The imperative for car companies to sharply adjust to rising fuel prices is far greater than energy companies moving to alternative fuels. As we know, the energy companies rake in huge profits when oil gets expensive. What GM hasn’t done for years, it’s beginning to do – make sharp cuts in production of gas guzzlers and aggressively move on schedules of fuel efficient cars. Today GM announced plans to shut down four truck and SUV plants and committed to bring the hybrid Chevy Volt into production. And it’s one of the most aggressive companies with respect to hydrogen fuel vehicles. It’s a remarkable series of moves for company known for lethargy and sacrificing its future for short term profits. For years, it refused to move away from gas guzzling trucks and broaden its portfolio with hybrids and vehicles that sip instead of guzzle gas. Following Ford’s cue with the Verve, GM also committed to doing a global car.
Make no mistake about it. Car companies are in a state of crisis across the board. For May, Ford reported a 16% drop in sales while perennial performer Toyota posted a 4.3 per cent decline. For the first time ever, the Toyota Camry and Corolla each outsold the aging Ford F-150 pickup, according to the Wall Street Journal. And for May, GM’s were in freefall, plunging 28%. It would seem large SUV production is headed into the car crusher.
Oil prices know no ceiling although the commodity is trading on fear, not on any marked shortfall in crude or refined products. It’s a sorry and scary state of affairs. The good news is that it has motivated car companies to do what they should have years. Now we just have to get the energy sector moving faster.
Gigabit and PoE are two networking technologies moving ahead in tandem as industrial users power remote Ethernet devices such as IP security cameras at 1,000 Mbps over existing CAT5 cable.
New disc magnet motors fit into the design trend of stepping up to closed loop performance while maintaining the cost advantage of stepper motor technology.
At the Design News webinar on June 27, learn all about aluminum extrusion: designing the right shape so it costs the least, is simplest to manufacture, and best fits the application's structural requirements.
A new battery design, which replaces lithium with abundant and low-cost elemental sulfur, is still in its nascent stages but shows real promise for giving batteries more energy potential.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
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