Glazing at the Tokyo Motor Show

Automotive glazing Glazing at the Tokyo Motor Show (first part) The first part of this report on the Tokyo Motor Show highlights the technological innovations achieved by Japanese automotive producers regarding environmentally friendly cars. The author then goes on to analyse in detail the glazing trends which emerged at the exhibition. The most evident of these was: the increased use of privacy glass for rear lateral and backlight windows, reduced UV penetration for solar control, water repellent coating on front lateral windows, and special combiners for HUD on the windscreen. Giovanni Manfré* MG CONSULT ntroduction At the Tokyo Motor Show (TMS), Current Japanese vehicle pro- automotive glazing trends were clearly revealed duction shows a decrease in the as strongly connected with the turn cars are domesticI market as opposed to an increase in taking. These trends can be summarized in the the foreign market. Japan has seen the following points for Japanese glassmakers: internationalization and globalization of its • from the solar control point of view, glazing production of car parts, including its is tending more and more towards UV automotive glazing. Some Japanese companies blocking and the use of privacy glasses, are working together with foreign firms: Asahi which have seen a great increase in Glass with Glaverbel, Nippon Sheet Glass with production. In addition, automakers are still Pilkington LOF, and Central Glass is looking very interested in heat insulation; for partnership to acquire foreign technologies. • water repellent glasses are currently the most Meanwhile, the imported car market in Japan is innovative as far as glazing is concerned, continuing to grow. followed by the solution for the combiner of 145 Glass-Technology International 5/1998 Website: http://www.glassonline.com the HUD with the windscreen to improve the market. At TMS, a great effort was put into information system in front of the driver, on showing that the automotive field is seriously the dashboard and on the windscreen. There and strategically thinking in terms of have also been innovations in screen printing environmentally friendly cars, which means: regarding the edge to edge printed peripheral • technological breakthrough in engines and rim and the five printed antennas on the back transmissions that improve fuel economy; and side windows. • working with users to improve fuel Besides, the colourful dashboards and trims efficiency; require the aid of anti-reflective internal • discovering new ways to curb CO2 emissions glazing in the front area of the car. The by improving fuel efficiency. increase in display will demand an increase in Special attention was dedicated to deve- the use of thin glasses, as well; loping the electrical and hybrid cars to attempt • “emotional technology,” now called “Kansei to sell them at prices affordable to customers, at engineering”, is being applied by automakers the same or at a cheaper price than conventional and can affect the shape, dimensions, vehicles. peripheral geometry and rake angle of glazing. In fact, emotional technology helps Fuel cell technology designers in structural, chromatic and One of the main forms of alternative energy glazing analysis. The first results seem to be for vehicles presented at TMS was fuel cell the more colourful dashboard and trim with technology, which converts methanol into ergonomic concepts created by the use of hydrogen to produce electrical power for cars. different colours and the less roundish shape In order to reduce current fuel consumption, for of Japanese vehicles. The complex shape of instance, a GDI direct petrol injection is applied glazing will therefore not see great to the front of engines by Mitsubishi. development in Japan anymore, seeing that it Using hydrogen as a fuel, or the concept of has already reached maximum levels of hydrogen storage, is still a dream for innovation; automakers. Another possibility would be that • FCEVs (fuel cell electrical vehicles) will of producing H by catalyst + heat, which influence glazing, to some extent. These cars 2 originates through a chemical reaction of must be designed with suitable weight methanol: CH OH + H O = 3H + CO ; the H reduction, solar control, air conditioning, 3 2 2 2 2 produces energy in combination with oxygen in acoustic and thermal barriers, water repellent the air producing water (H O), which is used and heating glasses, and photovoltaic panels; 2 again in the methanol-water mixed reaction • at the moment, Japanese automotive described above. This is called “fuel cell manufacturers do not seem to be technology”, and the vehicle is the FCEV (fuel concentrating on heatable glasses and cell electrical vehicle), already presented by metallized coatings. They seem content with Toyota, Nissan and Mazda at TMS, and by having reduced the thickness of tempered Mercedes at the Frankfurt Motor Show). This is glasses down to 2.5 mm with new quenching the first time that fuel cell technology has really technologies. received a lot of attention at an international