August 2006 Mechanical Engineering: Editorial

editorial

a midsummer day's heat

By
John G. Falcioni,
Editor-in-Chief

With at least another full month of summer still ahead of us in the United States, it has already been a long, hot, and muggy season, which means that again this year power and energy needs are hitting all-time highs. Every year, it seems, we become more reliant on our air conditioner's higher settings.

But this summer appears to have brought a shift in mindset, at least among our readers, when it comes to conserving energy—surely motivated by cost savings. The results of last month's Web poll on M.E. Magazine Online show that more than half of the respondents say they would consider the purchase of a hybrid vehicle, even as the technology is still in its relative infancy. We asked the same question back in November 2004, and only 27 percent of respondents said they would consider such a purchase. Interestingly, more people last month also said they wouldn't consider such a purchase (see page 2 for complete results). Clearly, many more consumers are taking a stand on whether a hybrid vehicle is in their future or not.

Part of the reason for the increase in hybrid acceptance surely goes to greater confidence in automakers' ability to build a sound non-gasoline-guzzling vehicle. Detroit and international carmakers have made significant strides in recent years.

Toyota Motor Corp., for example, last month said it is developing a more advanced plug-in hybrid vehicle that can travel farther on an electric charge. It also said it is considering a vehicle that can run on ethanol. While Toyota has been leading the industry in gasoline-electric hybrids, it is chasing Detroit on the ethanol initiative. The automaker has yet to produce a flexible- fuel vehicle that runs on either gasoline or a blend comprising 85 percent ethanol. Hybrids can be used with various fuel alternatives, such as biodiesel, ethanol, and hydrogen fuel cells.

Plug-in hybrids use larger battery packs than regular hybrids do, allowing them to be recharged through a 120-volt outlet, and drive for many miles before having to switch to the gas engine. But manufacturing problems still exist for plug-ins, especially since the batteries in many prototypes have often consumed most of the trunk space.

In addressing the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., recently, Jim Press, president of Toyota Motor North America, said, "Make no mistake about it, hybrids are the technology of the future, and they will play a starring role in the automotive industry in the 21st century."

General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., and DaimlerChrysler AG have sold nearly six million flexible-fuel vehicles. Federal regulations give them credit for each one in calculating compliance with fuel-economy rules.

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Managing down while at the same time managing up is one of the greatest challenges most middle managers face in the work environment. But managing up is likely the single most complex problem everyone in the workplace faces, especially if the boss isn't a good communicator.

In his often irreverent, yet deadly attuned feature article in this month's Engineering Management focus section, Ronald A. L. Rorrer, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, talks about subordinates taking control of the relationship between worker and supervisor. But he warns: This is not without risks.

One definite truism in Rorrer's ramblings is that "many of the situations that occur in the working world are outside of the control of both boss and worker." And this, undoubtedly, can lead to a workplace as stifling as a midsummer day's heat.