Over the week I have had a few simple, unrefined ideas that I have been quickly sketching based on the feedback I have already got and my particular areas of interest for this subject area. Although these are far from final or even developed I thought it would be useful to record some basic, early thoughts. Concept 1: The Commuter's 'Hot & Cool' Box As a passenger when it comes to food and hot drinks especially, if the driver doesn't have an allocated place to store them, it is often the job of the passenger to hold the drinks and food as, in my experience, the driver will need quick and easy access to the food or beverage so that it doesn't go cold. This concept changes the storage space often found between the two front seats into a thermal flask of sorts that would keep the cup holders and storage a certain temperature. I thought about giving it two different settings. One would be a 'hot' or 'warm' setting so that if the driver stopped in a service station for a take out meal and a hot beverage they could store the food in the compartment and the hot drink in the cup holder. This would mean that they could have more time to enjoy their food and drink and not feel the need to rush to keep the temperature. The other setting would be cold for similar reasons. The driver could store cold cans in the compartment while keeping the open one they are drinking from in the cup holder. I thought this would be a nice feature for commuters to keep breakfast and coffee in for an early morning start or families on long hauls. Concept 2: Top Box Trolley As a family we would often take camping holidays to places such as France, Spain and Portugal but instead of taking a plane would opt for the ferry as it meant we could take the car and therefore more luggage. I have never known our car not to have a top box as it's a great way of adding extra storage without needing a bigger car or stuffing the current car to bursting point. The only annoying thing about them was loading and unloading because it's an awkward place to get to. I felt detaching the storage so it could become a trolley would be a much easier option especially for camping trips or even music festivals. Concept 3: Camper's/Shopper's Car Boot Trolley I've only had the luxury of bringing a car to a music festival once and it wasn't much easier than commuting on train, ferry and foot. Often festival-goers stuff their cars full to the brim then have the gruelling job of dragging it down to the campsite. Festivals make a lot of money renting 'trollies' to desperate campers with too much stuff. Some people bring their own but they still have to load and unload them up which takes a lot of time and effort. I thought about having a built in trolley in the boot of a car that could be assembled and then pre-packed would make this process less hassle for the user. I also though this would be a good concept in grocery shops as it would eliminate the need for plastic bags as you could come to the store with your own trolley that you could load into your boot without the need for packing, unpacking, finding a pound for the trolley, taking the trolley back making the whole experience much easier. Concept 4: Cup Holder Tree One of the users I questioned for my research simply wanted more cup holders as he only had one useable one in his car. I thought about making a foldable 'cup holder tree' that slot into all universal cup holders and expand to give the user a total of three cup holders. This way the customer would only need a car that had one for the possibility of holding three drinks. I thought about making the rings different sizes as not all beverages are universal (i.e. small/medium/large coffee cups or cans).
Before I made my survey, as well as other research on the uses for family cars, I wanted to look at what is recommended families consider when purchasing a car and why this is. I made a few bullet points of recurring or important considerations:
According to Wikipedia... 'A green vehicle is a road motor vehicle that produces less harmful impacts to the environment than comparable conventional internal combustion engine vehicles running on gasoline or diesel, or one that uses certain alternative fuels.' Green vehicles can be powered by alternative fuels and advanced vehicle technologies including:
An environmental analysis extends beyond just the operating efficiency and emissions. A life-cycle assessment involves production and post-use considerations. A cradle-to-cradle design is more important than a focus on a single factor such as energy efficiency. Comparison of energy efficiency between battery and hydrogen fuel-cell cars. Best Low Emissions Green Cars (source) BMW i3 The incredible BMW i3 was the first iof what could be an extensive line-up of zero-emissions vehicles from the brand, and it’s packed with hi-tech materials and cutting-edge engineering. With its punchy 168bhp motor and traditional rear-wheel-drive layout, it's great to drive as well. It is also available with an optional range-extending motorcycle engine that keeps the batteries topped up. Without the range extender the BMW i3’s range stands at anywhere between about 80 miles and 125 miles depending onhow you drive; with the range-extender those numbers could double. For many, it's perfect: commuting to a place with a charge point could mean you never have a range problem. The BMW i3 is about the same size as a