Re: 507, a realistic alternative
From: John Marks (vze33mct@verizon.net)
Date: Sun 17 Nov 2002 - 18:05:14 EST
On 11/17/02 5:56 PM, "John Crowe (AT&T)" <crowejw@att.net> wrote:
> Is there still a patent on this suspension technology..??.. It has been
> around for quite some time... I would think that other manufacturers could
> use the basic idea and evolve it on their own.....
>
> John Crowe
Hi-
IIRC the Silver Shadow Mk. I was circa 1969 in the UK and later in the US.
Little bits and pieces developed post-1990 might still be in rights, but the
basic idea went PD ages ago.
Mercedes used nitrogen cells in wagon suspensions in the 1980s.
You don¹t see it because what drives the car business is saving 25 cents
here and 50 cents there.
A young woman engineer at Ford was told (IIRC) to mount an AC temp sensor on
something that also was physically connected to a radiator support, and what
she designed used a separate bracket to make sure that the reading was not
thrown off by thermal conduction. The bracket was about 41 cents. She had
her head taken off in front of her peers when she turned in her work. Over
the number of Tauruses Ford makes over the anticipated life of that design,
doing it her way rather than the way she was told to would cost $250,000.
As Gus Grissom said, a moon rocket is 50,000 major sub-assemblies, each one
built by the low bidder.
Pax et lux et veritas,
__________________________
John Marks
John Marks Records: http://www.jmrcds.com
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