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Archives for September 2010

Product Review: Dyson DC31

September 21, 2010 by admin 1 Comment

This handheld cleaner gets the job done.

I was given the chance to review a new handheld vacuum cleaner this month, jumping on the opportunity when I learned that the product was cordless and made by Dyson. Dyson is a manufacturer of household vacuum products, known for their chic design, suction ability, portability and premium price.

The product I was given, a Dyson DC31, is the subject of this review. And, no, this isn’t a paid endorsement–my findings are my own.

What is it: The Dyson DC31 is a sophisticated three-pound cleaning machine. About the only thing it has in common with other handhelds is its size and type of battery used. Powered by a rechargeable 22.2 volt lithium-ion battery, the DC31 maintains its suction power until it runs out of juice.

Who makes it: Dyson, the maker of vacuums and similar innovative products, has designed the DC31. James Dyson is a British engineer who invented the first bagless vacuums in the late 1970s which employed “cyclonic separation” to extract dirt. A variation of that technology is evident in the Dyson DC31.

How it works: It’s magic! Seriously, the Dyson DC31’s digital motor utilizes a compressor fan and neodymium magnet, rotating at 104,000 revolutions per minute. On a regular setting the DC31 operates for 10 minutes; for tougher assignments you can choose a high power setting which will give you six minutes of operating time.

Where I used it: Two very dirty cars of mine needed a thorough vacuuming, long neglected projects I must admit. I had to recharge the battery three times over three days to complete the work as both cabins had more stuff in, on and around the surfaces than I care to admit. With each use I chose the higher setting in order to pick up every piece of dirt, wrapper and other debris on, under and between the seats. At all times the suction was strong and consistent; the handy brush and crevice tools made sure that I vacuumed up everything. Spotless!

Why this product? Dyson products are expensive, but for good reason. You get a quality product with a solid plastic container, accessory tools, a reusable filter, easy to clean out debris bin and a two-year warranty on parts and labor. Priced from $219, the Dyson DC31 is at the top end of the handheld vacuum spectrum. For $50 more you can get a handheld version called the DC31 Animal — that model includes a motorized brush bar, ideal for cleaning up in homes where an animal is present.

The bottomline: The Dyson price will be beyond what some consider worthy of a handheld vacuum, but that is to be expected. Price considerations aside, this device lives up to everything that it says it can do. Under normal conditions I’d be able to quickly vacuum out both cars on one charge, but accumulate a little extra dirt and you’ll have to wait the 3.5 hours for a full recharge.  No cords and belts to deal with and a reusable filter make this product worthy of your consideration.


See Also — Product Review: Cyntur JumperPack Mini

Filed Under: Product Reviews Tagged With: CAR CLEANER, DIGITAL MOTOR, DYSON, DYSON DC31, DYSON DC31 ANIMAL, HANDHELD VACUUM, lithium-ion battery

Are Herbie and Knightrider Coming to a Dealership Near You?

September 20, 2010 by Sarah Danielson Leave a Comment

Television is famous for setting the standard for unthinkable automotive technology, but will Herbie and Knightrider be available for purchase soon? Well, no, but Stanley, Junior, Boss, and Shelley just might be within the next few decades. What are these unfamiliar names? They are the culmination of cutting edge technological innovation that is gracing our automotive industry right now—working toward a car that actually will drive itself.

A History Lesson

Autonomous Audi TT.
Autonomous Audi TT.
The Ford Model T first began to ply America’s streets in the year 1908—with few people of that time understanding that this vehicle would be the beginnings of a new age. The Industrial Revolution spawned the mass production of motor vehicles, allowing Detroit to rise as a manufacturing giant and putting rubber on the map in Akron, Ohio through companies such as Goodyear and Firestone. While almost all of these corporations are still around today, the post-industrial nature of the Western economy has turned to advanced engineering and technology to fuel the drive for new innovations.

What’s The Buzz?

I’m sure Henry Ford never imagined a car would ever operate without a driver, but today’s Tin Lizzie successors have much more competition these days. Concept cars coming from joint ventures between Stanford University and Volkswagen AG as well as one between the General Motors Company and Carnegie Mellon University, are working toward producing vehicles more akin to those featured in The Jetsons than the beloved antique motorcars forged from the imaginations of the Industrial Era.

