This post was taken from Altair Enlighten and contributed by my colleague, Giuseppe Resta, Manager, Global Automotive at Altair Engineering.

It doesn’t seem so long ago that passenger safety and vehicle crashworthiness were the battleground where automakers differentiated their products. Now, as many OEMs have created product development systems that rely on a CAE-driven strategy to deliver excellent passive safety performance, it appears to have taken a backseat to miles-per-gallon. Almost every car commercial touts greater fuel efficiency and seeks to validate the manufacturer’s environmental credentials.

Both safety and gas mileage advances have been pushed by regulation and pulled by consumer demand. Now that the United States has set the 54.5 mpg Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) standard for 2025 and lower CO₂ emissions have been mandated in Europe, we are entering a new era of increased challenge that could lead to significant change in the way cars are designed and constructed. OEMs and suppliers are reviewing every component and considering the technologies available to meet these new demanding standards, including investment in engineered plastic and carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRP) that offer high stiffness-to-weight and strength-to-weight ratios.

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Although I didn’t travel to the American Public Transportation Association Annual Meeting and Expo in New Orleans, a number of my Altair colleagues did along with the BUSolutions LCO-140H, the world’s first series hydraulic hybrid transit bus.

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This week I’m preparing to attend the HyperWorks Technology Conference (HTC) in Pune, India. This is part of the 2011 Global HTC Series. The events so far in Tokyo, Japan and Orlando, Florida have been well attended and have included some great customer presentations in addition to excellent keynotes. India will be no exception with, among others, Charlie Loh from Jaguar Land Rover addressing the “Journey from Physical to Virtual Verification” and Suresh Nandagopal, President, Autoliv India providing a “Safety Outlook for Automotive”.
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Material modeling at a micro-mechanical level was a tool once reserved for only the highest level aerospace composites. Now an accurate understanding of material behavior is essential for manufacturers of parts from automotive dashboards to cell phones.

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Core Strategy – conversation with John Chalifoux, President of MERA

With the increased focus on sustainability across the automotive industry reduce and recycle have become established considerations, but reuse is less often considered.
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