Future GM trucks to use active aero in grills

[mx_tifoso]

Reports are abound that the future GM trucks will have active aero on the grills! So my next truck will probably have this feature.

General Motors' full-size pickup trucks may be next in line to get thermostatically controlled louvers behind the grille to improve aerodynamics. SRG Global, which produces a variety of components for numerous manufacturers, is developing just such a system for GM's trucks. Similar systems will debut later this year on the Chevrolet Cruze and later on the new Ford Focus.

One of the biggest sources of aerodynamic drag and turbulence comes from the air flowing through a vehicle's engine compartment. Closing off the grille to limit this airflow can drastically reduce this issue, however, the engine still needs air for cooling – especially at lower speeds. At higher speeds, the increased air velocity means less open area is required for adequate cooling.

Thermostatically controlled slats monitor coolant temperatures and then open or close as needed, giving the best of both worlds at the expense of a bit of added cost and complexity. That said, SRG's new designs will integrate the slats into the grille structure reducing the cost of the system and making assembly simpler. Theoretically, such technology could also be used to improve cold-weather warm-ups by keeping the grille's slats closed.

Autoblog - GM pickups to adopt active grille louvers for fuel economy?


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU-dChOfkAg[/youtube]

I know that this isn't that big of a deal in terms of advanced technology but if it helps increase the efficiency in full size trucks just like what is going on in other segments than all the better for everyone.

And that plus the move to much more efficient engines is excellent news and encourages me even more to continue with a truck in my life:

The next generation small block engine family will have unprecedented fuel efficiency through direct injection and an all-new advanced combustion system design. The new engine family will rely exclusively on aluminum engine blocks, which are lighter and contribute to the improved fuel efficiency. In addition to being E85 ethanol capable, these engines are being designed with the capability to meet increasingly stringent criteria emissions standards expected throughout this decade. - GM press release.

Autoblog - GM investing $890M in next-gen small block V8s

VVT for all of the truck V8's has been thrown around too.

[autogyro]

Hahaha
Sorry Tifosi but surely that is about as useful as putting a barn door in front of a brick.
In any case we had this idea in the UK in the early 1950s on cars like the Jowett Javelin and some Bristols. I even had a leather stud removable panel cover for my old works Morris Minor pick up back in the 1960s.
The problem with American pick up trucks is the obsolete push rod V8 in the way over sized engine bay.
Now an all electric pick up truck would need little cooling for the powertrain and a tiny engine/motor bay. Perhaps one day the designers will latch on.
The problem of course is it would not go brrrm brrm.

[mx_tifoso]

Your reply is what I feared Autogyro.

It is very obvious that this tech is not new, but it's new for pickups. Removing push rod engines in favor of full electric? Would that allow the average joe to continue working on his truck in the garage? Would it still be able to sell for as low as 20K? No it wouldn't.

Please remove yourself from fantasy and when you actually have an idea as to what the American pickup market consists of reply with a realistic and serious answer.

[Carlos]

Chysler, Ford and General motors all offer overhead cam and multi-valve engines fitted to their large and small pick up trucks, pushrod engines are pretty much a thing of the past. One of my favourite engines is the 1966 Pontiac OHC straight 6 cylinder, thats a 40+ history of OHC engines by the American car producers.

Aero efficency? Any improvement is welcome

[autogyro]

Chysler, Ford and General motors all offer overhead cam and multi-valve engines fitted to their large and small pick up trucks, pushrod engines are pretty much a thing of the past. One of my favourite engines is the 1966 Pontiac OHC straight 6 cylinder, thats a 40+ history of OHC engines by the American car producers.

Aero efficency? Any improvement is welcome

Just think, if they added another camshaft to that Pontiac engine they could end up with a 1947 Jaguar twin cam engine.
As to aero benefits how about starting by reducing the over all size of the cars by 50 percent, or even the people come to that.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

Chysler, Ford and General motors all offer overhead cam and multi-valve engines fitted to their large and small pick up trucks, pushrod engines are pretty much a thing of the past. One of my favourite engines is the 1966 Pontiac OHC straight 6 cylinder, thats a 40+ history of OHC engines by the American car producers.

Aero efficency? Any improvement is welcome

Just think, if they added another camshaft to that Pontiac engine they could end up with a 1947 Jaguar twin cam engine.
As to aero benefits how about starting by reducing the over all size of the cars by 50 percent, or even the people come to that.

Americas automotive ethos has always since the days of the model T been "stack em high sell em cheap". It explains alot of old school tech that has littered american car makers for years.
The problem is the general american consumer does not have the same need as the equivalent European or Japanese consumer, nor do they demand it as highly as those counterparts.

