LA Auto show announces, nine concepts were submitted by world-renowned auto design studios.

Mazda Design Americas, USA – The Los Angeles Auto Show (LA Auto Show^®) announced today that nine concepts were submitted by world-renowned auto design studios for this year's Design Challenge, themed "Biomimicry & Mobility 2025 – Nature's Answer to Human Challenges." Each competitor's mobility solution or system has been designed with nature's inspiration while increasing function and addressing a variety of transportation topics, such as congestion, pollution, safety and sustainability. With biological knowledge doubling every five years, the 10^th Design Challenge pushes automotive designers to explore new instruments and knowledge like never before. In addition to the nine competing studios, three additional studios are joining this year's Design Gallery to showcase their team's capabilities making for a total of 12 auto design studios from around the world participating in the Show. Studios participating in the Design Challenge represent the brands Mazda, BMW, Changfeng, JAC Motors, Qoros, SAIC Motor, Subaru and Toyota. Their entries for this year's Design Challenge propose mobility solutions inspired by natural creatures, structures and occurrences. From self-sustaining silk worms to long-forgotten waterways, the entries are sure to spark intense competition and careful deliberation at the LA Auto Show's 2013 Design Challenge. The three additional studios showcased in the Gallery include Hyundai Design and Research Center, Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Center California and Nissan Design America. In reaction to the impending demise of the 2025 driver, Mazda has designed "AUTO ADAPT." Studying the biological phenomenon of adaptation and specifically how insects have adapted, Mazda has created a vehicle that has the ability to adapt from being fully autonomous to a manual machine. These vehicles are geared directly to those true drivers out there that long for the excitement found with driving an automobile; the excitement expected to be completely eliminated from the autonomous cars of 2025. Entries will be judged on various factors including creative adaptation of nature's laws (plants & animals); application of human intelligence to Biomimicry in unique ways to improve the efficiency of future vehicles; comfort, convenience, aesthetics of the vehicle; sustainability of the building, servicing, operation, and life cycle; and the personality of the vehicle in relationship to the brand. [caption id="attachment_2421" align="alignright" width="300"] Tom Matano[/caption] Entries will be judged by Tom Matano, Executive Director, School of Industrial Design at San Francisco's Academy of Art University; Stewart Reed, Chair of Transportation Design at Pasadena's Art Center College of Design; John Manoogian, Adjunct Professor Auto Design Studio at the College for Creative Studies. This esteemed panel of judges will be joined by guest judge, Dr. Gabriel A. Miller, who currently serves as the Director of Research & Development at the Centre for Bioinspiration at San Diego Zoo Global, where he devotes his work to the implementation of nature's design and engineering solutions to advance humanity, wildlife, and habitats. All entries will be presented and a winner will be selected during the Design Los Angeles Open House and Challenge Presentations on Thursday, Nov. 21, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The final competition concepts will be prominently displayed at the LA Auto Show in the newly created Design Gallery that makes design an integral part of the LA Auto Show. The brand new Design Gallery showcases the talent and imagination of key global auto studios throughout Press Days (Nov. 19, 20 and 21, 2013), as well as through the run of the public show (Nov. 22-Dec. 1, 2013). The LA Auto Show Design Challenge is sponsored by Faurecia, the world's sixth-largest automotive supplier specializing in automotive seating, emissions control technologies, interior systems and auto exteriors. Other sponsors that make Design LA possible include Lacks Enterprises, Inc., Eastman, Dassault Systèmes, Autodesk, Bose and BBC.com, alongside the 2013 Design Challenge media partner, Car Design News. The Design Challenge is organized by the LA Auto Show and the Design Los Angeles chairs, Joan Gregor and Chuck Pelly of The Design Academy. Media registration for LA Auto Show and Connected Car Expo Press Days can be accessed here. General registration for CCE is also open at this time. For more information, please visit www.laautoshow.com and www.connectedcarexpo.com.  

About the Los Angeles Auto Show and Connected Car Expo Founded in 1907, the Los Angeles Auto Show is the first major North American auto show of the season each year. Press Days for the 2013 LA Auto Show® will be held on Nov. 20 and 21. The show will be open to the public Nov. 22 – Dec. 1. The Connected Car Expo (CCE) will be the first expo to unite automotive and technology professionals in an effort to increase development and foster relationship-building in the connected car industry, providing attendees with access to the key players and top media constructing the future of the connected car. CCE will debut on Nov. 19, and continue in conjunction with the 2013 LA Auto Show Press Days. The LA Auto Show is endorsed by the Greater L.A. New Car Dealer Association and is operated by ANSA Productions. To receive the latest show news and information, follow LA Auto Show on Twitter at Mazda's entry is sure to turn heads, especially when you consider how strange Google self driving car looks. Mazda has been know for it's intuitive, simple and sleek designs. I can't wait to see what they have come up with.

