Vehicles: Page

IMTS: A Really Big Show Tool show highlights automotive manufacturing

CHICAGO - Being relatively new to this trade show gig, I figured I had witnessed the granddaddy of them all at the Society of Automotive Engineers congress in Detroit earlier this year.But in sheer size, the SAE pales compared with the International Manufacturing Technology Show, which is so big it takes up three buildings at Chicago's McCormick Place conference center. It's the largest industrial

By Tom Murphy • Oct. 1, 1998

In the Headlights: Daewoo Lanos, Nubira and Leganza

It's been a little more than 10 years since I last laid my hands on a car built by South Korea's Daewoo Motor Co. What a difference a decade makes.I spent a very long weekend in 1988 in a Daewoo-built Pontiac LeMans in One Lap of Michigan. After 1,000 or so miles in both passenger and driver's seat I came away with some memorable impressions. The most notable: The generator (yep, it was a generator

By Mike Arnholt • Oct. 1, 1998

Copper Brazes the Ante Production of brazed copper-brass radiators beginsin bid to oust aluminum

The eyes of the copper industry are focused on Pittsburgh.In a factory on the city's west side, the world's copper producers have come together in an attempt to reclaim a market they once owned: automotive radiators.The heavy soldered copper-brass radiator gave way to aluminum in the 1970s when the auto industry pushed for lower weight to reduce fuel consumption. By the mid 1980s aluminum radiators

By Tom Murphy • Sept. 1, 1998

Aluminum Makes Gains in ‘99s But cast iron is more the victim than steel

Thanks mostly to a growing number of engine and driveline parts on high-volume light trucks, use of aluminum in 1999 models built in North America is expected to soar to a new high, taking ever deeper bites out of cast iron's dwindling piece of the automotive pie.American Metal Market estimates '99 models built in North America will have an average of 235 lbs. (107 kg) of aluminum per vehicle, up

By DREW WINTER and BILL VISNIC • Sept. 1, 1998

Plastics Taking Off in Powertrains Intake manifolds continue to lead chargeunder the hood

Use of plastics in powertrain applications continues to heat up. Automakers increasingly are turning to plastics as they try to combine parts and eliminate costs, analysts say, projecting big growth for plastics in fuel rails, rocker arm covers, air cleaner housings, oil pans and, of course, intake manifolds.The biggest transition to plastics for the next several years will be in fuel-handling components,

By STEPHEN E. PLUMB • Sept. 1, 1998

The Domestics, Circa 1999 The last crop of new vehicles from The Big Threeas we know it

The Big Three. Think of it: for decades, the journalist's best friend - a shorthand method to refer to the country's major automakers, Chrysler Corp., Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. Only you didn't have to take up an entire line naming them all. Just say, "Big Three."And every year, people would talk about the new cars from The Big Three.But the new models for 1999 are the last we'll be able

Sept. 1, 1998

Seeking ‘Virtual’ Comfort Johnson Controls’ driving simulator shortens testcycle

In a technological breakthrough that could shave months, perhaps years, off future vehicle programs, seat-maker Johnson Controls Inc. has begun using a virtual driving simulator with a 180-degree wraparound screen that captures the sights, sounds and bumps of real-world roads.The simulator is the centerpiece of JCI's new $3.5-million advanced comfort center at its Plymouth, MI, technical center.Here's

By GREG GARDNER • Sept. 1, 1998

No TKO for PPO ABS answers the bell for select applications

The last few years have been tough on ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) thermoplastics. In just about every application, it seems ABS has been losing ground to arch-rival polypropylene (PPO), which appears poised to deliver a knockout punch at any time.Most recently, ABS was pummeled by the University of Michigan's Office for the Study of Automotive Transportation's Delphi IX report. In the report,

By STEPHEN E. PLUMB • Sept. 1, 1998

Stainless Takes the Heat V-8s force upgrades of exhaust systems

The popularity of husky V-8 engines in pickup trucks and sport/utility vehicles has created a challenge for exhaust system suppliers.It seems that the higher temperature of exhaust gases flowing from the powerplants creates too much fatigue for the downpipe that connects the exhaust manifold to the catalytic converter.As a result, suppliers such as Arvin Industries Inc. are upgrading from standard

By Tom Murphy • Sept. 1, 1998

MSC Develops New MSC/DropTest

The MacNeal-Schwendler Corp. (MSC) is now shipping MSC/DropTest, a new product for drop and impact testing simulation. MSC/DropTest combines the finite-element analysis (FEA) power of MSC/Dytran with the graphical interface of MSC/Patran in a user environment specifically designed to conduct drop test and impact simulations. MSC/Dytran is an FEA software program for solving nonlinear, transient dynamic

Aug. 1, 1998

Banking on Diesels Bosch invests $600 million in diesel market>ByTOM MURPHY

The history of diesel engines for passenger cars in the United States is painfully short. They left as quickly as they arrived 20 years ago during the push for fuel-efficient vehicles.Diesels failed for a lot of reasons. They were unreliable. They were noisy and slow-revving. They left a wake of dense, black smoke. They stunk, literally.Today, diesel technology has come a long way. Although they still

Aug. 1, 1998

Structural IP System Used on Dodge Durango

The all-new 1998 Dodge Durango sport/utility vehicle incorporates an equally innovative instrument panel system designed and manufactured by Chrysler, Textron Automotive Co. and Dow Automotive. The fully integrated Durango structural instrument panel utilizes the same basic IP structure as the Dodge Dakota. Only two IP trim plates have been changed to match the interior aesthetics on the Durango.

