Summer 2003

The new Jaguar XJThe new Jaguar XJCalibrating the cat

The hydrogen debateWhich way will the world automotive industry go?

Global testingAnywhere in the world, the test cell is just a mouse-click away

InterviewsRick Wagoner, CEO, General Motors; Burkhard Göschel, BMW development director

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Summer 2003 3Ricardo Quarterly Review

contentsSummer 2003

NEWS

Industry update 4Jaguar is lead application for innovativeFord-PSA V6 diesel; new-car bugs are athing of the past; hybrid future looks rosy;Mazda rotary wins engine award; RicardoCEO salutes Jaguar and Aston Martin

News from Ricardo 23Diesel survey reveals potential in US; newtechniques reveal HCCI combustion secrets;i-MoGen wins BP fleet environmental prize;gasoline seminar shows future enginethinking

FEATURES

Calibrating the cat 8Jaguar’s advanced new XJ series – andhow Ricardo calibration expertise helpedbring one derivative to market smoothly andeffectively. Anthony Smith meets theJaguar and Ricardo teams

The hydrogen debate 12It’s billed as the most important fuel for ourfuture, yet important questions remainunanswered. Jesse Crosse looks at theissues and the potential solutions

Global Testing Environment 16Imagine an engineer in North Americataking full control of a test cell in Europe orJapan: Ricardo has developed just such asystem. Anthony Smith reports on theRicardo GTE protocol that’s the next bestthing to being in two places at once

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Rick Wagoner 6As chairman and CEO of General Motors,Wagoner sits behind the most importantdesk in the auto industry. Julian Rendellasks him about vehicle development,cost-saving, Fiat, Subaru, Saab and hisother responsibilities

Burkhard Göschel 20BMW’s head of development andpurchasing is in confident mood at the launch of the new 5-Series, says Tony Lewin

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Head office: Ricardo plc, Bridge Works,Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex BN43 5FG, United KingdomTel: +44 (0)1273 455611

Conceived and produced for Ricardo by TwoTone Media LtdEditor: Tony LewinContributors: Lucie Brown, Jeremy Burne, Jesse Crosse,

Julian Rendell, Anthony Smith

Ricardo contacts and locations: www.ricardo.com/contactsRQ subscriptions: www.ricardo.com/rqSales enquiries: busdev@ricardo.com

TwoTone Media Ltd contacts:Anthony Smith AVSmith@2tmedia.comTony Lewin tonylewin@2tmedia.com

4 INDUSTRY NEWS Summer 2003Ricardo Quarterly Review

● in brief

China acceleratesChina will overtake France tobecome the world’s fourth-largest carmaker this year,according to analysts at theState Statistical Bureauquoted by Reuters. The fast-growing nation will makearound 4m cars this year, andif it continues at the samerate it will overtake Germanyin 2005 and hit 10m by 2010,say analysts.

Lifecycle survey highlightstyre impactsA study conducted byMichelin has quantified therelative environmental impactof a tyre’s lifecycle stages as:raw material production,100;manufacture, 20; on thevehicle,1366; recycling,minus 80.

Auto insurer tests pay-as-you-driveNorwich Union, whichinsures one in five UKdrivers, has joined with IBMand cellphone operatorOrange to trial a systemwhich calculates insurancepremiums according to when,where and how often the caris used. Data on carmovements is collectedthrough the Orange network.

Bleak supplier prospects A survey by AlixPartners LLChas come to the disturbingconclusion that, thanks toovercapacity, price pressureand global competition, halfof today’s Tier 1 and 2suppliers will be out ofbusiness within a decade.

China IPR rules worry firms Under a proposed industrypolicy foreign companiesmay only be able to own upto 50 per cent of jointventures, according to areport in Automotive News.The new rules also call forChinese companies to betechnologically independent,which would force foreigncompanies to cede some oftheir intellectual property totheir domestic partners.

Jaguar makes dieselengine debutUK luxury car maker Jaguar, owned byFord, has finally joined themainstream premium car brandsin offering a diesel engine in itsmodels.

The new engine, a 2.7litre V6 developed as thethird phase of the dieselco-operation between theFord Motor Corporation andPSA Peugeot Citroën, will makeits debut in the Jaguar S-Typein spring 2004. Jaguar’s movemeans that Lexus will be theonly premium brand in Europewithout a diesel powerplant.Currently, upwards of 60 per centof premium sector cars sold inEurope are diesel powered.

Speaking at the launch of the engine at Jaguar’sWhitley engineering centre in Coventry, Fordpresident and chief operating officer Nick Scheeledescribed the move as a very significant event inJaguar’s product development history. The enginehas “outstanding power, torque, economy andemissions performance,” said Scheele, and “setsnew benchmarks in V-configuration diesel enginedesign.”

PSA CEO Jean-Martin Folz praised the co-operation between the two groups, adding that aftera preliminary period of joint consultation, Ford teamshad taken the lead in the three and a half year,£350m development programme.

Phil Lake, chief diesel engineer at Ford, noted that

the engine’s advanced construction, using acompacted graphite iron (CGI) block and

next-generation fuellingtechnology, allowed both lightweight – 202 kg – and poweroutputs of up to 207 hp. Thecombination of twinelectronically-controlledturbochargers, four valvesper cylinder, 1650 bar

injection pressure throughpiezo-electric injectorsdelivering up to five

injection pulses per strokegives the engine excellent

transient response, and class-leading power and torque (up to

440Nm), claimed Lake.Other notable features include full double

closed loop control of key fuelling systems, includingEGR and torque balancing between banks. “Enginecontrol was one of the most important andtechnically challenging chapters of the programme,”said Lake.

Compliance with Euro 4 emissions requirements isassured, added Lake, though the choice of exhaustaftertreatment systems had not yet been finalised.

The new 2.7 litre V6 is designed for bothtransverse and longitudinal installation and will bebuilt at a rate of 100,000 units a year at Ford’sDagenham diesel centre near London. After its firstappearance in the Jaguar S-Type it will be launched“within a matter of months” in Peugeot and Citroënproducts, said PSA CEO Folz.

Teething troubles with new carsmay now be a thing of the past:redesigned and updated modelsoften demonstrate high initialquality, sometimes better thanthe vehicles they are replacing,according to J.D. Power andAssociates.

In its 2003 Initial Quality Studyof vehicles at the 90-day point,J.D. Power concludes that intheir launch year new vehiclessuffer an average quality declineof just five problems per 100vehicles (PPV), which is morethan regained in the followingyear. Some makers – Mitsubishiis cited – can even substantially

improve product quality with thereplacement model.

Overall, Toyota/Lexus,Porsche, BMW and Honda/Acura emerge ahead of theindustry average of 133 PPV.

The study also found that inthe case of Japanese andGerman brands with UStransplant factories, quality fromthe home plants was generallymarginally better. GermanBMWs, Mercedes-Benzes andVWs were all better than theirUS-made counterparts, as wereHondas, Nissans, Mitsubishisand Toyotas produced in Japan.J.D. Power sounds a note of

caution in making any directcomparisons, however: in mostcases different vehicle types areproduced in each country.Nevertheless, Honda makes itsAccord and Civic in bothcountries, with Japan 25 PPVbetter, though Toyota’s Corollademonstrates identical qualityfrom both sources.

To no-one’s great surprise,Toyota makes a clean sweep ofthe manufacturing plant awards,with its Tahara, Motomachi andTsutsumi facilities ranked top,and its luxury Lexus brandemerging as the best qualitynameplate overall.

New model bugs – no big problem

Summer 2003 INDUSTRY NEWS 5Ricardo Quarterly Review

Two recent surveys paint an optimistic pictureof the future market for hybrid vehicles. InEurope, a report by Frost and Sullivanpredicts that by 2010 hybrid models willaccount for 450,000 sales annually, or 3 percent of the market.

Mild hybrids will make up the “lion’s share”of these sales, says Frost and Sullivan, withgasoline still the main combustion engine – atleast in the early years before 2005. High-volume production by companies such asPSA and Renault-Nissan will trigger a triplingof the hybrid share between 2010 and 2015to 8 -10 per cent. PSA will offer three levels ofhybridisation (mini, mild and full) while othermakes will concentrate on mild applications –with the exception of Toyota, which iscommitted to full hybrids. Volkswagen is saidto be seeking an economy improvement of 15per cent in its hybrid vehicles.

In the US, J.D. Power and Associates

expect hybrid sales to grow to 500,000 unitsby 2008, rising to take 5 per cent of themarket by 2013. The launch of hybrid editionsof the Ford Escape and Chevrolet Silveradoin 2004 will ensure that trucks soon accountfor one in four hybrid sales in North America.In 2002, when 32,000 hybrids found buyers,and this year, when 54,000 sales are forecast,Honda and Toyota cars split the hybrid marketbetween them.

Toyota’s second-generation Prius (above) isa larger and more powerful car than itspredecessor, and is being pitched in Europeagainst executive models in the D-segment. Itretains the original model’s gasoline engineand sophisticated power split system, but theelectric motor rises in power by 50 per cent to50kW to allow increased use and thereforegreater efficiency. Despite the car’s size, it isexpected to be the first model in Europe toundercut the 100g/km CO2 barrier.

Surveys show brightfuture for hybrids

Second-generation Toyota Prius hybrid moves up a size to challengeEuropean premium diesels

The born-again RENESISrotary engine from Mazda hascarried off the 2003International Engine of theYear award from EngineTechnology International mag-azine. The RENESIS, fitted tothe novel RX-8 four-door

coupé, beat the VolkswagenV10 TDI (itself the winner ofthe over four litres category)and BMW’s M3 (3.0 to 4.0 litrewinner) engine to the maga-zine’s top prize.

