September 2010 44 Pages Draft.pdf - Renault Owners Club Forum

L E T T E R s T o T H E E d I T o RLetters totheEditorIn the June 2010 issue of RENOTESthe comment was made in the“RENAULT 50 YEARS AGO” articlethat “The Ultimate Achievement ofAdvanced Electrical Engineering andCompact Automotive Design, " the HenneyKilowatt was a true forefather of today'shybrid and electric cars.You may be interested to know that thisdesign is referred to as a “parallelhybrid”. The electric motor and theinternal combustion engine work togetheror independently as required. This allowsthe engine to be downsized because theelectric motor can provide the missinggrunt as and when required. Which is notall that often usually, just as well as thebatteries do not last long. Most currentproduction hybrids are, sadly, of thisdesign.But there is another way, called “serieshybrid”, where the engine drives agenerator/alternator which createselectricity which either goes into thebatteries or to the motor, or both. Thisconcept, the true forefather of all hybridvehicles, was first developed byFerdinand Porsche (Ferry’s father) in1901, not as a way to make petrol enginesbetter but to make the then fashionableelectric motors better!The advantage of this system, used ondiesel electric trains the world over, is theengine can operate at one load/speedpoint, its most efficient obviously, andonly when required. No HC fuel need beconsumed around town if there arebatteries for, say, 80 km of driving (80%of all car trips are 80km or less), and aslittle as 1.8 l/100 km on the highway ispossible in a series hybrid adaptation ofcurrent vehicle designs. The ChevroletVolt and a few other more forwardlooking designs are series hybrids. This isthe future in my view.Lawrence GlynnMember Renault Owners’ Club CanberraAustraliaIwould like, at some time in thefuture, to purchase a series 1 Twingowith basic spec. (no power steering,electric windows, air-con or ABS forme thanks just good old minimalistmotoring just like my R5 Campus twinsAmandine and PoppyThere was a dedicated website for theSeries 1 Twingo with tips about legalising'em for the UK with such as how toconvert the digital dash to read in MPHfrom KPH. Rear foglight and headlampissues. Sadly I think the site is nowdefunct.I just want a little feedback about the +veand -ve aspects of living with a Series 1Twingo here in Blighty.Dank U! Please reply via editor or theforum.Count Richard Ferenc Edgar HORVATHGreetings from the CzechRepublic, I would like tointroduce my Mégane. I boughtit in 2008, was manufactured in2002. Mégane has is silver metallic,including bumpers, door handles andmirrors. It is the equipment: fog lamps,remote central locking, 4 airbags, AC,power mirrors and front windows, radiowith CD and controls on the steering wheel,height-adjustable driver's seat, the seats arepartially covered with skin. The car isroomy, comfortable, well-controllable. 1.616V engine gives the car a very goodacceleration and maximum speed.Consumption is also satisfactory, average7l/100km. I would be honoured if you myview the Mégane. More Pictures on theForum.New membersRik Kova - By EmailThierry sybord(managing director Renault UK)Clare WhartonNeil BuskeyJason TurnerChristopher forrestAdam Loundsdavid pounder - safranesimon BatemanHoward dixondave Warner - Renault 19Alan daviesAnd from JapanいらっしゃいませEgawa masayukiR E N o T E s m A G A Z I N E35