Main page | June 12, 2007 »

Rocket Scientist or Auto Mechanic? The Distinction Is Blurring

People who know cars know that it’s getting tougher to find skilled mechanics. Cars have become increasingly complex, and require the kind of specialized training that teenagers can’t pick up hanging around the local gas station, according to The New York Times.

Although these students are part of the video-game generation and are comfortable around computers, automotive experts said many teenagers were unwilling to undertake the training for jobs that don’t initially pay much, when they can learn similar skills to enter higher-paying professions that get more respect.

Posted by   at 10:18 AM to Technology | Permalink | Comments 1

At Park Opening in ’09, It’s All Ferrari, All the Time

In coming weeks, Ferrari loyalists will gather to celebrate the 60th anniversary with festivities in Maranello that include a concours, a parade of racecars and the arrival of a relay tour that began Jan. 28 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and will have traveled through 50 countries over 148 days, according to The New York Times.

Plans to spread the Ferrari influence further yet are heading in a new, and perhaps unexpected, direction — a Ferrari theme park that is scheduled to open on an island in the Persian Gulf in 2009. The entertainment it will offer is intended to appeal to a range of car enthusiasts, from the Six Flags daytrippers to those whose dream is to someday own a vintage Testa Rossa or Daytona.

Posted by   at 10:14 AM to Marques | Permalink | Comments 0

Safety Systems Of the Future

Active safety systems, like anti-lock brakes, traction control, brake assist, and electronic stability control, act without your input. They decide an accident is coming and act to control the car before the accident happens. (Passive safety systems, like seatbelts and airbags, differ in that they engage once an accident has happened.)

But there's a new crop of active safety systems that give you warnings to which you must respond, like the lane departure warning system that beeps at you (M45) or vibrates your steering wheel (2008 BMW 5 Series) when it detects you're departing from your proper lane, according to thecarconnection.com. These systems beep, flash, light up, and cause vibrations in your seat and steering wheel. There are a host of these baby sitters, which are being developed because we aren't just driving - we're falling asleep, drifting and fiddling with the audio or our phone and people are getting killed.

Interested parties like the big insurance companies have been pushing these technologies behind the scenes mostly because they want fewer fatalities, and fewer payouts on claims. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is conducting a study on the lane departure warning system now. Results will be in over this summer and IIHS and will probably recommend the system when the study is complete. The big question is whether or not drivers are going to embrace these systems.

Posted by   at 10:06 AM to Safety | Permalink | Comments 0

OPEOil Prices Rise on OPEC Minister Remarks

Oil prices rose after Iran's oil minister said OPEC has no plans to release more oil into the market ahead of its next policy meeting in September and Saudi Arabia said it would keep its shipment volumes steady, according to the Associated Press.
OPEC has no plans to release more oil into the market ahead of its next policy meeting in September, Iran's oil minister said today, according to AP.
There is adequate crude oil in the market and commercial oil inventories are at a high level, Iranian Minister of Petroleum Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh told reporters on the sideline of a regional oil and gas conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Posted by   at 9:57 AM to Oil | Permalink | Comments 0