DETROIT
- The auto industry's commitment to alternative fuel vehicles will be put to
the test in the next two weeks, as more than a half-million visitors come to
peer at the new technologies at the North
American International Auto Show (NAIAS).
One key for the giant exhibition, traditionally a showplace
for production vehicles, is the addition of a 37,000-sq-ft display area called Electric Avenue.
The new area will serve as an expo for 12 manufacturers of electric vehicles,
ranging from traditional automakers, such as Nissan and Mitsubishi, to
entrepreneurial firms, such as SSI Racing
and Saba Motors. Electric Avenue will
be sponsored by Dow Chemical Co., which is involved in the development of
electric vehicle battery technology.
"It's an excellent venue for the public to see some of the
vehicles that you don't normally hear about," noted Bill Perkins, president of
Detroit Auto Dealers Assn. (DADA).
Electric Avenue will be complemented this year by a display
area known as EcoXperience, which will provide visitors with a look at the
battery and electric motor technology that's making its way into the auto
industry. True to its name, the giant EcoXperience display will provide
visitors with an outdoor-type encounter, complete with 200 transplanted pine
trees, 600 evergreens, 5,000 tulips and daffodils and 650,000 pounds of stone
paving. The stone paving will serve as a roadway for visitors, who will be able
to test drive electric vehicles on it.
"The area is totally landscaped," Perkins said. "It's like
you're in a flower garden, taking a ride in your electric car."
The show will include product demonstrations from 60
exhibitors in all. All the industry's biggest automakers, including Toyota, General Motors and
Ford, will be represented.
The Detroit-based exhibition, considered the granddaddy of
auto shows, will be open to approximately 6,000 journalists this week. On
Saturday, Jan. 16, a day after an annual black tie charity event, it will open
its doors to the general public. More than 600,000 visitors are expected to
attend.
Almost every automaker has had to 'pick a side' when it comes to alternative fuel options and ways to divest from a reliance on gasoline. Fiat is looking to back compressed natural gas or liquid propane as an interim solution.
Designing and filling a new type of water bottle might take less engineering work, but the description will help kids understand how science, math, and engineering influence their lives even through things that seem mundane.
Against a backdrop of mounting product complexity and a need to keep a lid on development costs, companies are recognizing a need to make simulation a more integral part of the design process. In response, vendors in the CAD world are building out CAE functionality as part of their CAD suites while simulation vendors are building tighter integrations to leading CAD tools. Keith Meintjes, Ph.D., Practice Manager, Simulation and Analysis at CIMdata, Inc., joins Design News CAD Editor Beth Stackpole in this radio program to explore the new face of integrated CAD and CAE, how companies are benefitting from this tighter partnership between platforms, and how integrating CAE earlier in the development cycle pays off in optimized product designs.
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