Winners in the other elevencategories included BMW

(which traditionally does wellin the jury’s voting) taking the1.4 to 1.8 litre award for thesupercharged 1.6 litre unit inthe MINI Cooper S, as well asthe 2.0 to 2.5 prize for its newstraight six, as fitted to the Z4,325i and 525i models.

Mazda rotary named International Engine of 2003

One of the hallmarks of the engineeringexpertise provided by Ricardo to the world’sleading vehicle manufacturers is thetechnology that we develop and apply totheir new model programmes. It is the veryessence of Ricardo and has been so sincethe pioneering work of our founder in theearly part of the last century.In many instances Ricardo innovations findapplication onboard the vehicle, improvingcharacteristics such as performance,emissions, refinement, or reducing itsproduction costs. In other cases, weprovide technology in the form of new tools,techniques and processes of productdevelopment, allowing new vehicles to bebrought to market faster, more efficientlyand with higher standards of optimisation.In this issue of RQ we examine two suchRicardo innovations: the advancedcalibration technology applied to the newJaguar XJ 3.5 litre V8, and the developmentof our state-of-the-art remote accesssystem for powertrain test facilities which isbeing used to great effect by Aston Martin.In each case I would like to express mygratitude to these long-standing partners ofRicardo for providing permission to bringthese interesting technology applications toa wider audience.

A message fromthe ChiefExecutive

6 RICK WAGONER Summer 2003Ricardo Quarterly Review

You have some pretty significantengineering ventures on-going with Fiat.How are these progressing?The purchasing and powertrain joint ventureswith Fiat are moving along fine. We arebasically getting our return on the $2.4bninvested in Fiat on the basis of savings on thetwo joint ventures. The whole deal rode onmaking the purchasing and powertrain dealswork. So that’s where Mike Burns and histeam in GM Europe are putting 80 per cent oftheir effort because that’s getting a return onour money. And they’re running a little aheadof plan in terms of the synergies for us. Anyother stuff would have been, to quote, “gravy.”

Will you go into more joint ventures withFiat?The current joint ventures are spread over anumber of years, but in these first four yearswe are running pretty well. But there are otherareas we could co-operate. There’s nothing toannounce now, but there are somepossibilities.

The project for a mid-size platform to beshared by Saab and Alfa/Lancia/Fiatappears to have been troublesome,passing back and forth between thecompanies. Would you agree?We’ve had a joint group developing that idea,but concluded it wasn’t going to work for usbecause of the volume and cost equation.But I don’t think Fiat reached the sameconclusion. So we really haven’t passed itback and forth. We joined together and wentto a certain point, which was the agreed-upon decision point, and we said we didn’twant to go forward, but they are free to do soif they wish.

What’s the next step for this so-called‘premium architecture’?It was really a collection of sub-systems andin some respects body architecture. Fiat haschosen to take some of those conceptsforward.

But isn’t a project like this meant to be thekey element in making a co-operationwork?It may surprise you to hear that sometimeswe do projects like that within GM and itdoesn’t work out! You have objectives for aplatform, put the technology together with theinvestment, but find the product won’t deliverthe volume. The difference is that it happensnot as visibly in public as that project.

Will you try more new model projects likethis?We’re already working on some other jointproducts and the betting is that one or moremight come out. But it’s harder to do productsthat are shared than it is components orpowertrains. So it’s not surprising that we’rehaving a lot of success with components andpowertrains. Product-wise we will get somegood leverage and sharing, but it’s not 100per cent surprising that it’s slower in coming.

Could one venture be to help Alfa Romeolaunch in the US?Yes, this is another case where, long-term,we think co-operation would make sense. Sowe’d be very pleased to help. Those kind ofdistribution co-operations are solid things tothink about. And I suspect you’ll see some ofthose, whether it’s Alfa in the US orsomething else. Time will tell.

What are the technical challenges to Alfa’sreturn?When Fiat changed managements recently,the decision was made to wait until they hadproducts developed with US sales in mind.What happened was a realisation that toadapt existing Alfa products for sale in theUS would probably be as expensive and astimely as just waiting and using that moneyto make sure the next generation could meetthe different standards we have in the US.That was their call. It’s no different to theway we take a US-only platform to sell inEurope.

Other GM executives have been quoted onthe company’s search for cost-savings.Can you explain what you’re looking for?We’ve not put out any numbers. We’re justtrying to take out every element of waste. Asan example, we took out 10-15 per cent fromour central office budget a couple of years agoand 10 per cent last year and another five toten per cent this year. And every time you pullyour belt-buckle in, people say you can’t do itanymore. And guess what? Most times youcan pull it in another notch. The proof is thattoday everything I need to get done is gettingdone.

What about materials and bought-in parts

Rick Wagoner has risen through the GM ranks to take fullcharge of the biggest automaker in the world. On a visit toEngland to celebrate Vauxhall’s centenary he took time out to speak to RQ’s Julian Rendell about engineeringdevelopment, platform synergies, Saab, Subaru, Cadillacand much more

Top man ‘Every time you pull your belt-buckle in, people sayyou can’t do it anymore...Most times you can pull itin another notch’

from suppliers? That must be a huge costbase for GM.The biggest single possibility, just because it’sour biggest cost, is material costs. But we won’tjust go for a simple across-the-board percentagecut. That’s not where we are today in ourevolution. I think we’ve been pretty aggressiveon material cost over the years, so a lot of theeffort is on engineering and purchasing workingtogether inside the company more tightly, likepicking strategic suppliers and getting morevalue out of the supply chain.

What about development costs on newmodels?A great opportunity for us is a higher

percentage re-use of parts for new models.GM changes more parts than some of ourcompetitors when we launch a new model. It’sa good intention, but sometimes it costs. Thebenchmark for carry-over is 50 per cent ofparts. For us it would be less than that, around40 per cent, maybe 45 per cent. We’d like toget it up to the benchmark. That sort of savingis pretty high return, because you free upengineering effort to work on other stuff.

Another significant GM engineering effortis the joint programme for Saab to developa small car on a Subaru platform. Is thisthe first of many similar ventures?I’m not sure we can draw a major trend yet.We have one product decision, which we thinkmakes a lot of sense. The small car fills a niceniche in Saab’s portfolio and it’s good for Fuji,because it gives them a chance to extend thebreadth of their platforms. But I wouldn’t wantto be drawn into any more expansiveconclusions at this point.

It must be a tough project to make work.Saab and Subaru are companies with verydifferent cultures.The two companies are in some ways similar— they both have aircraft heritage, theyparticipate in relatively niche segments, tendto be relatively highly priced in their segments,and both pursue strategies that are somewhatdifferent to their competitors in thekind of technologies they use.In that sense it’s not as far astretch as one might think.

Saab is struggling atthe moment. How willthe platform-sharingdeal with Subaru help?It’s consistent with the

directive we’ve given to Saab that if they are tobe successful, they need to extend theirproduct portfolio. They need to prudentlyleverage the opportunities within the GMfamily to do that on a relatively-sooner basis,so that’s clearly the sort of marching orderswe’ve given to Saab and I think they’re movingalong that path satisfactorily at the moment.

Saab has a desirable customer base withvery affluent customers. Surely Saab’smodel range needs a bigger luxury carbefore a cheaper, smaller car?I don’t rule out higher-priced vehicles. But Ithink Saab can work both sides. All of thepremium manufacturers are working prettyhard to expand their portfolios. They tend tobe expanding as much on the bottom as onthe top. In that sense Saab’s actions are notinconsistent with general philosophy.

How do you expect Cadillac to do inEurope?We absolutely have an infinite amount ofpatience on this because in the context of howvolume will come to Cadillac and having theright products, it’s going to be a long-termstrategy not a short-term one. MeanwhileCaddy sales are strong, so frankly we’re notsitting there with mounds of excess capacity.But we haven’t engineered a lot of theseproducts with right-hand drive and don’t havediesel engines, so that is going to limit theirsales for quite a while.

In these days of squeaky-clean corporategovernance, isn’t it strange for you to bechairman and CEO, with no president tobalance your decision-making?The most frequently asked question I get is:‘when are you going to name someone aspresident?’ The answer is: ‘if and when wewant to do it in the future’. We haven’thistorically run like this, but we’ve got two vicepresidents and the structure of four regionalpresidents. For now we don’t need that extralayer, maybe at some point it will make sense.But it seems to be running pretty good now.

– Julian Rendell is an auto industry writer

Rick Wagoner was elected chairman andchief executive officer of General Motorson May 1, 2003. Born in Wilmington,Delaware on February 9, 1953, hestarted his career at GM as an analyst inthe Treasurer’s Office at age 25. Roles infinance, strategic planning, purchasingand senior management in GMoperations in Canada, Brazil and Europeled to his election as president and chiefoperating officer in 1998. In June 2000he rose to be president and chiefexecutive officer.

Wagoner’s rise

Saab 9-2 will exploit aSubaru platform from withinGM family to give tactical US-market entry point to theSwedish brand

Summer 2003 RICK WAGONER 7Ricardo Quarterly Review

8 JAGUAR XJ Summer 2003Ricardo Quarterly Review

Since the launch of the first XJ-badged Jaguar in 1968,this range has been the flagship model for the luxurycar maker. The numbers speak for themselves – in the

intervening years the XJ badge has featured on more than800,000 cars sold, accounting for more than half of all theJaguars made.

