Top marques

Ask anyone on the street about the UK automotive industry and they might well ask 'what automotive industry?'

This would not be a surprise given the mainstream media's preoccupation with factory closures and economic gloom.

Fortunately, this special report paints a very different picture. The UK is not just an attractive place to make cars, but it boasts a disproportionately high number of globally recognised marques — spanning vehicle types from niche sports cars to heavy trucks and every sector in between.

Add to this an enviable reputation for contract manufacturing, a healthy smattering of world-leading research projects and an academic base that continues to produce some of the world's top engineers and designers, and it is clear that — far from being on its last legs — the UK's automotive sector is in pretty rude health. Here are 10 reasons why. The automotive sector has always embraced electronics, and more advanced technology is now finding its ways into cars. Here are 10 reasons why.

Hydrogen makes perky performer

From biofuels to hybrids and fully-electric vehicles, there are many routes to greener motoring and all will appear in greater numbers over the coming years.

But for true zero-emissions motoring, with vehicles capable of the performance we expect from petrol and diesel engines, most experts agree one candidate is more promising than all the others — the hydrogen fuel-cell.

The sticking point is the infrastructure. While biofuels can already be found on some garage forecourts, and electric cars can be plugged into the wall, the question of how to roll out a hydrogen infrastructure is more complex.

In a UK-led effort to solve this, fuel-cell specialist ITM Power last month joined Brentwood-based powertrain developer Roush Technologies on a project designed to stimulate the uptake of hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles. 'There's a general acceptance that in the early stages of the technology it will be attractive for logistical and support reasons on fleets of vehicles which return to the same depot every night,' said Roush's Adrian Graves.

ITM is developing an electrolyser system that can be used by organisations to generate hydrogen, while Roush is investigating how this system could be applied to fleets of vehicles, and what modifications would need to made to a vehicle's engine and powertrain. Graves confirmed they are also working with an unnamed global manufacturer of commercial vehicles that has a facility in Essex (Ford's Dagenham plant would seem to fit the bill).

Meanwhile, Hugo Spowers, the automotive engineer behind Morgan's hydrogen-fuelled LifeCar (The Engineer, 10 March) believes fuel-cell vehicles will take off as urban vehicles. Through the HYRBAN project, Spowers is working with a loose alliance of motorsport engineers to develop a two-seater urban fuel-cell car that he hopes could kick-start this revolution. The powertrain for the vehicle is being tested at Cranfield University and, with a lightweight composite chassis, will be assembled into the vehicle this summer. Spowers believes the vehicle's perky performance will make it more attractive than existing low-emissions urban vehicles. 'It will have a cruise speed and a top speed of 50mph. It will get there very quickly and stay there and will accelerate to 30mph in 5.5 seconds.'

full article