For the many dealers of GM and Chrysler who have been cut off, each form of assistance will count. As far as trying to dispose of their current vehicle inventory is concerned, dealers from the endangered car giants get a reprieve as AutomotiveXS has waived fees for dealers who can now post their product at the marketplace for automotive parts and accessories.

To qualify, these dealers just need to register at www.automotivexs.com/register.php and enter promotion code “AXSDEALERS.”

GM recently announced that it won’t renew franchise agreements with about 1,100 dealerships when the contracts are up for renewal in late 2010, and Chrysler plans to drop nearly 800 dealerships. Dan De Vlieger, founder of AutomotiveXS.com, said that these disenfranchised dealers will no doubt have parts and accessories lingering on store shelves.

“I believe that there are people out there looking for the parts and accessories that are gathering dust on the dealers’ shelves,” he said. “I want to link some buyers with sellers and maybe we can help save some jobs at the same time.”

(Source) Press

Tags: automotive parts, car giants, Chrysler, chrysler dealers, franchise agreements, gathering dust, GM, jobs, marketplace, promotion code, reprieve, store shelves, vehicle inventory

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Motorists who are curious about the level of their carbon footprints can simply look at one part of their car, their O2 censor. It’s important to know that your vehicle’s O2 sensor (oxygen sensor) plays a key role in sounding the alarm if excessive harmful exhaust emissions are coming out the tailpipe.

“A properly functioning O2 sensor plays the role of a watchdog when it comes to monitoring your car’s exhaust emissions, especially hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide,” said Warren Suter, Director, Engine Management Systems for Bosch, which developed the automotive oxygen sensor in 1976. Bosch is the world’s largest supplier of automotive parts and systems.

The O2 sensor measures the oxygen in the exhaust and signals the engine’s computer to adjust the air-fuel ratio to ensure that combustion is as complete as possible. This continuous process optimizes engine performance and fuel efficiency and reduces harmful emissions. A vehicle, depending on the make, model and year, can have between one and four O2 sensors at various locations in the exhaust stream.

If an O2 sensor is worn out and fails to assess the air-fuel ratio accurately, the engine’s computer tries to accommodate the perceived variation and, in the process, may adjust the mixture to be too lean or too rich. The result? Harmful tailpipe emissions and possible damage to the catalytic converter and other engine components.

(Source) Press

Tags: air fuel ratio, automotive parts, carbon monoxide, catalytic converter, combustion, engine components, engine management systems, engine performance, fuel efficiency, harmful emissions, harmful exhaust emissions, hydrocarbons, key role, motorists, o2 sensor, o2 sensors, oxygen sensor, suter, tailpipe emissions, watchdog

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Hella KGaA Hueck & Co has announced that they have produced the 100-millionth electronic pedal processor sensor that is a common part among leading automotive companies today. Hella’s first-generation of electronic pedal modules were made in 1996 in Recklinghausen.

Today, more than 500 Hella employees are involved in the production of electronic pedal modules worldwide. In addition to the Recklinghausen plant, the company now serves its customers from locations in China, India, Mexico, Romania, the U.S. and Korea.

Hella supplies nearly every automotive and several commercial vehicle manufacturers worldwide, with the Asia-Pacific region being a key growth market. The latest generation of pedal modules features more electronic capabilities, while being 50 percent lighter and more compact than the first units produced in 1996.

Hella’s pedal sensors record the position of the pedal and generate the vehicle-specific pedal characteristic, meaning how the pedal “feels” when operated, Menge said. “Our pedal sensors are designed so that the pedal, the pedal-force generation and signal generation are combined in one modular unit.”

Hella is one of the top 50 automotive parts suppliers in the world and one of the 100 largest industrial companies in Germany. Nearly 25,000 people work in 70 manufacturing facilities and production subsidiaries throughout the world, including more than 3,500 research-and-development engineers and technicians. Customers include all of the world’s leading vehicle and systems manufacturers, as well as the automotive parts aftermarket.

(Source) Press

Tags: asia pacific region, automotive parts, china, development engineers, electronic capabilities, force generation, Germany, hella kgaa hueck, India, Korea, manufacturing facilities, Mexico, processor sensor, research and development, romania, sensors, signal generation

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Do you want to improve your car interiors? Well here is something that will really be worth reading. Baylor University representatives have reportedly discovered that coconut husks can make good material for various car interiors. Among the possible car interiors you can improve include:

1. Trunk liners
2. Floorboards
3. Car Door Interiors

Coconut husks are normally discarded and hold a large chunk of the waste problem where coconuts are harvested. Until now, coconut fibers can be great raw materials used in creating such automotive parts and thus addressing the waste problems issue and demand for car parts needed by most motorists today.

A team at Baylor University there has made trunk liners, floorboards and car-door interior covers using fibers from the outer husks of coconuts, replacing the synthetic polyester fibers typically used in composite materials.

Via Live Science

Tags: automotive parts, automotive products, car door, car interiors, car parts, coconut fibers, coconut husks, coconuts, composite materials, floorboards, motorists, polyester fibers, raw materials

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