CLEARING THE (AUTOMOTIVE) AIR, PART 1
WHAT WITH the Trump administration’s gutting, some would say streamlining, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, let’s examine some environmental and economic aspects of automobile regulations in the United States. This … Continue reading
54.5 OR WHAT?
PITY THE HARD-WORKING automotive engineer. Or, should we decry the shortsightedness of people buying new vehicles? Or what about blaming government regulation for the current and approaching conundrums? Since 2012, … Continue reading
AUTONOMOUS BLUES
SORRY FOR THIS recurring fixation on autonomous cars. I’ve already questioned several practical aspects in ”Autonomous Vehicle Worries” and ethical ones in ”Autonomous Kills. These are put in perspective by … Continue reading
FUEL-CELL TRUCKING
HYDROGEN FUEL CELLS may make it easier for the trucking industry to meet ever-more-stringent emissions regulations. An electric-powered truck would make today’s diesel semis look like soot-spewing dinosaurs. However, technology … Continue reading
THE NEAR FUTURE: LET’S GET REAL
MEDIA ARE filled with predictions of a personal-mobility future. It’s “Soon we’ll commute by helicopter!” all over again, and in as few as four more years. Let’s get real. Despite … Continue reading
WHERE ARE SELF-DRIVING CARS HEADED?
IF SELF-DRIVING CARS are to be common on U.S. streets by 2020, many crucial decisions are still to be made. Even the basic concept isn’t clear: Google’s goal, for example, … Continue reading
AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE WORRIES
DESPITE ALL the hype of autonomous vehicles as the hot tip for 2020, I predict society’s principal winners in this won’t be those seeking enhanced personal mobility. It will be … Continue reading
THE DEMISE OF AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING
STUDENTS ENTERING traditional automotive engineering programs today may be the last generation of this noble profession. If predictions about future automobiles are correct, the only discipline surviving will be body … Continue reading
FUTURISTS AT MERCEDES AND ELSEWHERE
GIVEN THE automobile’s complex design cycle and regulation requirements, automakers need to understand the future. In some quarters, it’s already 2020, 2025 or beyond. In the June 10, 2015, issue … Continue reading
HONDA’S ARCHITECTURAL WONDER
JUST AS architects sometimes design cars, automotive designers have been known to think architecturally. The Honda Unibox, exhibited at the 2001 Tokyo Motor Show, sets a record in this regard. … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 