Ford Fiesta but it feels higher and larger inside. Compared to many electric cars, like the Renault ZOE or Vauxhall Ampera, it’s also very lightweight thanks to its carbon fibre and aluminium construction – in fact, it’s about 300kg lighter than a Nissan LEAF. VW Golf Bluemotion Best green cars – The Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion delivers 88mpg with a distinct lack of green car compromises The best green car currently on sale is the Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion. The genius behind VW’s eco crusader is the way it delivers 88.3mpg without constantly reminding you you’re driving a green car. The 1.6-litre diesel engine offers reasonable performance and a premium feel pervades the elegant Golf interior. A series of aerodynamic and mechanical tweaks contribute to the Bluemotion’s sparkling performance at the pumps. SEAT Leon Ecomotive Best green cars – SEAT’s Leon Ecomotive pushes diesel family hatch fuel economy to its limits. Closely related to the Volkswagen Golf, SEAT’s Leon is a formidable family hatch package and in Ecomotive form it adds a big green string to its bow. Lowered suspension, low rolling resistance tyres, and other modifications assist the Leon’s 1.6 TDI diesel engine to combined cycle fuel economy of 88.3mpg. Three and five-door versions are available at under £20,000. Vauxhall Ampera Best green cars – the futuristic looks of Vauxhall’s Ampera hide an advanced range-extender hybrid powertrain. According to the official fuel economy tests, the Vauxhall Ampera will return a scarcely credible 235mpg with CO2 emissions of 27g/km. Those kinds of figures may not me achievable in real-world driving but buyers can be certain that the Ampera will prove to be exceedingly green. The Ampera is a range-extender hybrid, meaning it’s primarily an electric car but has a small 1.4-litre petrol engine that acts as a generator. You get the silent-running efficiency of an electric vehicle without the range anxiety. MINI Cooper D Best green cars – Who said electric cars have to be dull? The MINI Cooper D is a green car with some fire in its belly.Is the MINI Cooper D a green car? That depends on your definition, what isn’t in doubt is that it’s a very good car that also happens to be seriously fuel-efficient. With 80.7mpg and 92g/km CO2 emissions from its 114bhp, 1.5-litre three-cylinder engine the diesel MINI can live with the best of today’s eco-car heroes. Where it beats them is on grounds of style, desirability and driver enjoyment. Toyota Prius Plug-in Best green cars – Toyota’s Prius is the car that popularised hybrid technology and the latest Plug-in model shows how far it’s come. The Toyota Prius has come to represent hybrid cars but with new models using the technology flooding the market, it’s had its work cut out staying ahead of the game. The Prius Plug-in is a Prius like no other – a plug-in electric hybrid which will do an astonishing 108.6mpg on the combined cycle and emit just 59g/km of C02. BMW 116d EfficientDynamics Best green cars – BMW’s 116D is the most efficient BMW this side of the brand’s i electric car range. BMW’s EfficientDynamics technology aims to yield significant efficiency improvements without sacrificing the sharp handling BMW is renowned for. On the 116D EfficientDynamics it does a fine job. BMW’s 1 Series mixes involving rear-wheel-drive dynamics with impressive interior quality. Add-in the economical diesel powertrain from the 116D ED and you have a fun family car that can return 74mpg on the combined cycle. Ford Fiesta ECOnetic Best green cars – The greenest version of Ford’s Fiesta adds low running costs to an already outstanding overall package The Ford Fiesta ECOnetic has always been one of our favourite green superminis as it’s great fun to drive, looks good and feels surprisingly upmarket. The latest version is powered by a 1.6-litre diesel engine, bringing CO2 emissions of 87g/km and pushing fuel economy up to an incredible 85.6mpg. Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Best green cars – Mitsubishi’s hybrid Outlander PHEV sets the standard for SUV efficiency. No other SUV can match the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV’s running costs – and it feels a well resolved car, too. The refinement is excellent and no other car combines this amount of space with such good fuel economy. As a result of its hi-tech plug-in hybrid powertrain, this four-wheel-drive, five-seat SUV can run on electricity for 32 miles, and promises fuel economy of 148mpg and CO2 emissions of 44g/km. Volkswagen Polo Bluemotion Best green cars – Volkswagen’s classy Polo supermini is at its greenest in Bluemotion guise
The VW Polo Bluemotion is powered by a 1.2-litre three-cylinder diesel engine, and delivers 80.7mpg combined cycle returns. It achieves its sparkling economy with a mixture of low-rolling-resistance tyres, long gearing in the five-speed manual box and stop-start. Yet climb aboard, and you wouldn’t recognise this Polo as an eco model. The interior has the solid, durable feel of any Volkswagen, while the boot size is up there with the best, at 280 litres. From the people I have spoken to and my own personal interests regarding the automotive industry I have selected the following headings to look further into:
I found some outstanding figures that relate to a car's life cycle and how it impacts the environment throughout this cycle.