The all new Jaguar XJ represents the seventh generationof Jaguar to carry the XJ badge. It is also the most advancedproduction Jaguar ever, both in the technology that itembodies and in the methods used in its design,development and production. At the same time, the companyhas been careful to ensure that the new XJ remains faithfulto the core strengths and values of the Jaguar marque: “Aluxury car with a true sense of gravitas,” in the words ofJaguar’s director of design, Ian Callum.

At the launch of the new XJ at the Paris motor show inSeptember 2002, perhaps the most immediately apparentinnovation was in the aluminium-intensive body structure,which the company highlighted in the form of a displayvehicle liveried in polished bare aluminium.

The benefits of this innovation are truly impressive – notonly is the kerb weight of the new XJ 200kg less than itspredecessor but its body is also 60 per cent stiffer, providingopportunities for improved performance and economy.

The approach to using aluminium is demonstrative ofJaguar’s results-focused strategy in implementing newtechnology. “We chose a lightweight aluminium vehiclearchitecture for the new XJ not because it was somethingnew, but because it enabled us to deliver real and significantbenefits to our customers”, said David Scholes, chiefprogramme engineer, at the launch of the new XJ.

This is just one example of the philosophy that Jaguar says

it has adopted with the new XJ of utilising intelligent, relevanttechnology while maintaining the traditional Jaguar values ofstyle and contemporary luxury. But this approach representsmore than just the technology embodied within the vehicle: itwas applied equally in the advanced methods used todevelop the new XJ range.

Jaguar is no stranger to working with Ricardo in a range oftechnology areas. With the development programme for thenew XJ, Jaguar turned to the company for support in thearea of engine management system calibration. Theimmediate need arose in part from the increased number ofpowertrain options to be offered on the XJ – while theadvanced, six-speed automatic transmission is installedacross the entire range, the new XJ is available with a totalof four different engines.

Engine rangeAt the premium end of the range, Jaguar’s reputation for largecapacity V8 engines – now very much a part of the company’sheritage – is continued in the new XJ with two 4.2 litre engines.The supercharged version delivers a massive 400hp andpowers the XJR, while the naturally aspirated version develops300hp. At the lower end of the range, Jaguar has introduced anew 3.0 litre V6, developing 240hp, in the XJ6.

In addition to these engines, the company has alsodeveloped a new 3.5 litre V8, producing 262hp, which isexclusively available on the XJ. It was for the development ofthe 3.5 litre V8 power unit that Jaguar turned to Ricardo forcalibration support.

But the collaboration with Ricardo was more than justabout achieving the objectives set for the calibration of thenew V8 for the European market. It was also intended as ameans of evaluating the Vehicle Calibration on Testbed(VCOT) technology developed by Ricardo. VCOT provides adevelopment template in which much of the field testingusually carried out on complete vehicles can be substitutedby advanced engine testbed work, using simulated vehiclesystems, vehicle drive cycles, climatic conditions and evendefined driver characteristics.

Speeding time to marketAs such, VCOT holds the potential to reduce the number oftest vehicles required for a development programme, allowcalibration of a wider number of variants from a given level ofresource, and provide for more repeatable testing. Crucially, italso offers the prospect of completing test work in a shortertimescale, with consequent advantages in time to market.

Calibrating the catNow in its seventh generation since its first launch in 1968, the all-new XJ rangedemonstrates Jaguar’s commitment to utilising advanced technology. Beneaththe surface, this commitment extends to development tools and techniques,including an interesting collaboration with Ricardo on calibration technology.Anthony Smith spoke to the Jaguar and Ricardo teams on the work carried outand the future benefits that it promises

Summer 2003 JAGUAR XJ 9Ricardo Quarterly Review

“We needed to deliver the 3.5-litre calibration in arelatively compressed timescale,” says Chris Holmes,Jaguar’s manager of powertrain calibration, “and we wantedto explore the range of calibration technologies available tous, from external companies. We decided that it would bea valuable exercise for us to use Ricardo who were goingto employ their advanced techniques in parallel with thevehicle-based work on the 3.5 litre V8 programme alongwith the Jaguar calibration team.”

At its core, the process of vehicle calibration involvespopulating the engine management and other powertraincontrol systems with the data required to achieve theemissions objectives and certification requirements for themarkets into which it will be sold. This not only extends toengine performance, fuel economy and emissions, but alsoto on-board diagnostics (OBD) and quality/robustness of

system performance for the lifetime of the vehicle.

Customer perspectiveFrom a customer perspective, however, of equal or perhapseven greater importance are the driveability and performancefeel of the vehicle resulting from its calibration. Used to besteffect, a successful calibration will not only achieve legislativerequirements but can also be crucial in imbuing the vehiclewith the driveability, performance and responsecharacteristics that the customer associates with theexperience of driving a vehicle of its brand.

A team of both Ricardo and Jaguar calibration anddevelopment engineers worked in partnership on the3.5 litre V8 XJ programme at Ricardo technical centresat Shoreham and Leamington as well as at Jaguar’sWhitely engineering centre.

10 JAGUAR XJ Summer 2003Ricardo Quarterly Review

Emissions Cycle Simulation using VCOT TechnologyRicardo installed the V8 engine on one of the highlyspecified transient testbeds of its Advanced EngineDevelopment Centre (AEDC) at Shoreham. The testbedtesting included traditional steady-state mapping forperformance, economy and emissions and vehicle cycle-based emissions calibration using advanced VCOTtechnology. The palletised test installation included acooling system representative of the vehicle, and a dSPACErapid prototyping vehicle and drive cycle simulation tool.

The VCOT approach improves test repeatability andproductivity by utilising a simulated driver and ensuring therapid cool-down capability of the advanced test cell. This

capability, which allows multipleemissions tests to be performed eachday, is key for rapid calibrationdevelopment programmes. Thepotentially much faster developmentcycle time allows more calibrationiterations to be performed withconfidence of small gains, allowing amore robust calibration to bedeveloped.

Cool-down between tests is typicallya major delaying factor when workingon cold start emissions developmentin-vehicle. However, within the VCOTequipped test cell, cooling-downperiods are dramatically reduced byusing automated cooling modulesintegrated into the enginecoolant and oilcircuits, and acatalystcooling systembased onnitrogen andcompressedair. Highlyrepeatable

and representative cold-start drivecycle tests were thus made possibleevery one to two hours, saving aconsiderable amount of valuable testand development time and reduced thenumber of prototype vehicles required forcalibration development.

Total cycle emissionsThe engine exhausts were connected to thetestbed Constant Volume Sampling (CVS)system to allow measurement of total cycleemissions for correlation with vehicle test results.

Hot weather testing under extremeconditions formed a valuable adjunctto test cell engine calibration

Left: rapid cool-down in the advanced test cells allows cold start tests to be performed every one to two hours.Previously, one a day was the norm. Right: Catalyst light-off correlation is excellent

Rapid cool-down of oil, coolant and catalyst system on testbed

Time

Oil

and

cool

ant

tem

pera

ture

Ca

taly

st t

empe

ratu

re

Tem

pera

ture

Oil Coolant Catalyst

Time

Average Vehicle Average Testbed Vehicle Speed

Correlation of catalyst light-off beween vehicle and testbed

Summer 2003 JAGUAR XJ 11Ricardo Quarterly Review

In addition to bag sampling, two Horiba emissions analyserswere used to continuously sample pre- and post-catalystemissions and provide a continuous estimation of emissionsover the drive cycle.

A CAN link was used to interface modelled transmission andvehicle system parameters with the engine managementsystem (engine torque, gear number, park/neutral and brakepedal signals). The vehicle drivetrain and gearbox weremodelled in real time, including essential transmission controlunit functions which affect drive-cycle behaviour (shift patterns,torque-converter lock-up and slip control, and transmissionwarm-up losses).

The testbed user interface was set up to allow turn-keyemission drive-cycles, road simulation tests (used for transientfuelling and air model calibration) and steady-state tests(power curves). As such, the VCOT based test cell providedthe means of physically testing the engine within a simulatedvehicle system. Moreover, the repeatability of the process oftesting is far greater than in-vehicle testing as there is lessvariability due to driver interpretation of the drive cycle.

It also offers the potential forsignificant increases in productivity as

the test facility may be operated round theclock, and rapid cool down enables more tests to be

undertaken for a given period of testing.In addition to providing an extremely useful development

resource to the programme, the VCOT work provided anexcellent correlation with vehicle tests over the emissions cycle(engine speed, pedal position, fuel and airflow, warm-up rate).

On-going research collaborationFollowing successful completion of the XJ calibrationprogramme, Jaguar continues to work with Ricardo in furtherdeveloping advanced techniques for testbed testing.

A research programme is currently underway in whichRicardo is working to further develop VCOT technology forapplication at extremely low temperatures. For this work, whichis being carried out at the Advanced Engine DevelopmentCentre at Shoreham, Jaguar is supplying engines, vehiclecomponents and engineering support. In exchange, thecompanies will each have access to the results of theprogramme and new technical methodology developed.