Google's Self-driving attempt

The Google driverless car is a project by Google that involves developing technology for autonomous cars. The software powering Google's cars is called Google Chauffeur. Lettering on the side of each car identifies it as a "self-driving car." The project is currently being led by Google engineer Sebastian Thrun, director of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and co-inventor of Google Street View. Thrun's team at Stanford created the robotic vehicle Stanley which won the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge and its US$2 million prize from the United States Department of Defense.The team developing the system consisted of 15 engineers working for Google, including Chris Urmson, Mike Montemerlo, and Anthony Levandowski who had worked on the DARPA Grand and Urban Challenges.

Compiled By: Josh Martin
Sources: PRNewswire
Wikipedia

2012 LA Auto Show — Mazda Press Conference - Video Blog

Video Produced By: Mazda USA

By David Undercoffler November 29, 2012, 1:13 p.m.

The family sedan marketplace has become a brawl, with Honda'’s Accord, Nissan'’s Altima and Ford'’s Fusion all newly redesigned and looking to unseat Toyota’'s Camry as the best-selling car in the U.S. Mazda joined the fray Thursday with the introduction of the 2014 Mazda 6 sedan at Los Angeles Auto Show.
The car will be available with one of two new engines, gas or diesel, both designed for efficiency and foreshadowing company plans for future models. "“Our Los Angeles announcements are only tips of the iceberg,"” said Jim O'’Sullivan, president and chief executive of Mazda North America. “"The best is yet to come.”" The gas model will go on sale in January. It features a 2.5-liter, four-cylinder engine making 184 horsepower and 185 pound-feet of torque. It routes power to the front wheels through either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission. Mazda says it doesn'’t yet have fuel economy ratings, but expects to be the best in the segment. That means Mazda 6 will have to beat the 27 mpg city, 38 mpg highway rating of the current non-hybrid leader, the Nissan Altima. In the second half of 2013, Mazda will offer the 6 with a 2.2-liter turbo-diesel engine. The company has yet to release horsepower and torque figures, but the diesel will be available with the same manual and automatic transmissions as the gas car. Both models will have an available system Mazda calls i-ELOOP, a regenerative braking system that stores captured energy in a capacitor, rather than a battery, and electric motor. Mazda says this allows the system to be smaller and lighter, further enhancing the car's efficiency. The energy this feature captures will be used to power electrical functions such as air conditioning and the stereo. Other options available on the 6 will include an in-dash TomTom navigation system, alloy wheels, LED lights, and a Bose stereo system. Mazda also used the L.A. Auto Show to show off a more powerful engine option on the 2014 CX-5 crossover SUV. It’'s essentially the same 2.5-liter four-cylinder unit that will be in the new 6 sedan, and it makes 184 horsepower and 185 pound-feet of torque. It will be available only with an automatic transmission on Touring and Grand Touring models. Fuel economy will be rated at 25 mpg in the city and 32 mpg on the highway for front-wheel drive models and 24/30 for AWD models. By adding this more powerful option to the CX-5 lineup, Mazda addresses one of the few complaints we had when we tested the crossover in April. That model had the smaller 2.0-liter engine, making 155 horsepower and 150 pound-feet of torque. Its handling was easily the most engaging of the segment, but engine sacrificed power in the name of efficiency. The 2014 CX-5 will go on sale in January. Pricing has not yet been announced.

Source: Los Angeles Times
Compiled By : Josh Martin
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First Glimpse of Clean Diesel Engine - Video Blog

Just the Facts:

• Mazda says its next-generation Skyactiv-D 2.2L clean diesel engine will go on sale in Japan in spring 2012.
• The diesel's first application in Japan will be in the Mazda CX-5 crossover.
• The Skyactiv-D engine will arrive at U.S. dealers in early 2013, Mazda tells Inside Line.

