European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 10, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Thursday. January 10, 1991 the stars and stripes Pago 13 v a a it Quot we a .2 a i it a Ltd _ ii it a v ? time saving Road simulator Ford using new truck test process trucks vans and sport Utility models Are becoming Ever More popular on the Market a so popular in fact that they account for about one third of Oil . Car sales. A to keep up with this trend Ford motor co. Has created a new method of truck durability at Ford s Headquarters in Dearborn mich., Are using the Industry a first Lii it truck Road simulator equipment this equipment not Only providing a Complete test but sharply reducing durability testing time As Well. Running automotive structural durability tests on a proving ground is a Tim consuming process Ford says with test times ranging from 37. Days for cars to 93 Davs for Light trucks. But with its new full vehicle Toad simulators. Ford says the same structural durability tests can be run in the Laboratory in Only nine Days for cars and 20 Days for Light trucks a with or without functioning. Powertrain. A., a the benefits of this new Road simulator go beyond the significant time Sav Wiigs a says Quot Bruce Greene chief Engineer at Quot Fords engineering technology serv. Ices. A by moving the test into the lab we gain controlled conditions and eliminate the variability that might exist Between durability the Road simulator moves the axles and hubs so that they duplicate travel on Fords proving grounds. The time savings Are achieved by removing the portion of the durability test that is run on smooth Chassis durability test being conducted with Road simulator equipment. Road sections. A in body and Chassis development our engineers Are interested in studying How the vehicle performs Over rough sections of Road a Greene says. A the smooth Road sections of the proving ground while useful in High Speed powertrain development Arentt necessary for this removing As Many As 73 Days from the Light truck durability test Cycle is achieved by use of the mis corporations a Remote parameter control pc a software. Ford says a a driving file is created by actually driving a similar vehicle on each segment of the proving ground several times. After the proving grounds actual route has been recorded the test vehicle is mounted on the Road simulator and the routes non punishing Road portions Are removed from the computer tape. With Only the punishing Road sections of the test route remaining these sections Are repeated up to 700 times to simulate an actual durability test Cycle. A the new pc software capabilities which allow for the handling of multiple problems a a Greene says. A it also can compare the current test Cycle to previous ones. With a 9,s percent replication of actual Road events we have a very High Conlu Lencum the Road simulation test. A because our engineers can pinpoint problems m As few As nine Days of testing design alternatives can be tested and problems can be solved More quickly. This Type of test however does not address the environmental effects of Salt dust Ozone or ultraviolet Light on Chassis components. But we have other ways of conducting those tests in the vehicles up to f-350 pickup trucks can be tested on the new 13-Channel Light truck Road simulator. Ford says. The Road simulators for cars meanwhile have 16 channels. Ford says the test equipment was purchased from its systems corporation of Minneapolis Ford has installed three full vehicle simulators and one half simulator in its research and engineers Center with total Cost of the equipment and facilities pegged at $16 million. A 5,000-Square-Fuot addition has been made to the product development engineering reliability laboratories building to House the one half simulator and two of the full vehicle Road simulators. The third full vehicle simulator is located in Fords body engineering Randy Barnetts amps Auto columnist some bows and busts of the automotive year editors note before 1990 becomes a genuine a thing of the past a we still have time to take a look Back at its a automotive Paul Dean of the los an Geles times wraps things up in amusing fashion. By Paul Dean it was a most Mobile year of the motorcar. The Federal government added new trauma to sticker Shock with a 10 percent luxury tax on cars that Cost More than $30,000. The Price of even a pedestrian Rolls Royce now rises by about $15,000 a or about the Cost of two Geo Metros. Volvo was squashed by stories that it rigged a television commercial showing one of its station wagons surviving a crushing by a monster truck. Crisis in the Middle East inflated Gas prices by More than 30 percent but americans still drove 2 trillion Miles. For some Good news the environmental Protection Agency