SEM 2009: Media coverage analysis report: excerpts and other ideas

Ok, so this is turning more into a publicity campaign for Shell (as if they need more), and less about Kaar. But before I end this digression, here is a look at the Media coverage analysis report from the Shell Eco Marathon 2009.

The not-so-media-related facts:

Shell Eco Marathon started in its current form in 1985, when 25 teams from 4 countries took part. Hence, the 2010 event is going to be the silver jubilee of the event. Grand applause.

Maximum mileage attained by any vehicle was 680 km/L.

In 2009, over 200 teams from 28 countries took part. Maximum mileage attained was a mammoth 3,771 km/L.

The key media-related stuff (hear ye journalists and media gurus):

152 journalists visited the track in the 3 days of the competition

62 journalists participated in media briefings

21 interviews with Shell Executives

Live interview with CEO Shell for 5 global networks

Live broadcast of the event by one channel

22 TV channels

46 media crews in total

etc etc

The event received:

1,092 articles in print magazines and newspapers

50 radio clippings

219 TV clippings

991 web clippings

Overall, 2,342 clippings were generated, representing a 17% increase from 2008

The Shell logo appeared 1,368 times, representing an increase of 37%

Over 1.4 BILLION people were cumulatively reached through the media.

Now obviously, how did Pakistan feature? This is pertinent for out-reach Pakistani companies would be looking for...

Total number of media clippings (out of 2,342) from Pakistan was a respectable 73. In fact, this was better than Denmark, which had its teams among the winners!

Pakistan's share, as percentage of total media coverage, was 3.12%. Not bad, eh? And then, most of this out-reach was contributed by Print and TV & Radio.

Ok, so there is also an AEV, Advertising Equivalent Value, of which I have no idea of. Pakistan posted a value of 33,363 in it. An increase of 100%.

If I ever knew what this value is, would I have been able to elaborate...

To be honest, this document had a lot more stuff. Wish I could understand. Next time, hopefully, something more kaar-ish...

When a team from Shell Pakistan visited the College of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering on the 17th of February, one thing was pretty much clear: the biggest hurdle the teams aiming to participate in the Shell Eco Marathon was finances.

Teams argued that in this 'time of recession', companies weren't willing to sponsor such undertakings. There were voices that 'we need some start-up capital at least', and even those that said that Shell should arrange some seed-money for the teams. All perhaps justified, but when developing a products, engineers (or for that matter anyone else) would want their product to be one which appeals to the consumers.

While in the long term the vehicles that the teams are working on must be appealing to the masses, we must realize that currently, the aim should be making these vehicles appealing to the big firms and organizations, so much so that they realize the potential of these products. It is perhaps with this in mind that Shell Pakistan is looking to organize the media launch event, for teams to bring their products to the spot light.

While a direct injection of capital to the teams might have calmed them down, what Shell Pakistan is doing is much better. They are giving the teams to market their products, while also highlighting the need for conservation (and obviously promoting their own brand as well).

They have been kind enough to let the teams some statistics from a similar event from last year. With those, when I have got across them... :-)

SEM 2010 Media Launch

Something somber. Something real...at last.

Shell Pakistan will be organizing a media launch for the Pakistani teams vying to participate in the Shell Eco Marathon Asia 2010. The event would be two-fold, taking place on the 17th of March in Islamabad, and on the 25th of March in Karachi.

Obviously, the main aim is to raise awareness regarding the Shell Eco Marathon, and potential sponsors are likely to be invited. The event should not only galvanize the teams into action but give due coverage to the projects, and to the need for energy conservation in general.

Apologies for the terse and dry note, but nothing much to report these days anyway :-)

to hybrid or not...

'You guys must be making a hybrid?'

'Ummm...no!'

'Then, where will all this efficiency come from?'

Yeah, where will all the efficiency come from?

Ok, so there are two different things. The competition. The technology.

With the Shell Eco Marathon in mind, there is no way a vehicle will do a good MPG figure without the engine ever being turned off (fuel supply cut-off). So, even if we hybridize, the engine will have to be turned off (and not merely idle). That takes away much of the charm from hybrid, doesn't it?

What a hybrid car, Toyota Prius, for example as it's something gaining popularity in Pakistan, does is to manage engine's power smartly, with all those computers and gizmos on board. The power from the engine is saved in batteries, used by motors, so much so that a smart distribution gives good mileage. But with all these components, there is an innate inefficiency attributable to each component. If these are managed smartly, the benefit of hybrid overcome the inefficiencies, and the Prius will give something like 40-45 km/L. In normal (less-than-optimum) use, it might not even go above 20 km/L.

So, smart driving is integral to mileage as well. For hybrid too. What if we simply remove the inefficiencies and keep the smart-driving thing? Wouldn't that be better?

