Saving our Beloved Cars and the Automotive Industry
Once again the US automotive industry is in dire straits. It did not learn from the 1973 energy crisis. It did not learn from the Chrysler experience. It did not learn from Toyota. It continued to depend on old, worn out concepts and on CEO’s that are kept in their positions by nepotism and by boards that do not understand the automotive business.
In a joint effort the Big Three are asking the US government for a $25 billion loan. They argue that government demands for increased fuel efficiency are too expensive to implement and require huge amounts of capital for retooling.
Let’s assume for the moment that the argument has some merit. But how can companies with worldwide manufacturing facilities fail to notice the steady increase in fuel prices and not see the warning signs hoisted by governments across the world that want to limit greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel consumption. This neglect is inexcusable.
Efforts of US and European governments to limit fuel consumption are misdirected, counterproductive, and coercive. A comprehensive analysis quickly reveals that we must indeed limit and eventually halt greenhouse gas emissions.
OPEC countries will continue their unstoppable increases of petroleum prices. Electric cars, CNG powered cars, and hydrogen powered cars cannot stop carbon dioxide emissions perceptibly and will not make our country independent of OPEC imports.
Automotive companies are critically dependent on the fickle and changing preferences of national and international markets. Industrial companies that follow political hype will be punished sooner or later. Governments are incapable of designing automobiles for the market place.
The world is relegated to using automobiles, trucks, trains, ships, and airplanes for the next century and will have to power most of them with liquid transportation fuels. We may be able to use less of them, we will be able to reduce energy consumption, we can use other forms of energy for some transportation, and we can produce petroleum substitutes from biomass. We can even produce biomass without competing with critically important food crops.
In order to minimize fuel consumption quickly, the auto industry is forced to deal with performance features. American drivers cannot avoid covering much longer distances than European or Japanese drivers. American drivers have less access to public transportation, have larger families, and drive on different types of roads. Automotive companies must listen to their customers. Toyota and Honda have been listening most successfully.
American and foreign car companies have developed a wide range of comfortable cars with a wide variety of utilitarian and luxury features. Sportive cars and SUV’s are attracting large numbers of buyers. All cars offer a wide selection of comfort and entertainment features. One major car component has received only peripheral attention; it is the much maligned internal combustion engine.
Many modern internal combustion engines are marvels of engineering. Materials, manufacturing processes, and especially peripheral components have progressed to unprecedented levels of performance and longevity. There is a last frontier that has escaped deserved attention. This is the highly energy efficient combustion engine. This is the type of engine that the automotive engine needs to develop, this is the engine that legislators should make mandatory. This is the engine that we need to use for at least one more century.
Long term the automotive industry has to develop an entirely new, advanced, internal combustion engine!
Average energy efficiency of the worlds inventory of combustion engines is somewhere in the lower mid-twenties. Energy efficiency cannot grow indefinitely. When approaching the 50% efficiency mark, it will be difficult and very expensive to increase efficiency by a single percent. Advanced automotive engines are operating in the mid-thirties. Large stationary engines are breaking the 45% mark. Large engines on trains and ships are getting above 40%. Looking at the total world inventory, we may still have a chance to nearly double energy efficiency and to cut energy consumption of present inventory in half.
We cannot reach this goal by legislating fuel consumption of cars only. We can achieve optimum energy efficiency only by reengineering the processes taking place within and around the internal combustion space.
We know that higher compression ratios will increase energy efficiency, we know how to produce high octane fuel, we know why Diesel engines are more efficient, we know how to minimize formation of pollutants. The automotive industry has developed a huge selection of sophisticated electronic components for single cylinder fuel injection, for precise controls of valve motion and ignition timing, and for reclaiming waste energy at the exhaust.
No company seems to have found the nerve to get a jump on the competition and develop the successor to the two more than century old engine concepts; the Otto and the Diesel engines.
If the US government decides to extend a $25 billion loan to the automotive industry, it should attach a few conditions. The loan needs to be secured and must take precedent over shareholder equity. The loan should stipulate that the salaries of top management are tethered to salaries of other top CEO’s like that of the US President. The obscene bonuses of yesterday should be paid only after a waiting period of at least five years; in which previously agreed upon management objectives must have been met or exceeded.
We must stop the prevalent looting of cash from US manufacturing companies by unscrupulous investors. These investors do not contribute anything of lasting value. They are excessively rewarded for ruining once healthy companies. We cannot continue to let a selected few impoverish the many and ruin our country irreparably.
Dr. Hemsath recently published the book: CLIMATE CHANGE – GOLD RUSH OR DISASTER? For 50 years he has worked as scientist, process engineer, Corporate Vice President of R&D, Company President, CEO, and Inventor. He holds more than 60 US Patents.
He is working on a new book: “THE SOLUTION FOR ENDING GLOBAL WARMING AND CLIMATE CHANGE”. Go to http://www.thermalexpert.com
Categories: Engine Hoist Hire Tags: Automotive, Beloved, Cars, Industry, Saving
China Heavy Machinery Industry Characteristics
According to latest statistical data analysis, this year, China’s heavy duty machinery industry has been rapid development, from January to September, the domestic heavy duty machinery industry total output value, product sales revenue has broken 100 billion yuan mark.
Currently the development of heavy machinery industry What are the characteristics, what issues of concern, with the steel industry is closely related to the production and sale of equipment how the situation, import and export situation? China Heavy Machinery Industry Association, the persons concerned have been analysis.
