Several reports from consumers have been found to have accidents linked to old tires being sold at many tire centers across the world. Even newly installed tires that have been manufactured years before they were installed onto vehicles have the potential to fail miserably soon after installation. These tires have long since been in inventories that though they are new have been sitting for as long as 10 years, maybe more in shelves and stocks. Tires like all manufactured goods have a specific timeframe fro them to retain their reliability and for something that is supposed to carry your car as you drive around that becomes a serious matter. Many have died as a result of old tires that have been stripped of treads sending vehicles crashing into everything in its path. Tires that blow out takes away control form the driver for the much needed traction which is the main form of control for all motorized vehicles. Tires that have been sitting on shelves for more than 10 years lose integrity with plies separating and shearing off resulting in accidents.
Tires do have a code to indicate when they were manufactured but they come in cryptic codes that only the manufacturer knows how to read. Families of people who have died as a result of tire blowouts, want congress to issue strict laws that would require tire manufacturers to include manufacturing dates on the information stamped on tires and that a ten year limit to be imposed as shelf life for them.
The deaths have to stop and it would only be prudent for these manufacturers who sell millions of these tires worldwide to take measures that allow consumers to determine the lifespan of their products. Hopefully, these measures would make the Sunday drive safer and people would be assured of safer cars with brand their new tires.
The sudden rise of gas prices has many Americans turning to mass transportation for the majority of their needs. In previously posted facts about hypermiling, the whole thing has more to do with driver discipline rather than the vehicle itself. With diesel going way above gas prices (which is quite unusual for gasoline is normally priced higher than diesel) big rig truckers and heavy machinery operators are feeling the crunch with many considering handing in the towel, for now that is. Heavy machinery that used to consume $400.00 of diesel a day now get the same amount for $700.00. Hybrids are alleviating some of the problems but not many can afford to purchase a newer more efficient vehicle. Besides, the environmental impact of green fuels (ethanol) are more than their weighted benefits.
People have formulated their own unique gas saving techniques such as collating all errands into one trip and taking it easy on the gas pedal. Gone are the days of hitting pedal to the metal and in with ease on the gas pedal for more fuel economy.
Cars have become more and more efficient as better engine technologies and lighter parts have been steadily finding its way into the market yet the sudden price increases have caught many off guard. Out with the V8’s and V6′ and in with the hybrids who may be the only option though a very costly one. Concepts like the one suggested by a previous post regarding a hybrid company which sells the car but leases the batteries might be a sound way to go. Gas prices would continue to go up as supply truly is dwindling, not because it is getting scarcer but because some of the biggest suppliers are experiencing conflicts like Iraq (some say it s the second largest producer of oil which is why many are interested in the troubled land). There might be no sight to an end to the high prices which affects all other goods for most rely on transportation at one time of the other.
The term describes a select group of driving aficionados who do out of this world driving (safely I hope) to squeeze every ounce of energy from every gallon of gasoline they have in their tanks. With gasoline hitting more than $3.00 a gallon, who wouldn’t? The trend has owners of hybrids and standard gas powered vehicles doing extreme driving practices such as trailing big-rigs (Tractor Trailers) to take advantage of their downdraft which creates suction in between the rig and your vehicle that you are actually pulled along by the rig in front of you. Another practice has people coasting as they are about to hit the stop light and many more. They have come up with unimaginable feats of getting up to or more that 100 MPG which is phenomenal with standard driving practices. Many have taken notice and many are turning into converts but many still question the safety of some of their practices or sometimes even the legality of doing such extreme maneuvers just to save every drop of gas.
They are a growing group that aims to educate people how they can lower their carbon footprints even while driving their cars. Many of these feats are possible only on hybrids but some nuts have been doing them in gas powered ones with equal results but I doubt that their lives should be placed on the line just to save on gas. Hybrids have a small gasoline engine that assists the electric motors during certain conditions that the computer can detect. Hybrids are designed or programmed to have the switching between gas and electric power under certain conditions to be automatic though most have switches that tells the car to stick with electric, gas or automatic propulsion. Hybrids have been getting reports of flat batteries and low charges due to these practices and doing some of these maneuvers on a gas powered vehicle can send you to the grave in no time due to braking power that is provided by the engine itself. It might be better to work with the designers of hybrids to have these changes to the way the car thinks included in the car’s computers rather than having to turn them off and do what you think is best for safety aspects are overlooked by some of these techniques and driving styles. And till they become standardized, I wouldn’t encourage drivers to do the same for as everybody does the same, who will you tail for everybody’s tailing everybody else, and all you’d end up with is a pile up of hybrids and trucks, you get the picture.
