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.
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.
Doug Conner's self-starting, solar-powered Stirling engine runs all year when the sun is visible from the sculpture’s location. The engine can shut down when the sun isn’t visible, and it can restart by itself when the sun comes back up.
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.
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
3 
