Update January 2007 News for the Members of SAE 2007 World Congress brings global industry together SAE member dues “Engineering for Global Sustainable Mobil- to remain same for 2007 ity—It’s Up to Us” is the theme for the SAE There is good news for all SAE International 2007 World Congress, to be held April 16-19, members. The Membership Services Board 2007, at Cobo Center in Detroit, MI. (MSB) voted to not increase membership dues The event’s technical program will feature for calendar year 2007. The current SAE dues more than 1500 presentations in these schedule was established in 2002 with full pro- technology tracks: electronics, emissions/en- fessional member dues set at $90.00 annually. vironment, management and marketplace, One of the criteria for SAE dues rates materials, propulsion/powertrain, and includes that it be competitive with profes- safety/testing. sional dues of like societies. In evaluating six other societies, SAE dues are more expensive than only one other group, and less expensive than fi ve of the six evaluated in the study. The organizations evaluated were American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, American Society for Quality, Society of Katsuaki Watanabe, Manufacturing Engineers, American Society President of Toyota, Of Mechanical Engineers, Institute of Electri- will be the keynote cal and Electronics Engineers, and American speaker at the World Society of Civil Engineers. It was also found Congress Annual The show fl oor at Congress 2007 will again feature the OEM/Supplier Park, which helped Banquet on April 19. in this comparison that SAE provides one of attract more than 35,000 attendees to Congress 2006 (shown). the highest values for the membership dues that it charges. Additionally, the AVL Theater on the show Offi cer of Toyota and President of Toyota companies representing the entire global According to the bylaws, dues can be fl oor will host an Executive Management Technical Center, will offi cially open the supply chain, and the OEM/Supplier Park adjusted for infl ation, and raised a minimum Conference featuring top-level executives Congress with the fi rst keynote address of will provide attendees with the opportunity of every three years. “Although all criteria and offi cials from industry, government, the Executive Management Conference at to meet management and engineering staff justify a dues increase at this time, due to research, and academia delivering keynote the AVL Theater. from OEM and Tier 1 supplier companies. the economic state of SAE’s industries, the addresses and participating in panel discus- Networking opportunities abound For more information on the SAE 2007 MSB does not recommend to increase dues in sions. Also located on the show fl oor, the throughout the event, most notably at the World Congress, visit sae.org/congress. SAE 2007,” said Joe Mack, Membership Services FEV Powertrain Innovation Forum will fea- Detroit Section Social Hour and Section members can attend one of SAE’s three main Board Chair. ture presentations on the latest innovations Meeting (April 16), the SAE Awards Cer- industry events (the World Congress, the Other dues rates including student, retired, in powertrain technology as well as a look at emony (April 17), the International Recep- Commercial Vehicle Engineering Congress, and the student transfer dues schedule will the powertrain of tomorrow. tion (April 18), and the Annual Banquet or the Aerotech Congress) for free. To take also remain the same for 2007. Next year, The host company for the 2007 Congress (April 19). advantage of this member benefi t, pre-regis- the MSB will revisit the criteria for a dues is Toyota. Yasuhiko Ichihashi, Managing The exhibit will feature more than 800 ter online by March 30. increase for possible implementation in 2008. Advances in hybrid technology highlighted at symposium The latest developments in hybrid technology will be dis- reception aboard the USS Midway on February 7 at 6:30 p.m. cussed by experts from OEMs, suppliers, government, and The Midway, the longest-serving aircraft carrier in U.S. Navy academia at the Hybrid Vehicle Technologies 2007 Sympo- history, now serves as a permanent museum and is located sium, to be held February 7-8, 2007, at the Holiday Inn on just a short walk from the conference hotel. the Bay in San Diego, CA. Attendees registering by January 19 will save $100 off Hybrid programs will be discussed by representatives the registration fee. For more information on the Hybrid from General Motors, DaimlerChrysler, Ford, Honda, Toyota Vehicle Technologies 2007 Symposium, or to register, visit Technical Center, Eaton, and other organizations. There will www.sae.org/hybrid; call 877-606-7323 (in the U.S. and also be presentations by experts from National Renewable Canada) or 724-776-4970; or e-mail customerservice@sae. Energy Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, and the org. New York City Transit Authority. Hybrid