At the 62nd
International Motor Show in Frankfurt this morning, Fiat Group Automobiles and
Microsoft unveiled “EcoDrive”. The EcoDrive solution, spearheaded by Fiat Group
Automobiles, demonstrates that an auto maker’s environmental responsibility
should not stop when the car leaves the production line - but extend into the
way consumers drive their cars.
Today the
official fuel consumption and emission figures of cars, certified by the
European Union, are obtained using cars driven by professional drivers on a
Roller Dynamometer Test Bench. The test takes place in optimum ambient
conditions (fixed temperature, pressure and humidity) on a predefined driving
cycle (fixed vehicle speed, time and gear shift points) with air conditioning,
radio, lights, and other devices switched off. This ensures the results are
comparable. But real emissions levels are substantially different. They depend
on whether the car is driven in a rural or urban setting and on the condition of
the car. And they are also heavily affected by the driver’s style.
EcoDrive
collects all necessary data relating to vehicle efficiency and, through Blue&Me’s
USB gate, transmits it into a normal USB key. The driver plugs this into a PC.
The “EcoDrive” system presents the driver with detailed environmental
performance of the car including the CO2 emission level for each trip. It
analyses the driver’s style and then provides tips and recommendations on how to
modify style to achieve CO2 reductions – and save money on fuel.
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