Electricity Victory

I’m upset that I didn’t find this article sooner. Formula SAE is an organization dedicated to getting university students together and creating quarter scale formula cars. This organization is dedicated to the growth of students from the beginning to the end of competition. “Pre-season”, students have to design a formula style car. By design, I mean design every single part of the car. Every nut, every bolt, every part has to be designed for function and form and made from scratch. Every part of the car has to be thought of and presented to the judges in competition. The team has to be graded on design, business presentation and vehicle performance. The team with the most points in the end is declared the winner of the competition.

Formula SAE is the American version of automotive engineers’ society while Formula Student is the Europe based organization. This particular story is based in Europe. This is a story covering last years (2013) FS competition and what makes the story special and aspiring to myself is that both first and second place winners went to all-electric cars. Switzerland based team AMZ Racing dominated the field with 921 allotted points out of 1,000 while UAS Zwichau from German stole second place with 851 points. To think that just a few years ago electric motors were banned from FSAE and FS respectively, and today, they have shown dominance in the field by becoming first and second place winners.

Despite the teams’ success in competition, the FS organization is reviewing the rules of the competition to see that petrol engines and cars “remain competitive” in the future. I would think that a victory as this for all-electric racecar teams would pave the future and promote a paradigm shift for the organization, however, I fear the opposite is true.

The article mentions that heat played a major role in the demise of many favorable petrol teams in the competition. This goes to show some of the limitations and inefficiencies of the traditional combustion engine. As those teams struggled to stay cool, the electric motors continued racing throughout the endurance race and proved their durability and performance, paying off in the end of competition. One of the performance events measured by judges is a noise test. During the noise test, judges actually measure how many decibels the car emits. The limit is 105 db but points are allotted for emitting less than the maximum. This is a clear advantage for the electric cars because they do not have combustion motors and do not need large exhausts that produce high noise levels. The electric motors and transmissions do make noise, but not nearly as much as the traditional combustion motor. Another advantage is gas mileage. Gas consumption also graded by the judges and because the electric cars do not use any gas to run, they are clear winners.

I fear rules will later be implemented to “level” the playing field, but by doing so could possibly limit the true potential of an electric racecar. This goes to show that there is still some resistance to new technology despite its efficiencies.

 

Fly Bluebird Fly

There are many stigmas associated with electric cars and there durability. Some are concerned about the mileage per charge compared to a traditional petrol motor, some worry about the accessibility to recharge, some say the technology doesn’t even exist yet for it to be successful. The latter belief is commonly held, but simply not true. The technology does exist, and has for many years. During my research, I came across a UK based company called Bluebird. Bluebird is a father-son company that has dedicated its’ time to revolutionizing the speed dynamics of racing for the past 100 years. Father Malcom Campbell achieved the first of many land speed records in Wales. In 1924 he broke the land speed record of 146 mph in a 350hp motor. A year later he is the first person to exceed 150 mph. two years later he achieved 174 mph. and the following year, he goes 206 mph at Daytona Beach. It’s obvious that Campbell is a man who sees no boundary to speed and technology. The legacy lives on three generations with daughter Gina Campbell increasing her world water speed record to 156 mph in 1990 and son Don Wales breaking the first UK land speed record for an electric car (116 mph) in 1998. In 2000, Don Wales presents a new electric car to further increase the land speed record to 137 mph. In 2009, a steam car is built and produces a speed record of 148 mph.

Thirteen years after grandfather Campbell was born the first land speed record for an electric car was 39 mph. Three generations later, Grandson Don Wales dedicates his time to revolutionizing speed records with alternative fuels and race technology.

Even though Don passed the land speed record for an electric car in 2000 at 137 mph, the record has increased dramatically since then. Last year, USA based race team, Drayson, completed a top speed record of 204 mph on a racetrack in Yorkshire in summer of 2013. The race team also has plans to run the car in this years’ 24 hours of Le Mans, competing against not only all the petrol powered racecars but also the other revolutionary racecars, such as Delta Wing and Nissans’ Blade Glider, incorporating alternative fuel technology for the future.

This is a breakthrough in technology that benefits not only the racing community but also manufacturers and consumers. The reality is that technology that is created in the racing domain has adaptations and benefits for consumers. In the future, manufactures tend to transpose race technology and implement them into their consumer products, further making this technology available to the rest of the world.

The technology for an electric car is here, it’s been here, and it’s better than ever. Right now the technology is increasing exponentially in the racing community. It will only be a matter of time before this technology in the racing field transposes and manifests itself into our own lives.