motor show. Principal themes of the show Toyota has developed two kinds of FCEVs, The “leitmotif” of TMS was “One World, both driven by electric motors. Both use fuel One People, One Show”. This can be considered cells to produce electricity, and rely on the dominant theme of the last ten editions, and hydrogen as fuel. Yet, they supply the hydrogen shows that Japanese carmakers are proud of in different ways. One is the metal hydride their international involvement in the world car type, which requires refills of hydrogen gas, 146 Glass-Technology International 5/1998 Website: http://www.glassonline.com 1,600 1,400 Fuel cell technology is thus a new alternative 1,200 to the present petrol engine, even for the United States. Toyota’s technological solution of a 1,000 FCEV power train and similar solutions by 800 Nissan and Mazda as well, can be considered a cc practical step to start off in a serious and 600 strategic way. This can be considered as one of 400 the most important consequences of TMS for the future. 200 However, at TMS, no indication was given 0 as to the glazing for this kind of vehicle, High pressure Liquified Conventional Toyota’s where only transparent plastic was used for hydrogen hydrogen hydrogen hydrogen (200 atmospheres) (-253°C) absorbing alloy absorbing alloy prototypes, with no real strategic orientations (10 atmospheres) (10 atmospheres) or indications. “Emotional” technology and the other is the methanol type, which runs Fig. 1 Japanese automotive manufacturers are on refills of liquid methanol. Hydrogen currently giving special attention to “emo- The hydrogen-absorbing-alloy-type FCEV storage tional” technology. In this kind of technology, a volume uses a special alloy to store hydrogen on board. structural, chromatic and glazing analysis is per unit There are other methods of hydrogen storage, carried out to translate a customer’s feeling and such as high-pressure and liquified hydrogen image of a product into the design of a car; for tanks (see Figure 1). But the metal hydride instance, the interior colours are designed to be method is by far the safest and most compact, Fig. 2 Colourful ergonomic (see Figure 2) . and unlike other systems, it requires neither cockpit of Structural analysis super-high pressure nor ultra-low temperatures. Honda JWJ The above analysis includes curvature, Mercedes-Benz with Daimler-Benz, too, has SUV corners, integration of projectors, door handles, long been working on the concept of driving cars with fuel cells. Their NECAR, or New Electric Fig. 2 Car, is an electronically powered vehicle which, however, does not obtain its electricity from a battery, but generates it in an on-board power plant made up of fuel cells. The core of the cells consists of a solid electrolyte made of proton- conducting plastic sheeting, which is coated with a platinum catalyst and an electrode made of gas- permeable graphitized paper. Tiny gas channels are milled into bipolar graphite plates on both sides of the catalyst; the channels on one side of the electrolyte carry hydrogen, those on the other side compressed air. 147 Glass-Technology International 5/1998 Website: http://www.glassonline.com Fig. 3 Front view of Ford Taurus, with strong roundish shape Fig. 4 Rear view of Ford Taurus Fig. 5 Aristo by Toyota Fig. 6 Fig. 3 Mazda RX-7 plastic on the side window of the car, polychrome materials with coarse surface and ultra light materials. Chromatic analysis This takes into consideration dashboard, trims, gaskets, polychrome and composite rims, reflections from internal glazing surfaces and dashboard symmetry. Glazing analysis Glazing analysis refers to all-round visibility, solar control coloured, peri- metrically shaped and oval side windows, screen printing and position of sunroof. The author believes that emotional technology is already being used by Fig. 4 Japanese automakers to develop a car Fig. 5 Fig. 6 148 Glass-Technology International 5/1998 Website: http://www.glassonline.com Fig. 7 Less roundish shape of Mitsubishi’s latest nearly all the innovative vehicles presented for technological car all market segments. The following companies applied privacy glasses: • Toyota in several models, including the Fun Cargo (see Figure 8) and the Grand Cruiser; • Nissan in several models, including the weekend R’nessa; • Honda in many of its vehicles, including the Odissey Prestige and the innovative Accord Wagon (see Figure 9); • Mitsubishi in many vehicles, such as the interior image system which incorporates knowledge of engineering and computer graphics. Fig. 8 - Privacy glasses One immediately recognizable feature in the rear side was, for instance, the front window of the window of Prius by Toyota, which increases the front the Toyota round visiblity. Japanese cars have a less Fun Cargo roundish shape compared to American cars. For example, the Ford Ka and the innovative Ford Taurus (see Figures 3 and 4) are still very roundish, when seen next to Japan’s new Aristo by Toyota (see Figure 5) or the sporty Mazda RX-7 (see Figure 6).

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