If you're a high school junior or senior or a college student and auto design sounds like your dream job, Lawrence Tech will be running a summer camp June 25th - 29th, 2007. Top camp designers may be able to win a scholarship to Lawrence Tech's Transportation Design program. There have been some pretty amazing designs coming out of programs like these and some of the best … [Read more...]
Performance and Economy – High Mileage Horsepower
The SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) 2007 World Congress will convene in Detroit this week with a theme of "Engineering for Global Sustainable Mobility -- It's Up to Us." One of their tech sessions is titled "High Performance and Fuel Economy: Can We Have Both?" Increasing fuel economy while maintaining or even increasing performance is something everyone thinks about … [Read more...]
Build Your Own 225 mpg Diesel Plug in Hybrid
If the names Trimuter, Tri-Magnum or Urba Electric ring a bell, you probably read a lot of Mechanix Illustrated or Popular Mechanics back in the sixties and seventies. Robert Q. Riley was a prolific designer of these build it yourself vehicles along with many, many more that were available as plans enabling you to construct your own fiberglass bodied car, trike or even … [Read more...]
Electronic Wedge Brakes Signal Future Electric Cars
Electronic Wedge Brakes, scheduled to appear on a German production car, probably in 2008, are the first part of a multi part concept called "eCorner" by Siemens VDO. Electronic Wedge Brakes or EWB, eliminate the hydraulic system used to power the brake pads in current automotive systems and substitute 12 volt electric motors that move rollers and a wedge shaped interface. The … [Read more...]
Electric Cars are the Future – Bob Lutz
If you are young and just getting started in an automotive career, pay attention to electric motors and batteries because you'll be seeing a lot more of them in the future. While the internal combustion engine has served well for over a century and will continue to serve for many more years, there is a definite shift under way toward an electric car future. Hybrid cars are a … [Read more...]