Today’s driverless car revolution has its origins in a U.S. Department of Defense contest where participants were required to create the first autonomous car. The VW-Stanford team won the contest in 2005 with a Touareg named Stanley. In 2007, the title was stolen from the team—their Passat named Junior was pushed out of the running by the GM-Carnegie Mellon team’s Chevy Tahoe SUV named Boss.[1]

Following the competition both teams started working on more advanced technology, attempting to make these cars more efficient, compact and with more power. Indeed, Shelley is an Audi created by the team at Stanford that operates without a driver (it doesn’t even have physical controls) and recently completed an amazing journey up Pike’s Peak, completely alone.[2] That accomplishment may bring about a significant change in the automotive industry, allowing consumers to sit back and relax while the car does all the work for them. This will drastically change road-trips, as well as prevent some fender-benders.

Not So Risky Business

There is still a lot of speculation on how safe these autonomous vehicles are or how effective they will be in real-time traffic. However, there are other innovations being developed that aren’t quite so dramatic. One example is a Collision-Avoidance program being developed by researchers at Subaru, called EyeSight. This system is not intended to drive the car for you, but rather aid through limiting distractions on the road, overcoming blind spots or other factors that may impair a diver’s focus or vision.

Kinks are still being worked out and it is all speculation whether consumers will cede control of their cars to computers. In any case technological advances are introducing possibilities once deemed elaborate fantasies just one generation ago.

References

[1] DARPA: Urban Challenge

[2] MSNBC: Audi to Climb Pikes Peak Without a Driver

[3] CNET.com: Subaru’s New EyeSight Helps Drivers Watch Road


Article modified March 31, 2014.

Filed Under: Fun News Tagged With: AUDI, Carnegie Mellon, DARPA, DRIVERLESS CARS, Ford, GM, Model T, Stanford, Volkswagen

Book Review — Ford F-Series: America’s Pickup Truck

September 20, 2010 by admin 1 Comment

Built Ford Tough

The most storied name in the world of pickup trucks is the Ford F-Series, a broad line of full-sized trucks introduced by the Ford Motor Company for the 1948 model year. More than six decades later the Ford F-150 and related trucks are the best-selling trucks in America, indeed the best-selling passenger vehicle year after year.

Six Decades

A truck possessing such a heritage has quite a following, with multiple millions of these vehicles on the road all across America, Canada and Mexico. As a tribute to the truck and marking its 60th anniversary, author William G. Scheller wrote Ford F Series: America’s Pickup Truck, a Ford authorized glossy coffee table book outlining the history, purpose and prestige of this vehicle.

Scheller takes the reader back well before the F-1’s release, showing Ford’s earlier involvement in the pickup truck market. Indeed, it was a modified Model T pickup truck that initially performed light truck duty for farmers, retailers and other business people, the first in a string of trucks built by Ford for that purpose.

Subsequent trucks were built on Ford Model A, Model B and Model BB platforms, each one offering improvements in horsepower, suspension and payload. Truck models built immediately after the Second World War ended resumed the styling theme dominant in 1942 when America’s assembly plants were converted for war use, but by September 1947 the first of the all-new F-Series trucks were ready for the market.

Detailed Dissection

Readers will note that the author takes care to cover every model year from 1948 through 2009 with a detailed year-by-year break down of the changes made. In earlier years, those changes were apparent in annual exterior updates involving the grille and oftentimes the tires, wheels, side trim or mirrors, color schemes, truck bed and tail fascia. These days Ford typically makes regular cabin amenity updates in addition to releasing a special new model or package offering.

The six lengthy chapters of the book cover the founding of the Ford Motor Company and then flows to cover significant periods in the history of the F-Series, usually involving a generational design change and always including accompanying full page color photography of the trucks for that era.

Ford F-Series:
America’s Pickup Truck

  • Extra Large Hardcover
  • Ford Motor Company Authorized
  • 240 Pages
  • Archived & Enthusiast Photographs
  • Extensive Model Year Features
  • 2008 | Universe Publishing

Notable Finds

Some of my favorite finds included:

The 1948 model. I was fascinated to learn what drove Ford to produce the F-Series in the first place and how quickly they brought this truck to the market, just two years after war production shifted once again to making cars. Immediately, customers took to the truck and have continued to exhibit strong interest year after year.

The model variations. Ford has always built countless variations of trucks on the F-Series theme. Today’s F-150 model is joined by the F-250 and F-350 with Super Duty models in the mix. Through the years Ford has built panel trucks, tractor-trailer trucks, dump trucks and emergency vehicles based on this platform. Ford’s E-Series vans are derived from the same platform powering the F-Series trucks.

Engineering updates. Scheller notes every change in the suspension including the introduction of twin I-beam front suspension during the 1960s and updates to voltage, steering, engines and transmissions. Pivotal for Ford was the introduction of diesel engines through its relationship with Navistar. Those engines are now built in-house.