But in small pockets you can see if there was a demand for it, America could do it.

[autogyro]

America has a superb manufacturing base but has not moved with the demands of the modern world. There are still huge changes to be made if the American vehicle industry is to have a sensible future. Unfortunately it still seems to be run by them 'good ol boys' and is being dragged down by them.

[Tim.Wright]

Now an all electric pick up truck would need little cooling for the powertrain and a tiny engine/motor bay. Perhaps one day the designers will latch on.
The problem of course is it would not go brrrm brrm.

Would love to know the range of a 2T electric powered pickup with another 1T payload of watermelons. Even with a special type of transmission which has only half a bearing. And if any vehicle needs range its a pickup full of watermelons, since they don't grow in the CBD where all of the other electric vehicle roam.

Honest question here... Electric technology is good enough to push smart sized cars around the city. Do you think its good enough yet to cart around tonnes of payload over large distances in remote environments?

Like I said, that was an honest (and unloaded) question since I'm not knowlegable in electric technology. My instincts say no, for now.

Tim

[segedunum]

OK. I'm waiting for the punchline......... Seriously, this sounds like absolute amateur hour.

This market segment is dead. GM went bust, and no, you can't just put whatever parts weren't dead on life support and continue as if nothing happened. They don't have close to a billion dollars to invest in anything.

The US big vehicle market got into the trouble it is in, and is now dead, because it's not viable. GM amongst others are continuing to kid themselves that this market will sustain them in volume, and have been doing so for decades, and that they can keep selling the same stuff perpetually. What's really tipped the balance is that competitors have come in with far better technology, lower costs as a result and far better economies of scale that make GM look like something out of the stone age.

You can't just keep selling the same stuff, say "Phew, that was a close one!" come up with some amateurish aerodynamics and keep on producing the very same V8s you've been doing for decades whilst throwing in some fuel efficiency soundbites to compete with the manufacturers who are frankly light years ahead - and hell, even they're in trouble.

GM are going bust. Properly this time. Idiotic stone age --- like this won't make a blind bit of difference. Fantasy? You don't know the half of it.

[segedunum]

Honest question here... Electric technology is good enough to push smart sized cars around the city. Do you think its good enough yet to cart around tonnes of payload over large distances in remote environments?

The point here is that the American automotive industry hasn't been investing in alternative forms of propulsion and has been stuck in a time warp with the internal combustion engine where foreign competitors have been a long way ahead for some time. Because they had their domestic market they thought they could sit on their backsides. Frankly, in the rest of the world if you're not currently using a diesel in a vehicle of the size of a pickup then you're extremely retarded. Electric vehicles will get progressively better beyond that over the next decade or two.

The current strategy seems to be that they'll blow close to a billion dollars they haven't got in order to move their big lumbering engines on about an inch, they'll tip their hat towards that fuel efficiency crap that seems to be so hot right now, cover their ears, hope it all goes away and things will get back to normal.

[Jersey Tom]

Not gonna get too fired on second thought...

I'll say 3 things

1. Diesels are internal combustion too
2. Electric cars are a waste of time and effort
3. Come back to down to reality.. and we can talk

[flynfrog]

Not gonna get too fired on second thought...

I'll say 3 things

1. Diesels are internal combustion too
2. Electric cars are a waste of time and effort
3. Come back to down to reality.. and we can talk

don't bother some people don't understand that we have states the size of there country. Any idea what the weight of a battery pack would be that could do the same as the amount of diesel my truck holds?

[tomislavp4]

Not gonna get too fired on second thought...

I'll say 3 things

1. Diesels are internal combustion too
2. Electric cars are a waste of time and effort
3. Come back to down to reality.. and we can talk

don't bother some people don't understand that we have states the size of there country. Any idea what the weight of a battery pack would be that could do the same as the amount of diesel my truck holds?

That´s what hybrids are for

[marcush.]

I happened to work on such a project in the sportcar market just 1 year ago.
And boys ,what can I tell you ..it did not make it into series production due to cost in no relation to benefit and risk ...
even in a highpower high speed application the potential gains are not that impressive when you go for a realistic application..
of course you could gain quite a bit but that would drive the cost absurdly.

It is not just putting a slat behind the grill and your Cd drops dramatically...a truck seems to be affected by a lot of other things bad for airflow.....

[Richard]

Could someone help with translation please?

What is a "small block"? Obviously not the number of cylinder, because V8 is "big" by the standards of most mass produced vehicles.

It's a bit worrying that GM are trumpeting investment in technology that bceame common place 20 years ago in the rest of the world, ie aluminum block and direct injection.