Overview Of:
Automotive Supply Side
This zone covers the products—from spark plugs to transmissions—developed by automotive suppliers.
Hella (hella.com) has been producing lighting products in Mexico far before many other suppliers took advantage of the comparative low cost of production there.
Gary S. Vasilash
New advanced combustion strategies can mean new approaches to creating that combustion event. Federal-Mogul has developed a corona ignition technology that can replace the spark plug with impressive results.
Gary S. Vasilash
Although production volumes are going up, the need for flexibility in powertrain machin-ing has grown more important. Here’s a look at how things have changed.
KEMET Corp. (kemet.com), a manufacturer of capacitors for everything from industrial lighting to the International Space Station, has opened a $34-million, 52,000 ft² power film capacitor production facility in the lower level of its Simpsonville, SC, offices to build electrical components for hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs). This is in line with the company’s expectation that the production of those vehicles will increase in volume by 19% over the next 10 years. The manufacturing facility is KEMET’s first in the United States and 23rd worldwide. Capacitors are two-terminal electrical components used to store energy in an electric field.
OSRAM Opto Semiconductors has developed two LED headlight prototypes—the OSLON Black Flat and OSRAM OSTAR Headlamp Pro—which combine chip and package technologies to provide high light output, uniform light patterns, thermal stability, and efficient contrast ratio.The Black Flat offers a 20% improvement in thermal resistance over OSRAM’s previous Black Series models.
General Motors and PSA?
Gary S. Vasilash
Apparently General Motors and PSA Peugeot Citroën are looking at some sort of agreement whereby the two will bolster their respective engineering and manufacturing activities.
About those Veloster Sales. . .
Gary S. Vasilash
Last week when we took at look at the Hyundai Veloster we observed that while we think the design is best in class, with “class” being almost anything on four wheels that ordinary people could afford without having to spend the rest of the time they’re making car payments eating kibble, Hyundai Motor America president and CEO John Krafcik chimed in and pointed out: “You can’t read anything into the sales results…we’re incredibly short of Velosters, with just a few per dealer right now. It remains the fastest turning Hyundai.” Given the meteoric sales rise across the Hyundai lineup, that’s pretty damn fast.
Design and Engineering and the Ford B-MAX
Gary S. Vasilash
The importance of the collaboration between designers and engineers is shown in the development of a door system for the Ford European market B-MAX compact car.
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