72mpg from a Toyota iQ

Living up to manufacturer's fuel efficiency claims is something that cars generally struggle to do. There are exceptions to every rule however, and the Toyota iQ has become one of those exceptions with a small team managing to go 504.2 miles on 32 litres of petrol. This equates to 72mpg, when Toyota officially quote 65.7mpg. They managed to visit 19 British cities along the way. The half-way blog post is here and the start of the challenge is here. If the petrol iQ is capable of this much, one must wonder how much a diesel model could achieve...

The hypermiling iQ (Photo credit: ThisisiQ)

This shows what can be achieved not only by Toyota's impressive little city car, but also by careful driving technique. Doubtless many cars are capable of matching their claimed economy figures, but potentially hampered by the person behind the wheel.

House Proposes Plug-In Hybrid Tax Credits

In its version of the Obama economic stimulus package, the House of Representatives has included a disappearing tax credit for plug-in hybrid cars, similar to the confusing disappearing tax credit for non-plug in gasoline hybrid cars.

The credit consists of $2,500 per passenger car, plus $417 for each kWh of battery capacity over the first 4 kWh. The credit is limited to $7,500 for a vehicle with GVW less than 10,000lbs, but does increase to $10,000 for a vehicle with GVW up to 14,000lbs, and up to $15,000 for vehicles with GVW up to 26,000lbs.

The credit will start to phase out 3 months after 250,000 plug-in hybrids have been sold in the U.S., dropping to 50% for the next 6 months, then 25% for the next 6 months, and then going away completely.

So, for example, the Chevy Volt with its claimed 16 kWh battery would qualify for $2,500 + 12 * $417 = $7,500 (what a coincidence!)

SEC. 205. CREDIT FOR NEW QUALIFIED PLUG-IN ELECTRIC DRIVE MOTOR VEHICLES.

(a) Plug-in Electric Drive Motor Vehicle Credit- Subpart B of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 (relating to other credits) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

`SEC. 30D. NEW QUALIFIED PLUG-IN ELECTRIC DRIVE MOTOR VEHICLES.

`(a) Allowance of Credit-

`(1) IN GENERAL- There shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed by this chapter for the taxable year an amount equal to the applicable amount with respect to each new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle placed in service by the taxpayer during the taxable year.

`(2) APPLICABLE AMOUNT- For purposes of paragraph (1), the applicable amount is sum of--

`(A) $2,500, plus

`(B) $417 for each kilowatt hour of traction battery capacity in excess of 4 kilowatt hours.

`(b) Limitations-

`(1) LIMITATION BASED ON WEIGHT- The amount of the credit allowed under subsection (a) by reason of subsection (a)(2) shall not exceed--

`(A) $7,500, in the case of any new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of not more than 10,000 pounds,

`(B) $10,000, in the case of any new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds but not more than 14,000 pounds,

`(C) $12,500, in the case of any new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 14,000 pounds but not more than 26,000 pounds, and

`(D) $15,000, in the case of any new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 26,000 pounds.

`(2) LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF PASSENGER VEHICLES AND LIGHT TRUCKS ELIGIBLE FOR CREDIT-

`(A) IN GENERAL- In the case of a new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle sold during the phaseout period, only the applicable percentage of the credit otherwise allowable under subsection (a) shall be allowed.

`(B) PHASEOUT PERIOD- For purposes of this subsection, the phaseout period is the period beginning with the second calendar quarter following the calendar quarter which includes the first date on which the total number of such new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicles sold for use in the United States after December 31, 2008, is at least 250,000.

`(C) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE- For purposes of subparagraph (A), the applicable percentage is--

`(i) 50 percent for the first 2 calendar quarters of the phaseout period,

`(ii) 25 percent for the 3d and 4th calendar quarters of the phaseout period, and

`(iii) 0 percent for each calendar quarter thereafter.

`(D) CONTROLLED GROUPS- Rules similar to the rules of section 30B(f)(4) shall apply for purposes of this subsection.

`(c) New Qualified Plug-in Electric Drive Motor Vehicle- For purposes of this section, the term `new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle' means a motor vehicle--

`(1) which draws propulsion using a traction battery with at least 4 kilowatt hours of capacity,

`(2) which uses an offboard source of energy to recharge such battery,

`(3) which, in the case of a passenger vehicle or light truck which has a gross vehicle weight rating of not more than 8,500 pounds, has received a certificate of conformity under the Clean Air Act and meets or exceeds the equivalent qualifying California low emission vehicle standard under section 243(e)(2) of the Clean Air Act for that make and model year, and

`(A) in the case of a vehicle having a gross vehicle weight rating of 6,000 pounds or less, the Bin 5 Tier II emission standard established in regulations prescribed by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under section 202(i) of the Clean Air Act for that make and model year vehicle, and

`(B) in the case of a vehicle having a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 6,000 pounds but not more than 8,500 pounds, the Bin 8 Tier II emission standard which is so established,

`(4) the original use of which commences with the taxpayer,

`(5) which is acquired for use or lease by the taxpayer and not for resale, and

`(6) which is made by a manufacturer.