Vehicle Technologies 2007 Symposium topics The 2007 Saturn Vue Green Line Hybrid is one of 12 hybrids Customer and worldwide acceptance of hybrids GM plans to launch. Powertrain and vehicle design Futuristic controls and energy management strategies Lee Slezak of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Offi ce of FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies will discuss the pri- Field experience orities and recent results of the department’s HEV research Fuel economy and environmental aspects program. Regulatory issues will be discussed by Craig Childers of the California Air Resources Board. Government regulations and incentives. All symposium registrants are invited to attend an evening JJanuaryanuary 111-22.indd1-22.indd 1 111/30/061/30/06 3:19:053:19:05 PPMM Update Editorial Message from the President Auto industry loses hybrid visionary Progress in motorsports In November, the automotive world was stunned by the As my term in offi ce comes to a close in late January, I ment Market Association) show, we passing of Dave Hermance, Toyota’s top U.S. engineer for thought it would be a good time to provide an update on met with senior SEMA representa- hybrid-electric autos (see page 5). A long-time supporter of our motorsports initiative. Since my last article on this topic, tives and discussed opportunities SAE International, Hermance was an organizer of the popu- a few key members and staff have been working to build re- for cooperation. As part of our lar Hybrid Vehicle Technologies Symposium and a panelist lationships and learn more about potential opportunities for planned schedule for the week, at the SAE 2006 World Congress. SAE International involvement as a prerequisite to launching we also held a meeting of the SAE Referred to as “Mr. Hybrid” by some in the automotive in- any initiatives. Air & Space Group (ASG) that dustry, Hermance was Toyota’s primary spokesperson for hy- Recently at the Le Mans series at Laguna Seca in Monterey, includes members of SAE, SEMA, brids, frequently representing the company at environmental CA, we provided an informal discussion forum to some of OEMs, and suppliers. In the area conferences and government hearings on fuel effi ciency. the race team managers and promoters. There was good of engineering standards, ASG is On one occasion, I was fortunate enough to hear Hermance agreement on behalf of the audience that SAE is an impor- authorized under the SAE Motor Vehicle Council and Tech take part in a panel discussion, and his passion for hybrid tant resource for the racing and high-performance vehicle Standards Board. vehicles was clearly evident. He had the unique ability to community. We had discussions with Sports Car Club of Recently in Warrendale, PA, near SAE’s international explain complex engineering systems in an easy-to-under- America, marketing companies, racing promoters, and even headquarters, our small team met to brainstorm and develop stand manner. SAE Collegiate Design Series graduates who are now begin- our SAE Motorsports vision and strategies based on what “There is, with the hybrid, an opportunity to both improve ning to emerge as the racing team engineers and manag- we have learned over the past several months. We concluded performance, an attribute [customers] will pay for, and fuel ef- ers of the future. There was a very positive response and that our vision must be related to automotive technology, fi ciency, an attribute they ought to value and may value in the encouragement to get SAE more involved. inclusive of the various participants of the motorsports com- future,” Hermance said at an August 2005 panel discussion. Later, concurrent with the National Hot Rod Association munity, and be inspirational to SAE’s members. Thus, there Toyota, the world’s largest maker of hybrid vehicles, will (NHRA) AC Delco Nationals in Las Vegas, NV, we had the will be the need for involvement of engineers, technicians, undoubtedly be hit hard by the loss of Hermance and will pleasure of meeting with Graham Light, Vice President of marketing, communications, and other personnel. We are have a hard time fi nding a capable replacement. Bruce Operations, and Don Taylor, National Tech Director. We trying to address the needs of the professional racing frater- Brownlee, a spokesman for Toyota’s U.S. Technical Center in discussed the various aspects of the drag-racing commu- nity and the performance-minded automotive enthusiast, Ann Arbor, MI, told Bloomberg News Service, “There’s re- nity including relevant trends, challenges, and the rapidly who in many cases is a consumer. We also began to develop ally no one with Dave’s unique combination of engineering changing technologies associated with OEM vehicles that our motorsports strategies that were involved enough to be background and ability to explain complex powertrains to ultimately have an impact on drag racing and other motors- beyond the scope of this article.