Archive for January, 2011

The Indian Automotive Media

Thursday, January 27th, 2011

Was at the launch of the Mercedes M- and S-Class. Times surely have changed in the Indian and global markets. A few years back, I remember when Merc entered the Indian market, the first press con had a ‘selected media list’. This time the list had significamntly expanded and the company was more open to answering questions.

Talking of questions, I am sure that even the Mercedes India top brass wasn’t raedy for an ambiguity like “What is your marketing strategy for the S Class?” This came from a PYT in low waist jeans from a 24-hr news monstrosity. While she was quite clueless about the industry, her confidence and self-belief was commendable as she never even twitched before repeating the question once again. What answer did she expect? “We plan to peddle the S-Class through pyramid marketing schemes?”

Its not thta she was a unique case. With press cons nowadays heavily crowded by the numerous 24 hr news channels (at last count there were 65 of them – I did the counting and after 20 got tired and just made up the number but hey there are many), it is a PR firm’s nightmare to keep a track on who came, asked what and reported which version.

The media nowadays does not believe in doing their homework and questions like “What was your turnover last year?” to “What is the power output of the engine?” are quite common. Makes me scared a few times but hey I seem to be in the minority here.

Talking about the media, it must really be a mixed bag for company execs. On the plus side they don’t have to answer insightful, dirt-digging, embarassing questions. On the negative side, they often get bloomers.

Fundamentals of Paint Spray Booth Lighting : Choose the Right Lighting

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

A paint booth comprises of several essential features that aid in its normal functioning. In order to keep out the contaminants and dust, the booth is kept closed with air tight doors while permitting the inward and outward movement of goods. The air-paint aerosol inside the booth, due to its pressurized construction, enables the air to be forcibly exhausted through filters. This aerosol inside the paint booth is flammable and combustible.

Understandably, considering the inflammable conditions inside a paint booth, designing an effective lighting system would need several parameters to be kept in mind.

General paint booth lighting should attend the following essentials: –

Illumination of the surrounding

Hazards and safety control

Ease of servicing and maintenance, and finally

Consumption of energy

The adequacy of lighting is of special interest in an automotive paint booth because of the size and intricacies in design of modern automobiles. The three important aspects to consider are the intensity of individual lights and their number and locations as well as the focus over the work area leaving no shadows.

The hazards inside a paint booth arise due to the inflammable nature of the aerosol. The use of electronic ballasts, mirrored reflectors and high output extended life phosphors (ELP) and safe light fixtures as per class and division is to be ensured. The fixtures for the fluorescent lights should be inside recessed panels inside the paint booth. These should be water and corrosion proof and meet Class I and Division 2 standards. If these are not inside the recessed panels, they should meet Class I and Division 1 standards. There should be an interlock provision to disengage and stop paint spray activity when the access panel for the light is opened for routine maintenance and servicing of either the lights or the ballasts.

There should be ready access to the lamp and the ballast for the purpose of their routine maintenance and servicing. Since the lens will get fogged with an ongoing paint activity, it might be a good idea to use easily replaceable cling film for covering them. Consumption of energy is quite easily addressed by the proper selection of the lamp and ballast.

High Tech Developments Worthy of Making Automotive Industry News

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

Everyone knows the current state of the economy; it appears in news reels every day. However, it is very common that bad news distracts the public from the good. The motor sector was hit hard in the past few years, but there is plenty of automotive industry news to be very excited about.

Public awareness has been consistently growing about issues such as global warming and man-made greenhouse gases. With this constant global environmental education comes a common urge to help the situation. Choices are being made with the earth’s wellbeing in mind and as such much stock is being put on improved efficiency and reduced emissions when people buy cars.

As indicated by the multiple new models released (and soon to be released), electric vehicle (EV) models have been grabbing a lot of attention. Already doing well in the USA, Japan and parts of Europe, EV designs seem to be the way forward. It fulfils all the green aspirations consumers have for their automobiles. There are a few issues though, namely the large cost of the lithium ion batteries core to most designs, and also the absence of sound EV infrastructure.

The bridge between fossil fuels and pure electric has been around for quite a while: the hybrid car. Since many can’t afford the extra initial capital costs of an EV, a hybrid seems like a suitable compromise. It has similar benefits to electric cars, but at a fraction of the price, and with less performance loss. It is no wonder then that hybrid sales have been so high in recent years – it is the logical choice, and the public know this.

Other imaginative innovations have been popping up. For example, in safety, many new models have radar and sensor technology allowing you better cruise control and collision detection. Things that were already impressive, such as airbags and anti-lock braking, are now being reshaped and improved.

Many cars now come equipped with airbags that take into account details to allow it to operate better, like weight and size. The latest in anti-lock braking applies brakes faster and harder, and controls out of control situations that lead to crashes. A common new feature is tire pressure sensors, letting you know when your tires need to be filled, much the same way as your oil and gas monitors work.

Don’t forget all those little extras that make an automobile that much more desirable. The latest gadgets are pushing the driving experience into the future. One clever little key design allows you to limit the top speed of the car, ensuring speed-hungry teens don’t crash the family vehicle. Another high tech addition is night vision, allowing a clear view of the road when headlights can’t help. Perfecting existing designs, new GPS systems provide constant instructions, as well as updated traffic reports.

Realize that this automotive industry repair news is the tip of the iceberg. New designs, technology and improvements appear in automotive industry news daily, and it is definitely worth keeping up to date. Hopefully the industry will continue to raise the bar, keeping us, the customers, happy.