Leading automatic transmission manufacturer supports apprentice schemes by backing national award; West Midlands Fire Service marks 35 years of safe rescue with Allison-equipped fire trucks

The Chief Fire Officers’ Association’s Apprentice of the Year award has been handed over to Liam Russell of the West Midlands Fire Service at a prize-giving at the region’s transport engineering workshop. Allison Transmission sponsors the award – open to apprentices at all fire services nationally – in recognition of the importance of workshop apprentice schemes to training for the repair and maintenance of emergency vehicles.

CO2 emissions of ARPRO seat core twelve times better than alternative

ARPRO® has achieved excellent environmental results in an independent life cycle assessment. The assessment calculates a comparative CO2 (global warming potential) figure for the production of an ARPRO seat core, and results show that ARPRO delivers an environmental benefit twelve times that of its impact.

New machine interface makes choosing music in the car safer, simpler and lighter.

A human machine interface (HMI) that simulates a traditional CD changer interface to simplify music selection is being developed by Alpine Electronics. The functionality makes it easier to sort music files into virtual CDs with corresponding buttons.  Buttons on the head unit, numbered one to six correspond to “virtual CDs” that have been downloaded.  With no six disc mechanism, the unit is 50 percent lighter than a standard in dash changer.

New in house high accuracy machine sees motorsport engineering firm offer innovation.

A five axis machine offering high levels of accuracy for machining a range of materials has been installed at motorsport engineers BERU f1systems. The DMU 50/70 eVo linear will be used for in house and subcontract automotive, motorsport and aerospace machining.  A key use will be to innovate and develop new lightweight components for engineering programmes such as composite machining.

Delphi’s Telematics enables two-way data flow to help reduce operation costs and
improve productivity

TROY, Mich. — Delphi Corporation (PINKSHEETS: DPHIQ) announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Caterpillar, Inc. (NYSE: CAT) to supply telematics transceivers for heavy construction machinery starting in 2010. Delphi’s telematics technology will help connect worksites with a web application using machine-to-machine (M2M) communications. M2M communications will give users a convenient way to track, monitor and manage machinery at remote sites. It will also help reduce costs and increase efficiency at these operations.

New plant will help Allison expand its global reach, better serve its Indian OEM’s and other international customers

CHENNAI, INDIA, January 28 – Allison Transmission, Inc., the world’s leading supplier of commercial duty fully automatic transmissions and hybrid propulsion systems, broke ground today on a new India facility designed to meet the growing global demand for Allison automatic transmissions. 

Warwick, UK — Delphi, a leading global diesel specialist, has announced an expansion of its diesel aftermarket glow plug range to provide parts that meet the increasing demand for diesel components across the aftermarket.

The expanded Delphi Diesel Aftermarket glow plug range includes eight additional references, with coverage for the Citroën Berlingo and C3, Peugeot 207 and 307 1.6HDI; Mazda 626 Mk V and 323 F/P Mk VI; Hyundai H1 Box; Kia Sorento; Fiat Croma, Doblo, Stilo and Ducato; Ssangyong Rexton, Rodius and Kyron; Chrysler 300 C; and Mercedes Benz A, B, C, E, M and R Class.

When heading to European skiing destinations, motorists should ensure they use correctly inflated tyres with sufficient tread depth to perform on icy, snow-covered roads

British skiers driving to Europe can significantly reduce the risk of an accident by making sure their tyres are safe to tackle sub-zero weather conditions. During the 2007-08 season, over 175,000 skiers travelled to their holiday destination by car. Skiers risk an abrupt end to their trip if driving heavily laden cars with incorrect tyre pressures or low tread depth on icy, snow-covered roads.

Author recognised for outstanding writing on Porsche engineering
Special commendation for Charles Armstrong-Wilson

Suffolk based historian and author Karl Ludvigsen has won the Market Engineering Award for Automotive Technology Journalism, presented by the Guild of Motoring Writers during its annual dinner at the Royal Automobile Club in London. The award recognises excellence in writing interesting and insightful articles on automotive technology that will be enjoyed equally by specialists and non-specialists alike and is the only major prize of its type in the UK.

Paris exhibit uses ARPRO for concepts display

Ron Arad, the designer and architect, has chosen ARPRO® for his design show, ‘No Discipline’. The show required functional ‘eyeballs’ to hold and angle digital picture frames towards the viewer, with ARPRO being selected for its flexibility in this challenging task.

“For ‘No Discipline’, we want our portfolio retrospective of 2D concept work on display, and digital photo frames would be the ideal format for this,” explains Ron Arad, founder of Ron Arad Associates. "As the main display is made up of a wall of tubes, we decided on an eyeball design to contain the frames and sit within the tube. The design had to be light and robust enough to hold the picture frame in place.”