On our Monday 'Product Design Project' scheduled lesson we discussed the important considerations that should be implemented when designing the interior of a car or features that fit within that interior. Mike spoke specifically about government standards and guidelines that are used within automotive design and 'H-Point'
Beginning with Automotive Design Standards and Guidelines there are strict laws automotive designers must abide by as they consider should consider aspects such as ergonomics, safety, driver distraction and so on. This rules and regulations vary for different countries: US Safety Standards 1 Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (AAM) 2 Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) 3 SAE J287: Hand Control Reach US Federal Safety Standards 4 Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) 5 FMVSS 101 Location and Identification of Controls and Displays 6 FMVSS 201 Occupant Protection in Interior Impact 7 FMVSS 202 Head Restraints 8 FMVSS 302 Flammability of Interior Material Canadian Safety Standards 9 Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (CMVSS) 10 CMVSS 101 Location and Identification of Controls and Displays European Union Safety Standards 11 European Economic Community (EEC) 12 EEC 78/316/EEC Interior fittings of motor vehicles (identification of controls, tell-tales, and indicators) 13 EEC 74/60/ECC Interior fittings of motor vehicles (interior parts of the passenger compartment other than the interior rear-view mirrors, layout of controls, the roof or sliding roof, the backrest and rear part of seats) 14 EEC 78/632 Adaptation of Directive 74/60/EEC 15 EEC 74/483/EEC External projections of motor vehicles (antennas) 16 Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) 17 ECE R26 External Projections: Antennas 18 ECE R21.01 Interior Fittings Japanese Safety Standards 19 Article 10 Control Systems 20 Article 13 Controls and Displays 21 Article TBD Interior Occupant Protection Australian Safety Standards 22 Department of Transport and Regional Services (DOTARS) 23 ADR 21 Instrument Panel 24 ADR 22 Head Restraints New Zealand Safety Standards 25 Land Transport Safety Authority (LTSA) H-Point The H-point (or hip-point) is the theoretical, relative location of an occupant's hip: specifically the pivot point between the torso and upper leg portions of the body — as used in vehicle design, automotive design and vehicle regulation. The H-point can be measured relative to other features, e.g. h-point to vehicle floor (H30) or h-point to pavement (H5): a vehicle said to have a "high H-point" may have an H-point that is "high" relative to the vehicle floor, the road surface, or both. Technically, the measurement uses the hip joint of a 50th percentile male occupant, viewed laterally,and is highly relevant to national and international vehicle design standards such as global technical regulations (GTR). For example, a vehicle design standard known as the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) J1100 Interior Measurement Index sets parameters for such measurements as H30 (H-point to vehicle floor); H5 (H-point to pavement surface), H61 (H-point to interior ceiling) and H25 (H-point to window sill). I have always tried to be as environmentally cautious as possible as our planet is over-populated and we do not have the resources for everyone. Whether it's consuming a vegan diet, recycling, gardening, turning off lights, conserving electricity and water (arguemently my student status drives this one) and using public transport rather than owning my own vehicle, I think its safe to say I do my part. It's no secret that transport plays a huge part on a user's carbon footprint and governments seem to want to reduce this as much as possible including options such as low emission, electric cars. However, there is still more to be done. I contacted a few well known environmental groups via email requesting information on what the current impact transport has on our environment. One response I received came from 'Transport & Environment' who gave me some facts and figures in addition to linking me to further information. Hey Ciara, For Europe, the answer is in this graph: And this does not take into account the noise and air pollution impact of ships, planes, cars, vans, trains and lorries. If you want more info on impacts, please visit the different campaigns in our site: http://www.transportenvironment.org/what-we-do Best regards, Nico 'Transport & Environmental' Campaigns
Air pollution Air is essential for life but polluted air can kill. In spite of the existing legislation, air pollution remains one of the major environmental problems in Europe. In order to protect its citizens and its environment, Europe needs strict and enforced air pollution legislation. Sector-specific legislation, such as for road vehicles (cars, vans and trucks), diesel machinery (construction machinery, inland water vessels and locomotives) and seagoing ships, is key to achieving clean air in Europe. The EU urgently needs to tighten its road, diesel machine and ship emissions legislation. Find out more about this campaign Aviation Aviation is the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector and the most climate-intensive form of transport. Aviation emissions have more than doubled in the last twenty years and the sector accounts for 4.9% of total worldwide emissions contributing to climate change. Aviation has always received special treatment, for example it is not subject to any fuel tax or VAT. T&E campaigns, together with members of the International Coalition for Sustainable Aviation, for global targets to reduce emissions within the aviation sector and for removing exemptions on fuel taxation and VAT for airlines in the EU. Find out more about this campaign Better trade and regulation The EU has long been a global force for cleaner transport. As a first mover, its standards have