Metallurgical and mining equipment industry, the economy continued to improve
Heavy machinery industry production and operation of metallurgical and mining equipment industry maintained steady and rapid growth, economic benefits have also continued to improve. Previous 9 months, heavy machine industry industrial output value (current value) of 37.304 billion yuan, an increase of 52.17%; product sales revenue of 34.385 billion yuan, an increase of 56.18%; industry total profits 701 million yuan, an increase of 287.46%.
Metallurgical and mining equipment industry, economic indicators have improved, but still need to change the status of a lower level. 9 months ago, industry gross profit rate of product sales revenue increased by 1.22 percentage points, but still need to further improve the level of eco efficiency indicators.
The main products import and export trade volume has increased rapidly, but imports are still much larger than the amount of product exports. Previous 9 months, metallurgical mine equipment industry’s major product exports 208 million U.S. dollars, imports amounted to 1.483 billion U.S. dollars, imports and exports amounted to 1.692 billion U.S. dollars, import and export trade deficit of 1.275 billion U.S. dollars. Imports the largest products are: metal rolling mills and spare parts 701 billion, mineral screening, washing, crushing equipment for the 290 million U.S. dollars, metal smelting equipment and spare parts for the 241 million U.S. dollars.
State metallurgy, cement and other industries with overheated investment to implement macro control measures, the current impact of the domestic heavy machinery industry, has been further demonstrated. Output of smelting equipment, such as year on year growth rate, from January to March of this year’s 51.53 percent, from January to April to 56.80 percent, from January to May’s 50.32 percent, down from January to June of 43.53 percent, from January to July of 38.46 % from January to August’s 32.29 percent, and from January to September to 28.59 percent, showing the gradual downward trend, of which the first 9 months of the cumulative growth rate has dropped to 30% year on year. Another example is mining equipment production growth rate year on year from January to March this year, 43.64 percent tally, after which has been below 40% and the gradual downward trend, which from January to April to 39.91 percent, from January to May to 39.76 percent, from 1 to June is 38.33%, from January to July of 36.68 percent, from January to August of 34.94 percent, from January to September is 33.52%.
Hoisting and conveying equipment (material handling equipment) industry sales continue to grow
First, industry production, sales continued to maintain rapid growth, economic indicators continued to improve. January to September 2004, the industry total industrial output value (current value) of 72.285 billion yuan, up 34.68%, product sales revenue of 70.349 billion yuan, up 35.11 percent, the industry total profits increased by 23.32%.
Second, is the industry’s main product import and export volume has increased rapidly, imports more than exports. January to September, 2004, material handling equipment products exports 1.645 billion U.S. dollars, imports amounted to 1.983 billion U.S. dollars, imports and exports amounted to 3.628 billion U.S. dollars, import and export trade deficit was 3.38 billion U.S. dollars.
Exports a large product categories are: crane, lifting frame products 6.37 billion U.S. dollars, pulley, hoist, hoist, jack lifting equipment product categories smaller 345 billion U.S. dollars. Exports a large container crane products are 397 million U.S. dollars, jack 196 million U.S. dollars, 161 million gantry crane. Imports a large product category: Other lifting, handling, loading and unloading machinery products for the 908 million U.S. dollars, cranes, lifting frame products for the 496 million U.S. dollars, the smaller lifting equipment products for the 208 million U.S. dollars. Imports the largest product is a continuous conveyor 653 million U.S. dollars, not elsewhere specified or lifting, handling, loading and unloading machinery 218 million U.S. dollars, 153 million passenger elevator.
Third, the country of metallurgy, cement and other industries with overheated investment to implement macro control measures, lifting and transport equipment (materials handling equipment) industry influence further demonstrated. Lifting equipment, such as production was declining year on year growth trend. The index from January to March is 62.25%, from January to April and from January to May were reduced to 49.82%, 44.10%, followed by further dropped to l to 6 months of 37.63%, from January to July of 39.64%, from January to August’s 28.24 percent, from January to September to 28.39%. Another example is the growth rate of truck production declined year on year.
The index from January to March is 63.09 percent, from January to April and from January to May were reduced to 57.09%, 50.28%, followed by further reduced from January to June of 44.82 percent, from January to July of 40.H %, from January to August’s 35.77 percent, from January to September to 31.13%. However, the transportation machinery output is on the rise year on year growth trend. The index from January to March and from January to April, respectively 20.22%, 28.14%, followed has further increased from January to May to 32.55 percent, from January to June to 37.38%, from January to September to 37.09%, from January to August of 38.39 percent, from January to September is 37.25%.
Turning to this year’s heavy duty machinery industry in China since the development of the situation in question, the relevant parties believe that, at present, China’s heavy duty machinery industry in national economic development and accelerate the development of related industries and accelerate driven by technological advances, has been rapid development of advanced technologies in the relevant equipment in China has achieved remarkable results. Heavy machinery industry in China needs to further enhance the market competitiveness and speed up development and production of superior products, in the output value and sales income, while breakthrough towards the product grade and quality of new improvements.
I am a professional editor from China Products, and my work is to promote a free online trade platform. http://www.himfr.com/ contain a great deal of information about designer handbags china,used machinery buyers,industrial machinery manufacturers, welcome to
Categories: Passenger Hoist Hire Tags: Characteristics, China, Heavy, Industry, Machinery
