Battery Czar

Today the University of Michigan hosted Denise Gray as the Keynote Lecturer for the MLK symposium.  She is currently the Director of Hybrid Energy Storage Systems for  General Motors.  Her presentation covered Martin Luther's influence in her life as well as some of the fantastic advances her, and her group, have been responsible for in battery technology for automotive applications.  She covered some of the early work on the EV-1 as well as her team's current work on Lithium batteries.  She covered some of the basics of the Chevy Volt's ground breaking attempt at changing the automotive climate from oil dependence to energy independence.  I personally felt that she brought a her passion for technology out in the speech, she seemed to be very excited about what this technology meant for the future of the auto industry.  I have to assume that some of that excitement comes from information that she is privy to in her job that outsiders are not able to see yet, but the Volt as I know it is still a very exciting accomplishment by GM.  

Given the occasion, I did feel that the speech could have emphasized Martin Luther King more, based on previous experiences with this day, however I have to admit that it was refreshing to be able to focus on the technology that was accomplished by a multi-cultural and quite frankly multi-national group instead of the implications of who is running the show.  From my own view I would say this suggests how far our ideas on culture have come that we can all be focused on the technology as equals, however I am sure some would disagree with this ideology.  Denise also fielded questions from the audience and other then a couple pointed questions at past GM missteps the questions seemed to be fairly well thought out and informed.  Denise certainly responded with poise, however again I could sense that she had to hold back because of trade secret requirements, which really is a shame, but understandable.  All in all the lecture was an excellent experience in both the technical capabilities of GM as well as the cultural impact the company is having in the 21st century.  Denise was articulate and engaging and certainly brought a fresh energy to a company that has been long considered by the "in crowd" as old and out of touch.  In my opinion the public should see a lot more of Denise Gray as the new image of GM.

John W. Schmotzer
MSAE Exec Board Member
Webmaster/Administrator

2009 Detroit Auto Show

I look forward to the month of January for many reasons, but one particular reason happens to stick out.  This would be that January is the month of the Detroit Auto Show, known to others as the North American International Auto Show.  This is truly the premier auto show for North America, featuring a full list of international and North American premiers and debuts.  As one can expect, this year's event has had quite a different feeling and aura than previous years due to the current financial state of several of the larger automakers.  Many argue that it is difficult to celebrate new product launches when the futures of the automakers are in doubt.  I would argue, on the otherhand, that this is the optimal time to come out full force and display in front of the world all your award winning products.  I do understand and agree with the belief that displays and parties should be tuned down with regards to spending, in light of the current situation of two automakers stayling alive with bridge loans from the federal government.  The GM and Chrysler displays were very plain this year, lacking the two story structures and elaborate digital displays of past years.  But this does not mean that we must be afraid or ashamed to promote our strong line-up of vehicles.  If anything, this is the best time to launch innovative new products that will bring buyers back into showrooms.  There were many new key vehicles launched or shown at NAIAS, including the new Buick Lacrosse,Cadillac SRX, Chevrolet Equinox, Ford Taurus, and Chrysler ENVI line-up.  These vehicles definitely look even better in person, a reason why I encourage everyone to make the trip to Cobo Center in Detroit for the show.  These youthful and fresh new vehicles, along with stronger loan lending and a steadier economy, will hopefully bring an end to what has to be one of the darkest periods for the automotive industry, especially here in Detroit.

Robert Cudini

Ford Means Quality

An interesting aside to the current trends of dispair and depression flowing through the market.  Bloomberg just released an article showing a significant rise in Ford automotive quality.  While the company has been struggling on the stock market, and who hasn't these days, management appears to be focusing on what is important and that is product.  Ford's CEO Alan Mulally, formally from Boeing, has been righting the blue oval as of late.  The key here ,I believe, has been his focus on changing the culture of Ford.  He has removed the red tape and the name calling that symbolized American metal for so long and has focused on that key component, product.  He is using Toyota's own play book to improve the way that Ford has been going about business emulating their success as much as possible.  He has also shown independence in rather sternly rejecting an offer from GM to combine the two companies in this current economic downturn earlier this year.  What will this mean for the future of Ford? While history suggests that at the turn of the century (millenia in this case) we would see significant closures I dont' believe Ford will join them.  