not only benefited citizens but given European industry a huge advantage by setting examples in transport regulation that are often replicated by emerging markets. Recently there have been moves by some to slow down or stop this trend – through trade deals like TTIP and CETA and EU initiatives such as ‘REFIT’ and the Better Regulation agenda. This campaign aims to retain and, where possible, improve Europe’s ability, and willingness, to legislate for the common good in general, and for more sustainable transport in particular. Find out more about this campaign Biofuels If left unchanged, EU legislation promoting biofuels for transport will lead to higher, not lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. T&E and other environmental organisations are campaigning for Europe to address the environmental impact of indirect land use change (ILUC) caused by biofuel production. Read the drivers & impacts of Europe's biofuel policy, download our briefing on ILUC and take a look at our report into how the EU could manage the impact of an ILUC-based policy on existing biofuels production. Find out more about this campaign Cars and CO2 One of the most important steps Europe can take to save drivers money, combat climate change, and create high-tech jobs is to require carmakers to produce more efficient vehicles. In 2008, the EU introduced legally-binding CO2 standards, for the first time setting a goal that, on average, new cars sold in Europe in 2015 should emit 130 grammes of CO2 per kilometre. This weak target has been met early, and most carmakers are on track to meet the 2021 goal of 95g. Half the improvement results from carmakers manipulating the obsolete test that must be replaced in 2017. The Commission also needs to make a new proposal for 2025 standards for cars and vans in 2016. Find out more about this campaign Cleaner, safer lorries Trucking poses a major challenge for the environment and road safety. Around three-quarters of freight in Europe is delivered by lorry, and road freight transport is one of the sub-sectors of the transport industry with the fastest growing CO2 emissions and fuel use. Every year the EU imports around 500 million barrels (€60bn) of oil to fuel its lorry fleet, which makes the EU economy vulnerable to oil price fluctuations. Find out more about this campaign Dirty Oil As well as improving the efficiency of vehicles, the world needs to reduce the emissions that result from the production of transport fuels. That means improving refinery efficiency, cleaning up the dirtiest sources like tar sands and coal-to-liquid and stopping wasteful gas flaring. Find out more about this campaign EU Transport PolicyTo get to a sustainable low carbon economy by 2050, Europe needs to cut emissions from transport by at least 60% compared to 1990: that’s a cut of 70% compared to today’s emissions. This presents a very serious challenge, in particular for freight, where increasing truck traffic, modal shift from rail to road and stagnating lorry fuel economy have dominated the last two decades. Find out more about this campaign Shipping Shipping is one of the fastest growing sources of transport greenhouse gas emissions, and is also a major source of air pollution causing health problem, acid rain and eutrophication. Like aviation, the sector's international emissions were excluded from the 1997 Kyoto climate targets with responsibility instead handed to a UN global regulator, the IMO. T&E works, together with other members of the Clean Shipping Coalition, to reduce the air pollution and climate impacts of shipping globally and in Europe. Find out more about this campaign Vans Fuel bills represent one third of the total cost of ownership of a van and high oil prices make fuel an increasingly important business cost. At the same time vans are one of the fastest growing sources of CO2 emitted from transport, increasing by 26% between 1995 and 2010 and now accounting for 8% of road transport emissions. To improve fuel efficiency and counter rising emissions, binding CO2 standards for vans were agreed in 2010. For 2020 a target of 147 g/km (5,6 l/100km) was agreed. T&E wants the EU to tighten the fuel efficiency targets for vans to 118 g/km or 4,5 l/100km - equivalent to the corresponding 2020 target for cars. This would double the fuel savings compared to the 147 g/km target to €825 per year. Find out more about this campaign Vehicle Noise According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), noise is second only to air pollution in the impact it has on health. It is a major cause, not only of hearing loss, but also of heart disease, learning problems in children and sleep disturbance. Yet traffic noise could easily be halved, with existing technology, if more stringent limits were adopted. T&E is working at the EU and global level for tighter restrictions on sources of transport noise including cars, lorries and trains. Initial Question:
What would you want from a car feature? 1. Sat nav 2. Bluetooth 3. Park assist 4. Rear cameras 5. Heated seats After creating our blogs and starting out initial research, we had our second Product Design Project lesson which entailed:
12th Oct 2015: Timetabled sessions start for Car People Project with MMU teaching team. Review of the project deliverables, Q & A session with MMU teaching team In this lesson we went over different subject areas to look at over the automotive design spectrum as well as safety laws that need to be considered if our project leads us to interior design i.e. H-Point. Mike emphasised getting involved in a lot of primary research such as handing out questionnaires, visiting dealerships, contacting experts and so on to help us with the task we had for the following week of a pin up session of the research we've gathered so far. This week I will be basically continuing my research a bit more extensively:
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