The Axcess Car

The Axcess Car 2000 model

The aqua-green, futuristic and colourful features of the Axcess car as a high contrast between the other vehicles that are parked next to it in the basement of the Museum Annex. Next to it sit the beat up valiant once used in the Bush Mechanics television series, behind it are some military vehicles. In the basement are also some of the very first road cars, made in the early 20th century, beside these the Axcess car is years away, replacing the solely petrol engine with a fuel efficient hybrid system.

The Axcess car raised interest at motors shows in Asia and Europe when it was completed in 2000. Developed and directed by David Lamb of the CSIRO the development of the car utilised local research and manufacturing industires in the fields of automotives and green energy. sWhile it was not the first car produced that used hybrid technology it was the first hybrid to be built and designed entirely in Australia with help from CSIRO and local car manufacturers showing the world that Australia can produce cars that look to the future, and it was cheap.

Hybrid technology in the transport industry isn’t a shiny new solution thought up in the last 10 years to help solve our growing problems with pollution. In fact hybrid engineering first appeared in the last 1800’s when in 1897 to 1907 French company Compagnie Parisienne des Voitures Electriques (the Paris Electric Car Company) experimented and built electric and hybrid cars, such as the 1903 Krieger, and American engineer H. Piper patented a gasoline engine-electric motor power train in 1905. General Electric also produced electric cars in 1898 and 1899 building a hybrid with a four-cylinder gasoline engine in 1899. While these early beginnings of hybrid technology may not have been sparked by depleting crude oil and melting ice caps, they were formulated as one way of applying more torque to create efficient transport for the ever developing world. From 1890 to 1920, the peak of early the hybrid industry, there were more than 100 makers of electric cars in the U.S. and Canada. The industry began to decline as the hybrids of the time were simply to match to petrol driven automotive industry as its research and development progressed. It was not until the 1960’s that health and environment concerns revived the idea of ‘greener’ methods of fuelling cars.

With oil price on the rise and growing concerns by the scientific community around the world that there was a global warming trend happening and nothing being done to combat it, some major automotive companies such as GM and Ford began to release concepts and prototypes that combined the hybrid ideas of the early 20th century with the refined technology of today. These concept cars began being released and toured motor shows regularly from the 1970’s. The aim was to retain performance of the cars we had grown accustom to but in an environmentally friendlier way, although it wasn’t until recently that a hybrid car was released into the commercial market. One significant hybrid concept cars for Australia was the Axcess CLEVER car, completed in 2000. The Axcess car was the result of one particular man’s, David Lamb, ability to see a hole in the local car industries. Many companies were not considering seriously releasing a hybrid car, because cause of the thought lack of demand and initial costs of setting up a hybrid production line.

This car highlights Australia’s slowness to catch on to addressing a major environmental problem and our obsession with all things oil. Having a hand in the major oil and petrol company’s shareholdings affected the progress in advancing our car manufacturing to a greener, environmentally, and more importantly oil free future. In order for this car to be made and sold successfully in Australia there must be a commitment to the project and the prospect of new models to make it a viable production line and one reasoning behind the hold back on the Axcess and similar cars is a conflict of interest from the government and society.

While many people would gladly not pay, or pay less, for petrol they may, inadvertently or willingly, have shares and economic interest in major oil companies and mining companies. For example many superannuation funds controlled by the government are tied up in shares, shares for large companies that are in the mining area. So people may want a greener future, and want less petrol but as a society and especially as a government people also want wealth. Because these companies are so large not just a small group of society but the government at large would have to think carefully about investing in something that is progressively destroying the environment.

The 2000 released Axcess car, the later of the two models, was produced independently of the major Australian automotive companies, and its role was to act as a show case for our automotive industry. Using local manufactures and newly developed independent technologies developed in Australia. The $12 million funding for the car and it’s marketing came from the CSIRO, Federal Development Industry, Science & Resources and the Victorian Department of Sate and Regional Development.

While the car did not go into production, as it was never intended to, it has achieved it’s goal in showing the world the capabilities of our automotive industry and the technology advancements that are being developed. At the time of the Axcess car’s development America was the leading country in new hybrid concept and showcase cars. The release of the Axcess allowed the Australian industry to be taken more seriously and also be shown as a country advancing in technologies and it’s stance of the pending environmental issues. Now with hybrids being on the market the Axcess cars’ instigator David Lamb is wanting to bring it back, hoping to use it as a tool to show the government and car manufactures that more hybrids can bemade and developed locally, creating more jobs and utilising our highly capable research and technology development fields.


Refernces:
The Age,Call to drive local hybrid technology out of museum, G.Strong, 9/4/2007.

Data from the Annex archieves.

The Electric Car, M.H.Westbrook,The institution of Electrical Engineers,London, UK and The Society Of Automotive Engineers, USA.

Audio Visual:
Velocity- the video project

Crude Impact, Screened SBS 24/04/07