Technology & Innovation – Page 5

Environmentally Benign Automobiles

Daniel Sperling, Lee Schipper, Mark Delucchi, and Quanlu Wang

His dream has come true. There's now more than one vehicle for every licensed driver in the United States, and other developed countries are not far behind. But has the car's success created the conditions for its own demise? Conventional wisdom of market researchers, consultants, and other experts is that the automobile and its petroleum-powered internal combustion engine will be with us for a long time and that any energy and environmental problems can be readily solved. The automotive industry would very much like to believe that cheery prognosis - and perhaps it's correct.

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Pavement-Friendly Buses and Trucks

Martin Wachs, Martin Wachs, and Martin Wachs

Our roads are crumbling under the weight of buses and heavy truck loads. Although early researchers attributed the pavement damage to a fixed “static” factor – the vehicle’s weight and design – we now know that much of the blame is owed to “dynamic” variables – the interaction between the vehicle’s suspension and the road surface. Recent studies show that dynamic force can double, even quadruple, pavement damage. But by equipping trucks and buses with advanced, “semi-active” suspensions, the problem of road wear can be effectively addressed.

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