Jeep Compass Trailhawk media drive, Auto Tech Review caught up with Kevin Flynn, President & Managing Director, FCA India, to understand its perspective on the future of diesel engines, emission compliance technology and the way forward for the Jeep brand in India.

Safety Assistance Systems To Lead Industry Into Autonomous Future

The future of mobility is being explained in different forms by manufacturers, consulting agencies and industry leaders, but they all revolve around the megatrends of connected, shared, electric and autonomous.

From Safety Assistance To Visionary, Safety-Enhancing Mobility Concepts

Personal mobility of the future will be based on a combination of different transport modes, with autonomous vehicles playing a key role. Continental is engaged in development work on all forms of automated driving with the aim of proposing, developing and ultimately also industrialising its solutions.

Future Of Automotive Transmission Technology – An Indian Perspective

The automotive technology space is awash with commentaries, speculations and observations on trends in automotive transmissions, as the automotive world is predicted to witness significant disruption.

Biogenous Ethers – Production, Operation In A Diesel Engine

Biofuels from lignocellulose can significantly contribute to the greenhouse gas emissions reduction of the trans port sector. Oxygenated fuels like Di-n-butyl ether and oxymethylene ethers are among the most promising alter natives for diesel engines. The suitability of these compounds is investigated in a research project conducted at the Institute for Powertrains and Automotive Technology at Vienna University of Technology and the Institute of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology at Graz University of Technology. The fuels show CO2 saving potential by up to 70 % and remarkable soot reduction properties.

Spicing Up The Sub-compact SUV Segment

Unlike some of the mid-to-high-end SUV segments, UV major Mahindra & Mahindra’s product introductions in the compact and sub-compact SUV segments haven’t had much of a bull run in the Indian market. The Quanto, introduced in 2012, failed to attract the desired market response, while its smallest product – the KUV100 – didn’t have too many admirers as well. The company needed to find a strategy to capture a sizeable chunk of this ever-growing segment, and turned to its subsidiary SsangYong Motor with the idea of bringing the highly successful Tivoli to India. Almost three months after its launch, the XUV300 – built on the Tivli X100 platform – has continued to excite customers with its strong credentials.

How City Sensors Contribute To Understanding Traffic Conditions

Everyone tends to get frustrated getting stuck in traffic. As the global population increases, the time people spend in traffic jams also increases. Cities that were once built for small population sizes are now made to plan anew to adjust for more traffic jams. To cite an example, in 1982, it was estimated that people living in the US spent around 18 hr per year sitting in congestion. In 2015, US residents spent around 42 hr per year.

India Is Well Placed To Take Advantage Of Decent Digital Literacy

Tata Motors’ ‘Turnaround 2.0’ programme has worked wonders for its commercial vehicle segment as it has delivered a robust sales performance on the back of a slew of new product launches across various segments. Auto Tech Review recently spoke to RT Wasan, Vice President, Sales & Marketing (Domestic Operations), Commercial Vehicle Business Unit, Tata Motors Ltd to know about how it is bracing up for the future.