Chevy Volt's Big Problem Isn't Safety, It's Cost Captain Hybrid 2/9/2012 10 comments In the wake of the Chevy Volt fire investigations, sales are down, and General Motors' (GM) CEO Dan Akerson is blaming the downturn on a spate of bad publicity.
Electric School Bus Eliminates 'Range Anxiety' Captain Hybrid 2/8/2012 14 comments Smith Electric Vehicles teamed with Trans Tech Bus to roll out a 42-passenger, 26,000-lb electric bus called the Newton eTrans, which it hopes will change the way children get to school every morning.
MEMS Is the Word Wolfe's Den 2/7/2012 9 comments Our Sensors in Design summit focuses on emerging applications.
LEDs Light Up Dodge Dart Electronic News & Comment 2/6/2012 39 comments The new Dodge Dart uses 152 LEDs to form a ruby red "racetrack" around the trunk, tail lights, and rear decklid.
Slideshow: 'Start-Stop' Hybrids Hit the Road News 2/3/2012 24 comments Starter motors with automatic starting capabilities will hit the auto market in a big way in 2012. Within 15 years, every new vehicle could offer "start-stop."
Composites Reinforced With 3D Architectures News 2/2/2012 6 comments ETH-Zurich research team discovers how to build composite structures that use reinforcing elements within 3D architectures, as abalone shells do.
Chevy Volt: Chargeable With Renewable Energy? Captain Hybrid 1/31/2012 36 comments If you're a prospective Volt owner who wants to load your lithium-ion battery with renewable energy electrons, Chevrolet says it has found a way to help you.
'Performance' Car Seat Eliminates Steel News 1/30/2012 13 comments A car seat backrest that integrates the seat frame and back panel into a single structure eliminates steel to save weight and reduce space.
Ford Recycles CES Plastic for Car Seats Engineering Materials 1/27/2012 21 comments Ford and Unifi, maker of Repreve, will gather and recycle 2 million plastic bottles at CES and other shows for conversion into the Repreve seat fabric used in the 2012 Focus EV.
CAE Drives Dutch High-Performance Auto News 1/26/2012 26 comments Using an integrated CAD/CAE platform, Donkervoort bolstered the muscle of its D8 GTO sports car without creating a drag on performance.
Cadillac's ATS Cuts Mass 1 Gram at a Time Electronic News & Comment 1/24/2012 30 comments A massive engineering effort has produced a lightweight, high-strength body structure that will let Cadillac enter the compact luxury market segment this year.
Slideshow: Top 5 Robotics Trends to Watch in 2012 News 1/23/2012 22 comments The most important robotics trends of this coming year will enable volume manufacturing and greater integration of robotics with machine vision and automated systems.
Ford Showcases First Plug-In Hybrid News 1/19/2012 24 comments The auto industry's move to plug-in vehicles gained momentum as Ford rolled out its C-Max Energi hybrid at the North American International Auto Show.
Tesla Model S Hitting the Road This Summer Captain Hybrid 1/18/2012 39 comments Tesla Motors' plan to build practical, competitive electric vehicles (EVs) will finally be put to the test this summer, as the upstart car company rolls out its long-awaited Model S.
Recycled Carbon Fibers Save Money News 1/18/2012 25 comments A new family of yarns and fabrics made from recycled carbon fibers have properties that rival those of virgin carbon fibers but cost less.
Smartphones Pose More Danger to Drivers Electronic News & Comment 1/16/2012 38 comments Engineers who have equipped cars with cameras and collected millions of miles of data on crashes say that the key to distraction is visual, not cognitive.
Prius Pushes Hybrid Efficiency Captain Hybrid 1/11/2012 43 comments Hybrid cars entered a new market segment this week as Toyota introduced a "gateway" vehicle aimed at younger, less affluent buyers.
Chevy Volt Structure Enhancements DNTV 1/10/2012 1 comment To help the Chevy Volt handle side impacts, GM engineers will beef up a laterally oriented cross-car structure and add steel to longitudinally oriented members around the battery.
Chevy Volt Beefs Up Battery Safety Captain Hybrid 1/10/2012 18 comments General Motors said it will beef up the battery safety structure, add a sensor, and install a bracket in the Chevy Volt to prevent the type of post-crash fire that occurred in a Department of Transportation garage last year.
Would Cellphone Ban Secure Car Safety? Electronic News & Comment 1/6/2012 64 comments Automakers continue to expand the scope of electronic "infotainment" features, despite government pressure to ban them and deem them unsafe.
Li-Ion Batteries in EVs May Last Longer News 1/5/2012 9 comments New materials for lithium-ion batteries and their housings, along with cheaper ALD manufacturing methods, may help bring down costs and make them last longer in electric vehicles.
Slideshow: Top 5 Automotive Trends to Watch in 2012 News 1/3/2012 14 comments Because automakers are already on the hook to push their Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) to 35.5mpg by 2016, and 54.5mpg by 2025, they're going to be working hard on any feature that can eliminate even the smallest sip of gasoline.
The Radio Is Buried in the Dash Made by Monkeys 12/29/2011 19 comments The old car radio tubes had to be changed frequently. Unfortunately, the radio was buried in the dash.
The Ignition Problem Is Hiding Sherlock Ohms 12/28/2011 32 comments No matter what was tried, this Ford Fairlane owner just couldn't fix the ignition problem – until many years later.
Ethernet for Vehicles Advances Electronic News & Comment 12/14/2011 23 comments Ethernet in the car, once an unthinkable concept for the automotive industry, has been gaining momentum lately.
Case of the Anti-Seize Backfires Sherlock Ohms 12/13/2011 16 comments The ignition problems with your car could track back to the anti-seize compound you used to loosen the plugs.
Hydraulic Hybrid Trucks Hit the Road News 12/7/2011 12 comments Building on its successes in garbage trucks and parcel vehicles, hybrid hydraulic technology looks to lighter vehicles such as the Chrysler Town & Country minivan.
Top 5 Automotive Trends of 2011 Electronic News & Comment 12/6/2011 24 comments In a year when Detroit launched a comeback, the real news in the automotive world came from Washington, D.C.
In the wake of the Chevy Volt fire investigations, sales are down, and General Motors' (GM) CEO Dan Akerson is blaming the downturn on a spate of bad publicity.
MEMS in sports is such a hot topic that MEMS Industry Group – a partner of Sensors in Design (part of Design West Summit) – will showcase it at next month’s conference.
Thanks to embedded electronics, medical devices are getting smaller and smarter than ever. Pacemakers and implantable defibrillators are now able to call physicians. MRIs, CT scanners, and ultrasound machines are gaining mobility. And the venerable Band-Aid may soon be able to detect illnesses ranging from fevers to heart arrhythmias. On February 21, join Design News senior editor Charles Murray for a wide-ranging discussion, "Embedded Angles for Medical Products," which will explore the latest developments in medical electronics. The discussion will examine advances in medical device technology and offer an inside look at the embedded electronics behind it.
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