Recent Comments:
VIDEO: Weaving the Lexus LFA's carbon fiber A-pillar is mesmerizing {Autoblog}
Oct 30th 2009 2:06PM @Evan
Use of extruded aluminum chassis is not unique, in fact most of the technology has been done by Hydro Aluminium of Denmark, which is Lotus' supplier.
Also, I think you're missing the point of this carbon-fiber loom. CF looms are exist, but they are largely 2D looms, this is a fully 3D loom that actually binds CF to aluminum. Right now you have sheets of CF and you have to layer them atop one another, impregnate them with epoxy and autoclave it. Its done by hand, and binding it to a metal is difficult because the areas that are joined serve as weak points.
Conventional methods like the one used in the Mclaren MP4-12C uses metal inserts on sheets to bond the two substances; then they are vacuum packed and autoclaved. Toyota has found a method to bind a aluminum to CF and then have this machine weave around it- its an entire generation ahead.
This is important because:
1.) Its largely automated, which means its more suitable for mass-production because it reduces the amount of hand-labor/error that is required in CF manufacturing (layering sheet upon sheet of CF).
2.) CF can be used strategically because this is an effective method to bind carbon fiber to aluminum by using a flange connected to a 3D loom, and aluminum can be used in larger quantity. Dramatically reduced cost and increase in torsional rigidity.
This is a whole generation beyond that Lotus is doing with aluminum, and the LF-A isn't just about carbon-fiber, its all about aluminum as well.
VIDEO: Weaving the Lexus LFA's carbon fiber A-pillar is mesmerizing {Autoblog}
Oct 30th 2009 2:13AM McLaren doesn't weave their own carbon, looking at that loom you understand why. Toyota built that just for the LF-A at this point, and its probably as complex, or more complex, then the LF-A itself.
Automakers like Mclaren merely buy pre-weaved sheets wholesale, they come in different patterns and types; 1k,1.5k,3k,6k,12k .24K,48K, etc. The main CF manufactures are companies like Toray, Mitsubishi-Rayon, SGL, Hexcel, etc.
What Toyota is doing is unprecedented in that this machines not only does custom weaves, it weaves around a sub-frame, and they've created a massively complicated equipment to do that.
Rendered for Your Pleasure: Subaru WRX-powered Kickboxer motorcycle concept {Autoblog}
Oct 27th 2009 11:17PM Excuse me? Bike looks amazing.
It has that Confederate B91 Wraith look it it. Also, it looks like it has the swing-arm front suspension design like the Bimota Tesi IDs.
Officially Official: Fisker buys GM's Wilmington Delaware plant {Autoblog}
Oct 27th 2009 8:35PM @letstakeawalk
Fisker is most definitely not well-known amongst the general public. Would you spend your $40k+ on a Fisker versus a BMW, Mercedes, or Audi?
If you randomly asked anyone who is walking into a luxury car dealer I'd be surprised is 1 in 20 people knew what a Fisker was. An even if you knew, the service, reliability, and maintenance of this vehicle is entirely unknown. A car is the second largest investment a person makes after home ownership, atop this, this is likely going to be a $47,500 car at least (being that tax rebates max out at $7,500 for PHEV and EV vehicles).
Also, you're saying that the US needs another manufacter???? When in the last year we've seen an attrition of American brands in the US. We lost Pontiac, Hummer, Saturn, etc, etc, etc. The US is no longer the largest car market in the world, its behind China, and its an over-saturated one at that. We should be strengthening the brands we have instead of creating an unknown one.
If the DOE wanted to support an expensive sport-luxury car they should have built it under the Cadillac brand, not Fisker. At least that way it would have helped other Cadillac cars in terms of image, and not wasted US tax payer money.
The only reason this deal got through with Fisker is that it would save UAW jobs. That's all...
Officially Official: Fisker buys GM's Wilmington Delaware plant {Autoblog}
Oct 27th 2009 1:48PM That's $40k (after tax-rebates). Which puts in expected price of the Volt.
There are several things here that reek of BS:
1.) First, they plan on selling 75,000-100,000 units a annually. That's an incredibly high-number, the 3-series sells around 100k units a year in the US. And that's not a $40k vehicle that requires a tax-rebate. We're talking about insanely high numbers for a company that is starting from nothing.
