Lancia Dialogos presents future
By Andraz Marinic
(Delo, 14.8.1998)
Dialogos announces design shapes of new Lancias based, however, on reach tradition. Dialogos expresses fundamental ideas of Vincenzo Lancia, the founder of this brand. Namely, he said that his products would demonstrate excellence only then when they offered to customers much more than expected at first sight. That is the reason why the doors of the prototype open as a book. So the hinges lie on the side arches of the bodywork, in the same fashion as they used to be in many exciting Lancias in the past. The steering bar is fastened in the middle of the dashboard so that the driver and the front passenger can pass it to each other mutually exchanging their roles. Actually, the whole passenger compartment is designed as a living room. However, Dialogos is far away from being exciting only for its design and styling. Much more, it has build-in as much as seven innovative systems, currently being under development in Fiat.
Top Climate System is automatic air conditioner quite different from other normal ones. Main difference is that the system does not have usual channels with flaps for cold or warm air. The air comes to the passengers through many little holes in the top, in the floor, in the seats and in the dashboard. Such system is much less aggressive, almost inaudible, and besides it enables setting of micro-climate conditions for each seat separately. The system automatically warms or cools down those spots in the compartment deviating from the pre-set temperature. Especially effective factors offering convenience are the seat holes as they control the temperature of those parts which are in direct contact with the body.
Adaptive Cruise Control System (ACC) takes care for the desired pre-set speed, taking into consideration also safety distance. By using microwave radar in front of the car it monitors what is happening in front of the car. If the car is approaching to another slower car it automatically puts on the brakes. The ACC system has some interesting features. Suppose that at some pre-set speed we catch up with someone in front, than the ACC slows down so that the car keeps the safety distance. We can now overtake the car by pushing down the power treadle thus turning the ACC off. Second option we have is that we change the lane. If the lane is empty the ACC will automatically accelerate, however, in case the overtaking lane is not empty, ACC will limit the increased speed to enable safe overtaking by maintaining safety distance. Third option is that we change the lane and set higher speed.
Evolutionary Cruise Control is somehow upgrade of the ACC. Fiat is testing this system within two European projects, namely, Urban Traffic Monitoring and Collision Prevention System. In addition to the radar the system has three laser sensors in front. The system is logged in the city information system accessing the information about the traffic lights (i.e. green, read) ahead of the car. As the safety distances in the city are very short the system is quite sophisticated but at the stage achieved so far it already enables keeping safety distance in such circumstances. The driver can also select Automatic Stop and Go mode.
Anticollision Warning system is a part of both above mentioned systems. The system gives audible signals and also shows on a special display a sort of safety level, that is, recommended safety distance. The system is useful especially at bad visibility conditions.
Lane and Overtaking Warning System (LOW) enables safe overtaking and changing of the lanes. The three cameras cover also dead angles of the rear mirrors. At the same time it gives a warning to the driver if on the overtaking lane a car having higher speed is approaching from behind.
Ego Mode Interactive Robotised Gearbox is of special interest ad it is not only automatic gearbox. The system is adaptive and learning. At the beginning the driver can select learning mode. Then he drives few minutes by changing the gears manually. After the system learns the driver's style of changing gears, (giving to the driver a signal), the driver can switch to automatic mode. Special feature of this system is that it can memorise and write down five driving styles to a special card, so called Ego Card that can be used later (without need to learn again).
Lancia Dialogos has also active differential that is different from self-locking differential. Two specially constructed electro-hydraulic elements automatically change the driving ratio between the left and the right wheel, regarding the conditions around the car and the driver's moves. The ratio can vary from 0 to 100 % giving more power to the wheel which has a better friction or which needs one to stabilise the vehicle. The system can also adapt itself to the driver's style of taking turnings - that can also be saved on the Ego Card mentioned before.
Dialogos is not only predecessor of new cars, produced in Lancia. For the whole Fiat group it means much more than only more or less successful design study. It is a product that will enable to Lancia, Fiat, Alfa Romeo and also to Ferrari and Maserati to maintain their competitiveness and sales success in the future.