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We´re here in the promenade in front of "Televisión Pública" with Architect Miguel Ángel Bravo,
Miguel Ángel is not just an architect, he is a researcher, businessman, college professor at UBA,
while we see Carla getting closer, driving an electric prototype
this electric car, an Argentinian invention, be careful Carlita,
Really slowly now, look, it has the Tecnópolis logo, and here comes Carla on the electric car, that's nice!
Are you OK? Go ahead, just a little more, go on. Look, they even put the Pink Panther theme song for you.
Park it over there, that's fine. Perfect, now the hand brake. Hey, she even knows how to put it in reverse, awesome.
Well, Miguel Ángel Bravo, the Argentinian inventions, we Argentinians are getting more and more inventive, aren't we?
- Through the creation of the Innovar Award I think we managed to show the capacity we have for innovative developments.
- You have two or three Premio Innovar, I'm not sure.
- Since 2006 we've been selected every year. Actually last year we were the most selected company on the Innovar Catalog.
The Nach One, the black car that raced on "Desafío de Campeones" and was part of the Bicentennial Parade
has one Award, and also the Buggy Boogie won the Premio Innovar last year.
-Let's talk a bit, since it's on camera, tell me a bit about this car, is it for competitions?
-In this case, yes, this is the version that took part in the "Desafío de Campeones", it has 150 HP for 650 kilos,
so it has a very high performance. -How fast does it go?
-Something around 130 to 145 miles per hour. -Why three seats?
-Our idea was to create the sensation of driving a Formula 1 car, it is called "Nach One" after my son Ignacio,
so it is intended as a fun car that could have the passengers also taking turns to drive it.
-And what possibilities are there of developing this car here in Argentina or somewhere else? How do you approach it?
-Next week we are traveling to NASCAR to see if we can get a category of Argentinian cars,
specifically our Nach One, but in this case with ethanol and electric motorizations.
-That's nice, here we have, we'll be... -Hi, how are you?
-Carla, how is it going? -I'm so happy, I loved it, I loved it.
-You're so happy because you drove the electric one. -Yes, and because I can just plug it in at home, like my computer.
-Exactly, we'll see it in a minute and you'll explain a bit about how it works.
You also came here with some models. This one, for instance, what is it?
-This is the project for the Argentinean People's Car. It's a family car, and the idea is to mass produce it,
around 40,000 cars per year, to reach a very competitive price.
We intend this car to have a front combustion engine, and an alternative with an electric engine in the back.
But that will come later, right? -So will it be what is traditionally considered a hybrid
or not, will you be able to use the motors separately?
-It is an alternative hybrid. 70% of the people throughout the world drive less than 100 kilometers, or 60 miles,
which is our current autonomy on the Buggys Tecnópolis,
so we can have 70 kilometers, spend a bit over 1 dollar, and if you want to take the highway
you just engage the front engine, which is combustion based, and if you encounter a 4x4 situation you just use them both.
-Ah, you can use both. Yes, tell me, Diego.
-No, I just wanted to ask if it's feasible to be thinking in a larger scale for this car
taking into account the big interests at stake when considering cleaner technologies
for making vehicles. -Our company, as stated by the
Minister of Science and Technology, is one of the leading companies regarding innovation
in Argentina, through our relationship with the Ministry of Science. We are currently applying for the
Automotive Terminal Decree, and we we also applied for the Bicentennial Credit line,
so we can build our factory for 40,000 vehicles per year. This is what makes our car competitive.
But regarding the obstacles, it is worth noting that for the combustion engines we have the support of Fiat Group,
so we are not alone in this. -Miguel Ángel, is this one made 100% here, in Argentina?
-Well yes, these two models have motors from the time when Fiat
had a plant in Córdoba. Nowadays, motors come form Brazil, so we have 75-80% of local parts.
