Q2 2010 - Automotive Industries

intro
This edition of Automotive Industries looks at how suppliers
are helping OEMs meet the often conflicting demands of
consumers and legislators for greener vehicles, lower costs
of ownership and more driving fun.
MOST (Media Oriented Systems Transport) demonstrates what
happens when industry leaders work together on non-competitive
systems. What started as finding ways to allow different media
devices to talk to each other is now powerful and reliable enough
for safety-critical applications.
Pooled resources have kept costs under control,
while speeding up time to market.
MOST is now being touted for use outside
of the auto sector. The now rusty firewall
between automotive technology and the
rest is also being cut through by electric
Editor, Ed Richardson
Acting globally,
thinking locally
vehicle technology, which has seen new
suppliers and manufacturers enter the
field. Tesla is a good example. It is the first
US auto assembler to go public and list in half
a century – using technology which did not exist
10 years ago, or was developed for non-automotive
applications. And Tesla was born in Silicon Valley, not
Detroit, Wolfsburg or Tokyo. Other breakthroughs are being made
thanks to partnerships between US and Chinese companies –
adding another new dynamic to the world auto sector.
Traditional manufacturers of fossil-fuel powered vehicles are
catching up fast – in part because they have opened their doors
to new technologies, suppliers and ideas. As we see in the articles
on Ford and Mercedes in this edition, going global poses some interesting
challenges. Their manufacturing plants around the world
need to all have the same level of support, and preferably the same
suppliers delivering components that are of a uniform quality just in
time to the production line.
Nice idea, but the reality is that consumers differ from market
to market, there is no uniform global legislation on emissions,
safety, or even ownership of the factories making the parts. To
make things even more interesting, new models powered by ever
“greener” engines need to be introduced much quicker than before
– and the pace is getting faster.
Suppliers have responded by developing innovative tools and refining
components. Now OEMs can find out what a vehicle will sound
like inside - while it is still on the drawing board (or CAD
program). Engineers are being helped to make their
designs have both form and function, while reducing
time to market.
Part of the life-cycle, of course, is
manufacturing. Here again, suppliers are
working hard at helping OEMs become
more efficient and drive down costs.
Suppliers like Zeiss are helping drive
up quality and productivity by putting
laboratory-standard measuring equipment
on the floor. Breakthroughs are
also being made in the design of components,
such as Aristo’s new catalytic
converter technology, as well as manufacturing
processes.
All of which would be pretty pointless without
customers. In this edition, we feature companies
that help OEMs better understand their markets.
We also see that the cars will remain wirelessly connected to
their makers, while GSM technology helps track drivers and
freight – and personal devices replace onboard electronics.
Taking a holistic view on how we are going to keep people moving
is Chalmers University, which is looking at ways of integrating
public and personal transport, as well as planning how to
power up fleets of electric vehicles.
And if all of this sounds like hard work (which it is), there are
few better ways to blow out the cobwebs and generally have fun
than taking a muscle car through its paces. You’ll find yours at the
Russo & Steele auction. AI
AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRIES and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, have put
together a digital library of back issues of AI from the early 1900’s (high res and low res) of
approximately 230,000 images of the print publication. This archive, which documents the
birth of the auto industry to the present, is available to AI subscribers.
Go to AI’s homepage www.ai.com.ai and click on the “AI Library” link or visit
www.ai-online.com/100YearLibrary
8 to read full version of AI stories go to www.ai-online.com