[LINK] 'Smart' cars as fuel-efficient as hybrids

[David Boxall]

<http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/2007/1918364.htm>

... 'intelligent' cars are conventional vehicles fitted with sensors and 
receivers called telematics, which work in a network, swapping 
information about the traffic ahead.

This traffic information is then relayed to the car to stop the vehicle 
or slow it down so that the ride is smooth, avoiding the stop-start 
phenomenon that drains fuel.
...
They calculated that a hybrid version of the car would deliver fuel 
economy of 15-25% over the unconverted vehicle.

But this saving was matched when the benchmark car was fitted with basic 
telematics that predicted traffic flows as little as seven seconds 
ahead, as determined by Australian driving conditions.
...
If the predictability was boosted to 180 seconds, the newly-intelligent 
car was 33% more fuel-efficient than when it was unconverted.

-- 
David Boxall                    |  Any given program,
                                 |  when running correctly,
                                 |  is obsolete.
                                 |       --Arthur C. Clarke