AUTOSAR lecture

I have been asked by prof. Martin Törngren if I could be a guest lecturer in a course about AUTOSAR at the Royal Institute of Technology.
Sounds really interesting, since I hope to also participate in other parts of the course besides my own lectures. But it is also challenging since the first occasion is already on 9-10 February and I have no material prepared. I need to discuss this with my supervisor before I make a commitment.

Architecting Systems with UML 2.0

The best (and shortest) introduction to UML 2.0 from an architect's viewpoint is an article called Architecting Systems with UML 2.0 by Morgan Björkander and Cris Kobryn.
Obviously you need to know the basics of UML 1.0...

Case study of the Architecture Business Cycle

I'm writing a paper with the working title "A Case Study of the Architecture Business Cycle for a Vehicle Software Architecture" together with a co-author.
We have tried to identify how the Architecture Business Cycle (ABC) looks like for the software architecture in a modern vehicle with software deployed to 30-70 electronic control units (ECUs) connected by a number of multiplexed buses, such as CAN, MOST and LIN.

The main results we present are the benefits the Electronic & Electric Systems Engineering (EESE) department at Volvo Car Corporation has gained from participating in identifying the ABC. Of course there are some benefits also from a research viewpoint as well, for example how well we thought the ABC model worked for such a case study.
The data comes from in-depth interviews performed with 20 persons working at the EESE department.

Yet another conference

My supervisor, prof. Thomas Arts, have found another conference he thought might interest me: International Conference Series on the Quality of Software Architectures (QoSA).
Some of the topics listed in the call for papers are directly related to my research, e.g:

• design decisions and their influence on the quality of software architecture
• architectural standards and reference architectures
• coordination of business architecture, business processes, and software architecture
• traceability of software architecture to requirements and implementation

Unfortunately the deadline for submissions are already 8 February 2009 and it will be impossible for me to submit the paper I'm presently working on till then. Hopefully they might add a work-in-progress or a student session. I could go to the conference anyway, but it is always more productive if I have something to present.

Thomas also proposed I should think about giving an AUTOSAR tutorial on the WICSA conference. He thinks it would not be too much of work for me, but I think he is not aware how ambitious I usually am when it comes to teaching...

I Windows 7 Beta Test

For fun, I downloaded the Windows 7 Beta DVD ISO from Microsoft. I made a second partition on my second HDD, and installed it. It was painless, and didn't take long.

Windows 7 is, so far, running like a champ. It seems about as responsive as Vista, no worse in my unscientific opinion. It recognized all of my hardware, such as my TV tuner card, video card, and monitor, and is talking to my network. It is the "Ultimate" version, which means it comes with Windows Media Center, which is nice.

If you have about 16 gigabytes to spare, give it a whirl it isn't bad.

Quote

The best quote I have found this week about architecting a system, especially true for future car platforms:

The life of a software architect is a long (and sometimes painful) succession of suboptimal decisions made partly in the dark.

From a presentation by Philippe Kruchten 22 June 2007: Who are the Software Architects and What Do They Do? There is an alternative download available here.
I think the slides were quite good as material for introspection. I would have loved to hear the presentation.

Reasons to be happy in '09 - small, fun cars

In the midst of economic gloom and worries about the environment easing us into 2009, at least some car manufacturers still know how to have fun. First to take a bow is Fiat, who bring us news of something we've all secretly been hoping for since the demise of the Barchetta and the reinvention of the Abarth marque - a small sports car. This news comes via Auto Express, who give us pictures (albeit artists interpretations, as far as I can gather) of an agressive looking small coupe/roadster based on the Fiat 500.

This means the car will be front-wheel drive, but equipped with the 1.4 turbocharged motor from the 500 Abarth, exciting performance should be readily available, amplified by the lightweight body and low centre of gravity. Not only that, it's anticipated to deliver 45mpg, so whilst not a smart Roadster in terms of green fun, it's more than adequate. Unlike the Roadster it should also be inexpensive - Fiat are aiming for a £12,000 starting tag. Given that the Fiat 500 shares it's platform with the Ford Ka, could we be in for a possible StreetKa replacement in the future?

Abarth Coupe (Image: Auto Express)

Also bringing us a small and economical sports car is Volkswagen. VW have tempted us with small roadsters before, but appear more serious this time, touting their BlueSport concept as a cut-price Porsche Boxter. Whilst not exactly svelte at 1200kg, this is still relatively light by Volkswagen standards and the 178bhp, 350Nm 2.0 TDI engine should have no problem propelling it along, especially through VW's DSG dual-clutch transmission feeding power to the rear wheels.

