Transport The world is smaller today than it has ever been before. We can move anything anywhere with the greatest of ease and it's only getting better. Your competition is no longer just down the road, it's all over the world and we're always finding better ways to transport things.
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Administrator
After a difficult period of civil unrest, Algeria has begun a programme of modernisation and development. Apart from establishing new industries and launching a range of new projects, the programme envisages expansion and modernisation of the national transport infrastructure.
The state railway SNTF has for some time been examining plans to develop new lines in the area south of the Atlas mountains. Known as the High Plateau region because it lies around 1 000 m above sea level, this sparsely-populated area stretches from the Atlas foothills to the edge of the Sahara desert. Its western fringe lies on the Moroccan border, and from there it extends eastwards for around 500 km.
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Monday 13 October, 2008 12:19 PM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Administrator
This is a special car that tickles the five senses like few others. But it's actually not technically Italian. Around a decade ago, Germany's Audi AG took over the struggling carmaker, effectively saving it from ruin. For many Lamborghini- loving Italians, it was a mind-numbing shock. They worried that the essence of their beloved company would be watered down, lost in translation.
You see, up until that time, no Italian-German coproduction had ever really succeeded.
So when Audi, which actually operates under the Volkswagen Group, bought out Lamborghini in 1998, the automotive world held its breath in anticipation. It was kind of like trying to blend German sauerkraut with Italian gelato. They both taste good, but they don't quite go together. The end result, however, was a resounding success.
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Sunday 12 October, 2008 08:12 AM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Administrator
The Monster, originally released in 1993, is one of Ducati's more classic and successful models. Bart Janssen-Groesbeek was a Project Leader on the new Ducati Monster 696 , released this past April, and has already proved popular. During the upcoming Motorcycle Show in Cologne opening 8 October 2008, Ducati will unveil the Ducati Monster 1100 and 1100 S and we are looking forward to seeing what they came up with this time around.
We caught up with Bart Janssen-Groesbeek at Ducati's Bologna, Italy headquarters to ask him a few questions.
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Wednesday 8 October, 2008 03:47 AM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Administrator
Cessna Aircraft Company , a Textron Inc . company, today unveiled a new Citation Columbus concept mock-up reflecting progress to date on the program and two years of research into customer preferences. The mock-up was unveiled to customers and the media at a special event on the opening day of the National Business Aviation Association Meeting and Convention.
“This next-generation mock-up represents a departure from conventional Cessna design, exploring unique concepts, many of which are based on customer input collected during the global tour of our first conceptual design unveiled at NBAA 2006,” said Jack J. Pelton, Cessna chairman, president and CEO. “From the more fully developed cockpit to the full-size baggage compartment, our Cessna interior design team has done a phenomenal job of synthesizing the market feedback from the recent tour. The result is a flexible, functional and very chic interior.”
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Tuesday 7 October, 2008 11:44 PM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Administrator
Infotech Enterprises Ltd . signed with Bombardier Transportation a new long term contract to continue to provide engineering, electronic design, technical publications and IT-related services to Bombardier Transportation divisions worldwide. The contract builds on a relationship that started in 2003 and now Infotech supports all Bombardier divisions across multiple technologies and projects in a real-time engineering environment.
Under their renewed contract, the projects include the prestigious Delhi Metro Phase II for which Bombardier will soon start to supply trains. The original relationship was executed under the Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) framework. The new contract does not have this clause which further demonstrates Bombardier Transportation’s commitment to work with Infotech Enterprises as a long term partner for their engineering outsourcing requirements.
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Tuesday 7 October, 2008 05:39 PM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by George Tan
In the first installment of our Castrol Syntec Top Shop Challenge engine build, we started with some fancy-pants textbook design and geometry considerations for our Cosworth-built, naturally aspirated VQ35DE. We didn't get much past the bottom end, since there was too much background theory to go over. In Part Two, we skipped the tech and opted to talk smack on our competitors. This time we're back to see how Cosworth assembles our engine.