The new XJ is the seventh generation to wear the XJbadge; total XJ production since the first model wasintroduced in 1968 is now comfortably past 800,000 units– more than half of all Jaguars ever built.When the XJ6 was launched personally by Sir WilliamLyons on 26th September 1968 it was powered by achoice of either a 4.2-litre or 2.8-litre version of the XKstraight-six. The XJ6 name was chosen simply becausethe car had six cylinders.The 5.3-litre V12 was offered from July 1972; the XJ12was born with a top speed of 147mph (close to 250km/h)and soon captured the title of the fastest saloon inthe world.The revised Series 2 XJ range was introduced in 1973,featuring such innovations as side-impact intrusion beamsand fibre-optic lighting for the switchgear.From 1979, the Series 3 had even more elegantPininfarina-enhanced styling.The new generation XJ of 1986 was an instant success,and a second assembly line was opened in 1987. By1988, XJ production had increased to a record 41,000cars per year.At launch, the 1994 X300 was offered with a choice of3.2-litre or 4.0-litre six-cylinder engines and a 6.0-litreV12, plus a new supercharged version of the 4.0-litre, inthe XJR.In 1997 the six- and twelve-cylinder engines werediscontinued and replaced by the new AJ-V8 engine thathad made its debut the previous year in the XK8 sportscar.With the unveiling of an all-new aluminium XJ saloon atthe 2002 Paris Motor Show, Jaguar opened a newchapter in the story of the car that for many is thedefinitive Jaguar. The date – 26th September 2002 – was34 years to the day after the launch of the original XJ6.

The XJ heritage

1973

2002

Latest generation Jaguar V8powertrain (superchargedversion shown)

12 HYDROGEN Summer 2003Ricardo Quarterly Review

Love it or hate it, but in something under100 years a sizeable chunk of globalsociety has become completely

dependent on both the automobile and theinternal combustion which powers it.

As the world moves tentatively onwards inthe new century, it is becoming moreperplexed by the day about global warmingand the depletion of natural reserves. Withtransport at the very centre of the debate, thecore question is this: can the automotiveindustry make the leap into a new era, onethat is powered exclusively by environmentally-friendly hydrogen rather than ozone-hostilepetroleum?

Ten or fifteen years ago, the experts wouldhave scoffed at such an idea, wielding theHindenburg cliché with reckless enthusiasmand treating concepts for advanced propulsionsystems and renewable fuels with a good dealof scepticism. Now, however, things havechanged. Alternative fuels, global warming andrenewables have become familiar phrases inthe modern vocabulary, even if the conceptsof fuel cells and hybrid vehicles have yet tobecome quite so easily understood by theman in the street. But for two key figures at

Ricardo, both subjects have for some timebeen the subject of intensive study. NickOwen, senior manager in the technologygroup, and Marc Wiseman, product groupdirector for advanced propulsion systems,regularly address the burgeoning questions ofif, how and when a hydrogen infrastructuremay be evolved.

Fossil fuel reserves: still plentifulOwen is keen to set the record straight onfossil fuels before moving on to the potential ofalternative fuels and propulsion systems. “Ithink the kind of forecasts that suggest oil islikely to start running out in twenty to twenty-five years time have been widely discreditedby authoritative sources such as the USgeographical survey,” he says.

“A more realistic view is that between 2020and 2050 there will be a reduction in the useof oil as a fuel. It will become more attractiveto extract natural gas, of which there are stillvast reserves either beneath the ground orfrozen beneath the oceans.”

But despite the relative abundance of fossilfuels in the widest sense, concern is growingas to the effect developing nations will soon

have on the vehicle populationof the planet. What willhappen, for example, as theChinese economyimproves as

everyone is now forecasting it will – to becomethe world’s third or even second-largest vehicleproducer, and with as many as ten millionvehicles finding buyers each year by 2010?Some more bullish sources – Jae-Hun Hu atHyundai-Kia, for instance – even put theforecast at 20 million units a year.

Moreover, China is just one – albeit avery large one – among many nationseager to achieve the mobility andexpansion that come through theadoption of the passenger car asthe main means of personaltransport.

“The increase in the numberof cars in developing countrieswill be astronomical,” warnsRicardo’s Nick Owen, “and it isthere where the greatest concernfor fuel availability lies.”

With that in mind, andconsidering the scale of meetingglobal energy needs by means otherthan fossil fuels, Owen believes concertedaction is necessary now. “There is noimmediate concern for the industry since weare looking beyond the twenty year window.But it is vitally important that governments takeaction now if they are to avoid risking running

into trouble later. And that is whererationalising the interests of

industry and society becomescomplicated. Governments

It has been widely billed as the dream fuel – renewable, emission-free, efficient andCO2-neutral. But from production and distribution to storage and conversion intomotive power, hydrogen faces formidable technical obstacles before it can addressa mass market. Jesse Crosse, editor of Automotive Environment Analyst, outlinesthe most important debate facing the auto industry

Hydrogen: which way

GM Hy-Wire prototype hasfuel cell power and drive-by-wirecontrols. Its skateboard-like chassis(above) shows the packaging benefitsalready achieved. Cabin (left) can be right- or left-hand-drive: there are no pedals

Summer 2003 HYDROGEN 13Ricardo Quarterly Review

need to look beyond fifty years, but for industryto remain profitable it must concentrate onshorter timescales.”

Fuel cell vehicles have not only been in thenews during the last few years; they havesometimes become the subject of over-optimistic forecasting. It would be unwise,thinks Owen, to assume that some of theworthy research vehicles out there now willeventually become commonplace – at least inthe form we have seen them so far.

“I think we must consider the reasons whybusinesses are investing in fuel cells. Thesecars have some good technologies in them --technologies which may filter down to rathermore mundane short term technologyimprovements aimed at bridging the gap.Current concepts are not just about the fuelcell powertrains, they are about things like X-by-wire, electrification of the vehicle and

developing newpackaging concepts.

“I think it’s important to berealistic about forecasting when a

new technology is going to reachsignificant volume in the marketplace.

New technology generally reachesserious volumes much later than most peopleproject – sometimes fifteen or twenty yearslater. If you consider current life of vehicleplatforms, then something that is appearing onthe market for the first time today will probablystill be around in 2015,” predicts Owen.

Cost concerns will be centralIt’s an expensive business, too, as MarcWiseman points out. “Only the majormanufacturers can bear the cost - even thelikes of Ford and DaimlerChrysler chose tocombine their resources in their joint venturewith Ballard.

“Then what is the payback period?”wonders Wiseman. “Few OEMs we talk torealistically expect to have more than a few[fuel cell] cars on the road before 2010.Financial results show that fuel cell companiesare having a tough time. Because there’s nomarket for the fuel cell right now.”

The manufacturing cost offuel cell systems remains a

significant problem, thinks Wiseman. “Thecost of a conventional combustion engine isabout $50 per kW. The PEM fuel cell is about$1,000 to $3,000 per kW so a huge reductionin cost is required.”

GM chief executive Rick Wagoner hasquoted the cost of a fuel cell powertrain at$30,000, compared with less than $3,000 for acomplete gasoline driveline.

The stationary power market has less of aproblem, especially in justifying back-upsystems for large corporations with mission-critical computer systems, whose interruptioncould have a massive short term impact onrevenue. “I’ve seen a number of systems forpremium applications where suppliers maycharge $1000 per kW,” says Wiseman.

Premium power: a possible hydrogen keyIndeed, the larger banks are a classic example– imagine the impact on, say, Bank of Americacredit card transactions if there was a majorpower outage for even one hour. Suchorganisations are prepared to cover even themost remote chance of power failure and areprepared to pay premium prices to do so. It isthis so-called premium power market whichGM, for example, plans to exploit withstationary fuel cell systems. By deploying themin key areas, it hopes a hydrogen refuellinginfrastructure will eventually grow around themand one day support vehicles too.

will the world go?

14 HYDROGEN Summer 2003Ricardo Quarterly Review

As yet there is no infrastructure at all, but –ironically in Wiseman’s view – there may be agreater opportunity in developing regions likeAfrica or China. “There may be fewer pipelinesin place in those areas and therefore it mayprove easier to establish a new hydrogeninfrastructure than in developed regions.”

Clearly, the global adoption of a renewablefuel like hydrogen is likely to be a complexprocess. How will it be produced, transportedand stored on board vehicles and at points ofsale? What technologies will be needed to turnit into useful work and power? Will the fuel cellbecome the eventual powertrain solution asmany fuel cell developers would like us tobelieve, or will there be other alternatives too?

Hydrogen production: another key issueThere are a number of theories in the industryas to where hydrogen will come from. It isalready being produced for, and as a by-product of, industrial processes. Natural gas isa major source, but once the hydrogen hasbeen extracted from it, ozone-unfriendly CO2 isleft over. Energy companies plan to deal withthe problem by sequestration or carbonstorage, which involves pumping the CO2 backinto the underground reservoirs from which thenatural gas was originally extracted. It’s aprocess already adopted by BP in some of itsNorth Sea oil fields.

Huge volumes of hydrogen are alsoproduced and used by the chemical industry atlow cost, although only one per cent of allhydrogen manufactured today reaches theopen market. Methane produced fromfermenting biomass is a sustainable source ofhydrogen, and a few landfill operators arealready successfully manufacturing methanolfrom which hydrogen could be extracted.Three further methods also produce hydrogen:the electrolysis of water, chlorine electrolysis inthe chemical industry, and catalysis ofhydrocarbon fuels like methanol or gasoline.

“Initially we’ll probably be getting ourhydrogen from current sources then ship it inone form or another,” Wiseman explains. In theshort term we’ll probably see the use of

inefficient processes for producing it, likeelectrolysis of water using power from thenational grid. These ideas are not necessarilythe right ones to combat global warming butthey will support the initial wave of vehiclescoming onto the road in small numbers. TheHoly Grail that everyone is seeking is toproduce hydrogen from some sort ofrenewable source with no upstream CO2, butthat’s a long term thing.”

Regional energy solutionsAnother popular view is that hydrogen will becreated by a number of means suited toindividual geographical locations. Somecountries have lots of rivers, reservoirs and

dams, others have windycoastlines and some have anexisting investment in nuclearpower. All of these resourcesprovide the means to generateelectricity with which toelectrolyse water to producehydrogen, though without a CO2

burden. But a more subtlequestion remains, as NickOwen explains.

