Gilles continues to work his magic at Chrysler

Just about everyone knows about Chrysler’s 300 success—the model won Motor Trend’s car of the year award in 2005—some even know that Ralph Gilles was the moving force behind the design team that developed the car. What most don’t know is that Gilles was so intent on becoming a car designer that he sent sketches to none other than Lee Iacocca. The Chrysler head was so impressed with Gilles’s work that he suggested some design schools to attend, which Gilles did.

In 1992 when Gilles received his BSC from the Center of Creative Studies in Detroit, he joined Chrysler as a designer. He quickly moved through the ranks to director in the design office in 2001. He spearheaded the design team on the development of the 300 and the rest is history.

In 2005 Gilles was named directory of the Truck Exterior/Interior Design Studio before ascending to his present position as Vice President, which is a notable achievement for a 30-something. During that time Gilles and his team developed the all-new Ram: a vehicle which Chrysler calls a game-changer.

We got to get up close and personal with Gilles in Phoenix at a press preview of the Ram and the new Dodge Journey. Gilles talked about how the design shift in ’94 to the big rig look was very polarizing. I was one that didn’t care for it. The new truck is very refined, however, and much more appealing to me and for the hard core Dodge truck people, the original dropped fender big rig look is still there. But, the new Dodge Ram is a whole lot more than just a pretty face.

When talking about pickups, aerodynamics is rarely discussed, and yet changes in design are a noticeable improvement. Reworking the hood, grille and even the side view mirrors made a big difference, and air dams help direct air around the vehicle and improve engine cooling. I won’t bore you with the drag coefficient specifics but, suffice it to say, they’re pretty happy with the improvement.

The HEMI powerplant delivers an impressive 380 horsepower and, more importantly, 404 lb-ft of torque and delivers an estimated 13/19mpg in the 2WD iteration on mid-range 89 octane fuel.

I was very impressed with Ralph Gilles long before meeting him. After talking with him and seeing his true passion for designing exciting vehicles that not only look good but perform extremely well, I have even more respect for him. I know he doesn’t like to be called a genius, but what he’s accomplished in his relatively short career is groundbreaking. I'm betting that Gilles will be a very important part of the automotive industry along the lines of Harley Earl, Bob Lutz and, of course, lee Iacocca, for a long time to come.

There is a lot more to the all-new Ram and we’ll be talking more in depth when we drive the press vehicle later this year.

Volvo is taking safety to a whole new level

Several years ago I heard the phrase “reach beyond the expected,” a thought that has always resonated with me. Reaching beyond the expected is something I think a lot of us don’t attempt to do very often, if at all. Over the 15 years or so I’ve been reviewing vehicles now, that phrase comes to mind from time to time when I feel a manufacturer has made a genuine effort—or as in many cases, made no attempt at all to go beyond the expected and comfortable norm.

Volvo has always been the benchmark for automotive safety, and during a presentation to several press members who had been invited to Volvo’s Proving Grounds outside of Phoenix, Thomas Broberg, Senior Technical Advisor, pointed out that in the U.S. alone some 43,000 people die on our highways every year and worldwide the number is a staggering 1.2 million. He then told us that Volvo’s mission for 2020 is that no one will be killed or injured in a Volvo. Needless to say there was a moment of silence around the table at such a seemingly impossible goal. But Broberg was, if you’ll pardon the pun, deadly serious.

Volvo is leading the way in trying to reduce the numbers of deaths and serious injuries with some very fascinating features that we had an opportunity to experience first hand. If you’ve listened to our radio show or read any of our reviews, you’ve heard us talk many times about the alphabet soup that is used today to describe safety innovations and features, from items you may be familiar with like ABS and ESC. Now on Volvos you’ll find acronyms like CWAB, ACC, DAC, and LDW, just to name a few. Fun, isn’t it?

There’s one other safety feature that is very important on several fronts that’s called Alcoguard: it’s a breathalyzer which tells you if you’re past the point of driving safely. Some other systems that really impressed us were CWAB for Collision Warning Auto Braking and DAC for Driver Alert Control and City Safety.

The CWAB is a refined warning technology that alerts the driver to an impending collision and makes the car brake by itself if the driver doesn't act when a rear-end collision with a moving or stationary vehicle is imminent. Here’s how it works: If the car approaches another vehicle from behind and the driver does not react, a red warning light flashes in the head-up display on the windscreen. Interestingly, they use the red warning light because of the instinctive response we have to brake lights.

There is also an audible signal that helps the driver react in many cases when an accident can be avoided. Volvo’s Jonas Tisell says, "The head-up display gives a clear and very efficient warning. The red light appearing on the windscreen in front of the driver produces the same gut-reaction effect as when you see a brake light in front of you." If the risk of a collision increases despite the warning, the brake support is activated. To shorten the reaction time the brakes are prepared by the brake pads being placed against the discs. The brake pressure is also reinforced hydraulically, ensuring effective braking even if the driver does not press the brake pedal particularly hard.

DAC is a very nifty system that monitors the cars position in the lane and reads when the driver allows the vehicle to drift in its lane but doesn’t go far enough to activate the Lane Departure Warnings system. You know, you’re driving, tired and the car just wanders a bit but nothing too serious right? Wrong, because it’s likely the beginning of a driver dozing off and possibly serious trouble. If you do it long enough the vehicle recognizes the movement and alerts the driver with several beeps and a coffee cup icon appears in the instrument cluster and it says it’s time to take a break. Honestly.

Alcoguard is a great feature that won’t necessarily work for the habitual drinker, but it is something that several companies that have taxi and limo drivers (and such) are using in their fleet. Many even use it in their advertising campaigns to let people know that their drivers are not impaired behind the wheel. That’s something that would get my attention.

There are several more systems that are coming on line in Volvos soon but a very exciting feature that will be standard on the 2009 XC60 is called City Safety. This system, much like CWAB, assesses that a collision is imminent; and the brakes are instantly prepared for action. If the driver does not respond quickly enough, the car brakes automatically. You’ve seen it a thousand times; cars pulled over to the side of the road because of rear-enders in stop and go traffic. This type of accident represents 75% of all reported collisions under 30 mph. With City Safety at speeds less than 9 mph, accidents can be avoided entirely, and at speeds between 10-18 mph the system applies brake force to reduce vehicle speed and help reduce occupant injuries and vehicle damage.
No one hurt or killed in a Volvo by 2020 is their mission and that is definitely reaching beyond the expected. Leave it to Volvo to kick it up a notch when it comes to safety.

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