An Intriguing Concept: Hyundai’s QarmaQ and Its Recycled Plastic Skin
by Jacob Gordon, Nashville, TN on 03. 8.07
And I thought buying a fleece vest made from recycled soda bottles was pretty nifty. Hyundai unveiled its QarmaQ proof-of-concept car at this year’s Geneva auto show. Among the many green features that this car boasts, its plastic shell is the most intriguing. Hyundai partnered with GE to integrate advanced materials from the Ecomagination line into this vehicle’s design. Key portions of the light outer shell are made from GE’s Xenoy iQ and Valox iQ resins, which are composed of 85% post-consumer recycled PET, the stuff of plastic soda bottles. On the interior, molded resins replace components that might otherwise be painted, reducing the release of volatile compounds. The molded exterior panels are also presumably colored during the molding process, avoiding the need for body paint, the single most polluting process in a car’s manufacturing process.
Under the hood is a 2-liter diesel engine that meets Euro5 emissions standards that is plugged with a series of advanced fuel delivery features and a particulate trap to improve performance and efficiency while lowering emissions. The QarmaQ also carries emissions monitoring equipment and tire pressure sensors. The tires are silica to improve miles-per-gallon. Hyundai also incorporated pedestrian safety into the car by designing impact zones to minimize injury of both those inside and outside the car. Plenty more info on the QarmaQ concept can be found at AutoBLog, Yahoo Autos and The Auto Channel ::AutoBlog
Super Hot. I would love to drive one of these, however, I also ride a motorcycle and take a bike everywhere ... which would probably afford the same protection.
Make it electric also or a plug in hybrid and it might be perfect.
I wonder what saftey underpinings there are for the driver and passengers?
Maybe a new class of vehicle could be designated for vehicles that are less safe vs providing more efficiency. Of course, I am talking out the tail pipe, it is possible that there is a good strong frame under the plastic bodywork. I hope it comes out.
vsk
Thats HOT!!
I really wish they would stop making "concepts" and start making reality like that. Oh what I would give for that!
With clever use of carbon fiber here and there and computer assisted design, I'm sure this thing could be safer than a steel car. Can't wait until lighter materials are more popular.
I would definately buy that. Hyundai is becoming the new Honda. It'd be nice if an american company would become the new Honda 0.0
I wonder how recyclable the outer shell is after the life of the vehicle is over. Does anyone know if you could keep recycling this material or is there a finite amount of times that can occur?
As for this design..very cool
diesel engine? oy
the rest of it, though, is all very interesting.
check out the Future Car series on Discovery Channel
to learn about all the alternative car technology that already exists...fascinating...air, solar, wheels with replaceable
treads (no tires)....
and some of the lightest exterior material is the strongest...
It'd be great to see this one the road in it's current form, electric or Hydrogen.
Unfortunately, I doubt it will because it has no place for manditory side impact bars in the doors (required by USDOT).
Loosening the safety standards for efficient vehicles would only hurt them since many, uneducated people already snub them as being unsafe without merit.
Why do all these concept cars have this ugly, updated Eagle look to them? I wouldn't want people to be able to look at my and my passenger's side and I wouldn't always want to have the sun glaring down on me, either.
I much prefer the Tesla's shape, but give them kudos for the reuse of PET plastic, the colored molded resins, and definitely the particulate trap (although we don't really know how effective or efficient this car ACTUALLY is).
Make something thinner and sleeker. Bigger isn't always better.
Now if they would just go hybrid (why are there no hybrid diesels?) and do one of those cool camera-enhanced rear views to eliminate blind spots, this might very well be the next logical step toward a perfect vehicle.
Actually one of the design weaknesses of carbon fiber composites is that they don't do well in crashes. They splinter and fracture without dissipating much energy.
I love the plastic body panels with no need for paint, but haven't Saturns had those for a decade?
This is a wonderful concept. Like someone else said though... to bad it's only a concept and will likely never make it into production. Hasn't it always been that way with the auto manufacturers? Whether it was about being the greenest, or even the fastest, or toughest or best looking, concept cars are always good at making people drool, but then it's just the same old crap year after year. I know that advances have been made, and we are enjoying those advances in our newer cars, but really... there is some really crazy legislation out there that will never allow these cars to make it out to the public. Of course, there's also the cost factor of being green.
I don't know why anyone would assume that this car is not safe. There's little doubt in my mind that this vehicle was made to shine in all arenas, including safety.
Carbon fiber, though a fantastic material and underused by today's car manufacturers, does NOT lend it's self well to structural parts of a car related to the safety of it's passengers or outside pedestrians.
Carlos
There are many ways to use carbon fibers effectively to make a car more resistant to crashes. Bot the Rocky Mountain Institute and Tesla Motors have written about this.
Mentioned before here, but I must reiterate: if there was a plug in hybrid version I'd buy one.
simply genius