Automotive

February 20, 1995

Traditionally, manufacturing and design defects served as the driving force behind strict product-liability lawsuits. However, design or manufacturing flaws have been reduced substantially in recent years. Computer-aided design and other modern tools have enabled manufacturers to design and...

February 06, 1995

Aerospace Rivals Form Joint Design Team How well will design engineers at Boeing mesh with those at McDonnell Douglas? For decades they have been fierce rivals. Now they are teaming up to compete against other firms for initial contracts to build a next-generation space shuttle. In announcing the...

4-wheel drive steps back to the future

January 23, 1995

Automotive

DN Staff

Time was when four-wheel drive was simple. You turned your ignition key, popped the car in gear, and you were in full-time-four-wheel drive. Then came the oil embargo. Anything that guzzled an extra drop of gas was targeted for redesign. So part-time-four-wheel drive became the rage. And with it...

Designer's Corner

January 23, 1995

Automation & Motion Control

Automotive

DN Staff

Truck-brake watchdog Changes in pedal feel and travel warn automobile drivers of impending brake problems. Pneumatically operated brakes on heavy duty trucks don't give drivers that same tactile feedback, but this electronic brake monitor provides a visual substitute. The system uses a set of three...

What will power tomorrow's vehicles?

January 09, 1995

Automotive

DN Staff

Charles D. Wood III, Vice President, Engine, Fuel, and Vehicle Research Division, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX Wood has spent most of his professional career in the field of engine-vehicle systems research and development. He joined SWRI in 1962 as a senior research engineer in the...

Washington Beat

January 09, 1995

Automotive

DN Staff

Reviewers urge changes in 'Supercar' project Swift changes must come in the national effort to create an affordable family car that's high in mileage, low in pollution. So says a committee of the National Research Council charged with overseeing the project. Called the Partnership for a New...