As automotive manufacturing continues to move from the Motor City to California, another company has joined in and now calls Orange County their home.
AVL, and Austrian company specializing in powertrain engineering for alternative fuel vehicle has opened a powertrain testing center in the city of Lake Forest in Orange County. The purpose of the facility is to help test the advanced systems that are in use in alternative fuel vehicle. The engineering group AVL hopes to brings automakers and suppliers together in the search for the next big propulsion system for vehicles of tomorrow.
The focus of the testing center will be working with prototypes and proof of concept work. The facility is a forward thinking facility that plans to test projects that may be years from production or products that may never see production. They will use this facility to test the likelihood of a new propulsion system being successful in an automobile. Many products tested at this site will never see production. Most will be concepts in the works and feasibility type studies.
AVL will perform work at the facility to take a concept towards reality. Their engineers will work hard to mechanically integrate all systems of a vehicle and to see if the vehicle can perform at an acceptable level. The new facility incorporates an all-in-one test bed that allows engineers to test the chassis performance of a vehicle while simultaneously putting it through its paces on the dyno. The testing system is designed to handle tiny cars on up to a full size bus or Class 8 tractor trailer.
AVL will continue to work on pre-production vehicles at its facilities in Michigan and Austria, but the new center in California will focus solely on vehicles that are only in concept form. Through their work, they hope to discover a breakthrough propulsion system that will one day be in use on all cars on the road.
Source: Edmunds