Unfortunately, though somewhat predictably, you pay VW prices for a VW roadster and it's expected to start at over £22,000, over ten grand more than the Abarth. That said, by Boxter standards it's a steal and you're unlikely to get 42mpg and 113g/km of CO2 from a Boxter.

Volkswagen BlueSport (Image: Volkswagen)

Giving us open-air fun in a different form is Kia, who presented the Soul'ster at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The Soul'ster is based on the new Kia Soul so isn't a dedicated sports car like the others, instead presenting us with a kind of pickup/roadster hybrid. Being based on the normal hatchback, practicality is still a strong point with room for four plus luggage, according to Auto Express. With the 1.6 litre turbodiesel available in the UK-bound soul it should be capable of close to the 55mpg that Kia claim for the regular Soul. Alas, as yet the 'ster is only a concept, but it should raise interest in the production Soul.

Kia Soul'ster (Image: Kia Motors)

Software development takes over

I stumbled upon a news notice about how software development takes over the traditional product development in traditional Swedish industries such as Ericsson and Scania. Unfortunately it is in Swedish.
The article is published on E24, who claim they are the biggest business site in Scandinavia.

Much of what is stated in the article are things that I have discussed with colleagues and other researchers. But I think it is nice to have an "independent" source to refer to when I make a general statement about what type of business we are doing at Volvo Cars as a vehicle developer.

New Awesome Features: Do We Actually Need Them?

Over the last few years we've come across thousands of requests for new features, new capabilities, and functions that make the buzz of the industry. Let's take a look at whether you actually need features you may be asking for.

Export of your listings to Autotrader.com, Google Base, etc.

Cool, you've decided that the awesome marketing offer you can lure new customers in is the ability for one low fee to post customers' cool rides not only to your iAuto-based website, but also to Google Base, Cars.com and Autotrader.com. Sure, it'd be nice to expand your customer's capabilities of selling his/her car.

However, let's look at it from a different perspective. In the real life, you can hardly imagine referring your favorite customer to a competitor much stronger than yourself. Next thing you know it is you don't have a business anymore.

However, agreeing to cross-post your listings to Google Base or Cars.com, all you're doing is helping one of your great, strong competitors become even greater and stronger. Next time visitors will go directly to Gbase and post their ads for free. After all, why pay money to Joe the Car Dealer if you can submit it to a directory that is frequented by lots of people, with listings being displayed all over.

Downloading and displaying third party listings.

Every other car dealer who's ever inquired about our listing import feature actually was looking for pumping a million or so listings for starters from Autotrader, Cars.com or similar into his/her iAuto-based website.

Hey, after all it's an awesome deal - you got yourself a car classifieds portal for $219, you pumped 1 million listings from Autotrader, those nice guys that are stupid enough to give away their precious listings, and you're all set to start charging megabucks from ad revenues. If there's a millon listings, then there surely are a couple of millions of visitors, right? One attracts another, correct?

No, not really. A person who's searched for cars in his local area on a few nationwide websites came to realization that there's a certain percentage of listings that repeat themselves from website to website. Then, looking for something unique and authentic, they turn over to you and all they see are all those all-too-familiars posts.

You'd probably think that you've gotten a one-million-worth-of-ads-website for nothing, but all you have is a website featuring a million of somebody else's listings. You are selling your toughest competitors' cars and pretending you're happy about it. Are there lots of real customers with real ads on your website who bring real money, or it's just full of semi-fake ads Autotrader gets huge PageRank, sales, and exhuberant banner ad prices?

It's cool if you have a real website full of real listings from your next door dealers that you have rightfully secured and are getting paid for. It's not so cool, however, if all you're selling is your competitors' cars and not even getting much money out of that.

An awesome website is not a website bulging with fake listings, but a website that is part of the business of finding customers, appealing to their senses with an original idea and a good reason to post their listing, and making sure they renew or sell their vehicle.

Here's a good business idea for a website with just a handful of listings. Secure a deal with US Army and buy a bunch of retired tanks or whatever and post them on your website. Or find an aftermarket dealer selling old tanks and have him advertise on your website for $500 per listing per month.

A handful of such dealers, and you'll be making a ton of money since promoting a similar website on Google is going to be dirt cheap because keywords cost a lot less than the ones like "used car website", and there's virtually no competition.

I have a feeling we'll get back to that discussion later.

Feedback on my presentation

The two topics at in my presentation at the software architecture workshop that generated most questions (and discussions in the coffee break afterwards) were

1. The vertical versus horizontal development structure. This did not surprise me since I already knew that is an area of interest (see for example the article Software engineering for Automotive Systems: A Roadmap by A. Pretschner et al. in proceedings of ICSE 2007)
2. The handling of S/W variability, especially in an AUTOSAR context. This came as a surprise, and I certainly need to look into both what research and practical implementation have been done in this area. There has been some work on variability and AUTOSAR in the EAST-ADL2, but I am more interested in the technical implementation in the code than how to model variability.