I agree, Ckit1477. It is surprising the emphasis on hybrids and EVs given that the market for these vehicles doesn't seem to be growing considerably right now. Perhaps the car makers anticipate a growing market in coming years.
Experts do not anticipate the hybrid and EV section to develop considerably this year the mixture of gas costs below $4 a quart and higher advance costs for the vehicles is not gaining customers. But that is not stopping Toyota, Honda, Ford Motor and several Western auto body parts carmakers from presenting new multiple and plug-in designs.
Indeed, the low profile of the NS-4 is scary. But concept cars are notorious for being impractical. In 1988, I drove a Pontiac concept car around the old Riverside race track in Riverside, CA, and was asked not to go any faster than 5 mph.
I agree Bdcst. My city has a lot of speed bumps in parking lots and on residential streets. That could be a problem, as many of the speed bumps are surprisingly high. You can see scrapes on the bumps were fast-moving cars have bottomed out.
Some of those concept cars are scary! The Toyota NS-4 almost scratches the pavement it is so low to the ground. With those extremely low profile tires It would never survive typical urban street pavement, pot holes, or muddy country lanes.
If distracted driver accidents due to smart phone usage is a problem, will smart cars with large LCD dashboards make driving any safer?
LED light trim is becoming all the rage probably due to past popularity of after market "street lights" you can buy for your hot rod. Heck, just buy some 12 VDC LED rope light and away you go. :-)
Rob, I hope you're right about Americans finally trusting Detroit again. American automakers improved their quality tremendously in the mid-'90s, but just couldn't get Americans to believe their cars were any good. I think they ruined their credibility when they refused to admit they had problems in the late '70s and 1980s.
i have this hybrid car purchased recently and the problem was the catalytic converter fails. i am going to replace it with california catalytic converter is it compatible?
That's funny, my grandfather owned a Dodge Dart...
Getting back to US quality... I owned a 1988 Toyota 4Runner that I ended up rolling and had to replace with something... Ended up with a 95 Chevy Blazer because of my wife. I thought that it would be terrible compared to the 4Runner but it has been one of the best cars we have owned. And it has been somewhat abused off-road.
By experimenting with the photovoltaic reaction in solar cells, researchers at MIT have made a breakthrough in energy efficiency that significantly pushes the boundaries of current commercial cells on the market.
In a world that's going green, industrial operations have a problem: Their processes involve materials that are potentially toxic, flammable, corrosive, or reactive. If improperly managed, this can precipitate dangerous health and environmental consequences.
With LEDs dropping in price virtually every year, automakers have begun employing them, not only on luxury vehicles, but on entry-level models, as well.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
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A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
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