HIROSHIMA, Japan — Mazda's next-generation Skyactiv-D clean diesel engine will arrive at U.S. dealers in early 2013, a company spokesperson told Inside Line. The 2.2-liter four-cylinder diesel, the latest member of Mazda's new Skyactiv family of fuel-saving powertrains, will go on sale next spring in Japan, where its first application will be in the Mazda CX-5 crossover. In the U.S., a Mazda spokesperson, responding to a query from Inside Line, said: "While I cannot divulge which Mazda vehicle will be outfitted with the Skyactiv-D 2.2L diesel for the U.S. market, I can say to expect that vehicle within the next 18 months." Mazda said the Skyactiv-D 2.2 is the world's first passenger-car diesel to meet Japan's tough new emissions standards without expensive aftertreatment technology to reduce nitrogen oxide. Equipped with an idling-stop system, the Skyactiv-D 2.2 in the CX-5 will develop 310 pound-feet of torque, while returning average fuel economy of 44 mpg on Japan's JC08 test cycle.

Source: Inside Line

Compiled By: Josh Martin

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How Regenerative Braking System Saves You Gas - Video Blog

Batteries aren't the only technology mankind has invented to store electricity, and Mazda has perfected a solution to the energy storage needs of electrified vehicles with a new system it's calling i-ELOOP. The i-ELOOP system will be featured in the first production passenger vehicle with recaptured energy from regenerative braking stored in a capacitor. The rest of the bits and pieces behind the tech include a variable voltage alternator and a DC/DC converter that sends energy otherwise lost to heat in the brakes at up to 25 volts to the Electric Double Layer Capacitor, where it's stored for later use. There's no electric motor in the i-ELOOP drivetrain, so the capacitor releases its energy to recharge the car's battery and to help power electric components like the heating and air conditioning systems. All in, Mazda promises fuel savings of up to 10 percent over cars not equipped with regenerative braking. Read all about it in the press release below: Source: Mazda USA Press Release Mazda 'i-ELOOP' World's First Capacitor-Based Regenerative Braking System for Passenger Vehicles Hiroshima, Japan 25 November 2011. Mazda Motor Corporation has developed the world's first passenger vehicle regenerative braking system that uses a capacitor. The groundbreaking system, which Mazda calls 'i-ELOOP', will begin to appear in Mazda's vehicles in 2012. In real-world driving conditions with frequent acceleration and braking, 'i- ELOOP' improves fuel economy by approximately 10 percent. Mazda's regenerative braking system is unique because it uses a capacitor, which is an electrical component that temporarily stores large volumes of electricity. Compared to batteries, capacitors can be charged and discharged rapidly and are resistant to deterioration through prolonged use. 'i-ELOOP' efficiently converts the vehicle's kinetic energy into electricity as it decelerates, and uses the electricity to power the climate control, audio system and numerous other electrical components. Regenerative braking systems are growing in popularity as a fuel saving technology. They use an electric motor or alternator to generate electricity as the vehicle decelerates, thereby recovering a portion of the vehicle's kinetic energy. Regenerative braking systems in hybrid vehicles generally use a large electric motor and dedicated battery. Mazda examined automobile accelerating and decelerating mechanisms, and developed a highly efficient regenerative braking system that rapidly recovers a large amount of electricity every time the vehicle decelerates. Unlike hybrids, Mazda's system also avoids the need for a dedicated electric motor and battery. 'i-ELOOP' features a new 12-25V variable voltage alternator, a low-resistance electric double layer capacitor and a DC/DC converter. 'i-ELOOP' starts to recover kinetic energy the moment the driver lifts off the accelerator pedal and the vehicle begins to decelerate. The variable voltage alternator generates electricity at up to 25V for maximum efficiency before sending it to the Electric Double Layer Capacitor (EDLC) for storage. The capacitor, which has been specially developed for use in a vehicle, can be fully charged in seconds. The DC/DC converter steps down the electricity from 25V to 12V before it is distributed directly to the vehicle's electrical components. The system also charges the vehicle battery as necessary. 'i-ELOOP' operates whenever the vehicle decelerates, reducing the need for the engine to burn extra fuel to generate electricity. As a result, in "stop-and-go" driving conditions, fuel economy improves by approximately 10 percent. The name 'i-ELOOP' is an adaptation of "Intelligent Energy Loop" and represents Mazda's intention to efficiently cycle energy in an intelligent way. 'i-ELOOP' also works in conjunction with Mazda's unique 'i-stop' idling stop technology to extend the period that the engine can be shut off. Mazda is working to maximize the efficiency of internal combustion engine vehicles with its groundbreaking SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY. By combining this with i-stop, i-ELOOP and other electric devices that enhance fuel economy by eliminating unnecessary fuel consumption, Mazda is striving to deliver vehicles with excellent environmental performance as well as a Zoom-Zoom ride to all its customers. At the 42nd Tokyo Motor Show, Mazda will debut the i-ELOOP system in the TAKERI concept car, a next generation mid-sized sedan that features SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY and KODO – Soul of Motion design theme..
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