DOKING XD-FIRST CROATIAN ELECTRIC CAR

The DOK-ING XD is a small three-seat electric city concept car1 created by DOK-ING. The

name XD comes from oddly shaped rear lights ("X" shaped) and "D" beginning letter of the

company's name. XD can travel over 250 km on a single charge with lithium iron phosphate

batteries2. Other features include 360 degree airbags

3, butterfly doors, an integrated safety

system for electric stability, ABS brakes and power steering. Currently, the only planned non-

Croatian part will be the 32 kWh battery which can go for 200-250 kilometers with a charge

time of between three and eight hours. Some of the design features include butterfly doors, a

Mclaren F1-style seating position and 'x' shaped tail lights. Doking XD is the first car

completely designed and created in Croatia. It is Croatia's first concept electric vehicle (EV)

which raises eyebrows with its innovative design and impressive characteristics and is simply

called XD. The 'XD' combines the most attractive features of a city car in an attractive

package, the small lenght (2.8 meters), comfortable interior (width 1.7 meters, height 1.6

meters), and performance of a compact sports vehicle (0-100 km/hr in 7,7 seconds). Let's not

forget that all this comes with zero CO2 emissions. Lithium-iron-phosphate battery is

expected to last up to 250 kilometers until you need to charge it again and makes it a true

green car.The 'XD' is a concept vehicle that seats three adults and has a powerful electric

engine that is capable of achieving 0-100 km/hr in 7.7 seconds. Such performance is typically

only found in compact sport cars with 200 HP.The 'XD' has a number of impressive safety

features on the vehicle and electrical system. These technologies were developped by

Company DOK-ING, known for building vehicles that protect human life and use hybrid and

electric engines. This same philosophy was employed in building the XD.The interesting part

is that it was designed completely on a PC at home of one designer named Igor Jurki. He

designed XD all by himself on his personal computer, but didn't want to disclose information

about which software he used. He is experienced car designer who worked on several Opel

car models (Astra, Corsa and Zafira), Porsche Cayene and Mercedes ML class. He combined

his experience with several softwares and created a car without huge development team,

making it really cheap for investors.The problem is that there is no assembly plant in Croatia,

and huge money is needed to build it, so they need investors. The price will be around 10000

EUR and since it is entirely ecologically friendly, part of the price is expected to be paid by

the Government. DOK-ING hopes to find a foreign investor(s) for production to take place,

however DOK-ING chairman, Vjekoslav Majeti, confirmed that at least 5 bids have been

made for collaboration at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. Foreign Investment is expected to

pay for employment of 200-300 Croatian workers and upgrading of production facilities for

mass production. If DOK-ING cannot find a European investor(s), it will look for a Chinese

investor, and production will be moved to China. If a Chinese investor is not found either,

DOK-ING will build the cars on order.

Taken and adapted from the Internet,May 2010

s1A concept vehicle or show vehicle is a car prototype made to showcase a concept, new

styling and new technology They are often shown at motor shows to gauge customer reaction

to new and radical designs which may or may not have a chance of being produced.Concept

cars never go into production directly; in modern times all would have to undergo many

changes before the design is finalized for the sake of practicality, safety and cost. A

production-intent vehicle, as opposed to a concept vehicle, serves this purpose.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_vehiclehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_carhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concept_vehiclehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOK-INGhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_iron_phosphate_batteryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_iron_phosphate_batteryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbagshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_doorshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABS_brakeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_steeringhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_doorshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mclaren_F1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOK-INGhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOK-INGhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_Motor_Showhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOK-INGhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOK-ING

2The lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery, also called LFP battery, is a type of

rechargeable battery, specifically a lithium ion battery, which uses LiFePO4 as a cathode

material.

3 360 airbags-As well as protecting the pedestrian from being squished like a bug on a windscreen,

airbags are found down the side of the car, both front and back, protecting passengers from injury in the event of a nasty shunt from every which way in the car.The two cushions on the hood are supposed to protect the pedestrian's head and waist. The system also includes an inbuilt radar and camera for pedestrian detecting.

VOCABULARY:

n.a system that uses power from the engine to help the driver change direction ____________

n. the back (end) part of something __________

to go or move at a particular speed, in a particular direction, or a particular distance ________

(a phrase)to show that you disaprove of or are surprised by something ______________

n. the production or sending out of light, heat, gas, etc.: ____________________

to have enough seats for a particular number of people ________________

n.a grown-up ___________

adj.having the ability or qualities necessary for doing something ________________

.n.Something that is the product of mixing two or more, mixture _____________________

to give somebody information about sth, reveal _________________

adj extremely large in size or amount, vast, enormous ____________________

n.factory _________________

n.offer,tender ___________________

adj.not hostile __________________

n. the person in charge of a meeting, company, comittee etc. ______________________

QUESTIONS

Who created XD? How do we explain its name? How far can XD travel? What do other

features include?What do design features include?

Where was XD produced ? What makes it a city car? What makes it a true green car? What

perfomance does it make a compact sports vehicle?

How was it designed and by who? Why did its designing turn out to be cheap?

What problems are we facing in connection with its production?

Who is expected to be subsidizing this project and why?