Waraniak, vice president for vehicle technology for the Specialty Equipment Market Association, said during a panel discussion at the conference that tuners will continue to have fun modifying electric vehicles, just as they do with the current internal combustion engine in today’s cars.

“Horsepower and green power can coexist,” Waraniak said.

In between friendly jabs from fellow panelists about his mullet hair style and cowboy boots, Waraniak said aftermarketers will create the buzz to show that electric vehicles can be cool.

“We’re talking about hot rod hybrids and high-performance electrics,” Waraniak said. “This is one of the neatest times to be in the auto industry.”

He said there are four megatrends that dominate the auto industry: Green, safe, connected and cool.

Sure, performance cars will be different. While today’s generation of hot rodders grew up on the sweet smell of exhaust and the loud sounds from big-block V-8s, the next generation might take a completely different view of performance. Waraniak said it is sort of like today’s young people who never heard a dial tone on a home phone.

“My car’s quieter than yours,” Waraniak said future hot rodders might say to each other.

At the same time these new machines push the performance boundaries, they will also get superior fuel mileage. For example, Waraniak talked about the Lincvolt, a 1959 Lincoln with 500 horsepower that gets 80 mpg that is owned by musician Neil Young. Waraniak said Young chose the massive Lincoln to show high fuel mileage is possible in any car.

Waraniak said SEMA’s members are working on other technologies, such as using suspension motions to generate electricity to help drive the vehicle. So the pothole actually is good for something.

He said that green performance is a major growth area for SEMA and will have a major presence at the association’s annual mega show in Las Vegas Nov. 2-5.

Click here to read the full story on MLive.

The researchers have found potential for a GPS satellite to act as an early warning system that detects when a vehicle is about to lose control and communicate with the vehicle’s stability control systems and other safety features to prevent a rollover or other serious accident.

The research findings will be presented this week at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics in San Antonio, Texas.

“A satellite orbiting the earth could someday prevent an auto accident,” said Dr. Gerhard Schmidt, Ford’s Chief Technical Officer and vice president, Research and Advanced Engineering. “We applaud the Auburn team for these advancements and look forward to working together on the next phase of this research, including developing prototype vehicles.”

The project is part of Ford’s $4 million investment in university research programs in 2009, including 16 safety projects.

Auburn University’s GPS and Vehicle Dynamics Laboratory, directed by Dr. David Bevly, received a three-year, $120,000 grant from Ford in 2008 as part of company’s university research program. The research team is investigating the use of combining GPS and inertial measurement units data to provide precise information on a vehicle’s motion. The data could be used to improve performance of a vehicle’s electronic stability control system, a computerized technology that improves the safety of a vehicle’s stability by detecting and minimizing skids.

“Stability control is one of the most important safety technologies of this decade,” said Jeff Rupp, manager, Ford Active Safety Systems Engineering. “Ford is committed to safety leadership, and research partnerships like our work with Auburn help us achieve success.”

The project’s breakthroughs include developing algorithms combining data from sensors in Ford vehicles with data from GPS receivers. This coordination of data has led to predictive models that can calculate a vehicle’s roll angle, sideslip and velocities under various driving conditions.

1. Ford Sync –Sync has revolutionized in-vehicle communications, leaving every other automaker scrambling to develop something similar. Sync’s main feature is using voice commands to control a cellphone and an mp3 player. On some Ford, Mercury and Lincoln vehicles, it also can control everything from cabin temperature to the radio as well.

2. Direct injection — First scene on diesels, direct injection first came to gas engines in the U.S. in the Isuzu Axiom. The system injects gasoline at high pressure directly into the cylinder, rather than the intake manifold. This allows engineers to precisely control the spray pattern and allows for better atomization of the fuel. It also has a cooling effect on the cylinder. The benefit is better efficiency resulting in better power and fuel economy.

3. Electronic stability control — This system, which was first scene on some Mercedes and BMWs in 1997, started appearing on mainstream cars in the 2000s. Csaba Csere, then the executive editor of Car and Driver, called ESC the greatest advance in safety since seatbelts. It is so revolutionary, stability control will become mandatory on cars sold in the U.S. in 2012.

4. Hybrid drive systems — While many automakers have scoffed at hybrid systems because the benefits hardly outweight the cost, the public has taken to them and even demanded them. Toyota first introduced hybrids in the late ’90s, but the technology really took off in this decade as fuel prices have gone up. But possibly the most important contribution from hybrid vehicles is leading auto companies to develop …

5. Plug-in hybrid powertrains – When Toyota first introduced its Prius hybrid, it resisted developing a version that could be plugged into an electrical outlet because it wanted do distance itself from electric cars which had a bad reputation for poor range. That didn’t stop tinkerers from adding battery packs and other gizmos to their Priuses, allowing them to run for longer periods of time and at higher speeds on battery power alone. Some of the auto companies took noticed and started work on …

2011 Chevrolet Volt

6. Extended-range electric vehicles — General Motors is set to release the much-anticipated Chevrolet Volt starting in late 2010. GM says the Volt will be able to travel up to 40 miles on battery power alone after a full charge. That will allow most people to drive their entire daily commute on just battery power. When more range is needed — say for a trip up north — a gasoline engine will kick in, powering the electric motors that motivate the Volt, giving it the range of a typical conventional car. Of course EREVs wouldn’t be possible without the latest in battery development …

7. Lithium-ion batteries — Lithium-ion batteries have actually become fairly common in small-scale applications such as cellphones, laptop computers and cordless tools. But scaling that technology up to the size needed to power a car has taken a little longer. Current lithium-ion technology is a wet slurry chemical solution, but battery chemists are currently working on solid-state lithium batteries.

