If you were lucky enough to attend this year’s North American International Auto Show, your head is probably still spinning after viewing the hundreds of innovative automotive designs. The event drew in more than 5,000 journalists from 60 countries—which just goes to show that the public’s love for fast, beautiful vehicles is alive and well.
Held during from January 18 to 26, the 2014 NAIAS featured more than 500 innovative vehicles and debuted 50 brand-new designs. It was essentially a four-part show, comprised of the following events:
Press Preview: During January 13-14, members of the press were given a sneak peek of the industry’s most exciting annual event. In addition to viewing the vehicles, media professionals were able to network with peers and catch up on the latest news, technologies, and events.
Industry Preview: On January 15 and 16, more than 28,000 representatives from over 2,000 automotive companies gathered to share insights, ideas, and opinions. It was an inspiring and exciting time for industry leaders and newcomers alike.
Charity Preview: On January 17, NAIAS welcomed a wide range of children’s charities, and generously donated proceeds to those organizations. As an impressive testimony to the show’s commitment to helping kids in the community, the Charity Preview has raised more than $91 million for local children’s charities since 1976.
Public Show: On January 18th, the NAIAS opened its doors to the public. Attendants got up close and personal with more than 500 amazing vehicles in this prestigious automotive showcase.
This year’s show also hosted two design competitions where proceeds benefited the DIO’s mission to assist and educate the visually impaired. In the 13th Annual Michelin Challenge Design competition, hundreds of international designers and teams submitted their prototypes, drawings, and renderings to be judged by some of the industry’s most prestigious designers. EyesOn Design Awards were presented to designers who excelled in the areas of aesthetics and innovation, concept implementation, and functionality and spirit of industrial design.
Our Facebook page has plenty of photos from the event, so feel free to head over and give us a “like.”
Want to plug into the future? That’s exactly what 15 universities across North America are doing as part of the EcoCar competition. The program, established by the Department of Energy and General Motors, offers a chance for the next generation of automotive engineers to gain hands-on, real-world experience.
Each team was awarded a 2013 Chevy Malibu to work on, with the goal of designing an American-made automobile with less dependence on oil and more environmental benefits. In May, competitors spent six days in Yuma, Arizona, testing out the drive quality and environmental impact of their vehicle, which were evaluated on safety, performance, utility, safety, and reduced fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Pennsylvania State University’s ethanol (E85) plug-in hybrid electric vehicle impressed the judges and inspectors enough to win the competition for the second year in a row.
Tony Jang, business manager for Gage’s fuel segment, alongside a few EcoCar competition entries.
At Gage, we love innovation, and we believe in supporting educational endeavors and the outreach of a younger generation. Because of the exceptional results and dedication to this program, we are proud to provide the specially formulated fuels to the university teams participating in the annual competition. As leading supplier of test fuels, custom fuels blends, and reference fuels, Gage has also been a proud sponsor of the SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge for the past 11 years.
We can’t stress the importance of being involved with new ideas—especially when clean energy and reduced environmental impact is the basis of these projects. For more information on Gage’s sustainability efforts and initiatives, head over to our website.
Many of today’s elementary and high school students look at their mathematics and science classes as either a waste of time or irrelevant to their future lives. But as the world becomes ever more digital and opportunities in career fields such as engineering and manufacturing become more of a priority, it will be increasingly difficult to avoid these academic subjects.
It was this lack of interest by students in mathematics that prompted President Reagan to initiate the annual promotion of Mathematics Awareness. Since his term in office more than 30 years ago, the American Mathematical Society, the Mathematical Association of America, and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics each April have been celebrating and bringing awareness to the study of math via the Mathematics Awareness Month. This demonstrates to students that math and the real world are more intertwined and connected than they thought.
This year’s theme was on the Mathematics of Sustainability. This year’s celebration to focused attention on the use of mathematics training to show how scientists and engineers can work via their academic training to balance the use of our natural resources with the need to conserve and preserve it. We’ve kept these notions with us even though the celebration is technically over.
In the spirit of Mathematics Awareness Month, especially with the focus on Mathematics of Sustainability, Gage thought it would be a great time to mention our support of the EcoCar2 competition. The EcoCar2 is a competitive challenge that brings students from 15 leading North American universities to retrofit a regular car and turn it into a competitive green, sustainable vehicle.
In our next blog, we will provide more details and coverage on this competition and our participation. Until then, take time to think about how much math you use on a daily basis. Besides all of the digital devices that you use daily (thanks to algebra, trig, calculus, and stats), there’s that tip you add onto a restaurant bill, the calculations to figure out whether you owe taxes to Uncle Sam, or the simple addition as you determine how many calories you just consumed. Math is truly as fundamental as reading. Celebrate it!
In automotive equipment testing, as in any other area of experimentation, results on one variable are not useful unless all other variables are eliminated. One major source of confusion is typically the fuel used. Unless the test fuel is specifically formulated to a certain set of standards intended to produce a particular performance or result, it’s difficult to calibrate the equipment in question correctly.
There are many parameters that define a fuel’s performance. Gage Products’ expertise with benchmarking and varying these qualities extends to over 1000 custom blends, and we will work to whatever specific requirements a customer might have. These are just a few of the factors that we take into account when formulating a custom fuel
Cetane and Octane. A measure of combustion quality: Cetane for diesel; RON and MON for gasoline.
Distillation and DI. Distillation is a measure of fuel volatility and is used to calculate the Drivability Index (DI). DI measures factors like a fuel’s performance at different temperatures.
Hydrocarbon Types. Chemical variants including aromatics, olefins, or saturates.
Oxygenates. More chemistry adjustments, such as Alcohols and Ethers like ethanol, isobutanol, methanol, and MTBE (methyl tert-butyl ether).
Sulfur. Found in crude oil, concentration is regulated in gasoline and diesel.
Vapor Pressure. Another measure of fuel volatility.
We’re also able to alter physical properties like pHe, corrosivity and conductivity. Our customer-focused approach means that we will work to create the exact blend that you require. Visit our custom fuels page for more information.
If you were lucky enough to attend this year’s North American International Auto Show, your head is probably still spinning after viewing the hundreds of innovative automotive designs. The event drew in more than 5,000 journalists from 60 countries—which just goes to show that the public’s love for fast, beautiful vehicles is alive and well.
