Bibendum EventPromotes Global 'Green'
Michelin challenges worldwide development of sustainable mobility technologies.
Steve Sturgess
Executive Editor
Michelin's Challenge Bibendum returned to France this summer, back in Europe after stints in China and Japan. No matter its location, the goal remains the same: to globally support the development of new solutions that will ensure mobility – both personal and economic – while minimizing environmental impacts and maximizing earth's resources.
The Challenge dates back to 1998 – the 100th birthday of Bibendum, that jolly man made of tires, one of the oldest and most recognized trademarks in the world.
Michelin wanted to create an event to recognize the entrepreneurial spirit of company creators and brothers Edouard and Andre Michelin. Grandson Edouard Michelin (who died tragically in a boating accident only days before this year's event) was a fierce champion for the event's stated aim of "sustained mobility," and the Challenge Bibendum will continue in his memory.
The first Challenge was held in France and, like all subsequent events, was a combination of closed-circuit testing and an on-highway rally to prove new technologies in the real world.
In the intervening years, Challenge Bibendum has been held in Los Angeles/Las Vegas, in Heidelberg, Germany, and back to California in Sonoma and San Francisco. In 2005 the event moved to Shanghai, China, held in conjunction with the Aichi Universal Exhibition near Kyoto, Japan, with the theme of sustainable development of the planet.
Over time, the scope of Challenge Bibendum has grown from its original emphasis on pollution and greenhouse gas to include the challenge of urban mobility that was introduced in Shanghai and the focus of road safety from Kyoto, Japan. These were the main themes for the event this year in Paris.
Along with the thematic change, the vehicles have changed, too. Where the early Challenge events focused on the passenger car, we have seen more efforts directed at commercial vehicles in more recent demonstrations.
Sonoma, Calif., in 2003, was the first event to showcase trucks as well as buses, and was truly international in scope, with more than 400 journalists from around the world in attendance.
Today, trucks figure large in the Challenge. By Michelin estimates, trucking contributes 17 percent of transportation emission of CO<->2 worldwide (reducing CO<->2 is one of the principles of the Bibendum Challenge). So, in Paris this year there were several heavy-duty demonstrations and challenges running at the CERAM, a test track and research facility in Mortefontaine, north of Paris.
Challenge 2006
The Bibendum events are designed to bring together manufacturers, scientists, government officials, journalists and the general public during the five-day period of testing, conferences and displays. The journalists and government officials get to ride and drive during the opening days in between sessions in the Learning Center.
The Learning Center is the exhibit hall, where car and truck researchers, fuel companies and even motorized bicycle manufacturers present their differing technologies – all addressing pollution, mobility and safety.
There are also roundtables where technology and regulatory debates are entertained as an opportunity to develop global views of the challenge of sustainable mobility.
And public acceptance is key, which is why Michelin sets aside a day for a rally and staging of the vehicles for the public to view – and even drive where appropriate.
On the commercial vehicle side, this summer's event showcased compressed natural gas and electrical hybrid alternative propulsion, next-generation emissions solutions and the benefits of weight savings and low-rolling resistance on fuel economy, including, of course, Michelin X One ultra-low-profile, single-wide tires.
Renault was prominent in its home capital with two medium-duty Midlum trucks: a garbage packer fueled by compressed natural gas and a prototype electrical distribution truck. Natural gas is already a production option from Renault, and the company is delivering the natural-gas fueled Midlum to utilities, such as the show vehicle garbage packer for the Marie de Paris. The electric distribution available for ride and drive is battery-driven and only has a very restricted range.
However, it is a development vehicle. The next generation will be better, said the Renault representative, and the company is very serious in its development of pure electricals for urban applications.
Heavy-Duty Trucks
Swedish truck maker Scania made its mark with a pair of R420 heavy trucks demonstrating the effect of specifications on fuel economy. Back-to-back testing of different options is simple with the European vertically integrated powertrains, with the two heavies differing only in color and options. They made ideal comparison vehicles for standard and low-rolling-resistance tires. The lower resistance was shown in a coast-down demonstration at the track.
The benefits of light weight were demonstrated in a static trailer display, including an impressive tri-axle flatbed by the Dutch company CompositTrailer. It is a plastic composite, weighing just 8,700 pounds – up to 6,600 pounds lighter than a comparable European trailer made of steel. The nearly 50 percent weight savings add up to a 10 percent greater payload potential, translating into less fuel used for every pound of freight – or 10 percent fewer trucks on the highway.
Interestingly, the technology and materials behind this Composit-Trailer are licensed to Martin Marietta, which is building trailers that are making inroads in the trash market here in the United States.
Another lightweight design was from German manufacturer Kempf Fahrzeugbau. An aluminum dump offered two tonnes (4,400 pounds) weight reduction – equivalent to a 7 percent improvement in payload and a 7 percent reduction in fuel use in a less-than-truckload operation.
Sitting alongside the trailers was a Freightliner Columbia with German license plates, equipped with Michelin's X Ones. The tires were first introduced in North America but are making fast inroads in Europe, where fuel is about triple the price we pay here.
Jolly Old Bib
On an historical note, Bibendum is the jolly stack-of-tires character that is Michelin's widely recognized logo – the most recognized trademark in the world, according to independent research completed recently.
Bib, as he is known around Michelin, gets his name from a turn-of-the-century advertisement created by founder Andre Michelin, in which the tire character is raising a glass of nuts and bolts – road hazards that frequently punctured early car tires. The toast in the copy line reads "Nunc Est Bibendum," or "now is the time to drink."
