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What a gas!
Our annual survey reveals design engineers
By Bruce Wiebusch, Contributing Editor, and Rick DeMeis, Senior Technical Editor -- Design News, October 6, 2002
Engineers responding to this year's Design News automotive survey indicate that the development of alternative fuel vehicles is the number one problem facing Detroit today. More than a third of respondents (35.8%) placed alternative fuels technology development as the most important challenge for the industry.
Another 23% rate fuel economy as the most important challenge.
The survey also asked engineers what policy would have the most significant impact on our current energy situation. An overwhelming 74.4% indicated the development of alternative fuels as the most significant.
Alternative fuels. Why all the focus on alternative fuels and fuel efficiency now?
One reason may be that the events of the past year changed the way some engineers think about their automobiles and our dependency on foreign oil. "There is definitely interest in moving away from the hydrocarbons and using new technology," says William Hyde, advanced-research engineering manager at Automotive Research Corp (Ann Arbor, MI). Of course, Hyde, who drives an F150 Ford 4 x 4 pick-up truck, works for one of many companies working on alternative fuel technologies based on fuel cells, hydrogen, electricity, ethanol, or a combination of several fuel technologies found in hybrid vehicles.
If given the choice of driving one of the alternative fuel vehicles, Dan DeChant, engineering manager for large motors at Baldor Electric (Fort Smith, AR), would prefer a hybrid. "Other fuels at this time seem to be experimental in nature and will likely take years to push forward," says DeChant. "The public will likely resist any change that isn't transparent to them."
DeChant indicates that the events of the past year have not changed the way he feels about his BMW 325i or the US dependency on foreign oil. "Oil is oil. As long as there is money to be made, people will sell it," he says.
Best in class. In addition to the foreign relations issues surrounding hydrocarbon-based fuels, Detroit faces other overseas challenges too. Cars, trucks, and SUVs from German and Japanese manufacturers top the list of cars that Design News readers rate as best new vehicles on the market today. And when asked if they were to buy a new passenger vehicle today, 14% of design engineers selected Toyota more often than any other automotive manufacturer. Ford (13%) and Chevrolet (12%) were close behind. Honda (8%) was the fourth place automaker, followed by BMW (6%).
The Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic are the top two cars engineers selected as best new vehicles in the under $15,000 range. Toyota and Honda also took the top two spots for best passenger vehicles on the market in the $15,000 to $24,999 range. The Toyota Camry alone captured 22% of the vote. The next six highly rated cars include Honda's Accord, Nissan's Altima, Volkswagen's Jetta, and Subaru's Legacy.
Survey results also indicate that foreign cars in the $25,000 - $34,999 range are looked upon favorably. Honda, BMW, Toyota, Volvo, and Lexus produce the cars engineers rank best in this price range, although none of the cars captured more than 5% of the vote.
In the mid-luxury segment ($35,000 - $44,999), BMW (14%) and Lexus (13%) topped a third-place tie between Mercedes and Volvo (each 7%). While among those cars at the top end of the price range ($45,000 and above), the big winner was Mercedes (26%). BMW and Lexus ran neck-and-neck in second place, far behind (9%).
You are what you drive. But there's good news for U.S. automakers. When Design News asked what vehicles design engineers currently drive, U.S. manufacturers dominated the results. Ford took top honors with 16% of the vote. Chevrolet was a close second with 13% of the vote. And of the top ten vehicles driven, only 25% are foreign. So, although engineers may indicate that foreign cars are better in some ways, they overwhelmingly drive cars from U.S. manufacturers.