“Assuming we achievewidespread use of renewableenergy, then one of the bigquestions is whether or not wereally want to start by using itfor road transport where it willneed to pass through a number

of quite inefficient processes.” Hydrogen isreferred to as an energy carrier because ithas been manufactured using a primaryenergy source such as electricity. It then hasto be compressed or liquefied for storage andtransport, each stage consumingconsiderable amounts of energy. When it iseventually consumed by a car or truck, theefficiency gains from switching fuels aremarginal.

“In most scenarios where energy suppliesare replaced by renewables,” says Owen,“you get a better result by replacing grid-based supplies. That’s why its difficult for theautomotive industry to drive this thing forwardon its own, it’s something that has to be doneat an international and political level.”

Beyond the problem of hydrogenproduction, there’s also the question of howto store it for widespread consumer use –particularly on board a vehicle. Current,well-publicised prototypes fromDaimlerChrysler, GM, Ford, Toyota, Honda,Hyundai and others store their hydrogenfuel in liquid or compressed gaseous form.For hydrogen to exist in a liquid state, itmust be kept at –253oC in a vacuuminsulated tank. It is well-tried technologyproviding relatively high energy density, butsuffers from evaporation. Research by GMsuggests that for a vehicle in regular dailyuse the evaporation effect would beinsignificant. But for a vehicle used only atweekends, losses using current technology

‘Few OEMs wetalk to expect tohave more thana few fuel cellcars on theroad before2010’– MarcWiseman

BMW has always been a firm believer in hydrogen – but as a fuel for combustion engines,

Summer 2003 HYDROGEN 15Ricardo Quarterly Review

would be noticeable. Either scenario wouldin any case fail to impress the payingconsumer.

Gaseous storage in high pressure tanksmanufactured by Quantum Technologies andDynetek are the other option in use at themoment. Quantum was the first to achieveEuropean certification for its 350 bar(5,000psi) tank and received TUV certificationfor a 700 bar (10,000psi) tank last year. Atthat pressure, energy density again becomesattractive -- but still falls short of gasoline.There’s also the controversial and sometimesemotional aspect of storing gas at such highpressures on board vehicles, despite thespecialists’ assertions that the technology iscompletely safe.

Technologies to bridge the hydrogen gapThe other subject under discussion as astepping stone to using pure hydrogen, andone which fuel cell developers areinvestigating as a bridge while pure hydrogenremains sparse, is that of reforming readilyavailable fossil fuels to extract hydrogen.Gasoline is probably the favourite, butreforming it is fraught with problems. Thetechnology is complicated, processtemperatures are high and packaging isdifficult.

“It is also inefficient,” says Marc Wiseman,“and you need a fairly large downstream unitto clean up the hydrogen reformate before itcan be processed in a PEM fuel cell. Although

it is interesting to see thosevehicles on the road, I don’tthink reforming helps in thelong term.”

Other fuels are moresuitable for reforming thangasoline, includingmethanol, but would involvefurther infrastructuredevelopment and even morecomplication. “A lot of ideasare being forced on theenergy companies and evenfor them, resources arelimited,” suggests Wiseman.

Powertrains: jury still out As for powertrain technologies capable ofsupporting hydrogen, both men believe thejury is still well and truly out. Perhaps it is timefor a reality check thinks Owen. “I don’t thinkanyone knows whether fuel cells will be theeventual solution,” he remarks. They arecurrently a long way from being viable interms of manufacturing cost and robustnessin real world conditions. I think the industrywill move in the direction of evolutionary CO2

reduction. In Europe we’ve already seen howeffective diesels can be and I think we’ll seethat happening via a number of routes.

Hybridisation and electrification are one ofthose routes because they allow short termCO2 reduction in conjunction with downsizedinternal combustion engines. They allowelectricity to be supplied on board the vehicleto serve the occupants’ comfort needs, andenable X-by-wire technology, too.”

Hybrids also fit quite well on the pathway toa hydrogen economy. In a study entitled“Carbon to Hydrogen – roadmaps forpassenger cars” produced for the BritishDepartments for Transport and Trade andIndustry, Owen and his team identify a ‘lowcarbon route’ emphasising practicality and lowcommercial risk in six steps.

Starting with mild hybrids using belt drivestarter-alternators (already in production byToyota in Japan), the mass production hybridmay evolve into a mild hybrid with 42-voltelectrics and an integrated starter alternatordevice. Step three is similar to Ricardo’s own i-MoGen – a mild hybrid with a downsizedengine – while step four is a Toyota Prius-likefull hybrid but with a diesel engine. Step five isseen as a series hybrid in preparation for fuelcells and, finally, this could lead to a serieshybrid where the battery has been replacedby a fuel cell.

However, in the final step inefficiencies inthe storage and release of energy would beconsiderable. The other option is the so-calledhydrogen priority route, which assumes ahydrogen infrastructure will be forthcoming. Init, the mild hybrid acquires a hydrogen-fuelledICE (HICE), then steps to a version with adownsized HICE as the technology develops.

Later, the system benefits from the addition ofa fuel cell auxiliary power unit (APU) forpowering ancillaries and becomes a parallelhybrid – the APU becoming an auxiliarytraction power source. Finally, it ends up as afuel cell hybrid vehicle. Each step contributesto the next in terms of technical know-how,but also carries an incremental cost. “Thesethings will happen when the cost is justified bythe benefit,” explains Owen, “and thatdepends on the marketplace and howgovernment policies modulate thatmarketplace.”

Outlook: evolution, not revolutionTimescales are hard to pin down simplybecause neither the technologies nor thesubject of fuel type and availability areanywhere near mature enough to draw firmconclusions. “The only sure thing is that anypredictions people make now are likely to bewrong,” jokes Wiseman. But his take on thesubject of fuel cells is that progress will bemade on cost effectiveness and in deployingsmall numbers of vehicles by 2010, with thatnumber rising slowly by 2020. “But the nextroadblock to fuel cells selling in largenumbers is going to be the availability ofhydrogen at refuelling stations,” heconcludes.

Owen expects fuel cells to appear in nicheapplications – perhaps stationary power –and in some more unusual vehicleapplications such as underground miningvehicles or locomotives. He does not believethere will be a major technological revolutionat any stage, but that technology will graduallyevolve instead.

“Some of the political debate seems toignore the fact that we are working in anindustry that works that way. Evolution in thepurest sense of the word automatically takesyou towards the right answer. If you askwhether Ricardo has any particularphilosophy in support of hybrids or fuel cells,then I would say the important question iswhether we support revolution or evolution. Ithink the evidence that evolution will be theeventual winner is overwhelming.”

‘Between 2020and 2050 therewill be a reductionin the use of oil asa fuel. It willbecome moreattractive toextract naturalgas’– Nick Owen

not fuel cell systems

16 GLOBAL TESTING ENVIRONMENT Summer 2003Ricardo Quarterly Review

Powertrain testing– at the click of a mouse

The market pressures affectingpowertrain testing are becomingincreasingly intense. While quality

and accuracy are naturally the startingpoint for any testing activity, cost andtime constraints for the morestandardised and readily automatedforms of testing are ever morerestrictive, with conditions approachingthose of the spot market oftendetermining closing price and choice ofsupplier.

Yet at the same time the needs of themore complex forms of testing, wherethe number of parameters under control

and operating conditions simulatedincreases continually, are pushing upequipment and facility costs andincreasing the requirement for specialistengineering supervision andintervention. Nevertheless, according toRicardo director of test operations,Declan Allen, this is an environment inwhich opportunity abounds for thosewilling to innovate:

“Many of the challenges faced inpowertrain testing today arefundamental in nature and affect the in-house OEM teams and independentsuppliers in equal measure. In such aclimate, it pays to look critically at ourapproach to testing as innovations herecan provide significant advantages tocustomers.”

One such innovation developed byAllen’s team at Shoreham holds theprospect of changing the way in whichengine testing is carried out by theindustry as a whole. Termed the GlobalTest Environment (GTE), the system has

been proven internally within Ricardoand is already part of the serviceprovided to OEM customers.

“We are constantly looking for ways inwhich we can add value to the testingservice that we offer: to improve theeffectiveness of our business anddifferentiate ourselves from the market,”explains Allen. “In discussingopportunities with the Ricardo group IT

team we realised that some of the latestsecure networking and internettechnologies offered us some potentiallyvery attractive opportunities. We askedourselves, what if we developed aremote access system such that itprovided everything test anddevelopment engineers typically requirewhen visiting a powertrain test cell – theability to interrogate test parameters,alter test conditions, monitor results,investigate problems – and even listento the engine, take a look around thecell and examine individualcomponents? If we could do all this anduse a dedicated network link to connectthe engineers’ own PCs to the cell, theywould be able to use the test cell from alocation anywhere on earth aseffectively as they could from the officenext door.”

Ricardo had been used to developingremote testing technology for sometime. For example, remote access to theTask Data Manager (TDM) system hadbeen used to great effect for thepowertrain engineering team based atthe Ricardo Midlands Technical Centrein post-processing test data from thetest cells at the company’s engineeringcentre at Shoreham on the south coast,some 250km away away. In this case,however, the level of access requiredwas to the test cell itself and in real timerather than as a post-process operation.Development of GTE was anundertaking that would require morethan just the skills of his test operationsdepartments. “We needed to bringtogether a multi-disciplinary teamcomprising skills from the IT team inaddition to test engineers and end usersof our testing service in the productdevelopment departments.” explainsAllen. “In this way we were able todevelop GTE in a manner whichmaximises the advantages offered to usby the latest IT technologies, while atthe same time providing a safe, secureand operationally effective testengineering environment.”

