Last week Google let rip with their version of a custom built self driving car. It basically looked like a cartoon car. Something you’d probably see in Who Framed Roger Rabbit or something like that.
There’s no doubt the Google driverless car is jammed full of tech. But it does look a bit stupid. If that’s the future of cars, we may as well all give up now.
At least the saving grace is that it’s not a production vehicle yet. And hopefully when it actually hits the roads by the end of the decade, it will look like something you want to sit in.
But although that might be the future of cars according to Google, they’re not the only ones with an idea of what we’ll all be getting around in over the coming two, three, five or 10 years.
Ford isn’t exactly renowned for their high tech cars. Instead, they’re known for reliable workhorses. For instance, Ford’s F-Series truck is the second highest selling model of all-time, only beaten by the Toyota Corolla. But they’re certainly trying to rectify that image.
On Tuesday Ford debuted a brand new concept car.
Ford’s take on the future of car making
It’s the Ford Lightweight Concept. The car is actually a Ford Fusion, which is a mid-sized car. In Australia it was to go on sale this year as the Ford Mondeo, but that’s now looking like maybe some time in 2015.
This new concept however isn’t a typical Fusion. As I said, it’s a lightweight concept. And that means Ford has managed to strip out 25% of its standard bodyweight. Now the Fusion weighs as much as a Ford Fiesta.
That’s like Wladimir Klitschko dropping weight to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. It’s unheard of. But Ford has managed to do it.
It’s a crucial, practical concept for the future of cars. And they’ve used some pretty cool automotive trickery to achieve this huge feat of engineering.
Ford group vice president of Global Product Development, Raj Nair said,
‘A focus on light-weighting will be fundamental to our industry for years to come, and we are investigating many advanced materials applications as possible solutions for weight reduction in our vehicles.’
A key to this huge weight saving is the materials used in production. These include, aluminium, magnesium and of course carbon fibre and carbon fibre composites.
Carbon fibre is in the seats, instrument panels, oil pan and even the wheels. Other parts like the windows use a polycarbonate plastic and the brake rotors are aluminium.
It even has a ‘hybrid chemically laminated windshield’ in other words, it basically has Gorilla Glass as a windscreen.
There is only one option left
Car makers have a real catch-22 on their hands. On one hand, consumers expect more tech and standard gadgetry in new cars. But all of this adds substantial weight.
On the other hand, car makers are now legislatively required to make their cars more fuel efficient and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
This creates an inherently difficult task for car makers. Their only option is to turn to new production techniques and new lightweight materials.
That’s why carbon fibre in particular is so vital to the future success of car makers. In fact, the very future of car making depends on carbon fibre.
Carbon fibre has a tensile strength upwards of 10 times more than steel yet reduces overall weight. It’s the perfect replacement material in the production process.
That’s why it features so heavily in Ford’s concept and other cars of the future like the BMW i3 and i8.
However we know carbon fibre is notoriously expensive to use in the manufacturing process. As Ford’s technical leader, Global Materials and Manufacturing Research, Matt Zaluzec, said, ‘Light-weighting doesn’t come for free.’
He’s right. And that’s why late last year I searched high and low for the perfect company for investors to get on board that will play a huge role in the future of car making.
This Aussie company still flies under the radar of most investors, but that’s because their real potential hasn’t yet been realised. They not only are pioneers in composite materials, but they have the technology that could completely change the way companies like Ford make cars.
Reducing the cost of manufacturing with carbon fibre is essential to the future of cars. With over 82.8 million cars sold last year, car makers have no option but to proceed down this path of lightweight manufacturing.
82.8 million! That’s 2.62 new cars, every second, last year. We all know pollution is a contributing factor to global warming. Only a fool would deny it’s a problem. And the biggest contributor to global air pollution is cars.
That’s why both China and the US (the world’s biggest car markets) are in the process of tightening their emission standards in the coming years.
So if a company like Ford wants to sell cars to China (who wouldn’t) they need to make cars lighter and greener.
This is just one step along the right path. Although we’ll all eventually have battery powered, self driving cars, that’s still a few years away. Car ownership in China will top 200 million by 2020, almost double what it is now. So car makers have to tackle this problem now, not later.
Ford’s foray into light-weighting is a step in the right direction. And companies like the Aussie tech pioneer we discovered will help in that process.
So while your next car might not be from Google (just yet) you can rest assured it’ll have more new tech than you realise. Beyond the tech you have at your fingertips, it’s the tech that sits beneath the surface that’s truly pioneering.
Regards,
Sam Volkering+
Editor, Tech Insider
PS: Carbon fibre isn’t the only ‘super material’ that’s set to have an impact on the car industry. Look out for a report in your inbox next week on an ‘unlikely’ material that could be just as important to the car industry in the years ahead.
For Sam’s latest updates, follow him on Twitter.
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