Prompt 9: Recognizing Significance

By: Grattan R.

The field of automotive design is not just significant to people who enjoy cars as a hobby, or people who use cars. While it is obvious that most of the automotive design industry is directed towards, you guessed it- automotive design, some companies are exploring more than just cars, and are delving deeper into new technologies. Engineers are sitting at the head of every car company designing new products and technologies. For example, Tesla, while being an electric car manufacturer, also makes batteries for sustainable energy in homes. Tesla calls this battery project PowerWall. The battery is charged initially by solar panels or from an electricity grid, the energy goes through an inverter to be changed into alternating current, which then powers your appliances. The battery has a 7 kilowatt hour capacity (for perspective, a fridge uses about 1.6 kwh per day), most houses will not use more than 7 kilowatt hours in an evening, but in the event that all the power is used, there is a backup, or the battery can be charged from the electrical grid as well. Though it is only the beginning of a larger project, it shows that automotive companies are researching other technologies, not just cars, as well as the engineer’s push for a better society.

On another note of ways the automotive community innovates in other ways than just cars, there is a man who was enabled to compete in a formula drifting event though his legs are paralyzed. First, a short definition of drifting. Basically drifting is the maintained slide of a car that is somewhat sideways while the rear of the car is out to one side, or oversteering. In formula drift competitions, drivers compete to hold the longest drift, or to get closest to another car without touching it, while sliding sideways of course. Rob Parsons is the name of the paralyzed man, and an automotive team by the name Keep Drifting Fun built him a car that can be completely controlled with hands- brakes, clutch, gearbox, gas, and wheel. This enabled Rob to do what he loves, as well as share the fun of his hobby with other people. This shows the engineers in the automotive community reaching out and enabling a man to do something he loves.

While everyone who is disabled may not want to slide around corners in a drift car at 60mph, Ford has made the first fully wheelchair accessible SUV. Now this may not be a major breakthrough in transportation, but we all know SUV’s are made for those who (hence the name) do more active work, whether it be hauling kids around or driving through the desert to the Grand Canyon. It is nice to see engineers as a whole working together for a better society. Sure there’s wheelchair accessible mini vans, but the notion that Ford and other companies like it are trying to enable people with disabilities is great. This shows that the automotive community is not just about the advancement of car technology, but about the advancement of society as a whole. 

Citations

Garret, Mike. “Chairslayer: Overcoming Through Drift”. Speedhunters.com. Electronic Arts. Web. 12 February 2016.

Zoltan, Bogdan. “Ford Explorer BraunAbility MXV Is World's First Wheelchair Accessible SUV”. Carscoops.com. Carscoop. Web. 12 February 2016.

 “Powerwall Tesla Home Battery”. Tesla.com. Tesla Motors. Web. 12 February 2016.

Picture Sources

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