I thought I’d just post this as a coda to our class discussions this fall. On my way home from the last class, my trusty VW Jetta had a couple of palpitations that turned out to be a sign of a dying injector pump (very expensive on a diesel engine). Since the car has been [...]
Here’s something interesting, the discovery channel website has a car history time line, here.
The federal government proposed that rear-view, or backup cameras, should be installed on all models of cars by late 2014. The government wants this mandatory addition to be made on all cars because the majority of people injured or killed in backup-related accident are infants, and there is nothing more tragic than the death of [...]
So I know it’s the last day of class, but I suddenly remembered this advert that I found when I was looking for a car ad to talk about. It reminds of what we were talking about on monday- personal identity in cars. The Volkswagen advert talks about uniformity and individuality, how we’re all similar [...]
Here is an interesting article that connects to our trip to Union Square, regarding how I-93 has cut through the city. Obvious reasons for not wanting to live by a highway include loud noise and unappealing aesthetics. However, Tufts professor, Doug Brugge is studying the negative health impacts that I-93 is causing nearby residents. Ultrafine [...]
This article made me think back to the class Jake and I taught way back on safety. One of the new trends in safety features is the inclusion of technologies that allow the car to take a more active role in driving. Car makers are rushing to put in collision detection sensors, lane line sensors, [...]
Heres a cool page I found that lets you see by company and by model which country your car’s transmission and engine were made, where it was assembled, and whether it is unionized or not. It’s interesting to see that many of our car companies are not quite as ‘All-American’ as they may claim to [...]
In the past few months, two topics that have frequently come up in discussion is the environmental and infrastructural impact of car culture in America, and I have found an article in the New York Times that addresses both. Recently in California, a new eco-friendly trend has been sweeping the school districts: solar paneled parking lots. [...]
This advert by shell (which I thought was rather interesting because of the crystal car they made for it) got me thinking about the role of petrol companies in the development of cars. Petrol companies like BP and Shell are so powerful that they must exert a tremendous influence. I also thought it was a [...]
Rep. Denise Provost sent along links to the text of the two bills she was talking about last Sunday, relating to the attempt to change the default urban speed limit from 30 mph to 25, and to create “Senior Safety Zones” similar to school safety zones, where the speed limit for vehicles is 20 mph. [...]
