By Christoph Hammerschmidt

Now it seems like the Formula one world has come somewhat closer to the Peugeots, Fords and Volkswagens of the everyday world: The new F1 rules allow the use of Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS), just like cars with a hybrid drive. Doesn't make this the inaccessible Formula one world somewhat more human, isn't it almost affecting how they try to squeeze out the last quantum of efficiency out of their fuel?

By Christoph Hammerschmidt

Now the sudden drop in automotive demand will cause a domino effect all along the value chain, with certain delays. But since the first domino already has fallen, it is foreseeable when it will hit the suppliers and their suppliers. And, according to the usual market oracles, it is to be feared that we are in for a steep, deep downturn.

But, as philosophers say, in every crisis lies a chance. In the case of the European automotive industry, the chance might lie in building simpler, more energy efficient cars while maintaining the same level of safety and comfort as we are used to. In a recent conversation about energy efficiency, a physicist told me that the only — and he meant the really only — way to sustainably improve the fuel efficiency is to reduce weight.

Translated this requirement into the electronic designer's scope of options I think it means that more functions need to be implemented in software instead of hardware. Software is light and energy efficient. It can be changed much faster and much more easily than steel, aluminum and plastic structures. And it can control some parameters decisive for fuel consumption.

By Christoph Hammerschmidt

Engineering departments in the industry, of course, know that, and they are poring on how they can reduce the thirst of their cars. Actually, they have achieved quite impressing results; lately I have seen a statistic comparing medium-sized vehicles ten years ago against today. While horsepower, motor torque and many other performance parameters have improved, they now run on less fuel per kilometer. Even though they have (like most of their owners) gained some weight during this period.

And now they run to great lengths to find ways how they can further improve the fuel efficiency. High-tech projects are filling their lab desks; the proposals range from electrifying the ancillary units to hydrogen drives and from hybrid concepts to what they call "longitudinal axis dynamics control" which basically means that they try to keep the speed constant by means of complex and intelligent driver assistance systems — and if then it turns out to be unavoidable to apply the brakes, they try to recuperate the kinetic energy.

One thing, however, won't change, even though this is not necessarily a positive aspect. The average weight of the vehicles will stay where it is, they make clear. For two reasons: First, safety. It demands its price — the many additional devices and controllers for antilock-brakes, side-collision protection, airbags, crumple zones etc inherently increase the weight of the vehicles. The other reason is comfort, with the same implications. "What they have they never give away again," said an automotive designer recently during a congress, describing the atavistic thinking of the masses in western countries.

For this reason, we constantly drag around a metric ton and a half (and some models significantly more) of metal, plastic, etc. Inert masses that have to be accelerated with us and that are responsible for the biggest part of the fuel consumption.