The drive to save on gasoline and thus lessen the dependency on oil is great. Global warming, high oil prices and many other environmental and man-made factors are having people take extreme measures just to save on gas. You might save every drop of it but endangering your life and the lives of others may not constitute such acts so do think twice about the implications.
Thanks to Mr. Luis Cruz for the suggestion!
The air-conditioning system if replaced with more advanced designs such as in the compressor which have lighter yet more efficient cooling capability also lowers weight considerably. High strength steel along with advanced adhesives is making thinner sheets of metals perform better as heavier and thicker traditional ones.
One of the heaviest parts of the car asides from the engine is the transmission and power train systems, could be moved to the engine compartment with the conversion of the throttle to a digital along with lighter alloy velocity joints would decrease weight more. All these changes could lower the weight of a car by more than 40 lbs. with a change of wheels from traditional steel ones to aluminum alloys adding 22 lbs to that figure amounting to a total savings of almost 60lbs. Now that’s a lot of weight shaved off a car and that would allow better, more efficient use of expensive fuel. Hybrids would also benefit from all these changes as well as regular cars.
The need for changes such as these is necessary as people want more and more savings in terms of fuel consumption and the ability to shift to hybrids. Experts just wish they had grown with the airline industry that has the best people to ask when it comes to weight to power ratios. With the price of oil at all time high’s the need for more efficient cars with less emissions is the best solution to a growing problem all of us have to face.
Technology is the driving force behind the automotive industry and yes they are some of the first industries to jump in with respect to applications for new materials. One of their main concerns is weight which has an overall impact on the efficiency of a car. It has also been the main deterrent for battery powered cars for the weight of the batteries alone account for a lot of dead weight they themselves consume power. Newer battery and materials has been defined as the trend for tomorrow as the automotive industry seeks to mimic the airline industry with their use of the lightest yet strongest materials available which allows tons of aircraft to fly along with the tons of cargo and fuel.
The most materials that would be seeing use in the cars of tomorrow would be new composite materials, metal alloys such as magnesium and aluminum and of course plastics. In cars, these materials can mean a lot of savings in terms of weight allowing cars to become lighter yet have equal the strength if not greater than traditional steel cars and chassis. The brake system for example uses cast iron calipers which amounts to a lot of weight, using aluminum which is lighter would save weight in that area. The back seat of cars used to have blow-molded foam structures that can be made lighter with the addition of seat cushions which also weight lighter. The floor of the trunk which used to be made from pressed sheet metal can be turned into plastics that are compression molded.
Since the manufacturer still owns the battery maintenance and other costs such as repair and disposal are to be shouldered and handled by the manufacturer, the car owner simply brings it in, gets a fresh set then drive off. Now that’s an idea and even the American firm who would take part in he newly formed company agrees so much they call it a WINNER. The cars would be imported from Norway and then be sold in the United States for under $20,000 US (they set it there so it falls cheaper than the Prius) and they are in talks with US battery makers who would be taking care of the production of the batteries locally which would make the process of maintenance easier and faster.
They are set to begin with 50 demo units aimed at utility companies who need these types of vehicles which are small and best of all GREEN. For safety concerns, well it is considered to be one of a handful of (the Prius, Tesla Roadster being some of them of them, most of the others failed to go beyond prototype stage due to cost issues) of the world’s crash tested and highway certified fully-electric cars in the world. Speed freaks don’t fret; the manufacturer says they can raise the top speed to conform with US speed limits. It charges for three hours on a full day’s use and eight for fully drained batteries. Apparently the idea has been in use for quite sometime in Europe, just wonder why the idea hasn’t caught up in the States sooner?
