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Volkswagen has stepped up to the plate in offering consumers the latest technologies available. The car manufacturer has conducted numerous prototype test drives, technical seminars and more.  Volkswagen has kept families in mind as well as the environment.


The following are some of the new technologies that Volkswagen is expected to provide consumers in the near future:

1.      Family Tech

What family while traveling has never heard the question of “Are we there yet?” Children have been asking this question since the beginning of time while traveling. Volkswagen hears the suffering of families having to deal with this question continuously while driving.  VW has created a navigation system for children.  The program is viewed on a rear DVD screen with simplicated descriptions of theroad being driven.  The software offers a “time worm” on the screen that literally eats off the road as you move past it.  This allows traveling children to see that the road is decreasing.  The program also offers a cartoon character appealing to children that plays games on the screen and encourages children to play in-seat exercises.  When your children go to sleep while viewing the program, the character will go to sleep, as well.

If your child or children still need a child’s seat, VW is going to release a special power seat that can be mounted to the second row.  The system is controlled by whoever is driving.  The driver can raise the seat, so the child can look through the windshield.  The seat can also be folded flat for naptime.  The seat can also rotate outwards, making it easier for parents to raise their children in and out of the vehicle.

2.      Electronic Sun Visors

An electronic anti-glare system that is controlled by a computer that will assist in blocking the rays of the sun.  The system will include a sun sensorthat determines the eye position of driver.  It sends feed signals to the computer that calculates the point of the sun’s rays within a viewing angle of the driver’s eyes.  The computer then produces what is called a dark “spot” in the glass electronic matrix that blocks the rays of the sun at that location. The spot will move across the windshield when the car changes directions.  Currently, the VW technology does not allow the system to be used on all glass, but this will prove a significant advancement over the standard sun visor’s that are placed in Volkswagen cars.

3.      Hands-off Doze Control

People falling asleep at the wheel prove dangerous, not only for the drowsy driver but other drivers on the road. Volkswagen is creating the technology that will be able to helps vehicles adjust their own paths when drivers fall asleep at the wheel. The system contains sensors and cameras and if the cameras and sensors detect drifting outside the normal driving parameters, the system will take control of the car. The technology proves aggressive, but it can easily be overridden.

4.      Traffic Decongestion

The German government is helping with sponsoring an auto industry initiative titled “ACTIV”.  The initiative is intended to spur the use of technology for automatic guidance and traffic management.

Here is how it will work:

Instead of allowing vehicles to slow down in traffic flows, a car in the lane adjacent to the lane that is closed would be instructed to increase speed before reaching the congested area.  This will create a space behind cars in the blocked lanes.  The traffic control system will have computers and cameras recording and analyzing the road.  This would give instructions on when to go and when to stop.

5.      Power plants of the future

All vehicle manufacturers are developing what is called Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) engines that use spark ignition for heavy load operations.  In a light load, it can ignite a mixture through a cylinder without as spark.  The “homogenous charge” is a mixture of fuel, air and seventy-percent of burned exhaust gas. Due to the mix in the cylinder, there is no hot flame front while burning the mixture instantaneously and thoroughly through the cylinder.

Volkswagen has taken this technology to a new stage in using specially designed gasoline in a combination mode diesel engine called “Combined Combustion System”.   This system is unlike diesel injection where the piston is located centrally on the compression stroke.  The CCS starts fuel injection as the piston rises on the compression stroke. The early interjection promotes a healthier air-fuel mixing with recirculated exhaust gas. The exhaust aids in delaying combustion until just after top dead center. The result is that five-percent of better fuel economy is experience in comparison to diesel. The fuel-air-exhaust mixture burns lower temperatures, so there is less formation of oxides found in the nitrogen.

As you can see, Volkswagen is working hard in achieving incredible technology that not only benefits consumers but the environment.  There are other technologies being studied and released in the near future by various car manufacturers. Consumers can rest assured that the technology is coming their way. All car manufacturers are jumping on board in offering the best and innovative technology available.

The post is contributed by Michael Clark; he is a well informed guy who understands tidbits of technology very well. Visit his site for Golf Cabrio and polo gti.

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