-Let's see, tell us a bit about the Buggy Boogie... Well, it has some features that
make it similar to the one we've seen before, the Nach One, like those three seats, for example, but tell me
what are the technical differences. -What we did here, starting with the Nach One model,
was to develop a cross-over concept. You take the front and the back out, so when approaching a dune
you improve tha attack and exit angles.
We were the whole summer test driving the car by the sea and we were even the support vehicle
at the "Enduro del Verano". -That means this is more of a vehicle for entertainment,
for the beach, for having fun? -They are both definitively fun-sportive vehicles.
The Nach One es more sportive and the Buggy Boogie seeks to be more fun. -That's awesome...
And how much time you can drive it without plugging in? -No, this one runs on fuel...
-Oh, it runs on fuel. I'm such a mess. -But the one you were driving, that we'll see in a minute...
-I drove one that ran on 220V, I drove the 220V one. -Oh, there's also an electric Nach One, right.
Here we are in front of this... -It's so nice!
-This is the one that is fully electric, right? -This one is 100% electric, by charging it 6 to 8 hours at home
you get 60 miles of autonomy for just over a dollar, so that makes it 10 times cheaper than a traditional engine.
-So you're saying that for a bit over a dollar in electricity I plug my car at night and make 60 miles during the day.
How much do people drive on average on a city, well, a large city, like Buenos Aires?
-Again, the average is 70% of the population drives less than 60 miles a day,
and bear in mind that this is 10 times cheaper than normal fuel,
and it doesn't pollute, right? -And also for smaller cities, towns...
I mean, places that are not as large. -That's why we transfered all this technology to the
Rod On system, a two person electric city car, which also improves on passenger efficiency,
because you have to remember that 90% of the people are driving alone in their cars.
-¿Lalo? -Yes, Diego.
-I was wondering what would happen with longer trips, are you also thinking about developing, I don't know, some sort of
service stations to recharge the batteries, for instance?
-Some hotels for the car! -We are even talking with people from the leading
oil company from Argentina. On the one hand, you'll have stations to switch out the battery pack,
and those will support our Rod On system, and on the other hand you'll have a charging system,
made of charging posts, so if you stay at work for 8 hours, you get another 60 miles,
and you have an autonomy of 120 miles. -And how fast can you go
in the city with this car? -40 to 50 miles per hour.
-Oh, that's a nice speed! -Sure, we've set it up for up to 50 mph so that
if you are on a high speed avenue, you don't stay behind. 50 mph for high-speed avenues, 40 for normal ones, and 25 on regular streets.
-And is this considered for trucks or larger vehicles also?
-As a matter of fact there are hybrid transport vehicles in several cities. The future will be, without a doubt,
ehybrid cars and means of locomotion, tending towards electric mostly.
-Just a minute, let's show this prototype that will be...
-This one would look great on me. It just suits me so much. -This follows the global trend, right?
of electric cars, for just two people. -Yes. The great advantage of this car is that one of the issues with
electric cars is when you run out of electricity. In our case, the Rod On system has a coupling system, so that
another Rod On can rescue you, so you cross that barrier of fear
of running out of electricity. -And this one is conceived as a vehicle
for public use somehow, right? -The idea is that to help impose, initially, the use of
electric cars, you get a transition phase in which you can use them on demand.
You get out of the subway, you hop on a Rod On, you get to a square, you leave it, and someone else uses it.
Like the "bicing" system, but with electric cars.
-Awesome! -In what stage of development is this little gadget now?
-We'll start building it in front of the public, so that they can see how a car is made,
inside of Tecnópolis, both the Rod On and the Argentinean People's Car.
-All right, how is it to drive the electric, Carla? -Wonderful, it feels wonderful.
-So soft, it makes no noise... -Yes, nothing, flawless, really.
-No engine noise, it's like "mmmmm"... -No, no, no, impressive.
-...being rocked by the wind. Well, Miguel Ángel Bravo, thanks so much, it was our pleasure having you.