Potential advantagesTo fully understand the benefits of GTEone first needs to understand the natureof test engineering today. Allen claims

By mixing advanced internet technologies, computernetworking and IT skills with state-of-the-art testengineering expertise, Ricardo has developed asystem that holds the potential to transform the futureof powertrain testing. Anthony Smith talks to theRicardo team responsible for developing the GlobalTest Environment (GTE) and to some of the system’sfirst external users

‘We are constantlylooking for ways in whichwe can add value to thetesting service that weoffer; to improve theeffectiveness of ourbusiness ’

– Declan Allen, Ricardo

Summer 2003 GLOBAL TESTING ENVIRONMENT 17Ricardo Quarterly Review

that the market for powertrain testingcan be broadly segmented into twodistinct niches – ‘standard’ P&E anddurability work, and more advancedtesting in support of calibration activityor research programmes. The moreadvanced forms of testing tend to be

carried out in very close collaborationwith the engineering teams. Not only dothey tend to require the more highlytransient cells and equipment such ashigh speed data acquisition, ECUcontrollers and combustion analysissystems, but they also require a

significant interaction with expert staffwhose time is very much in demand.

“On a major calibration programme,for example,” explains Allen, “there maybe relatively few engineers at Ricardo orthe customer who are able to analysethe full range of test results, interrogate

GTE operator (top) and GTE-enabled test cell can be in separate locations anywhere in the world, linked by securenetworks or the internet. Screenshots (above) show typical remote working environments and audio/video

18 GLOBAL TESTING ENVIRONMENT Summer 2003Ricardo Quarterly Review

the ECU and make modifications to thecalibration in response. Their timetends to be very heavily in demandand if they have to make a specialvisit the programme risks delay andthe cost of down-time of an advancedtest facility; additionally, theopportunity to improve the calibrationmay be missed.”

For the less technically demandingdurability and P&E testing, time andcost are major constraints – but muchof the testing is in itself automated.While customers for this category ofwork do not require regularengineering access to the cell, it is of

critical importance to investigate anyfailures or other potential sources ofdown-time as soon as they occur. Forout-sourced test work (including anyfor which Ricardo or its competitorsare responsible) investigation ofproblems identified in testing mayoften entail a long distance visit by theengineering staff in addition to the riskof programme delays.

But if GTE offers significant benefitsto individual test programmes, thepotential that it offers at a morestrategic level for the organisation oftest engineering operations by bothRicardo and its customers is even more

impressive. “Testing is becoming amore complex, specialised andsignificantly more capital-intensiveprocess than it was in previous years,”observes Allen. “There are realadvantages to be had in organisingtesting on the basis of a small numberof large centres of excellence ratherthan a larger number of less wellequipped facilities.” In particular hecites the significant sharing ofinvestment and overhead costs and theadvantage of test engineering teamsworking together in an atmosphere ofmutual learning and innovation. Forcustomers, too, the presence inRicardo of GTE-enabled test facilitiesmay be weighed against the cost of, forexample, the development of a newinternal test facility.

Testing the MarketHaving developed GTE, Ricardodemonstrated the system to a numberof long standing engine testcustomers. Very rapidly, some ofthese customers became externalusers of the technology. One of theearliest users of GTE was AstonMartin, where Mike Beake, leadcalibration engineer, recalls his initialreaction to the system. “My first andlasting impression of the GTEdemonstration performed at AstonMartin was what appeared to be atotally robust and reliable system.Within a few minutes of his arrival,the visiting Ricardo engineer wasable to configure one of our PCs andallow us access to the Ricardo testcell environment ready to view orassume full control”.

According to Beake, theadvantages of GTE recognised byAllen and his team are also very

‘As an engineer I canbe in two places at

once! I can view real-time testbed data,

diagnose problems oreven perform tests

directly via GTE’– Mike Beake,

Aston Martin

Summer 2003 GLOBAL TESTING ENVIRONMENT 19Ricardo Quarterly Review

applicable in an OEM environment.With testbed development workencompassing performance,emissions, economy as well ascalibration, ownership is often splitbetween the whole developmentteam, with many decisions requiringthe input of many disciplines. “GTEbrings everyone together into onenetworked environment regardless oftheir location”, he notes.

Following early implementation ofthe system, Beake and his team nowuse GTE as a part of theirengineering process. “This method ofapproach was crucial to usconsidering the complex technologyutilised on the Aston Martin V8Vantage engine, significantly reducingour test development time and costs.”As a member of a tightly-knitengineering team he also cites somevery tangible advantages. “I can be intwo places at once! I can view real-time testbed data, diagnose problemsor even perform tests directly via GTE.

Minutes later I can take the knowledgegained to a vehicle on a chassis dynoor test track”.

Further development The initial external users of GTE arerestricted to those customers whohave been undertaking testbedprogrammes with Ricardo. For theseOEMs, selected GTE-enabled cellsare reassigned from the Ricardointernal network for the duration of thetest programme, and the test facilityoperates as a part of the customer’sown computer network via a localsecure hub.

For the next stage of GTEdevelopment some of the very latestand most advanced secure internettechnologies are being applied toallow a comprehensive access controlprotocol, data encryption and internalsecurity between customers. This is amajor undertaking which will enablean internet-based implementation ofGTE, thus greatly increasing the

range of customers who are able tobenefit from the flexibility andefficiency that the system can offer.In terms of the scope of application,the joint IT and test engineering teamare also examining the extension ofGT to application in transmission andvehicle test facilities as well as otheraspects of the business.

But Allen envisages developmentgoing much further than this. “Wehave shown how effective GTEtechnology is in opening up our owntest cells to remote use both withinRicardo and amongst our OEMcustomers. The operational benefitsthat we derive from this are likely tobe equally as attractive if applied tothe test facilities operated by ourOEM customers. For this reason wewill be examining how we candevelop GTE in the form of astandard package of software,equipment and support that can beimplemented at our customers’ owntest facilities.”

Key benefits ofGTE Reduced developmentlead times: shared andimmediate access to testfacilities regardless oflocation

More efficientutilisation of existingtest facilities: the mostappropriate facilities foreach programme can beglobally accessible in realtime

Rapid installation:installation of webbrowser based tool setprovides remote accessto test cells, which canbe GTE enabled with asimple upgrade

Safe and secure:comprehensive accesscontrol protocol, dataencryption and internalsecurity betweencustomers

Optimise future capitalinvestments: potentialfor fewer and bigger,globally accessiblecentres of excellence

Global Testing Environment: how it operates

20 BURKHARD GÖSCHEL Summer 2003

BMW’s first-quarter results were muchbetter than expected, and your shareprice has risen strongly. Does thismean you’re doing all the right things?Yes, we’re on the right course – in myopinion and that of the board. We have alot of new products coming on this year.We started with the facelift of the 3-Series, and now we’re launching the new5-Series. We’re bringing the X3 and the6-Series cars shortly, and in January were-launched Rolls Royce. So it’s a bigyear – but we are continuing next year,we’re changing quite a lot. We have a lotof positive perspective, even with the[current] economic situation.

You listed the number of modelslaunched this year and an equalnumber next year. How do you actuallycope with developing so manyvehicles at once? Have you improvedyour speed of development and timeto market, or do you resort to outsideengineering?There are different ways to improvespeed of development. We use thehighest technology in development –systems we call virtual car. Starting withthe X5, we had 100 per cent of the cardigitized: we were able to show the totalassembly [process] of the car in ourcomputer rooms.

So not only in the assembly but in thedesign of the vehicle too?Yes. Design is now a totally virtual

operation and we are starting the secondstep, which means Catia v5. We are thefirst in the market [with this] with Dassault:in the design operation, if you changesomething, the computer itself changesthe whole of the rest of the vehicleaccordingly. We are ahead on thistechnology – far ahead.

Are you co-developing this withDassault or is it an off the shelfproduct?It is a co-operation with Dassault andIBM and we are the leader in all sorts ofdevelopments — but we have tointegrate our supply base because oursuppliers need to follow all [our] systemsand technologies.

What is your time to market now for aproduct like the 5-Series?That’s not only one number because wehave a very different method of makingcar families. [We] design all variants firstand then define what are common partsand not common parts, which are

common processes and whichprocesses are not common. If this canbe defined beforehand you can be veryfast afterwards: for one vehicle line it isthen no more than 30 months.

How much do you get involved withother outside suppliers? Do you co-develop things like you did with ZFon the active steering system?We have quite a wide group ofsuppliers: one is ZF. By turnover it’s ourbiggest because we also take automaticand manual gearboxes, as well assteering systems.

In some areas like the US ZF alsodoes the assembly of chassis systems– so it is a very strong co-operation withthem, but we can say that most of theideas come from BMW Group. They aredeveloped in collaboration becausethose ideas have to be manufactured.

Every year or twice a year we havebig development programme sessionswith the largest suppliers: my colleaguesat Bosch or ZF and I meet to determinewhat the programmes are for the futureand to realise the technology that willput BMW Group in the position that willallow it to be the first in the market.

Do you then have an exclusivityperiod? With the steering I think youhave two years when it is only BMWand then you licence out thehardware, but not the software?Not the software – ever.