Le Mans or Lemons?

The 24 hours of Le Mans is one of the most prestigious races in all of racecar history. Since its debut in 1923, it is the oldest endurance car race still active. With a driving distance of over 3.1 thousand miles within a duration of 24 hours non-stop racing, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is one of the most exhausting and physically demanding races to date. Because of its difficulty, many teams and drivers take pride and ownership when winning, let alone completing, this race. Concordantly, many young teams and drivers gain respect and recognition from the community as well as fellow colleagues when completing this race. In many cases, this race is a testing ground to assess the durability and capabilities of new race designs and technology. Le Mans will prove if a car is a ripe apple or a sour lemon.

In 2012, Delta Wing debuted its Nissan powered racecar at Le Mans. During the testing months prior to the race, there was lots of stigma and criticism from the community of the Delta Wing racecar because of its unique design. However, its distinct triangular shape is the foundation and premise of its function. The intentions of the Delta Wing and Nissan is to revolutionize racing and race technology. Delta Wing and Nissan went about this goal by creating a racecar that can produce half the drag, with half the power and still be competitive with other racecars in its class. During the 2012 Le Mans, Nissan and Delta Wing showcased the car and its capabilities by completing the 24 hour race. This success led to the Delta Wings entrance for the entire 2013 American Le Mans Series season, however, without Nissan.

Nissans departure with Delta Wing was of different technological aspirations. With the success at Le Mans in 2012, Nissan wanted to create an all-electric racecar. Nissan dubbed the project ZEOD RC (Zero Emissions On Demand Race Car). To lead the project, Nissan hired Ben Bowlby from Delta Wing. After Nissan released project plans to the public, Delta Wing issued a lawsuit against Nissan shortly after. The accusations are that the “defendants have misappropriated the trade secrets owned by DW and exclusively licensed to DWP56 and used such information and opportunities to compete with DW”.

My concern for debate is that you have these two organizations that are trying to revolutionize racing, yet a lawsuit erupts because of an accusation on infringement of private technology. It seems there are always going to be struggles when individuals are trying to revolutionize their field of interest, but I find it odd that a discrepancy will arise between parties on the same side. I’d expect a little homogeneity between organizations to dominate this new wave technology.

Speed Bumps

Elon Musk was first recognized by his debut of electronic banking organization Paypal. Now, Musk has gained momentum with his fast growing automotive company Tesla Motors. Tesla is revolutionizing the automotive industry by to creating luxurious and affordable all electric vehicles. Tesla’s first production car was the roadster and was debuted in 2006 and released to customers in 2008. Despite recent success, Tesla, however, did experience a financial set back that almost led to bankruptcy in the past. In 2009, Tesla luckily received a $465 million interest-bearing loan from the United States Department of Energy that allowed the auto maker to stay in business and continue forward with the production of today’s Model S.

The Model S is the second line of cars from Tesla and caters to the demands of many consumers. Firstly, the car is a sedan model, allowing spacious room for a small family and cargo room. Secondly, the car includes a stronger battery to propel the larger car a further distance of 265 miles per charger compared to the Roadsters 245 miles per charge. On its first year of release, the Model S ranked the third best-selling plug-in electric car in 2013, falling just short from the Nissan Leaf and the Chevrolet Volt.

Today, it seems Tesla has been able to do what other automotive companies have failed to accomplish in the past, and that’s create an all-electric car that the consumers want. Many are aware of this company’s success and a troublesome future has begun. In New Jersey, the Governor has already banned Tesla from selling vehicles directly to consumers. The grounds for the ban are to protect the consumers from unlawful ‘baiting’ from the manufacturers. Concordantly, direct distribution to the customer eliminates the middle man of a distributer, which further strangles competition. The law is nothing new and has been around for over a decade and is prominent in 48 states.

This can be a big speed bump for Tesla because it makes it more difficult for consumers who not only want to purchase Tesla cars but also individuals who may be interested in learning more about Tesla cars. Because direct sale to consumers is prohibited, individuals will have to make out of state purchases, which may not be close to them at all, while also subjecting them to higher loan rates and licensing fees. If Tesla were to deal through a distributer, there is great fear that salesmen are less likely to sell or promote Tesla cars because their majority products would be gasoline type vehicles.

This goes to show the binary dichotomy involved between a paradigm shift and associated politics. Even if the consumers want a product that a manufacturer has to offer, there will always be a middle man to prevent a transaction, possible to even acquire a piece of the share.