It is, says the Marlboro Man-sounding VO in this latest Toyota Tundra commercial. Set in the Mojave dessert, this Saatchi & Saatchi production can actually leave you in awe of the Toyota Tundra for 30 seconds there.
Well, how else would you react when you see a stylishly made-up monster truck towing 10,000 pounds of cargo through an 80 feet tall screw-shaped tunnel that’s being set ablaze up to a frightening 257.6 degrees Fahrenheit at the final stage as climax of this Toyota Tundra 2010 video?
But here’s the killer question: is the $23,155 Toyota Tundra worth all that excitement?
During this decade, weight reduction was one of those issues that needed to be addressed. So General Motors thought of helping out by manufacturing the 1984 Pontiac Fiero, which was comprised of a steel spaceframe and sheet molding compound (SMC) body panels.
For the specifics:
Main structure – consisted of three basic subframes: front subframe, rear subframe, floorpan. The welding of these subframes was carried out in the early stage of the assembly procedure.
Other parts – easily connected in one simple process, which covered the drilling of the holes necessary for these parts’ successful connection with the mechanical parts.
Weld points – a total of 4000 were used throughout the production
External composite panels – their preparation and assembly were executed in the final stage of the production
A totally pink Fiat 500—that’s Barbie’s birthday car. You’re not surprised, are you?
According to the Fiat 500 Barbie Edition press release:
“It`s a fashionista car but quite tongue-in-cheek and with lots of charm: just like Barbie® herself. The gleaming paintwork resembles varnish and definitely makes for a shock effect, achieved with deep lacquered colour using ultra fine aluminium plunged in deep, up-to-the-minute pink. The seating is upholstered in strikingly soft fabrics: silver laminated Alcantara® is not only trendy but plush to the touch and its glimmer bounces as far as the roof panel. Then there are mats enhanced with natural silk yarn and sleek viscose, not to mention lip glosses in brilliant colours stored in the glove compartment, plus a LED-decked vanity mirror to ensure perfect application. And there`s more. The car has more features than a crown has jewels! Crystals sparkle on interior bezels, hubcaps, outer window mouldings and antenna and even outline the doll`s famed silhouette on the pillars. Lastly, this Fiat 500 show car also has its own glossy cover, featuring the distinctive Sixties version of the Fiat 500 and a Barbie® autograph.”
What a way to celebrate a doll’s golden anniversary! Anna, how’s this one for a birthday gift? (Get ready to paint the town pink, Baby Posh!) =D
Frodo and Sam would have enjoyed this one—the smallest car in the world! It could seat one hobbit, er, human and one ring, er, shopping bag.
The Peel P50 was built by Peel Engineering Company in 1963-64 on the Isle of Man. It measured four feet and five inches long, three feet and three inches wide, and three feet and ten inches high. It had three wheels of five inches in diameter, fitted with Avon Kart tires. Its chassis was of welded tubular steel construction, with a body of glass reinforced plastic. It used a 49cc Zweirad Union two-stroke moped engine, with a gearbox having three forward speeds. And if reverse mode was needed, one had just to come out of the car and pull the chromed handle at the back of the car. See, you could lift—and ye, drive—the Peel P50. Believe it or not! ;P
Ford pioneered an LTD sedan-based model completely made of carbon fiber composites. Since this was a light material, the outcome was a cut in the car’s primary and secondary weight for as much as 315 kg and 215 kg, respectively.
The Fiat VSS, a Subsystems Experimental Vehicle, was rather a big hit in the auto industry, because of its incredible construction. It was made of a steel spaceframe and plastic body panels, thus highlighting lightness. This one offered solutions to two pressing issues in the auto industry—vehicle weight reduction and great flexibility in matters of exterior shape and auto production.
- In 1975, the Federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard was ratified. It meant auto manufacturers had to follow particular mileage standards for their complete car line-up.
- Thus, starting in 1976, each vehicle’s average steel content was reduced from 1035 kg to 795 kg. (That’s roughly 20%, right? Any Math major out there cares to challenge me? ;P)
So how did they do this?
(1)Decreasing the size of the vehicle
(2)Changing the lay-out from Body-on-Frame to Unibody
A worldwide energy crisis was declared this year, following the decision of Arab countries that were members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cease shipping petroleum to countries that supported Israel during the Arab-Israeli conflict. That was ouch for the USA and Japan, the biggest oil consumers back then.
For most auto manufacturers, it was time to change the mindset.
