GM Looks at Active Aerodynamics and Automatic Speed Limit Readers
Automotive technological development increasingly falls into two camps: features and equipment which somehow improve the driving experience, by introducing better performance, fuel efficiency or comfort, and those which appear to be more invasive than necessary. When buying a new vehicle, it is important to stay informed about what technological equipment it might be packing underneath its sleek metal skin, as this will help you make a judgment call regarding whether a feature might actually more trouble than it is worth.
General Motors has recently announced two different vehicle technologies that nicely illustrate this dichotomy. As part of the continuing effort to improve the fuel mileage of full-size trucks such as the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, especially in light of looming federal fleet fuel economy regulations for heavy vehicles, GM has been working with a company called SRG Global Inc. Their mission? To build and test a unique aerodynamic technology that could be fitted to existing pickup designs.
A huge component of the aerodynamic drag experienced by pickup trucks is related to the wide open grilles that the vehicles require in order to allow for enough airflow to the engine while towing or hauling a heavy load. When traveling at highway speeds, the amount of air entering the engine compartment vastly exceeds the amount required to keep operating temperatures within a safe range. This additional airflow causes a truck to burn more fuel in order to maintain a steady speed or accelerate, due to the large number of upright surfaces underneath a truck's hood that increase its drag.
SRG Global and GM have together come up with a system of automatic louvers that can be used to close off the grille of a pickup truck when it is traveling above a certain speed. This would enable enough air to hit the radiator and keep the vehicle's engine cool without inviting in the enormous torrent of wind typically associated with highway travel, helping to improve a truck's fuel economy. At regular speeds, or when the vehicle is at rest at a stoplight the slats in the louvers would open fully in order to maintain strong cooling. The technology, which also has the potential to improve vehicle emissions due to a more closely controlled engine warm-up process, could eventually make its way into every single vehicle sold by Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac.
The benefits of high tech equipment that can be used to reduce the amount of fuel sucked down by a thirsty pickup truck are easy enough to understand, but GM's next piece of automotive gear is a bit more befuddling.
Automatic Speed Limit Readers
The General's European division is currently developing a feature that automatically reads speed limit signs and displays this information to the driver on an internal screen. This particular technology is also being tested by BMW.
The idea is to keep drivers more informed of the speed limit on roads where signage may be limited or easy to miss. However, it is not difficult to conjure up several scenarios related to this equipment which might not be appealing to American drivers. These include stored speed limit values being used as evidence in speeding ticket trials, an ECU tie-in that would reduce vehicle speed in relation to a posted limit being observed by the system, or even the idea that yet another piece of information displayed on the dashboard could contribute further to the already significant issue of driver distraction.
The technology is slated to eventually hit American shores, where buyers will have to make the choice of whether they are interested in adding yet another Big Brother-style surveillance technology to their automobile. In a world where many vehicles can already be tracked via GPS and where reams of information about driving habits are stored via 'black box' data recorders, it is becoming increasingly difficult to predict where major automakers will draw the line when it comes to intrusive technologically features.