May 2012
- Published in Magazine.
News
- Ford and Dow to develop composites together
- Daimler designs an all-wheel drive compact-class coupe
- Electrification pushes up OEMs' R&D expenditure
- Bentley plans a V6 gasoline hybrid for its luxury SUV
Technology
- General Motors wants self-drive Cadillacs by 2015
- Valeo takes a narrow view of full LED headlamps
- Guessing the driver's mood will make future Toyotas safer
- Conti's ECU uses GPS to help cut hybrids' consumption by 10%
Features
Mercedes-Benz SL
The first version to be made from aluminium is the lightest and cleanest yet
Citroën DS5
How luxury, style and diesel hybrid technology come together in Citroën's premium D-segment car
Hauling emissions down - cover story
How Daimler combines SCR, cooled EGR and variable valve timing to get trucks past Euro VI legislation
Shift in emphasis
More gears in the transmission instead of just more cells in the battery will take EVs further
Rapid reaction
How Porsche developed prototype Li-ion batteries for its electric Boxster in record time
Blue-sky thinking
Jaguar Land Rover's engineering chief on everything from making his own engines to cloud computing
An alternative future
Top engineers debate if vehicles of 2025 will be powered by combustion engines or electric motors... or both
The big picture
How Daimler combined castings, extrusions and sheet aluminium to make the SL's body 110kg lighter
Focus: Body-in-white
Engineering lighter, safer, more energy-efficient vehicles requires OEMs to take every last gram possible from body structures. For some, this means developing even stronger steels. For others, aluminium and composites are solutions. All three together may be the ideal but joining technologies must evolve
Regulars
- Why big SUVs can be good for the environment
- Milestones: Why the rotary engine has gone full circle
- Know-how: A look in fine detail at the torque converter
- Diary: Where to go to learn about the latest developments
- Recruitment: Time for a change? Then look no further
- The Job: McLaren's head of vehicle engineeing on fast cars
