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S. Muralidhar

THESE are extraordinary times for the automobile industry. Despite its chequered history, replete with great advances, the automobile industry globally (and that includes India) is undergoing a transformation never seen before. The revolution that is sweeping the world of cars will redefine the technology that goes into it and could eventually alter the purpose of owning one.

Cars are no longer just conveniences for personal transportation. Mobility is becoming incidental to the car experience that encompasses, for instance, entertainment that vies with the fidelity of your home theatre; a seating arrangement that feels more comfortable than your favourite recliner; and, safety features that make the car safer than a tank.

Mr Alex Trotman, a former CEO of Ford Motor Company, is famously quoted as having said that the Ford Taurus has more computing power than the Apollo 11 rocket that put the first man on the Moon. He was obviously alluding to the electronic gadgetry and embedded software that support the various functions of most modern day cars.

Indeed, cars of today in the developed markets such as the US and Europe probably have 50 times as much computing power as the Apollo 11.

Technology has redefined the way cars perform when you consider aspects such as cabin comfort, engine performance, passenger safety and driving dynamics. Increasingly, every bit of technology added to the car goes towards improving its intelligence, thereby automating an ever-increasing number of features that were manually controlled or even non-existent.

Cutting-edge automotive technology is not just restricted to the electronics at play in the car, but also the materials that go into making the car's chassis and body, its design and in its manufacturing.

Today's cars are, thus, complex technological marvels, with every piece of the 37,000-plus parts that make them up going through a rigorous programme of upgrading on a continuous basis. Globally, car companies spend huge sums of money, over $36 billion annually by the last count, for infusing new technology into their cars, which will finally make our commute easier, faster and safer.

In India, with the exception of the imported cars that landed on the Indian shores over the past year, domestically produced vehicles have a lot of catching up to do in terms of the technology that is now available in the mass-market cars we drive today. But the industry is set firmly on the path towards adopting the latest technological trends that are already the rage around the world. As awareness spreads and as many more technological features become affordable, we will see them being made available in the cars we drive.

Many of the technological features that have gone mainstream around the globe — air bags, electronic brake force distribution, adaptive cruise control, electronic stability programmes, and so on — are as yet alien for several of us here. But there are a number of technologies, such as anti-lock braking systems, engine injection management systems and seat belts, that are either already standard or are slowly becoming available in cars in India.

Starting this week the Auto-Tech Column will attempt to demystify the complexity of automotive technology, cut through the clutter of jargon and explain how these technologies work and the benefits they offer. We start by examining a technology feature, which was introduced decades ago, but continues to be fine-tuned to provide greater safety to car users.

Crumple zone

The crumple zone was one of the first passive safety features that the automobile industry adopted after the introduction of the seat belt. The crumple zone, as the name suggests, is just that — the area or areas of the car that are designed to crumple in the event of an accident.

Crumple zones first came into use amongst mainstream passenger cars during the late 1960s and Mercedes Benz was one of the first cars to adopt this safety feature. The science behind the crumple zone is disarmingly simple, yet extremely effective in reducing the severity of a collision that the car may meet with.

Most modern day cars incorporate crumple zones in the front of the vehicle, though a few also feature it at the rear, especially if it is a sedan with a large boot. A crumple zone is designed to absorb a large part of the impact during a collision so that the car's passengers are protected from facing the full force of the crash.

Crumple zones are created at the car's bonnet or boot by incorporating different grades of steel in the manufacture of the components at this area of the vehicle. These zones may also feature strategically placed `weak spots' designed to yield or give-in in the event of a crash. Sometimes, crumple zones are also created on the car's chassis or frame, where a weak spot is pre-loaded to buckle when subject to extreme force such as a collision.

During a collision, the crumple zone yields to the force of the impact and caves inward as would a set of bellows.

The effect of this kind of construction at the car's front gives it the ability to reduce the severity of the impact on the occupants in the event of an accident. The crumple zone's ability to protect can be looked at from two angles:

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Crumbling in, for your safety

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