Are we seeing an increasingimportance of software?Totally. There will be a big increase insoftware. It will change technology notonly in development but also inproduction and in the service areasbecause nearly every component has amicrochip [in it] and has an increasedintelligence and capability.Those capabilities or the micro-controllers can be interconnected, so

Series strategistAs BMW board member responsible for development andpurchasing, Dr Burkhard Göschel is bringing no fewer than six new model programmes to production this year, with almostas many set for 2004. At the launch of the ambitious new 5-series in May, Tony Lewin asked him about BMW’s boldexpansion strategy

New 5-Series: advanced specification includes Active Steering

Summer 2003 BURKHARD GÖSCHEL 21Ricardo Quarterly Review

you can connect [for instance] anActive Steering with a Dynamic Drivesystem.

There are new options for thinkingabout how to improve the wholesystem – what is the optimum for thewhole system – not just adding onesystem to another one but to createnew functions.

This reaches into all areas of thecar. Ultimately you need a realsoftware structure for cars and we atBMW Group are strongly promotingstructurised software in cars and newnorms or basics for car softwarestructure.

There is one programme that isrunning in the car industry and is beingpushed by BMW Group in particular:we have strong links withDaimlerChrysler and Volkswagen-Audiand our biggest suppliers to bringFlexRay as the basic softwarestructure into cars.

But there are various competingstandards aren’t there?Yes, but we are pushing FlexRay andthe German car industry is steppinginto FlexRay. I believe the Americancar industry will go there too, and Ialso think we can convince one of ourpartners in Japan to go this way.

Does this mean we will get softwareupdates for vehicles like you do withcomputers?They already exist for the 7-Series; thefirst step was when we sold navigationsystem software updates at our dealersfor the outgoing 5-Series.

Could you envisage different softwareversions where you could actually havea vehicle with different characteristics,because you could actually change alot of powertrain functions, handling,or the way the vehicle feels to thedriver?I don’t know if that is the right way. We asBMW Group should know how our BMWsshould work. You cannot go to a customerand ask ‘what kind of BMW do you wantto have?’ – that’s not possible because thefunctionality of a car is so complex and sodifficult. A BMW has a special characterand needs to have it.

You can already choose sportssuspension, manual or automatictransmission when you buy the car.But could you change that just withsoftware later on – is that technicallypossible?Yes, that is technically possible, and forthe 7- and 5-Series you can flash all yourcontrollers and change the software that

way. But what we as BMW do is tochange the software during thedevelopment or the life cycle of the carto improve its capabilities as a BMW.

So you have to be aware of thebrand values then.Yes, because how a car will behave inthe future will very much depend onsoftware. But we know how a BMWhas to work. Every feature will matchthe characteristics of the respectivebrand.

Does that fundamentally depend onhardware rather than software?You need hardware to realise thefunctionality because you need asteering column or you need a steeringsystem or a wishbone or whatever. Butin future we may see more and moreelectrical functionality integrated – andwe may even have X-by-wire systems.

How do X-by-wire systems fit in withBMW brand values?Totally – really. A brake-by-wire systemis the right way to go because you canrealise much more functionality. ActiveSteering is a step to steer-by-wirebecause you have greater capability ina steering system done electrically andby software. Ultimately, you would no

22 BURKHARD GÖSCHEL Summer 2003Ricardo Quarterly Review

longer have a mechanical connectionand you could benefit from much morefunctionality.

The electronic content in vehicleshas risen to a quarter or more of thevalue of the vehicle – what is it in thiscar?In this new 5-Series it is especially high– up to 30 per cent, something like that,and [as a trend] it is stronglyincreasing.

How do you put a value onthe software, because it isvery much intellectual property?The value of software is an interestingquestion. The capabilities of the staff atBMW have to change in future. You needmore than just engineers who know how asteering system or suspension systemoperates: you need also some guys whoknow how to transfer it into a softwaresolution and how to integrate – and that’sthe most important point – how to integrateit to the total functionality of a car.

How is the rise in the euro relative tothe dollar affecting your business?There isn’t a big effect because we havehedged against fluctuations in the maincurrencies for up to three years. And mostimportantly, we’re producing cars in thedollar area, of which a large portion isbeing exported to the euro zone.

But you build many more in Germany?Yes, but the production of cars in the USthis year will exceed last year’s. Youshould not forget that we are producingmore than 100,000 X5s there, and wehave started production of the Z4. Wehave significant volumes there.

What about Britain and the euro andPound Sterling – how does that affectMINI business?Again, natural hedging takes away thebigger part of risk from exchange rateexposure. Not only is the UK the mostimportant market for MINI, but also weexport MINI vehicles to the other marketswhilst bringing BMW vehicles to the UK.Also we were able to modify our supplybase for MINI.

So that is reasonably stable now – you

don’thave tocheck the[exchange] rate toomuch?No we don’t change anything:we now have our supply based fixed.We are increasing volumes to supply themarket and MINIs are a very bigsurprise for us. We never expected thisvehicle would get such volumes – it wasan especially big surprise in the US.

Is the second pass through the paintshop for the white roof still one ofthe bottlenecks?Yes it is. We improved quite a lot withthe white roof because the white roof isnecessary for MINI! Maybe for futuregenerations we will have a technicalsolution which doesn’t rely only on paint.

You are using a Toyota diesel engineon the MINI. What diesel engine isgoing in the 1-Series?We are using the Toyota engine only forpackaging reasons: the MINI has veryspecial packaging [requirements] in theengine compartment. The Toyota engineis a good engine, and with somemodifications it fits not only the enginecompartment but also the characteristicsof the MINI. We won’t use it in a BMW:you will only get BMW engines in aBMW. That is very clear.

What is your position on hybrids andalternative fuels? Is it still BMW’sbelief that hydrogen will power pistonengines and not fuel cell vehicles?It is still company policy. We are usingcombustion engines to run on hydrogen,and we made a big step forward —which I will show at the symposium inVienna . We have made particularprogress in burning hydrogen incombustion engines at Lambda=1,which has not been possible in the past.We’re getting very, very high poweroutput, we are using direct injection andall those things, includingsupercharging.

Like the Ford Model U?There’s a lot of potential. The question

is not the engine, for you aregetting very high power density in

the combustion engine – muchmore than in the fuel cell. The

limiting factor is the storage ofhydrogen in the car – thatis much more difficult.

Do you have apartner you are

working with inhydrogen storage?Yes, we have partners:

one is Linde. And wehave now signed a co-

operation with GM.

Are hybrid vehicles an area thatwould interest BMW?Combustion engines have a lot ofpotential for improvement — and if youlook at the improvement which wereached, for example, with dieselengines, [this is] in our opinion a muchbetter concept. You will also see quite alot of improvement in future withgasoline engines: gasoline engines areon track to reach fuel consumptiontargets which are currently set for orreached by diesel engines.

So are you saying that you are notgoing to bother with hybrids?No, it’s just that hybrids are very complexand very expensive and we have a lot oftechnology, especially on combustionengines, which will help.

So you can achieve equivalent fueleconomy improvements withoutusing hybrid technology?Yes, I would say so.

What about diesel engines – will theyever appear in the US?That is an interesting question. Itdepends on emissions, especially onNOx emissions. US regulations arechanging, and SUVs will have to reachthe lower passenger car emissionslevels after 2006. The most seriousproblem for the diesel engine is NOx.We could provide diesel cars to meetexisting US regulations, but we have tolook to the future. But if there is nointeraction [with the regulators] and notrade-off between CO2 and NOx, then itwill become difficult.

So you haven’t got fixes in thepipeline that might make it OK?We could do it now but it doesn’t makesense if there is not a long-term aspectpossible.

‘How a car will behave inthe future will very muchdepend on software. Butwe know how a BMWhas to work’

In a report recently published byRicardo*, comparative data shows thata small but significant diesel passenger

car market is starting to emerge in NorthAmerica – this is in addition to the alreadyestablished market for diesel SUVs.

“Only a few years ago it would havebeen unthinkable to be discussing thepotential development of diesel car marketsin the USA,” says Ricardo’s director ofdiesel engineering, Ian Penny. “However,the technology has moved so fast inEurope that there is rapidly growinginterest in new diesel applications inAmerica.”

Diesel penetration of the USA passengercar market (excluding pick-ups) rose to apeak of six per cent in 1981, compared toa European

figure that was at that time still only ten percent. Sales dipped as fuel prices werereduced following the second oil crisis:American motorists became less interestedin fuel economy and rather moreconcerned about the perceived noise,smoke and poor performance of early1980s diesels.

However, dramatic advances in dieselengine technology mean that newcompression ignition powerplants now offer

an interesting alternative for USSUVs and light trucks, where high

torque is a key requirement.Today, the driving force for the

diesel market in the US willbe the driveability

benefits of hightorque dieselengines coupled

with 30 to 50 percent better fuel

economy, andperhaps moreimportantly toAmericanconsumers, a thirdfewer tank refills.

Elsewhere, in theWestern Europeancar market, earlierpredictions fromprevious Ricardoreports that dieselpenetration wouldeventually exceed50 per cent seem

almost certain to be correct. In 2002, twoof the major European manufacturers, VWAudi Group and DaimlerChrysler, for thefirst time sold more diesel than gasolinepowered cars. Overall, diesel penetrationhas reached 41 per cent, up from 28 percent four years ago, and remains on acontinuing upward trend and gaining anaverage three percentage points ofpenetration each year. Over the pastdecade the diesel car market has tripled insize. The report concludes that the reasonsbehind the explosive expansion of theEuropean diesel markets are generally todo with rapid advances in technology ratherthan simple fuel economy benefits.

