***Business Technology Magazine Selects Top Ten Tech Vehicles
For 2005

NEW YORK
March 1, 2005

An eight-wheeled wonder car, a vehicle with an electric motor
for each of its four wheels, and a $700,000 electric super car
are all on IEEE Spectrum's annual list of top 10 tech cars.

Among more conventional production vehicles, hybrids are still
hot, according to the business technology magazine. But the
biggest trend this year will be the auto industry's shift to
electronic stability controls, which will soon become standard
on big, top-heavy SUVs and passenger cars alike. While hybrid-
powered vehicles are and will continue to be a major force for
the next few years, the business technology magazine predicts
that no single vehicle will make as much of a splash this year
as the revamped Toyota Prius did last year.

The catalyst behind this year's focus on the expensive
electronic stability control option is due, in large part, to
a study released by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration. The report found stability control technology
reduced single-vehicle crashes in SUVs by 67 percent and fatal
crashes by 64 percent. Following the release of the report,
three leading manufacturers - DaimlerChrysler, Ford and GM -
announced that stability control will be a standard feature on
all their SUVs by the 2007 model year.


The ten vehicles selected by IEEE Spectrum for 2005 are:

* The Eliica - This eight-wheel electric concept car,
created by students at the Electrical Vehicle
Laboratory at Japan's Keio University, has a 60-
kilowatt motor including the reduction gear, wheel
bearing and brake, in each of its wheels.

* 2005 Land Rover Discovery/LR3 - The new Land Rover
offers permanent all-wheel drive, with power
distribution constantly adjusted among the wheels based
on traction. The vehicle also features a new Terrain
Response system, allowing the driver to select one of
five terrain types that alter the SUV's subsystems to
optimize performance.

* 2005 Acura RL - Combining the handling characteristics
of rear-wheel drive with the traction benefits of all-
wheel drive, Acura's electronic solution offers
smoother power delivery without the occasional
jerkiness of the mechanical solution.

* Toyota Vitz CVT4 - A small, four-door hatchback
available only in Japan, the Vitz has a continuously
variable transmission and a 14.4-volt, 12-ampere-hour,
four-cell lithium-ion battery pack, the first in a low-
cost production vehicle.

* 2005 Mercedes-Benz E320 CDI - This 37-mpg (highway)
diesel passenger vehicle features an electronic engine-
management system and common-rail direct fuel injection
to improve the accuracy of fuel metering, allowing
unprecedented combustion control that keeps particulate
emissions within the super strict U.S. standards.

* 2005 Venturi Fetish - One of only 25 built-to-order at
a cost of approximately $705,000 each, this electric
supercar from Monaco accelerates from zero to 62 mph in
4.5 seconds and has as its sole power source a 180-kW
electric motor that is powered by lithium-ion
batteries.

* 2005 Honda Accord Hybrid - With its Integrated Motor
Assist System consisting of a 12-kW electric motor
powered by a nickel-hydride battery pack, the Accord
Hybrid looks and rides exactly like an ordinary, non-
hybrid vehicle.

* 2007 Saturn Vue Hybrid - This sport utility vehicle,
which will be General Motors' first-ever production
hybrid, is scheduled for delivery in late 2006. Its
engine will shut off during idling, deceleration and
stops.

* Michelin "Concept" - Featuring new Active Wheel
technology, the concept car's engine has no mechanical
connection to its drive wheels, but simply powers a
central generator whose outputs to four electric
motors, one in each wheel, which moves the vehicle.

* 2006 Infiniti M Series - These luxury performance
sedans offer an optional lane-departure warning system
to warn, with a buzzer and flashing dashboard light, if
the car seems to be drifting out of its lane.

The March issue of IEEE Spectrum is available by subscription,
on many newsstands throughout the Northeastern United States
and online at

www.spectrum.ieee.org




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