In view of these arguments - posed by ourselves - Project Kaar will not hybridize. Until actual figures are available, this is mere speculation...engineering style. So, while our project is a fight against inefficiency and un-eco attitudes, it is also a race with technology, a race between plain, simple old mechanical and complicated new computers...

Reinventing the wheel

The title of this post has been borrowed from the name of a chapter in Natural Capitalism by Paul Hawkin, Amory and Hunter Lovins. A telling segment of the chapter goes:

"The contemporary automobile, after a century of engineering, is embarrassingly inefficient. Of the energy in the fuel it consumes, at least 80% is lost, mainly in the engine's heat and exhaust, so that at most only 20% is actually used to turn the wheels. Of the resulting force, 95 percent moves the car, while only 5 percent movers the driver, in proportion to their respective weights. Five percent of 20 percent is one percent - not a gratifying result from American cars that burn their own weight in gasoline every year."

The contemporary automobile. Efficiency: 1 percent! 1 percent!!! 1 percent!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maybe you didn't get the message: YOUR CAR IS JUST 1 PERCENT EFFICIENT!

No need to elaborate further, but it is definitely pertinent to look at how vehicles at the Shell Eco Marathon are changing this. The focus of this discussion would remain, however, on Urban Concept vehicles using the Internal Combustion engine.

While unfortunately, no vehicle from Pakistan could post a time last year, let us look at how the teams that excel at the competition manage. For the better - better here having the connotation of technically advanced and financially well-off - teams, the process of removing inefficiencies start at the engine itself. Generally, higher the compression ratio of the engine, higher the efficiency. That's just the basic rule. Then, there are those addressing material choice in the transmission and driveline, modifications in the valve timing, ignition timing and to the minor aspects of the engine. (Pity, I didn't give much attention to the IC egnine teacher)

The better teams would have efficiencies at the engine to be somewhere around 35 percent mark. In efficiencies in the driveline would make the percentage of energy from fuel going into the wheels to be somewhere in the high twenties, even low thirties. This already is a 50% increase in efficiency from the 20 percent figure given above.

Vitally, the vehicles at the Shell Eco Marathon are very light in comparison to the driver. The driver weight may be around a third to even a half of the total weight. (More in the prototype category). Adding in these (yes, they are rough) figures, the we can expect the vehicle to be around 10-20 percent efficient. Thats way way way higher than what our normal cars do. And the start-stop strategy-thing hasn't kicked in yet!

Now, here is one solid reason why you should support the visionaries trying to build these cars!

A new era?

Afshan Khan, the something-lady from Shell Pakistan, proudly claimed on stage in Germany last year that Pakistan's participation in the Shell Eco Marathon was the beginning of a new era.

What new era was she talking about? In the time since she spoke these historic words, all that has changed in the country (holistically speaking) is...well nothing. The same cars, the same fuels, the same technologies, the same dependence on foreign cars and car-makers...

In view of the current exuberance among undergraduate students about the Shell Eco Marathon, the question springs to mind, what is all this suppose to change? How is it making progress a reality?

We can all make tall claims about what our vehicle can do, but the ground reality is that those vehicles are nothing more than a hundred-odd-kilograms of blatant impracticality. What good are cars that can't do even 40 kph? What good is technology that won't be implemented? What good is 'ingenuity' that would run down the drain?

In fact, these are real questions, that demand real answers to be a generally accepted phenomenon. At the moment, however, the Shell Eco Marathon seems to be raising more questions than it answers. But, we must realize that these answers can only be attained in the future. The onus is on the younguns of Pakistan to deliver.

An exercise in futility,still?

Since the Shell Eco Marathon is supposed to be directly addressing the fuel efficiency of vehicles, it is pertinent to look at how this actually affects us...Pakistanis.

Now, here is a country with 34 percent of its people below the poverty line (officially). Pakistan just has so many other problems to be concerned with than energy efficiency and environmental protection. Sanitation. Drinking water. Health. Terrorism. Poverty. Child Labor. Human Rights. Political Instability. On and on. Where exactly do the problems of environment and fuel efficiency come in isn't clear, but what is clear is that these aren't priority problems.

Moreover, Pakistan merely has, on average, just 8 vehicles per 1000 people! Pretty Impressive, right? How would, say, a 20-30% increase in fuel efficiency of all the vehicles in Pakistan contribute to the country and its people? Clearly, any effect would be minimal.

Then, what are 30 teams from Pakistan (out of a total of around 110) doing trying to make energy efficient vehicles vehicles?

And when you know that this energy efficiency would be in its loosest sense, you have to think that all of Pakistan is nuts. Well, not all of it though, as the companies have so far been reluctant to sponsor these insane kids.