The thing about Cosworth is that this operation is altogether different from the tuners and shops we're used to working with. The company is an engine manufacturer that designs and builds race motors. Everything is constructed in-house, except for the nuts, bolts, and block and head castings. Reputation and enigma aside, it's hard not to be impressed as soon you step into Cosworth's Torrance, Calif. facility. How many shops have you been to that require signing in and proof of citizenship before going beyond the security doors?
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Tuesday 7 October, 2008 01:55 PM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Administrator
Aerion announced Sunday it has embarked on a "proof of concept" design phase, as it continues to shoot for a planned 2014 certification for its supersonic business jet design. The news comes as Aerion continues to search for an establish OEM to produce the aircraft... an endeavor the company has embarked on for over two years.
Aerion Vice-Chairman Brian Barents is optimistic. "We are very encouraged by the seriousness of these discussions and also by the results of recent tests that confirm high-speed performance predictions," he said. "All of this gives us confidence as we move ahead with the design effort."
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Monday 6 October, 2008 09:30 AM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Adam Crighton
How does a car end up costing £850,000? Well, the man looking after this Bentley GTZ helpfully offered the fact that the fantastically detailed LED tail-lights cost £79,620 a pair.
This special Bentley is the embodiment of “no expense spared”. It is essentially a Continental GT Speed - itself a hugely excessive car and the first Bentley to be officially capable of topping 200mph - which has been heavily customised by Zagato, a design and engineering consultancy based in Milan. Zagato was founded in 1919 and has produced stunning special edition coachwork for a who’s who of manufacturers, including Ferrari, Aston Martin, Alfa Romeo, Maserati and now Bentley.
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Sunday 5 October, 2008 02:24 PM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Ali Hamoud
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The new Lexus IS 250C makes its world debut today at the Paris motor show, ahead of going on sale across Europe during the summer of 2009. The new model combines the award-winning design of the IS sports saloon with outstanding open-top engineering ingenuity.
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Friday 3 October, 2008 05:31 PM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Administrator
General Motors Corp . displayed the most important car in its global turnaround plan Wednesday night on the eve of the Paris motor show.
The Chevrolet Cruze, a roomy and stylish compact sedan, will be built on at least four continents and become the face of GM's effort to transform Chevrolet from a parochial American brand into a global powerhouse like Toyota, Ford and Volkswagen.
"The Cruze is much more important to GM than the Volt," the celebrated extended-range electric car Chevrolet will launch in 2010, said Stephanie Brinley of consultant AutoPacific. While the revolutionary Volt has generated reams of positive publicity for GM, it will initially sell in small numbers and almost certainly lose money.
Cruze sales should hit hundreds of thousands a year early in the next decade and generate cash. Lots of it, GM hopes.
"Chevrolet is GM's biggest brand and the third-largest automotive brand in the world," said GM President and Chief Operating Officer Fritz Henderson. "It's extraordinarily efficient to have one key brand you throw resources to."
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Thursday 2 October, 2008 01:08 PM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Peter Wu
IHAVE COME in for some ribbing by my ‘car-nut’ friends because of my reversal on the issue of diesels.
Until recently, I was quick to criticize the oil-burners because they smelled to high heavens, were loud enough to wake the dead and the foul-smell and black soot they produced was enough to have me reaching for a mask — and the keys to a gasoline-powered conveyance.
Diesels were great for long-haul big rigs, tractors, HD pickups and emergency generators, said I, but had no place in the passenger vehicle spectrum.
But the emergence of a new generation of high tech diesels has me eating those words, and appreciating the benefits of diesels — economy of operation and power.
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Thursday 2 October, 2008 05:34 AM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Administrator
Mercedes-Benz engineers always start thinking about safety at a very early stage. And the developers of the armoured special-protection models that go by the name of Mercedes-Benz Guard are no different. Their work begins with the specifications book as long as two years before the first pilot-production model of the conventional, non-armoured series even takes shape.
