Vehicles: Page

Nylon’s the key to moving the radiator

The concept raises more than a few eyebrows, but DuPont officials say they're confident a plastic radiator is doable. Made of a modified nylon 6/6 resin, DuPont engineers argue that a plastic heat exchanger could be shaped to fit any available space and moved to the wheel well or tucked behind the front fascia. That could free up plenty of real estate in the engine compartment, allowing designers

April 1, 1995

Is hydrogen the ultimate fuel?

It's much cleaner than the most environmentally friendly fossil fuels, and has the potential to be even cleaner than battery-powered vehicles. Used as fuel in conventional combustion engines, it emits only water vapor and small amounts of nitric oxides, and no carbon dioxide.Used to power fuel cells -- which produce electricity through a chemical reaction -- it's the only true zero-emissions source.

By Drew Winter • April 1, 1995

Explore the Trendline➔

Top 5 stories from WardsAuto

Automakers are evaluating their long-term strategies, revisiting their product mix, and approach to both retail and manufacturing approach along the way.

By WardsAuto staff

Delphi, GE step on the gas: tricky gas-assist molding process makes ‘Super Plug’ possible

It doesn't look like much, but it represents a revolution in the way automotive components are developed and assembled. Five years in the making, General Motors Corp.'s Delphi Interior and Lighting Systems' "Super Plug" door hardware module epitomizes the trends taking over the automotive industry today, from modular construction to the development of new business alliances among suppliers.Simply

By Drew Winter • March 1, 1995

With Delphi, things stay status quo

No structural changes come with the new name; nothing is being sold off. However, the six divisions are renamed. Packard Electric becomes Delphi Packard Electric Systems; Delco Chassis becomes Delphi Chassis Systems; Inland Fisher Guide becomes Delphi Interior and Lighting Systems - eliminating the Fisher name from a GM division for the first time since GM bought Fisher Body in 1919; Saginaw becomes

March 1, 1995

Engineering revolution: CAD/CAE advancements changing vehicle development.

Automotive design and engineering could be completely paperless within three years if computer technology and the industry's collective mindset continue to evolve at their current pace.Advances in computer aided design and engineering (CAD/CAE) already have dramatically changed the way some components and systems are being designed and engineering but experts suggest that as much as 40% of development

By Tim Keenan • March 1, 1995

Let ‘magic fingers’ do the driving

ARVIDSJAUR, Sweden - If you thought doing wheelies in the church parking lot was fun, try turning off ITT Automotive's Automotive Stability Management System (ASMS) on the slippery blue ice of Lake Arvidsjaur.The ASMS system controls individual brakes and engine torque to help keep the vehicle stable. As the car yaws, "magic fingers" seem to keep it on track. As WAW pushed the BMW 325 tds around a

By Sorge, Marjorie • March 1, 1995

Best engines of the future: award winning engineers offer a peek at what’s coming.

Response to January's first annual Ward's Best Engines of 1995 feature has been overwhelming. WAW readers, from engineers to executives to suppliers, phoned, faxed and wrote to express their opinions and to support -- or contest -- our 10 Best Engines of 1995 selections.The story behind the "Best Engines" story is what's in store for the future. Our interviews with some of the engineers responsible

By Bill Visnic • Feb. 1, 1995

Tanks a lot: suppliers prepare for plastic fuel-tank bonanza.

Now that the issue of permeation has seemingly been vaporized with the drafting of the SPI Protocol, plastic fuel tank suppliers are getting ready for an explosion (probably not the best word) of new business, expected to reach around 80% of the market by the turn of the century.Solvay Automotive Inc. President Norman W. Johnston says: "We see a very nice growth pattern." That chart, he says, goes

By Sorge, Marjorie • Feb. 1, 1995

Steer by wire: Saginaw puts electric steering on ‘97 1 2 model.

Electric power steering systems currently are used only on very small or very exotic cars, but their fuel-saving benefits will be hitting the automotive mainstream soon, say officials at General Motors Corp.'s Saginaw Div.The steering system and component supplier introduced two new electric power steering systems at the North American Auto Show and says the most sophisticated all-electric version

Feb. 1, 1995

Best engines of 1995

We recently came across a Detroit chassis engineer sweating over a hideously complex-looking multilink suspension computer simulation. We asked if his was a difficult task."Nah, this is easy stuff," he sniffs. "Now my old college buddy, he's in Powertrain. They're busting his butt over there."Engines have evolved into more than just the symbolic heart of the auto industry. Engines certainly have always

By Visnic, Bill; Winter, Drew; MCCann, Karey; Keenan, Tim • Jan. 1, 1995

‘We are at the beginning.’

PARIS -- Spend a week visiting a half dozen of France's most picturesque cities and one feasts on stunning monolithic architecture, monumental scenery and fascinating art.It's all the more curious, then, that these same cities are home to perhaps the most extensive electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure in the world.The French, it turns out, are quite committed to the EV.We are not.It's not that the

By Bill Visnic • Jan. 1, 1995

Electric vehicle makers charge into LA with new ideas

Dreamers, schemers and down-to-earth electric vehicle diehards shared the stage at the 12th annual International Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS-12) in California in December. Major automakers joined many would-be manufacturers at the conference.Among vehicles making news at the conference was U.S. Electricar's Electrolite 2000, an electric urban delivery vehicle, which the company will build and

Jan. 1, 1995