An exercise in futility, no? An exercise in insanity, to be more apt.

But it is perhaps this insanity, or blatant fanaticism, that might propel this nation forwards. Whereas rife corruption and so many other factors (in which I won't delve) are real contributions to our technical and economic stagnation, the spark, or the lack thereof is also a real reason. Ingenuity and curiosity do not evolve without an effort or critical thinking. Progress will not come without a search for progress. With this in mind, the effort of all those who are putting in an effort seems worthwhile.

To be noted, however, is that the nation's sons and daughters must also concentrate on other areas and fields as well, as the room for improvement and potential in this regard are all there. As the Chinese (or some other anonymous guy) said, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a simple step. We believe that the aim and effort to take part in the Shell Eco Marathon is that simple but solid step.

An exercise in futility?

Wikipedia tells us that the record for the internal combustion engine category (for prototype category of the Shell Eco Marathon) is a mind-boggling 3,410 km/L (Don't think they have had the figure updated recently). For fuel cell powered vehicles, the record stands at 3,836 km/L!

Fantastic figures, right? Futuristic technology, yeah? Immense technical innovation, no? The figures seem too good to be true. Sadly, they are. Almost.

Skeptics argue that the competition is not a fair reflection of today's automotive technology. The levels of efficiency the record books indicate are inflated. Several folds. The element of so-called 'technical innovation' is somewhat...missing. They certainly have got a point.

Last year, in the Urban Concept Category (where cars are more car-ish) the maximum mileage was recorded as 1,246 km/L by a Fuel Cell propelled vehicle. Fact of the matter is that the fuel cell is being worked upon by numerous motor companies. Technically then, the 'innovation' at the competition is 'less than or equal to' the expertise at the motor companies. Where is the innovation? Where are the supposed gains from thousands of dollars of research?

The highest an Internal Combustion engine managed was 589 km/L. The Team from Denmark Technical University used a combination of DME (Diesel substitute) and a smart start-stop strategy to this end. But, as their website states, "it is no more than a decade ago, that scientists at DTU discovered the excellent combustion properties of DME" and the start-stop strategy is something taxi drivers do all the time (not exactly) in Pakistan. Where is the innovation? Where is the out-of-the-box thinking?

Then there are the same old tricks. Going Light Weight with carbon fiber. Getting low-resistance tires from Michelin. Getting high mileage. Where IS the innovation?

And now, as logically I should, let me answer.

Last year, almost 200 (hope I am not exaggerating) teams took part. This year, over a hundred will. What sets apart the vehicles that do 589 km/L and those that do 100 km/L - don't get me wrong, 100 km/L is still WAY BETTER THAN WHAT TODAY'S CARS DO- is innovation. (ins't it?) It is the same general solution, but different specific ones. The idea of competition makes us want to go one better (unless of course, we are Pakistanis :-) )

Apologies for the abrupt end. Really got tired.

The Shell Eco Marathon isn't an exercise in futility after all.

Eco is the buzzword these days, and that's why we are blogging, right?

umm....naaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!

Not entirely. See, we are much shallower than that. Green. Thats the color we wore to win the World Cup. Green is innate to us. Why should we even think of going green? We already are :-)

So where's that pie chart I had about CO2 emissions? Dunno, but fact is, Pakistan's name didn't appear on that specific one (That's because our share of global CO2 emission is...minute; so buzz off). US, China and India need to go green. The G8 needs to go green. The G20 or whatever needs to go green.

Why put the effort then?

So, lets get straight to the point. The Shell Eco Marathon is held each year...blah blah blah (go to the Shell website if you want stuff on this)...and it is being held in Malaysia this year. First time in Asia. The right time to show the world how green we are. (In Germany last year, we showed the world that we aren't terrorists; not all of us, that is).

So, we (yeah yeah) - me and a group of retards from the College of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, National University of Sciences and Technology - are vying to build a car that does a kazillion mpgs. That's 'eco' and...'eco' and...'eco'...

In fact, our project is being called - by us only because no one else knows about it - kaar. Literally translates as...car. Apologies for the imaginative name.

And our team...applause...is called be-kaar. That literally translates as...well forget it. It's just that we don't have a car yet, so we are without-kaar. And we want it to be. So what are we doing? We have bought a dirty old lamp, and are hoping to find a genie somewhere inside as that is the only possibility we can see the car being :-)

Enough philosophy. Just to end it up...obviously, we have a dedicated website to it:

http://www.be-kaar.webs.com/

But, we believe that being environmentally conscious (blah blah blah) is more than just being part of a competition. And so, this is an effort to...not exactly raise awareness, but more to unload ourselves from our conscience, for the time encapsulated by the Shell Eco Marathon, and beyond.