Aug. 1, 1998

Recaro boldly goes where no seat supplier has gone before

Well, we can't state with absolute certainty that Johnson Controls, Lear and Magna have never put their products into orbit. But we do know that Recaro, the German specialty seat maker pushing heavily for more North American business, plays a bit role in the space thriller summer movie, "Armageddon," starring Bruce Willis. The company's name is emblazoned on the four-seat moon rovers that Willis and

Aug. 1, 1998

Teleflex Electronic Throttle Enhances Engine Management

Electronic Throttle Control (ETC) pedal systems are a preferred technology because of their ability to enhance overall engine management while reducing the assembly costs of the accelerator pedal system. Teleflex says the benefits of electronic throttle control include: reduced vehicle emissions; enhanced fuel economy; elimination of costly complex mechanical linkages; improved vehicle packaging and

Aug. 1, 1998

‘98 Ten Best Engines: Long-Term Intro

If you've ever wondered why you never see a Maxima driver who appears to be having a bad day, it's all because of the car's 3L DOHC "VQ" V-6. We're certain.Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. knocked us for a loop when it introduced the VQ to go along with the all-new-for-'95 Maxima. The engine has won a spot on our Ten Best Engines list every year since.Need evidence that the VQ is everyday fabulous? Barely a

By Bill Visnic • July 1, 1998

Dow Console Uses Synergistic Engineering

CEL Instruments Challenge Noise TestingThe new 400 Series of sound level meters, says CEL Instruments, will challenge three traditional views of noise measurement. Those views are instrumentation for product noise evaluation and noise emission compliance testing (noise meters are difficult to use); the need for handwritten records; and that a different instrument is often needed for each task. By

July 1, 1998

Tooling Up a New Strategy--‘Single Point Management’ aims to cut time and waste

The concept of "one stop shopping" is an overused phrase in the automotive supply business, but Lamb Technicon Body & Assembly Systems is putting a different spin on the concept.Just as Lear Corp. and Johnson Controls Inc. aim to deliver entire interiors to automakers, Lamb Technicon wants to take over its piece of the action: design, construction and installation of assembly and welding tooling.Instead

By Drew Winter • July 1, 1998

Ready for Y2K?--Less than 600 days left to fix Millenium bug

Crunch time is here in the race to eradicate the Millenium bug.Deadlines are closer. Pressure is rising. The extent of what remains to be done can be overwhelming."We are responsible for not only what we do, but what we leave undone," says Massimo Cardelli of Siemens Automotive's air induction division in Windsor, Ont.Less than 600 days remain until the software systems that pump the lifeblood of

By GREG GARDNER • June 1, 1998

Playing it Safe’s the Most Perilous Route

To most suppliers the perils of NOT being global seem worse than coping with any downturn.Rande S. Somma, president of interior trim, marketing and business development for interiors giant Johnson Controls Inc., agrees that the automakers' push for global production is making its way further down the supply chain. That's why JCI is asking its Tier 2 suppliers to locate in new markets and "share the

May 1, 1998

1997 Ten Best Engines

1997 Volkswagen Passat TDI It was difficult enough to return the posterior-cosseting and back-relieving driver's seat on loan from Recaro North America; it was downright gut-wrenching to finally part with Volkswagen AG's Passat TDI that sheltered that Recaro for the last year - and served our staff eloquently and with nary a complaint. When VW carted off the Passat, the Ward's fold felt it lost a

By NATALIE NEFF and BILL VISNIC • May 1, 1998

Mixed Results from Korea

For Walbro Corp., a maker of fuel-supply systems, Korea has been a mixed bag.On one hand, the company wants to scale back its investment in the three-year-old Korean Automotive Fuel Systems, a joint venture with Daewoo Precision Industries to build fuel pumps and reservoirs for Daewoo."The operation became more expensive as the won became devalued," says Bert Althaver, Walbro chairman and chief executive

May 1, 1998

Look Ma: No Hydraulics Electric steering systems move into the market

If steering system engineers have their way, you won't notice the significant changes about to unfold in the steering business.Next-generation light vehicles will feel the same to drivers behind the wheel, but a radical difference will be in place. New electrically-assisted steering (EAS) systems will be guiding an increasing number of high-volume production vehicles over the next 10 years, signaling

By ROB CLEVELAND • May 1, 1998

Big Auto vs. Big Oil Sulfur-in-fuel debate tests their clout

Not many months ago, suggesting that automakers lobby for cleaner fuels was about as likely as Al Gore declaring his affection for the internal combusion engine.Even regulators described talk of a next-generation fuel as "premature" and "potentially inflammatory."So why did the American Automobile Manufacturers' Association (AAMA) and the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers (AIAM)

By Jeff Green • May 1, 1998

Delphi Sees Collision Avoidance Technology Catching on First Overseas

While the debate rages on in the U.S. over the threat of larger sport/utility vehicles devastating smaller passenger cars, Delphi Automotive Systems' array of collision-avoidance technology is more likely to find a market first in Europe and Japan, says Robert Schumacher, Delphi's director of advanced engineering."Our research shows that between 37% and 74% of rear-end collisions are preventable by

April 1, 1998

Walbro’s debt rating downgraded

Standard & Poor's drops its outlook to negative from stable for Walbro Corp., the Cass City, MI-based fuel-system components supplier. Walbro's board suspends its dividend in March. The company has faced delays on new product launches, is grappling with excess capacity and has not yet recouped heavy investments in plastic fuel-tank technology.

April 1, 1998