Technological improvements. In recent years, the F-Series has become more car-like in ride and refinement. Vinyl seating is still standard, but leather interiors, sophisticated audio systems, navigation units and Bluetooth connectivity are available. Many customers appreciate the multiple roles of these trucks: family vehicle, workhorse and recreational model combined.

Reduced Price

There is one drawback you will want to note when considering this book: it goes through the 2009 model year. With 2011 trucks now in showrooms and offering new engines, transmissions and other amenities, more recent information would be of interest to readers. Alas, the publisher (2008 | Universe Publishing) says that no updated version is being planned.

No matter, your F-Series enthusiast will probably enjoy the book as much as I did and still am. Importantly, this hardcover, which has a cover price of $50, has now been reduced to under $20 through popular book distributors such as at Amazon.com.


See Also — Book Review — Behind the Wheel

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: BOOKS, FORD F SERIES, FORD F-1, FORD F-100, FORD F-150, FORD F-250, Ford F-350, PICKUP TRUCKS, TRUCKS, WILLIAM G. SCHELLER

The Big Six Automakers Defined

September 7, 2010 by admin 1 Comment

We automotive writers will sometimes use language most everyday folks don’t understand. That’s a problem, because when you’re attempting to explain something in simple language, automotive jargon can creep in and leave the reader wondering what you are talking about.

Big Six

Auto Trends Magazine attempts to keep the language simple in a bid to reach all car-buying consumers with information that interesting and informative. To that end, we’ll be tackling some of the terms you may not be familiar with starting with the “Big Six” automakers.

Simply put, the Big Six automakers are the six car manufacturers who are the leaders in the market in terms of sales. At one time they were referenced as the “Big Three” but that was decades ago when Detroit iron dominated Japan’s market share was minimal.

Today, the Big Six in order of 2009 sales are the General Motors Company, Ford Motor Company, Toyota Motors, American Honda, Chrysler Group, LLC and Nissan Motors.[1]

Contact Information

The following list is the U.S. contact information for each manufacturer and related notes:

General Motors Company
300 Renaissance Center
Detroit, MI 48235
313-556-5000
gm.com

GM Notes: GM’s claim as No. 1 automaker ended in 2008 after a seven decade reign. In 2009, the company filed for bankruptcy and has since closed down or sold four brands: Saturn, Saab, Hummer and Pontiac. Today, the company manages four U.S. brands: Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC and Buick.

Ford Motor Company
16800 Executive Plaza Drive
Dearborn, MI 48126
313-322-3000
ford.com

Ford Notes: Ford escaped bankruptcy, having hocked its assets to keep its operation going. The company is in the process of shutting down its Mercury brand, leaving it with Lincoln and Ford only.

Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc
19001 South Western Ave.
Torrance, CA 90501-1196
800-331-4331
toyota.com

Toyota Notes: The world’s largest automaker sells Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands. Toyota is the bestselling make in America, outselling both Chevrolet and Ford.

American Honda Motor Company Inc.
1919 Torrance Blvd.
Torrance, CA 90501-2746
310-783-2000
honda.com

Honda Notes: Besides selling Honda and Acura vehicles, this Japanese automaker sells Honda engines, motorcycles, engines and lawn products.

Chrysler Group LLC
1000 Chrysler Drive
Auburn Hills, MI 48326-2766
800-334-9200
chryslerllc.com

Chrysler Notes: Chrysler went through bankruptcy in 2009, less than two years after severing its relationship with Daimler. Today, the company is tied in with Fiat and markets four brands: Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep and Ram.

Nissan Motor Corporation
1410 Fort Negley Blvd.
Nashville, TN 37203-5036
615-259-1536
nissanusa.com

Nissan Notes: Managing the Nissan and Infiniti brands, this Japanese automaker first began to sell its cars in the US as Datsun, switching to Nissan in the early 1980s.

Up Next

Coming up fast on Nissan is Hyundai.[2] Combined with Kia, the Hyundai-Kia juggernaut may change the Big Six listmakers or, perhaps, expand it to become the Big Seven.

References

[1] Automotive Digest: Cost Of Incentives For “Big Six” Automakers – June 2007

[2] USA Today: Hyundai looms as sales threat to Big 6 automakers


See Also — Toyota and Mazda Collaboration Will Lift Both Automakers

Filed Under: Fun News Tagged With: AUTOMOTIVE DIGEST, BIG 6, BIG SIX, CHRYSLER, Ford, GENERAL MOTORS, GM, HONDA, NISSAN, Toyota, USA TODAY

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