CAFE was, and is, stupid. It does nothing more than force people to buy things they do not want. Chrysler sold the Neon at a loss every year because it was cheaper to sell them at a loss than to pay CAFE fines.
In the disgusting bail-out, JEEP might have been viable as a business all by itself, except that it is a business that would be large enough to be bound to CAFE and it would be prohibitive.
Further, since CAFE does not consider cradle to grave energy use and many of the things done to meet it are energy intensive, CAFE may not represent any energy savings.
Without CAFE, we would likely have a very different, less expensive vehicle fleet. We also might use no more total energy in the process.
Though I initially lamented GM destroying every EV-1 (I arrived in Mesa, Ariz. six months too late to snag one of my own), they had every right to do so. Many of the lessons learned from its production were incorporated into the Volt. GM is loosing $49 K on each Volt. Imagine how much more they would be loosing if Ford, Toyota or Honda bought a few EV-1s and then rushed their version to the market?
Toyota problem has been "quietly " resolved.It has nothing to do with mechanical stuff.It was simply a bunch or whiskers growing inside a speed control module, which caused the problem.These defects are not easily predictable ,although easy controlled by a proper PC board technology.We are having tons of problems with ROHS products. Now military is excluded from it and going to good , old lead.Many of the seniors in a society were listening to radios and TVs which contained pounds, not ounces of lead and their rate of cancer is lower than people below 50. Sometimes we just have to stop and think.Tin is the fastest in growing whiskers and we will have all gadgets with life of 1-3 years ,unless we learn how to make good precision masks , or use conformal coating (both expensive).But then again , it is what most manufacturers want - built in life span.Just like in "Bladerunner".
ennis: Yes, running a company must be a difficult undertaking. Just ask the people at Toyota who are still dealing with the problems of "unintended accleration." Now the problem is floor mats.
I've come to realize that even running company poorly and bring a sub-par product to market is a very difficult and, in a way, impressive undertaking.
To do it well...wow.
Many of these private projects are really impressive too. I admire the effort and creativity these folks show, they beat what I've done hands down. It just seems that many could use a bit more perspective on the additional challenges a commercial effort requires to be a success.
@Jackiecox GMC makes engines , not electric motors.So calles "Diesel" locomotives use Diesel engine to power an electric generators that in turns send electricity to controllers, that power electric motors. There is no such thing as Diesel locomotive. It is a great misconception and missunderstanding. It is all about overcomming an innertia and adjusting a "track speed" of a train.No combustion motor wa ever able to do it. We went from steam to diesel-electric.Regards,Chris.
Andrew Morris designed a circuit that could detect a stroke victim's groan and convert the sound into a signal so caregivers would know when help was needed.
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.
On April 21, NASA launched a novel project, putting into orbit three satellites that employ an off-the-shelf commercial smartphone as the control system.
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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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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