Experts who gathered for a forum on connected vehicles sponsored by the Center for Automotive Research disagreed about the timeframe.

Jeff Adik, chairman and founder of Intraduce Transit, said what the industry is calling IntelliDrive could be a reality as soon as 2016, but Dave LeBlanc, assistant research scientist for the University of Michigan Transportation Institute, said it won’t happen that soon. Chris Borroni-Bird, director of advanced technology vehicle concepts for General Motors, predicted connected vehicles hitting the road in a decade.

One challenge, said Steve Millstein, president of the ATX Group, will be to find a balance between the autonomous car and allowing the driver to have control of the vehicle. Millstein said that he enjoys driving his BMW 6-Series and isn’t ready to give it up to a computer all of the time.

“Driving is a passion for me, but for some, it’s not,” Millstein said.

Part of the project to connect vehicles will also allow companies to research consumer wants and needs. Car owners will have the option of customizing their cars. For example, instead of the typical instrument panel of today’s cars, future vehicles could have a computer-generated heads-up display that is personalized by the driver.

Borroni-Bird said that the connected vehicle may prove to be more efficient than even mass transit systems because the vehicles would drive exactly to and from where the occupants need to go instead of a general route that takes occupants out of their way for the sake of others. The space needed for parking could even be reduced because autonomous cars wouldn’t need as much space for getting into and out of parking spaces since the vehicles would be able to coordinate and better arrange themselves.

Borroni-Bird said one of the keys will be maintaining the freedom and personal statements people have with the current range of vehicle choices.

“Those are things that people cherish about personal mobility that we want to preserve,” Borroni-Bird said.

LeBlanc said UMTRI is getting ready to conduct a study where real-world drivers will test Honda Accords and heavy trucks retrofitted with active crash avoidance technology. In the pilot project leading up to the full study, LeBlanc said institute researchers found people are receptive to the new technology.

“People liked it,” he said.

Ford Work Solutions helps workers improve efficiency.

By BRYAN LAVIOLETTE

DEARBORN — Ford knows that many of its trucks become rolling offices. So it is now offering Ford Work Solutions, an in-vehicle computer system that will do everything from helping contractors rework bids to making sure they have all of their tools when they leave the job site.

Paul Russell, marketing manager for FWS and Sync, said FWS can connect to the Internet, allowing the contractor on the job site to revise orders or check prices on different products. The Crew Chief system allows company managers to keep tabs on workers, telling them where they are at and how the vehicle is being used.

A wireless keyboard that comes with the system, developed with the help of   Magneti Marelli, gives it the functionality of a laptop computer. It includes a spreadsheet program, pdf viewer, calendar and calculator, Russell said. There’s even an optional wireless printer.

Vehicle connectivity costs $50 per month through Sprint. Russell said the company partnered with Sprint because the carrier already has a large part of the contractors’ market with its Nextel Direct Connect system.

But unlike a laptop, FWS is integrated into the vehicle, so there’s no cumbersome aftermarket bracket and the computer doesn’t have to be put away. Because it’s a part of the vehicle, it’s covered by Ford’s vehicle warranty and it’s engineered to original equipment manufacturers specifications, Russell said.

The keyboard easily stows in the center console or map pocket on the door.

Of course, since FWS is based on Ford’s revolutionary Sync system, it integrates phone and navigation, although mp3 functionality is reduced since the system is geared for contractors, Russell said. Because it’s based on Sync, Ford offers it for just $1,195. Some systems offering just navigation cost more than that.

OK, so how does the system make sure you don’t leave your table saw at the job site? First, Ford worked with Master Locks on Cable Locks, to make sure tools are not stolen.

But here’s the cool part. Ford worked with DeWalt on Tool Link, a system where RFID tags are placed on tools and antennas in the bed send out signals looking for them. Missing a tool? FWS tells you what’s not there.

FWS is available on 2010 F-150, Super Duty, E-Series vans and TransitConnect vehicles.

Watch for a full review of the system soon at Michigan wllz.

Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally

By BRYAN LAVIOLETTE

DEARBORN – For the second year in a row, Alan Mulally, president and CEO of Ford, will deliver a major speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, which sponsors CES, told a group of reporters at a luncheon Monday that while some may view the automaker as a “Rust Belt” company, he sees the opposite.

“Alan Mulally has positioned Ford as a leading innovator in the automotive industry,” Shapiro said.

Ford’s Sync voice-recognition system has become one of the must-have features for many car buyers. Sync allows users to control their cellphones and mp3 players with their voice and on some of Ford’s vehicles, the system allows users to do everything from change the cabin temperature to check the weather without taking their hands off the wheel.

The company also is using the Sync platform, which it developed with the help of Microsoft to launch other technology products such as Ford Work Solutions, which is the latest development of the mobile vehicle office.

CES, scheduled for Jan. 7-10, is the world’s largest consumer technology tradeshow, where about 20,000 new products are debuted by 2,500 exhibitors each year.

“Mulally will reveal Ford’s latest innovations and announce new technology developments related to Ford’s popular, voice-activated SYNC technology,” the automaker said in a release.