SUNNY TO BE ON ROADS

Nissan Motor India Private Ltd. (NMIPL) has launched the diesel variant of its hugely successful mid-sized sedan, the Nissan Sunny, in India. Available in two variants, the XL and the XV, the Sunny Diesel offers one of the best in class fuel efficiency and targets the fast growing demand for diesel cars in the Indian market. Built on the global ‘V’ platform, the Sunny Diesel is competitively priced and will be available for Rs 7,98,000 (XL) and Rs 8,78,000 (XV), ex-showroom, New Delhi. Customers can now book the car at any of the 47 Nissan dealerships across the country.

The Sunny Diesel, a result of significant inputs from the Indian market and powered by the most notable K9K diesel engine to emerge from the Renault-Nissan alliance, has a fuel efficiency of 21.64 kmpl (ARAI certified) and is ideal both for a city drive as well as for exploring the countryside. Built at the Nissan plant in Chennai, the diesel variant is powered by a modern 1.5-liter, 4-cylinder K9K engine that churns out 86PS of power @ 3750 rpm and a maximum torque of 200 Nm @ 2000 rpm, and five speed manual transmission. It is the first time Sunny is offered anywhere in the world with a K9K Diesel engine.

Electric Brakes fo Future Cars

Electric Brakes fo Future Cars
It is a little stretch to put this item on The Energy Blog, but the Electric Wedge Brake (EWB) would save weight and energy in future automobiles in adddition to revolutionizing braking systems. Siemans VDO's EWB braking system makes possible a 12V brake-by-wire system.
The electric motors for the brakes obtain their energy from the turning wheels. The intelligently controlled wedge converts the kinetic energy of the vehicle directly into braking energy. As a result of its self-reinforcing action, the EWB is faster than today’s hydraulic brake and requires only one-tenth the energy to operate.
As shown in the illustration, the brake rotor (1) and the pad (2) are brought into contact with each other by electric motors (3, 4) using several roller screws (5) along wedge-shaped angled surfaces (6). The wedge effect is automatically amplified as the result of the wheel's rotation allowing varying degrees of braking force to be generated with little effort. This operation of the brake can be seen in this video of EWB operation.
To quote the article in Automotive Design Line: "The EWB design eliminates components such as hydraulic lines, brake cylinders, brake booster, or ABS control unit, to offer overall system weight reduction—with simplified service, greater reliability, and increased safety. By doing away with the entire hydraulic system, the overall brake system can be more economically integrated into the automobile. The removal of the hydraulic brake system also helps reduce the automobile's environmental impact (from fluids elimination and greater fuel efficiency)."