Systems to detect when a driver might be dozing off aren’t new by any means, but that sort of technology is still in the upper echelons of luxury safety features. Now, automotive technology company Bosch is hoping to change that.

Expensive radar- or camera-based sensors like those used in high-end luxury car systems are one option, but that’s not the route Bosch took to develop its drowsiness detection. Instead, information from the car’s electric power steering system or stability control system is fed through the CAN bus system, found on all cars built in 1996 and later.

As one of the industry’s largest technology suppliers, Bosch has the capability to promote its technology in a wide range of vehicles instead of the limited number that currently offer similar features.

This isn’t anything unusual either. High-end safety features generally graduates from the top tier into less expensive vehicles as they age. Blind spot detection, self parking, alerts about objects around cars and many others have taken a similar path. Blind spot detection is an example of one that is also available as an aftermarket purchase.

By making drowsiness detection available without adding new sensors to a car, Bosch might well encourage automakers with cheaper cars to adopt it in the near future, though that remains to be seen.

Demand for diesel-powered passenger cars is growing in the U.S., though it’s still a fraction of the market — a trend Bosch boss Peter Marks sees accelerating in the future.

Speaking at an Automotive Press Association event in Detroit, Marks predicted an increase of as much as 10 percent over the current three percent market share seen today by 2015. Furthermore, he sees automakers doubling the number of diesel models offered to U.S. consumers.

“Clean diesel allows drivers to have improved fuel economy and reduced emissions, while still having a car with power and performance,” Marks said.

While the cars are initially more expensive than a traditional gas version, Marks says better fuel economy could easily balance those costs in 14 months.

Hybrids, which have traditionally been more popular among Americans, also retain less value than clean diesels, which have a reputation for lasting into much higher milage.

With fuel prices pressing higher, people are looking for fuel-efficient transportation. Hybrids and diesels are both reasonable options, but Marks said he sees clean diesels achieving as much as 54 mpg, which could easily offset any advantages a hybrid currently has.

[Source: KBB]

Back in 2008 parts supply giants Bosch and Mahle teamed up to create a joint venture, the fruits of which are just just about ready to hit the market. Looking to take on leading turbo manufacturers BorgWarner and Honeywell (Garrett), the goal was to create efficient and reliable turbocharging systems just as demand for the power-adding, fuel economy-improving snails spikes among automakers looking to meet increasingly strict fuel economy requirements.

The first such example of their new turbo system has been unveiled at an event in Germany. Rather than some shiny new vehicle, the test-bed is a 2009 Volkswagen Passat. Called an “Extreme Downsizing” test model by the company, it trades the car’s stock 1.4-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder for a tiny 1.2-liter turbocharged 3-cylinder. Rather than sacrifice power and performance in the process, the new engine actually makes significantly more power, with 161-hp at 5000 rpm, compared to 121-hp for the old engine. Torque is also significant with 210 lb-ft at just 1600 rpm. Bosch Mahle claim the car can hit a top speed of over 112 mph and rates the car at 40-mpg on the European test cycle.

According to Bosch engineering VP Rolf Leonhard, the joint venture looks to sell as many as 2 million units per year to automakers by 2015. And while VW seems like an obvious client, the team at Bosch Mahle claim the use of a Passat test car is merely a coincidence and is not meant to imply anything.

[Source: Ward's]

With consumers in search of higher fuel economy from their vehicles, diesel sales are projected to rise drastically over the next few years. That, at least, is the opinion of Peter Marks, CEO of Bosch operations for North and South America, a supplier of diesel engine parts and one that has significant stake in seeing this prediction come true.

Speaking at an Automotive Press Association lunch in Detroit on Thursday, Marks said that diesel vehicle sales could account for up to 10 percent of new vehicle sales in the U.S. by 2015, an incredible jump from the current 3 percent.

Touting the benefits of diesels, he indicated that such engines could get more than 54 mpg by 2015, and that while diesel cars would likely cost $1,200 to $2,800 more than a conventional gasoline engine, the significant savings at the pump could make the technology pay for itself in just 14 months.

By 2015 Marks said he expects the current number of diesel cars on offer by automakers in America will double, rising from roughly 20 right now to 40. While European brands have been pushing diesels for decades, several other automakers are about to join in, with Mazda announcing recently it would offer a diesel-powered car, while Chevrolet has also said a diesel-powered Cruze will make its way to America. In addition Jeep is believed to be mulling the return of diesels.

[Source: FreeP]

The CEO of auto parts supplier Bosch today told a crowd at the National Summit for Clean Transportation that U.S. automakers must adopt diesel technology in order to meet the strict new CAFE standards the Obama Administration has laid out. The new legislation will see fleet averages for passenger cars rise to 35.5 mpg for 2016, up significantly from 27.3 mpg for 2011.

The words of Bosch CEO Peter Marks were echoed by Borg Warner CEO Tim Manganello, who noted that diesel engines get 30 percent better fuel economy over gasoline engines, with 50 percent more torque, while emitting 25 percent fewer emissions.

Marks then called on General Motors, Chrysler and Ford to act now to bring diesels to the U.S.

Both men, whose companies make parts for fuel-efficient cars like the Volkswagen TDI (pictured above), also expressed their lack of optimism in both the electric car and hybrids, noting that there are still several roadblocks in getting the electric car to the mass market and that hybrids don’t often deliver the fuel-economy they are touted to.

Manganello said that, “hybrids are not as attractive as the PR hype,” noting that 72 percent of hybrid owners choose not to purchase a second one.

Of the Big Three, Ford Chairman Bill Ford was in attendance and came to the defense of both hybrids and electric vehicles, noting the critical acclaim that the 2010 Fusion Hybrid has achieved – not to mention its fuel-economy. And to rebuff the suppliers skepticism about bringing electric vehicles to market, Bill Ford stated that the Ford Motor Company has a pure electric vehicle coming out this year and an electric Focus the year afterward.

Using the opportunity to promote Ford’s EcoBoost engine, a turbocharged V6 that gets V6 fuel economy and V8 power, Bill Ford did say that FoMoCo was ready with diesels if the North American market was open to them.

Ford is the second largest producer of diesel engines in Europe, he told the audience, before stating that if there was demand FoMoCo could easily bring them over for use in U.S. vehicles.

[Source: Wards Auto & The Detroit News]