2.) Secondly, this is a company with no brand recognition and more important no infrastructure to support and maintain tens of sounds of cars. There is no dealer network in place to support 75-100k cars. And its hard to imagine they can ramp up from zero to 100,000 in 3-4 years.
3.) Why is this being built in a UAW plant? For a no-brand upstart, it would have been much more preferable to move away from union-labor, there are a ton of non-union factories recently closed in the US which would have served as a better alternative. Is UAW labor a prerequisite to getting Government funding?
4.) Fourth, the US Government is giving this company $528.7 million, and the Vice-President is to announce the deal. This whole thing reeks of politics. I'm looking at this as a massive waste of the tax-payers half-a-billion dollars. If the government wants to invest this much money into these technologies then why not give that $528 million to build a full-scale Li-ion battery factory in the United States so that we don't have to buy the batteries from Asia (the Volt's battery comes from South Korea). The battery is the single technology holding back EVs and PHEVs and is the most expensive component, yet the US has no presence in that area globally. Why not use that half billion for that instead? The last thing the US needs is one more car manufacter.
Netflix for PlayStation 3 requires a disc, software solution coming late 2010 {Engadget}
Oct 26th 2009 11:52PM @ Puggs
Its been confirmed that Netflix will remain only for paying Xbox Live Gold members.
http://www.gamespot.com/news/6238087.html
>>GS: Well, I guess the big advantage of streaming Netflix via the PS3 is you don't have to pay a premium membership cost for Xbox Live Gold. Do you know if Netflix will be available to Xbox Live Silver members in the future?
SS: That's a question you'd have to ask Microsoft. We just think they're both great platforms. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Microsoft has since confirmed Xbox Live Gold membership will still be mandatory to access Netflix on the 360.]
Netflix for PlayStation 3 requires a disc, software solution coming late 2010 {Engadget}
Oct 26th 2009 10:49PM BD-Live uses JAVA and has the full run-time engine, so its actually a relatively powerful interface. Its not just streaming from the website.
So essentially this Netflix should be like a small JAVA application.
First Drive: 2011 Lexus LFA is wicked and this way comes {Autoblog}
Oct 26th 2009 12:38PM The original concept design back in 2005 was actually designed by the famous Leonardo Fioravanti. Who has designed the Ferrari Dino, the Ferrari Daytona, the Ferrari P5 and P6, the Ferrari 512 Berlinetta Boxer, the Ferrari 365 GT4 2+2 , the Ferrari 308 GTB, and the Ferrari 288 GTO. He now runs an independent design house.
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-127723736/fioravanti-helps-lexus-create.html
Obviously, the LFA design has moved forward from the original concept to production reality, but a lot of the identifiable design elements are from Fioravanti; such as the three-exhausts, the overall shape, and the unique rear design.
Switched On: Making book with ePUB {Engadget}
Oct 25th 2009 12:55PM There is a DRMed PDF format that some E-book readers support (such as Sony's Reader).
Publishers won't release an E-book without some level of security. They need assurances that e-books won't become like MP3s, where most people illegally download music rather then actually buy them. If this is the case, most publishers would rather stick to traditional print copies where piracy is hard.
But ePUB is open, its simple (XHTML and ZIP), and the DRM is entirely up to the publisher. There is so specified DRM for ePUB, this is open to publisher to use what they want or not use one at all (ePUB is in a ZIP file, and it only requires a rights.xml file in ne of the root directories).
More importantly with ePUB, its transferable between devices. I could buy my ePUB at Barnes&Noble's reader and later use it on a Sony Reader; as long as the e-book supports ePUB (which all players aside from Kindle will).
The Lexus LFA may cost $375k, but the paper one is free {Autoblog}
Oct 22nd 2009 2:52PM That's what it is isn't it. A halo car. A marketing device. Audi paid for a ton of product placement of the R8 to be in a ton of movies like Will Smith's "I, Robot" and "Iron Man". It wasn't to sell the R8 it was so people would look positively on the Audi brand.
You people aren't actually going to buy a $375,000 car, hell, the very vast majority of people here aren't even going to buy supercar "bargains" like the ZR-1 & GT-R.
The fact is, even if this car was half the price some people would complain about it. They'll FIND a reason to hate it. Because its Japanese. Because its a Lexus. Because they don't like the design. Because. Because.