John W. Schmotzer
MSAE Exec Board Member
Webmaster/Administrator

Chrysler's Future

If you have read any newspaper or watched any television news program, you must know about the speculation around Chrysler and the multiple suitors considering to swallow up or join the automaker. At one end, you have General Motors considering absorbing the entire automaker in a possible ownership swap of GMAC. The interesting factor in the deal is that Cerebus, which owns 80% of Chrysler, owns 51% of GMAC at the moment. At the other end, you have Renault-Nissan looking at bringing Chrysler into their alliance. The GM proposal must be the most shocking, as it suggests the possibliity of GM eliminating and redundancies with Chrysler and keeping valuable assets such as the Jeep brand. The Renault offer, on the other hand, is quite predictable. Renault actually partnered with AMC with the 1980s, although the partnership was ultimately not a success. It appears though that the French automaker is searching for an American partner once again. On top of that, Nissan has future plans for product sharing with Chrysler, including a compact Nissan car and the Dodge Ram pickup. Whatever ends up being the outcome, let us hope it is the best plan to ensure the health of the automakers, protect jobs, and preserve the history of these mighty industry titans.

Robert Cudini

Less Oil = More Trucks?

As everyone knows, the high price of oil and gasoline has driven many consumers away from trucks and SUVs. Not only were these vehicles high in production but they were high in profit margin. In some cases, companies could make $10,000 in profit, per vehicle. Alas, those days are gone. With gas at $4 a gallon, who wouldn't switch?

In the past few weeks of economic turmoil, oil prices have been hit very hard. Oil is now half of what it was just a few months ago. The price today ($67.29) is bringing us back towards the low prices we had in the early part of the century. Given, it isn't $15 per barrel, but being cut in half is quite significant.

What I am looking to watch is whether these low prices are going to stop this green revolution and make efficiency no longer priority one. The arguements that hybridization and efficiency weren't cost effective that had been rightfully laughed at over the summer are now seeming more appropriate.

We have made huge gains as far as reducing our consumption of oil. These tough times with cheaper oil will tell us whether we truly have made a shift. It is easy being green when it is more cost effective. Let's see how many people will hold fast and not given up our gains.

I love seeing people being energy conscious and doing their part. My personal belief is that the market will tell us otherwise. When you lose your job, you don't care about the environment. A lower price will increase consumption and we will fall back to many of our old ways. The only way for us to truly break our addiction is for it to not be economically feasible. The environment is important, but we can't force cleanliness upon people. Only when it is economically viable will people make the switch.

So for now we are back to cheap oil while we weather recession. The environment will wait until brighter days.

MSAE Carshow and Beyond

Ladies and Gentlemen,



After dodging the rain of September 14th and moving the car show to Sept 21st, we have seen a fairly successful show of automotive glory. For those of you who missed it, we had an exciting turnout this year at Elbel field. The weather was quite nice for it being towards the end of September and we even got a gorgeous burnout of a Corvette by General Motor's own Dean Guard. How's that for panache? The Exec board thought it was a great success and we were very excited to start of the school year with a bang. This leads off another great year of MSAE. We have some exciting presentations coming up in the near future. For those of you in Ann Arbor, our first will be given this Tuesday (September 30th) by General Motor's John Bucknell. He is part of GM's Powertrain division and will be speaking about improving energy efficiency in the automotive industry (for more description see our website!). For those of you who are beginning to think we are just a front for the General we will be having a speaker from CPI come in and we are also actively looking for speaker from other OEM's and suppliers. Suggestions are welcome! Speaking of GM though just earlier this month the release of photos of the production version of the Chevy Volt have been released and speaking for myself I was and currently am very excited about this car! I know I know there have been a lot of naysayers on the web and in the news but as engineers( and non-engineers alike) I encourage you to take a good look at the specs and the technology that went into this car. For instance this car is supposed to be getting 40 miles of battery life even after 10 years of use! For anyone that has a laptop they know that is pretty fantastic! With those last words I leave you to contemplate the future of the automotive industry. Until next post!

John W. Schmotzer
MSAE Exec Board Member
Webmaster/Administrator

Young Automotive Professionals Conference

The SAE Detroit Section hosted their annual Young Automotive Professionals Conference again this past summer. The pool of attendees included SAE student chapter members along with recently graduated engineers who had just entered the workforce. The facility host this year was Ford Motor Company as the event was at the Ford Proving Grounds in Dearborn, MI. The morning was focused on several industry speakers from companies such as Ford, GM, Toyota, and the smaller electric car company Tesla. Each speaker provided their view of the industry along with providing answers to some questions from the audience. The real highlight of the event, in my opinion, was the Ride & Drive event that took place in the afternoon. Various types of road courses featuring different Ford vehicles were set up for the participants. I was able to drive new Ford vehicles such as the Ford Flex, Fusion, Lincoln MKS and MKX, Mazda Tribute Hybrid, and 2009 F-150 among others. Driving courses included the Belgian blocks and parabolics. The best stage had to be the particular stage where a participant rode along side a Ford professional driver in a Mustang, pushing the vehicle to the limits. All said and done, the event was extremely worth the drive out to Dearborn on a Saturday. I would highly recommend this annual event to any young SAE member, as it is a great opportunity to drive some new vehicles and gain some wisdom from senior industry leaders.

Robert Cudini
MSAE External Vice President