At this early stage, special-protection development is based on the engineering design and production datasets which describe every last detail of the future model. The engineers use this information to determine where the protective elements can be housed in the bodyshell. This is primarily a question of the available space. Steel and plastic armour is installed so that it is inconspicuous and in no way diminishes the customer benefit delivered by the standard-production model – for instance, it has to be just as easy to get into the car, and the car must provide the same feeling of well-being and spaciousness.
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Wednesday 24 September, 2008 09:27 PM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Adam Crighton
Judges have awarded a Certificate of Merit to Rio Tinto Iron Ore's Lang Hancock Railway (LHR) in Western Australia's Pilbara region at the recent Golden Gecko Awards.
The Golden Gecko Awards are coordinated by Western Australian Department of Industry and Resources (DoIR) to promote environmental excellence within the State's resources industry. A panel of government departments, industry and conservation representatives judged entrants on criteria including commitment to environmental excellence and the level of community engagement.
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Wednesday 24 September, 2008 01:24 PM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Administrator
Innovative rail products, a record number of vehicles, two vehicle world premieres and the launch of a breakthrough portfolio of energy and cost-saving technologies are at the center of Bombardier Transportation' s exhibits at InnoTrans 2008 (23-26 September) in Berlin.
At a press conference today at the company's global headquarters in Berlin, Germany, Andre Navarri, President of Bombardier Transportation, gave a preview of the products which will be presented by the global leader in rail technology at InnoTrans 2008.
"There has never been a better time to be in the rail industry," said Mr Navarri.
"Bombardier is playing a key role in shaping sustainable mobility for the 21st century by responding to the big challenges faced by rail operators around the world today," he continued, "The major trends in the industry are characterized by aging global fleets, volatile energy costs, growing environmental pressure, increasing urbanization and the rapid industrialization of Brazil, Russia, India and China".
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Wednesday 24 September, 2008 06:07 AM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Adam Crighton
High fuel prices have many business owners worried about their rising expenses and customers who have far less money to spend.
Then there is Gale Banks Engineering of Azusa, where the product line might be in even greater demand now than before. The company is part of the $285-billion aftermarket industry, which includes custom engineered automotive and truck equipment billed as better than factory parts.
When the industry sprang up shortly after World War II, speed was the mantra that drove enthusiasts to tweak their vehicles. Now, interested motorists are more likely to be owners of motor homes, large sport utility vehicles and full-size trucks who are desperate for better fuel economy.
President Gale Banks III said he helped customers get through the 1973-74 Arab oil embargo and the 1979 energy crisis. At his office, which is decorated with 50 years of automotive history, Banks leans forward as if sharing a secret.
"I actually like fuel crunches," Banks said. "I've been through two of them. Both of them gave me and this company direction."
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Monday 22 September, 2008 09:32 AM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Barot Casha
Luxury electric carmaker Tesla Motors announced Wednesday that it will build a $250 million factory in San Jose, a major coup for a city working hard to attract both manufacturers and green businesses.
Tesla plans to build its new $60,000 sedan at the site, which also will house the company's headquarters. The Tesla campus - on Zanker Road, just north of state Highway 237 - will employ 1,000 people.
Tesla's first car - a $109,000 roadster that hit the market this year - will still be built in England. The company's electric sedans should start rolling off the San Jose production line in late 2010.
San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed spent months wooing Tesla, a San Carlos startup whose executives said in June that they wanted to build their factory in California. The deal they struck with the city gives Tesla an 89-acre parcel that the company can occupy rent-free for 10 years. After that, the rent jumps to $1.5 million per year.
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Friday 19 September, 2008 12:42 AM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Administrator
When it comes to creating innovative vehicles , the big boys don’t hold all the cards. Innovations in design tools are helping niche developers create a lively market for custom car fans and racing devotees. Two of these are Factory Five Racing, Inc., Wareham, MA and DP7 Racing, Inc. of Houston, TX.
