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By
EWAN KENNEDY
28 July 2008
According to research done by Audi, the prestigious car maker
famed for its emphasis on technology, changes in driving
techniques can help reduce fuel consumption by as much as 30 per
cent. And cutting petrol or diesel usage by 30 per cent
automatically trims emissions of carbon dioxide (the greenhouse
gas CO2) by the same 30 per cent.
But,
instead of the usual written instructions on better driving
techniques in the driver’s manual, the car itself leads you
along the way. For example, it’s important to have the car in
the correct gear at all times. Too high a gear could eventually
lead to engine and/or transmission damage, running in too low a
gear uses too much fuel.
The
new Audi fuel-saving information is yet to be introduced on a
production model, but we have had an extensive preview of the
system by engineers at the company’s head office in Ingolstadt
in Germany.
Circumstances
such as hills, traffic, road surface, the load being carried, even
temperature and other weather related conditions mean that the
gear which is correct at one time may not be right on others.
So
the car suggests the correct gear by showing its number on the
dash board and telling the driver whether they need to shift up or
down to reach it. Such systems have been used before, but Audi
advances the usefulness by showing different colours. Doing so in
a non-fronting manner the can easily be seen in the peripheral
vision. If you are in the correct gear the numbers are shown in
green; if you need to change up or down they are in orange. Note
that there is no red gear light because there isn’t an absolute
wrong gear, just one that really could/should be improved upon.
An
even more fascinating feature is a new option on the satellite
navigation system. Those who have used sophisticated versions of
sat nav will be aware they give you a choice between routes; for
example, fastest, most scenic, one without toll roads. The new
option will be an ‘economy route’.
Clicking
that option means the car will avoid major population centres
where possible. Cleverly it will also be able to take the low road
in preference to the high road by skirting around hills rather
than climbing up and over them. At this stage not all satellite
navigation CDs and DVDs may contain enough information on
topography to be able to achieve the best result, but Audi is in
contact with the suppliers of the electronic maps to have this
situation rectified.
On
the subject of topography, some of the latest maps also have
information on the shapes of major buildings, particularly in
built up areas in Europe. A 3D image of surrounding buildings can
help you pinpoint your location within a city by simply looking
out of the windows to see what matches up with the map. Again, an
aid to fuel saving because even the best of electronic
instructions can’t stop you straying from your path from time to
time, therefore wasting fuel to retrace your steps.
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Marque Publishing Company
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