a super Saver rating went to the Geo metro with a City Highway fuel Economy closer to that of a Zippo lighter a or 53 to 58 Miles per gallon. The Best news if you own a Dodge Aries or a Plymouth reliant according to the Highway loss data Institute there is virtually no Chance it will be stolen. Meanwhile general motors unveiled a prototype electric car called the Impact and Nissan announced that it would be Selling a a Volt mobiles in California by the turn of the centum meanwhile solar powered cars raced across Australia and methane Gas pumps opened in los Angeles. Is the writing on the Wall for the internal combustion engine Yugo meanwhile failed to make its threatened comeback and nobody really eared. Saddam Hussein a armoured Cadillac w As impounded at a Michigan maintenance shop and everybody gloated. The All american indy 500 announced that the Pace car for the 1991 race will be a Dodge Shadow and the yelping carried Cadillac Hopes this 1991 Dev Lle remains a top Choice among luxury car buyers. From Indianapolis to Tokyo a where the stealth begins life As the Mitsubishi 3000. And not one automobile made esquires annual list of dubious have been further developments a Acura Nix. This snarling mid engined slope nosed $60,0.00 sports car that goes like the wind has collected More excellence awards than a gone with the it has been named car of the year by Playboy and appears As a Multi Page full color spread in the january Issue. Said Playboy spokesman Bill Farley a the car was photographed naked As a a Honda Accord. In 1990 it became the first japanese car to top the nations bestseller list. Marysville Ohio was delighted. Thais where Accord is built. American patriots May take further heart by noting Ford a Laurus and Chevrolet Cavalier were second and third and six Domestic cars appeared among americans top 10 Sellers. A Ferrari f40. Four of these Street Legal race cars with turn signals arrived in California in August and even car jaded locals gaped at the figures. Engine 500 horsepower. Speed 200 Mph. Buver investors quickly predicted that limited production and High demand would push the Price of the car to $1.4 million. F40s have since appeared at . Auctions and not one bid has topped $1 million. In Europe f40s Are being offered for Sale for a piddling $560,000 a which proves a Ferrari can outrun everything except a recession. A Laforza. Designed in Italy assembled in Michigan and sold by a California company the multinational Laforza sport Utility vehicle celebrated its second year of production in 1990. Experts said it just might catch hold before the company a capital ran out. Last month the capital ran out. Laforza of Hayward calif., is bankrupt and several dozen of the $45,000 luxury off readers Are being offered at liquidation prices. Try $20,000. A Toyota Previn. Minivans continued to make Market magic and that translated to -about-900,000 new american owners. Half of those sales went to Chrysler. But it was the Toyota Previn distinctive charming and sculpted like a gum Ball that made car and Drivers list of the 10 Best cars of 1990. A Saturn. Fathered and financed by general motors Saturn has done every thing horribly wrong the sedans premiered in october when Industry sales were softer than Yogurt. Saturn promised 16,000 cars by the end of december but has delivered Only 2,500. Production was halted to fix ill fitting doors engine vibrations and other problems. And the Saturn Coupe has yet to show in the nations half empty showrooms. Yet not one word of criticism has been Slung at Saturn. A see a patriotism within the patience a says Chris Cedergren of Industry analysts . Power amp associates. And maybe mental body English by Consumers willing a Domestic car to succeed against Japa nose Competition. A Cadillac Mcville. This 2-ton House of gadgets this automotive sofa Sedan better suited for presidential motorcade and retirees with several Bank accounts entered its 15th year of production in 1990. This time whispered Many the american decadence of Cadilla would be Sev Erly dented by the Continental Elan of lexus infiniti Mercedes Jaguar Bow and other luxury cars in its class. But at the Ehul of the Model year Cadillac remained an unchallenged wealth with 1990 sales larger than the combined sales of lexus infiniti Mercedes Jaguar and Bow. A Mazda Miata. A two seat of sports cars of the 1960s, the ittle Miata continues to add lilt and necessary nonsense to Young american lives. Yet if Mazda really wanted to re create the past said truly demanding sports car fans it should Oiler the Miata in British racing Green with genuine leather seats and Wood cockpit trim by Nardi. So sure enough the Ziatas will soon arrive in showrooms with British racing Green genuine leather seats and Wood cockpit trim by Nardi. The los Angeles times r