Factory Five has specialized in kit cars since 1995. They currently produce two which are modified replicas of classics, a roadster and a coupe and two which are streamlined muscle car models of their own design. They sell direct to customers worldwide who want to build their own car or have one built for them. Even though the company name is Factory Five Racing, Jesper Ingerslev, Director of Engineering for Factory Five says that only about 5% of their customers actually race. Most just love unique cars or belong to car clubs.
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Monday 15 September, 2008 03:04 PM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Sean
I reckon the man from TechArt is the bravest guy on the planet. Imagine this: you’re him and you meet a stranger at Stuttgart airport, somebody you’ve never seen before and know nothing about. Then you hand him the keys to a Porsche 911 GT2 that has been tuned by your company to a quite astonishing 690bhp — a nice round 700PS in Euro-speak. Then, as the stranger asks if there’s an autobahn nearby, free from constraints as tedious as a speed limit, you sit him behind the steering wheel and climb into the passenger seat. And then it rains.
The TechArt GTstreet RS is without doubt one of the maddest cars on the road. A quick squint at the RS’s specification sheet confirms this. Here is a car that takes as its basis the stratospherically capable 911 GT2, a ferocious piece of kit that already boasts 523bhp and a 0-62mph time of 3.7sec. TechArt then engineers it in order to boost its power by 167bhp and its torque up to 634lb ft.
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Monday 15 September, 2008 07:23 AM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Barot Casha
A1GP can safely be called the ‘World Cup of Motorsport’ . It is an FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) approved world championship motor racing series, which pits teams representing up to 25 nations, representing over 80% of the world’s population, against each other, in single-seater racing cars.
A single manufacturer makes all the cars. This creates a plane playing field in which drivers can battle against each other as equals without any financial or technological advantage. For the first time, from the next season onwards, A1GP will have an all-new car, powered by Ferrari. The chassis is based on the design of the highly successful F2004 Ferrari Formula 1 chassis, incorporating A1GP’s core values to deliver a close, thrilling contest where overtaking is an essential part of the game. A Ferrari V8 racing engine producing upwards of 600 bhp will power the cars.
The competition takes in a mix of recognised world-famous venues (Sepang, Brands Hatch & Shanghai) plus exciting new state-of-the-art facilities (Algarve Circuit in Portugal) and tight twisty street circuits (Durban, South Africa & Jakarta, Indonesia), delivering high-speed adrenaline fuelled action at every turn.
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Sunday 14 September, 2008 03:21 PM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Administrator
This article was written by Jeremy Faludi in October 2006. Always good to revisit.
You've heard about Tesla Motors already--the silicon valley startup that's making the next generation in electric cars, a roadster that can go from 0 to 60 in 4 seconds, and that looks like a million bucks. (It'll also cost nearly $100K, but that's cheap compared to a Lamborghini, and you just might beat it off the line.) There have been plenty of great articles on the company and the car, from Wired, The Guardian, and others. As it happens, I know several of their engineers, so I was able to get a tour of the company a few weeks ago. This wasn't an official interview with company managers or spokespeople, so I didn't get answers to all of my questions, but my friends Drew and Colin knew most of the answers, and I was also able to squeeze in a couple minutes with JB Straubel, the company's Chief Technical Officer. Here's a summary of their answers to some technical questions that other news sources haven't written about. (The insider geek's view of Tesla Motors, if you will.)
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Thursday 11 September, 2008 06:49 PM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by jackson Browne
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Showcasing embedded design innovation among engineering students in China, Freescale Semiconductor staged the finals of its third annual Freescale Cup University Smart Car Racing Contest at Northeastern University in Sheyang, China last week. This year's competition drew more than 600 teams from more than 270 Chinese universities, which is twice the number as in 2007. The final race narrowed the field to a prestigious 104 competing teams from throughout China.
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Tuesday 9 September, 2008 09:40 AM |
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