Nope, were not thinking of a new idea, but the car’s name is Think! The Toyota Prius is credited to be the first commercial fully-electric vehicles among the wide array of other alternative fuelled cars in the United States which has now received more buyers due to ever higher gas prices that have again soared to record highs just a few days ago. The only thing holding back many people from buying fully electric vehicles is the fact that there is still a very big issue with battery reliability as many Prius owners have discovered. The trade off may be enough for some just to become more environmentally friendly yet for most who do want to go green batteries remain the main issue to date. There is a clever idea from a European electric manufacturer who is in process of setting up shop in the US with their fully electric car, the THINK that is ideal for city dwellers due to its two-seater capacity and 110 mile range with a top speed of 65 miles per hour. Now that’s not at all new and many have been able to top that so where’s the innovation? Well they plan to sell the vehicle but lease the batteries. Why the hell would anyone buy a car that you don’t fully own? Well, current battery technology has gone a long way but many reliability issues still remain which is why they have decided to approach the problem with the idea of taking the worrying about the batteries (which is a true headache for the fuel savings can offset the cost of the batteries when they do need replacing)from the hands of the customer whom they charge a monthly fee for using it and maintenance (along with a small electricity insurance to cover electricity prices should they go up).
In the never ending story of how GPS has allowed drivers and travelers alike to get to their destinations faster and easier, another addition to the saga of the errant GPS and their likewise errant drivers. As in previous posts regarding GPS and their ability to go wrong (extremely wrong) and give wrong directions drivers in the UK have had their common sense so to speak driven out of them as they drive into bridge overhangs and other structures which were not taken into consideration by the GPS mapping systems. The article came to my attention from Gadzooki which has a post dated on the 18th of April which shows hilarious yet serious statistics of drivers running into bridges like the ones shown in Mr. Bean cartoons and movies. These drivers trust their high-tech GPS navigation devices so much they forget to keep their eyes on the road and mind structures their vehicles may encounter. GPS has indeed made driving a pleasure by giving the right directions and even telling us when and where to go but it would also be a good idea to consider and include real-time traffic and positional data (not forgetting to take into consideration the location of low lying bridges and structures that may not accommodate the various types of vehicles that are on the road) which is already in some advanced high-price units.
The UK is a growing market for GPS and various gizmos and gadgets are coming to the public being sold as aides to UK drivers. The advantage is that the tons of camera’s in and around major cities allows UK traffic authorities to provide up to date traffic information where the driver can select alternate routes. The growing number of vehicles on the roads of Britain are becoming more and more of a problem which results in gridlock and traffic exclusion schemes to select areas that have provided some relief.
The Uk has also been able to produce one of the most powerful computers on earth named Hector which could be used to process vast amounts of data including traffic management and other tasks for the British Government. As technology progresses and heads into the future, we would be amazed at how far it has gone in the span of our lifetimes. We would also be assured of constant laughter when technology plus humans equals less common sense which makes the drive worth taking. Watch out for that BRIDGE!!!!!!!
The Japanese manufacturer Toyota Motors Co. has issued a recall for all Corolla’s and Matrix’s with power windows due to problems with the mounts of their window mechanisms. There have been several reports of injuries and motorists who have had their windshields shatter due to excessive rattling. Indicators of the problem begin with changes to the sound of the windows while they are being operated. The problem if not corrected has been reported to cause shattering of the tempered glass windows which would be a big problem if you were driving fast on the freeway sending the glass into your eyes and body. The motor company will be contacting all those who purchased the said vehicles and would be repaired free of cost at all authorized dealers. Toyota has reiterated that the recall is for all vehicles of the said makes with power windows only.
Honda Motors has also issued a recall for all Honda 2003 Accords which number more than 350,000 due to a problem in the waterproofing of the cars which has water entering the location of the wiper motor. The said water seepage can cause corrosion and subsequent failure of the motor rendering it useless. Vehicles brought into dealers would inspect the problematic area and installation of a shield to protect the motor would be done. Replacement of already failing motors would also be done free of charge. The said problem has been reported to cause a circuit breaker in the vicinity to trip thus preventing it from functioning properly. Driving in foul weather without wipers is dangerous and can cause accidents so do take the warnings and take your cars if you are part of the recall to the nearest dealer for proper inspections.
