Super Concept Cars Blog

How much do you think you could fit into your car? With a little bit of industrial designing, quite a bit, it turns out. Designer Cornelius Comanns managed to turn a tiny three-wheeled car into a rolling home.

Called the “Bufalino,” the mini-RV seats two, has a fold-down bed, a stove, a basin that acts like a sink and a tank for water, fridge, and loads and loads of storage space. The only thing it’s missing is a shower — you have to wonder why that back couldn’t extend into some kind of ring of canvas where one could stand under an extending shower head.

Still, it looks perfect for a couple or someone flying solo to travel with plenty of gear. Check out more of the Bufalino.

General Motors (GM) together with its Chinese partner, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), presented the face of the automobile 20 years from now at the ongoing World Expo in Shanghai, China.

With the theme “Drive to 2030,” GM and SAIC are presenting their vision for urban transportation in the future wherein driving will be free from emission, accident, petroleum and congestion. It is a future in which driving will also be more enjoyable and more fashionable than ever before.

With the looming fuel crisis the world is facing, GM has come out with a possible solution to the problem with the EN-V concept car, which is an electric networked-vehicle.

The EN-V (pronounced ‘envy’) concept car is the main attraction at the GM-SAIC pavilion at the Shanghai Expo, which is on display until Oct. 31, 2010.

EN-V, or the Electric Networked-Vehicle, is a two-seater designed to answer concerns on traffic congestion, parking availability, and air quality in tomorrow’s cities. The EN-V is the giant automaker’s vision of mobility by the year 2030 — wherein each car will no longer run on fossil based fuels but instead, run solely on electrical power.

Three EN-V models were unveiled during the opening of the SAIC-GM Pavilion at the World Expo in Shanghai. The three variants, Jiao (Pride), Miao (Magic) and Xiao (Laugh), represent three different characteristics that emphasize the enjoyable nature of future transportation.

The egg-shaped car sits two people and runs on two wheels – similar to the popular personal transport device, the Segway. GM and SAIC partnered with Segway for the development of the chassis and electric drivetrain that takes ‘dynamic stabilization’ to a new level. Segway linked the chassis – that contained the electronics, sensors, motors and wheels to a rectangular section of the car that houses the batteries using an articulated slide mechanism. The section contains the equivalent of eight standard Segway batteries giving power to the unit for a longer time.

The Jiao, Miao and Xiao were designed by three GM design studios. The different bodies are mounted on the chassis through the battery section that serves as the mount point.

The EN-V is about five times as energy efficient as the average passenger car. It can travel at a speed of 38 kilometers per hour and can carry two passengers.

The maximum speed for the EN-V may look slow, but the average speed on city roads recorded at 20 kph makes the electric vehicle ideal. And with the slower average speed on city roads expected in the future, GM did away with heavy safety features such as bumpers and airbags to make the cars much lighter.

Using an elaborate system of digital maps, Global Positioning System, cameras and sensors, the EN-V offers drivers ‘autonomous driving’ and brings them to their destinations faster, cleaner and safer.

Its autonomous operating capability offers the promise of reducing traffic congestion by allowing EN-V to automatically select the fastest route based on real-time traffic information. The concept also leverages wireless communications to enable a “social network” that can be used by drivers and occupants to communicate with friends or business associates while on the go.

This combination of sensing technology, wireless communication and GPS-based navigation establishes a technology foundation, pieces of which could migrate from the EN-V concept and potentially lead the way to future advanced vehicle safety systems.

The ability to communicate with other vehicles and with the infrastructure could dramatically reduce the number of vehicle accidents. Using vehicle-based sensor and camera systems, EN-V can “sense” what’s around it, allowing the vehicle to react quickly to obstacles or changes in driving conditions. For example, if a pedestrian steps out in front of the vehicle, EN-V will decelerate to a slower and safer speed and stop sooner than today’s vehicles.

“The EN-V concept represents a major breakthrough in the research that GM has been doing to bring vehicle autonomy to life,” said Alan Taub, Global Vice President of GM Research and Development. “The building blocks that enable the autonomous capabilities found on the EN-V concept such as lane departure warning, blind zone detection and adaptive cruise control are being used in some GM vehicles on the road today.”

The car has been strictly designed for city driving. Having a small footprint, five EN-V’s can park in a spot designed for a conventional vehicle.

To date, GM has produced 14 working EN-V prototypes at a staggering cost of 1 billion Chinese Yuan. Expensive? Maybe, but not so much if you take into account the potential benefits will outweigh the cost.

Early or later everyone who drives a car face a dilemma “What is the best and the cheapest way to maintain and to fix my car?” Actually responsible drivers start thinking about this early in the stage of choosing the right car to drive. Whether you are buying a first car  or just want to trade your old vehicle for a new one, always think if you would be able to afford not only to pay its cost but insurance, maintenance and other unpredictable expenses that may occur. And the next but not less important thing to think about is where to get spare parts in a case if you need replacement for any reason. Of course you will want to find a compromise between a reasonable price and good quality. Sure you may take your car to the dealership services and get Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) car parts there. Or you may go to an independent auto parts store and buy aftermarket parts. Whatever you choose, you’d be better of if you are aware of all the pros and cons of these options to choose the car part that fits your situation best.

Sure if you know nothing about aftermarket brands and can afford a little extra bucks OEM car parts may be your best options. As these parts are made by the original car maker or authorized off-shore corporations, they will match properly and will be doubtless compatible with other parts in your car. Another advantage of OEM parts is that they should not affect your car insurance and warranty put on your vehicle. Moreover, new OEM car parts are always under warranty themselves. Thus you will be able to achieve better and longer performance of your car. Quite often refurbished or remanufactured OEM parts may be a good solution for you situation as well. But you should buy them only from a licensed supplier. That would guarantee that the parts had been tested. In a case when you cannot afford to buy new OEM car part you may consider used ones. In most cases they are removed from old written off vehicles. The caution here is that the quality of these parts limits any guarantee you may get from the supplier, and remember as these parts are usually well worn you really never know how long they will last.

As opposed to Original Equipment Manufacturer parts you may think about using aftermarket parts. This means that the parts are made by a producer other than the original car maker. To use aftermarket parts you should use well-known brand names or listen to the advice of trust-worthy mechanics.

Although aftermarket parts are attractive because of their lower price compared to OEM parts, their main disadvantage is that they often have more limited warranty and in many cases are of lesser quality. Even more, not all aftermarket parts are tested with all car models. So there is no guarantee they will really match your car. And it may be necessary to check if the aftermarket parts you are going to buy will meet the local laws, quality and performance regulations and the emission standards of your area. But for justice’ sake we should admit that the quality of aftermarket parts is not always bad, and as some companies specialize in a specific products their products may be even better and more expensive then OEM parts.

No doubt, it is up to you what car parts to buy in your particular situation. Only you know what fits your requirements and financial situation best. We will only recommend not to forget to buy car accessories and enjoy comfortable and safe riding.