| Pay your money, take your choice | |
|---|---|
| New passenger vehicle under $15,000 | |
| Best: | Honda |
| Worst: | Kia |
| New passenger vehicle $15,000-$24,999 | |
| Best: | Toyota |
| Worst: | Hyundai |
| New passenger vehicle $25,000-$34,999 | |
| Best (4 way tie): | |
| BMW | |
| Honda | |
| Volvo | |
| Toyota | |
| Worst: | Ford |
| New passenger vehicle $35,000-$44,999 | |
| Best: | BMW |
| Worst: | Cadillac |
| New passenger vehicle $45,000 or more | |
| Best: | BMW |
| Worst: | Cadillac |
| Buckle up for safety | |
|---|---|
| How often do you wear a seat belt? | |
| Always | 91.6% |
| Sometimes | 8.1% |
| Never | 0.3% |
| What the numbers say: Engineers understand basic physics. | |
| Jury's out on current hybrids and electrics | ||
|---|---|---|
| Would you consider buying a hybrid or electric vehicle today? | ||
| Yes: | 49.3% | |
| No: | 50.7% | |
| If not, why not? | ||
| 1. | Insufficient range | 51.9% |
| 2. | Not enough power | 49.5% |
| 3. | Too expensive | 44.2% |
| 4. | Lack of infrastructure | 42.2% |
| What the numbers say: Engineers not willing to consider hybrids or electrics today want comparable performance and price. | ||
| New technology must be proven | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rate features, which may be achieved through 42V architectures, in terms of importance to you. (top three listed) | ||
| 1. | Active suspension | 13.8% |
| 2. | Windshield heating | 10.9% |
| 3. | Electromechanical valve actuation | 10.1% |
| Features seen as "not important at all" were steer-by-wire (25.6%) and brake-by-wire (20.4%). | ||
| What the numbers say: Engineers are not necessarily early adopters of technology if it is not safety-related. | ||
| Reliable and safe are like bread and butter | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rate these attributes in terms of importance in the next passenger vehicle you will purchase (top six listed as "very important", % of respondents) | ||
| 1. | Reliability | 78.5% |
| 2. | Safety | 55.5% |
| 3. | Price | 44.7% |
| 4. | Warranty | 41.3% |
| 5. | Inside comfort | 40.5% |
| 6. | Handling | 38.6% |
| Of items listed as "not at all important," most readers picked brand loyalty (15.3%). | ||
| What the numbers say: Engineers are getting older, preferring comfort to handling. | ||
| Electronics seen as safety key | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rate technologies in terms of their ability to make driving safer. (top five listed) | ||
| 1. | Crash resistant vehicle structures | 54.4% |
| 2. | Antilock brakes | 45.8% |
| 3. | Computer interlocks to prevent operation by drunk drivers | 33.2% |
| 4. | Collision avoidance systems | 32.6% |
| 5. | Controlled deployment airbags | 31.7% |
| "No safety improvement" was seen for voice-activated controls (26.4%), navigation systems (22.7%), and adaptive cruise control (16.3%). | ||
| What the numbers say: Engineers understand energy and momentum transfer. | ||
| Segway is no way a car substitute | |
|---|---|
| Will the Segway Human Transporter revolutionize transportation in urban areas? | |
| Yes: | 11% |
| No: | 89% |
| Would you purchase a Segway? | |
| Yes: | 10% |
| No: | 90% |
| Is the Segway a good demonstration of engineering innovation? | |
| Yes: | 81% |
| No: | 19% |
| What the numbers say: Engineers see Segway as nifty technology with limited usefulness. | |
Fuel alternatives: Hybrids score, diesels get trashed
Fuel alternatives: Hybrids score, diesels get trashed
|
Design News asked its readers, "Which of the following alternative fuel technologies do you think have the best chance of success in helping to solve today's environmental problems and energy shortages?" Most of the engineers who responded said that hybrid engines and fuel cells offer the most promise. Interestingly, despite its wide acceptance (over half of all cars sold, according to N.Y. Times figures) in Europe, where fuel costs three to four times what it does in the U.S., diesel engines were widely dismissed by Design News readers. Perhaps this perception is due to the image of older, smoke-belching trucks or Detroit's automotive-diesel performance failures in the past.