Saving moneyThe savings in running cost enjoyed bydiesel motorists have always existed buthave never before attracted buyers in suchnumbers. Diesel cars are now availablewith power outputs up to 180kW (240hp)and levels of low-speed torque that werepreviously unimaginable. Performancematches that of equivalent gasolinepowered vehicles, with similar levels ofrefinement.

*Diesel passenger car and lightcommercial vehicle markets in WesternEurope report is available in electronicformat.

Further details from RolandChristopher, at infoservices@ricardo.com.

Dieselset togrow inUS

Ricardo news

Jeep Liberty: US pioneer with advanced European dieselengine from Mercedes-Benz

Summer 2003 RICARDO NEWS 23Ricardo Quarterly Review

24 RICARDO NEWS Summer 2003 Ricardo Quarterly Review

CFD simulation provides ne

CFD-calculated distribution (at 200o) of velocity, fuel-mass fraction, temperature, combustion products and NOxacross valve centre plane for operation at 2753 rev/min and 2.61 bar IMEP.

The Ricardo i-MoGen mild hybrid vehicledemonstrator has been recognised for

‘innovative excellence’ at the BP GreenFleet Awards. The advanced technologydemonstrator was commended for its70mpg fuel economy, low emissions and‘no compromise’ vehicle performance.

Ricardo was one of five recipients toreceive an inaugural certificate ofinnovative excellence, a brand-new BPGreen Fleet award that acknowledgesoutstanding environmental solutions for theautomotive fleet industry.

According to Ralph Scrivens, editor andpublisher of Green Fleet magazine, thejudges were particularly impressed by thecost effective nature of the package, giventhe technological advancements at theheart of the venture with Valeo, Ricardo’stechnical and strategic partner in theproject.

“The overall i-MoGen package representsa technological breakthrough in hybrid

powertrain development combining excellentfuel economy and exceptionally lowemissions,” said Mr Scrivens. “Tosuccessfully demonstrate the concept inEurope’s popular C-class segment withoutin any way compromising the driveabilityand performance of this class of vehicle isan outstanding achievement.

“What particularly appealed to the judgingpanel was that the manufacturing cost is not

prohibitive to mass production,” he added.“Given the technology involved, this isnothing short of remarkable.”

The Green Fleet innovation excellenceaward was presented by John Mumford,MBE, director of BP Oil UK, and RalphScrivens, editor and publisher of GreenFleet magazine, and was received on behalfof Ricardo by i-MoGen programmemanager, Steve Streater.

BP Award for i-MoGen

Summer 2003 RICARDO NEWS 25Ricardo Quarterly Review

Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition(HCCI) combustion is currently the focus of

considerable interest amongst gasoline engineresearch teams worldwide. Based on thecompression ignition of a pre-mixed charge of fuel,air and residual exhaust gas products, HCCI offerspotential benefits in terms of improved fuel economyand reduced NOx and soot, primarily due to its lowtemperature of combustion.

However, there are some significant challenges tothe practical operation of engines in HCCI mode andthe ability to simulate accurately the combustionprocesses would be a major advantage in developingthis technology to application readiness.

At the JSAE/SAE Spring Fuels and Lubricantsmeeting held on May 19-22 in Yokohama, Japan, ateam from Ricardo Software published details ofresearch work which has led to the development of apractical method of CFD simulation of HCCIcombustion systems.

The team of software engineers used the VECTISCFD package to model an engine which was testedin two stroke HCCI mode as a part of the Ricardogasoline HCCI research project. In order toadequately capture the processes of scavenging,compression, combustion and exhaust, twofundamental advances were made in the simulationmethod applied.

Multi-domain analysisFirstly the analysis was carried out in the form of amulti-domain, multi-cycle simulation. In this way thecomplete intake and exhaust port structure was

modelled and, in addition to solving the CFD equationsystem in the cylinder, the calculation continuedsimultaneously within the intake and exhaust portseven while the valves were closed. The analysis wasalso run over a number of cycles until a cyclicallyconverged solution was obtained, thereby eliminatingall effects of the initial conditions and accuratelypredicting the amount and distribution of residual gasin the cylinder – a key aspect of HCCI operation.Secondly, a new version of the Ricardo Two-ZoneFlamelet (RTZF) combustion model was used whichhas been developed and validated for HCCIcombustion to provide a unified approach forcombustion modelling in HCCI, diesel and gasolineengines.

EffectivenessThe results presented by Dr Richard Johns at theJSAE meeting demonstrated the effectiveness of theVECTIS CFD code in accurately simulating HCCIcombustion.

For all operating conditions simulated, the ignitionpoint was captured correctly and the cylinderpressure traces agreed closely with the results fromthe test engine – no tuning of the ignition orcombustion model was necessary between cases. Inaddition to this, the results provided some usefulinsights into the processes of HCCI combustion, suchas the level and nature of charge homogeneity –which is crucial for successful operation in this mode.

The simulation approach will thus be highly usefulfor all VECTIS users in further developing HCCI andother advanced combustion systems.

ew insights into HCCI

In the latest of itssuccessful series of

technical seminars,Ricardo hasannounced a one-dayevent aimed at helpingindustry andstakeholdersunderstand theimplications of futurelegislation onparticulatemeasurement. Ricardospecialists in enginetesting, chemicalanalysis and particlesizing will give acomprehensive viewon current key issues.

The seminar willcover topics including:obtaining quality testdata; the implicationsof US 2007requirements;particulate chemistry;analytical techniques;measurement of verylow mass; Ricardoexperience in particlesizing; instrumentation;sampling; prospects fortype approval testing;status of discussionsin Europe.

The event will takeplace in October 2003at the RicardoShoreham location; thecost is £500.

Further information willbe published on www.ricardo.com indue course. In themeantime, if you wouldlike to be added to themailing list to receivedetails as soon as theyare released, pleaseemail your contactdetails to seminarinfo@ricardo.com.

Ricardoannounces seminar on particulates

26 RICARDO NEWS Summer 2003Ricardo Quarterly Review

It is now five years since the 1998commitment made by European OEM

body (ACEA) that the new car fleetaverage CO2 emissions of itsmembers’ products should reduce to140g/km by 2008. Significantreductions have already beenachieved, with ACEA figures for 2001showing that the fleet average isalready down to 164g/km.

However, much of this progress hasbeen directly attributable to thesignificant rise in diesel market sharewithin Europe at the expense ofgasoline powered vehicles. There is apractical ceiling to this trend in terms ofthe diesel-gasoline volume split thatcan be handled by the refiners. Lookingahead to 2008 therefore, it seems clearthat the gasoline powertrain must playa significant role if the ACEA CO2 emissiontarget is to be met. Perhaps notunsurprisingly, research and development inthis area is a significant focus for EuropeanOEMs and the subject of intensetechnological debate.

It was timely therefore that Ricardohosted the seminar “Future GasolineTechnologies for Low CO2” at Shoreham onMay 8. The topicality of the seminar wasreflected in a full and diverse delegate list,including representatives from the OEM andTier 1 powertrain sectors, fuels andlubricants companies, industry bodies andtechnology sector analysts.

The seminar commenced with apresentation of the Ricardo vision of thefuture development of gasoline powertrains.While the seminar was deliberately focusedon a European perspective, it wassuggested that current global marketdifferences would tend to diminish over

time, if not disappear altogether. Europewas predicted as emulating the risingpenetration of lifestyle-focused vehicleproducts seen in the US market. Converselywhile CO2 is clearly a major issue inEurope, State initiatives in California as wellas in Canada are likely to increase pressurefor similar efforts throughout North Americaover time. The current very small dieselmarket penetration may provide a means ofdelivering CO2 reductions in this region.Within Europe, the next steps for the furtherreduction of CO2 were considered to be theincreased application of hybridisation andthe development of advanced gasolineengine concepts.

The subsequent sessions of the seminarwere devoted to specific aspects ofgasoline technology for low CO2, includingdownsizing and Variable Valve Actuation(VVA). In particular, the potential synergiesof VVA systems applied in conjunction with

other combustion technologies such asHCCI and 2/4 stroke switching werehighlighted. The third session wasdedicated solely to HCCI combustion,covering its fundamental characteristics,engine application considerations and aroadmap for possible implementation. In thefinal session of the seminar, the content ofeach of the preceding sessions was drawntogether in an analysis of the cost-effectiveness of technology roll-out. Arange of different potential strategies weredescribed and their attractiveness to OEMsoperating in different geographical marketsand niches was discussed.

Throughout the seminar, delegates wereencouraged to ask questions and to discussthe views and opinions put forward by thepresenters. The day concluded with a tourof the Shoreham site, including many of thefacilities used in gasoline research anddevelopment programmes.

Gasoline and hybrids: Ricardoshares its expertise

Focus on hybrids at Detroit Technology CampusAt the Detroit Technology Campus, Ricardo Inc hosted a

technical forum on May 21 on the subject of hybridtechnology. The event looked in detail at the range of current andfuture electric hybrid powertrain options, and discussed howevolutionary or disruptive implementation might occur withindefined vehicle segments. Differences between Europe and USmarket need for fuel efficient vehicles were explored.

The different types of electrical components and systemsavailable for hybrid vehicles were presented, including energystorage devices and power management systems, powerelectronics, control systems and electrical machines.

The forum included an in-depth account of the experiencegained during the successful i-MoGen research vehicleprogramme (described in detail in RQ, Summer 2002).

The i-MoGen vehicle was made available for test drives alongwith the current Toyota Prius and Honda Civic HEV. The eventconcluded with a discussion of commercialisation options forhybrids not just in relation to fuel economy benefits, but also theirpotential for improved performance and high power vehiclefeatures.

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