Mazda is only giving us tapas-sized video bites of its upcoming Mazda6, but at least each bite comes quickly. Just days after the second teaser came out, our third view of the sedan reveals some unexpected inspiration from the Jonathon Ramsey
Talk about lightweighting. Rice University researchers have figured out a way to – wait for it – spray paint the components of a lithium-ion battery onto any hard surface, suggesting that someone looking to get a little rechargeable power can make like Earl Scheib.
To the imaginative, the average shipping container holds a wealth of possibilities. Cheap, expansive and readily available, the boxes can be used for anything from storage to habitation. One French company is looking to turn spent containers into mobile paint stations for the manufacturer's supply business, according to Ward's Auto. Plastic Omnium produces around 14 million painted bu
Even though DuPont's automotive paints, or "performance coating," division brought in 12.1 percent of the firm's 2010 revenue, the pretax operating-profit margin was only seven percent, said to be about "half the corporate average." With the highly diversified firm making plays in more lucrative "megatrend" areas, Automotive News reports that DuPont has retained Credit Suisse to find a buyer for its two coatings divisions valued at $3-4 billion.
When it comes to tastes in automobiles, Europeans and Americans tend to be on opposite sides of the spectrum. Small trumps big. Manual over automatic. Car against truck. Black versus white.
General Motors is introducing a flame treatment technology that it says lets paint stick to plastic and door panels without using solvent-based primers. The General says this breakthrough eliminates harmful emissions that "foul the air" when primer is sprayed.
Every summer we're stuck with the same dilemma. We can park the car out in the sun, which will inevitably will lead to scorching hot interior temperatures. The alternative is to park under a shady tree, where birds will undoubtedly poop all over our freshly washed ride. We usually opt for the sun out of auto vanity, but at least we don't have to worry about bird poop messing with the paint.
Silver just won't give up its nine-year choke hold as the most popular color choice for cars and trucks, both in the United States and abroad. In fact, the silver and gray category actually picked up an additional five percent on the rest of the field with a market share of roughly 25 percent in 2009.
In the ongoing effort to reduce the environmental impact of building cars, automakers are re-evaluating their paint systems (see here). Mazda has introduced a new water-based system at its Ujina Plant No.1 that slashes volatile organic compound emissions by 57% compared to current systems
To be completely fair, the California Air Resources Board never intended to ban black paint -- or any color of paint, for that matter. When devising ways to implement the Cool Cars Initiative, CARB couldn't find any dark paints that passed the 20% solar reflectivity test, which others took to mean that CARB would be banning them. Not so, says a CARB spokesman: "We are by no means intere
In a move that will likely get California's consumers in a huff, impending legislation may soon restrict the paint color options for Golden State residents looking for their next new vehicle. The specific colors that are currently on the chopping block are all dark hues, with the worst offender seemingly the most innocuous color you could think of: Black. What could California possibly have against these colors, you ask? Apparently, the California Air Resources Board figures that the climate con
In another case of Nature to the Rescue, scientists have come up with a polyurethane coating that repairs itself in the sun. The secret ingredient: chitosan, which comes from the shells of crustaceans and is also used for water filtration, blood clotting and as a diet aid. The common principle appears to be that it as a binding agent, i.e. it wants to hold certain things together.
Q. What do the Tennessee Valley Authority, General Motors and Waste Management have in common?
For those of you who have to deal with falling ash from fires, such as the folks in Southern California right now, the most important car care tip for you could be not to let ash interact with water on your car or remain on the car for a long time. If ash and water -- even nighttime dew -- get together on your car's paint, the water reacts with the calcium, potassium, phosphorus and magnesium in ash and might result in chemical etching. It essentially has the same e
There's more than one way to paint a car. We've featured models with cans and brushes, the option of going sans paint entirely and we've even seen electricity generated from leftover paint fumes
Normally, when you want to change the paint color on your car, you're facing lots of disassembly, extensive prep work, and expensive time in a spray booth followed by seemingly endless hand blocking. Instead of the conventional method, a new technology might be on the way to make a color change as easy as twisting a knob. It's actually quite similar to the magic General Motors has wrought with their magnetorheological dampers. The variable-color paint works this way: prior to paint, the body get
Just what is "liquid-nanotechnology", and why would I want my car covered in it? First, "liquid-nanotechnology" is what Ecology Coatings calls their product. Second, because unless you are driving a Delorean or a future Citroën, your car is most likely painted, maybe a few times at that. So, if your car needs to be coated to keep it from oxidizing, why not use an eco-friendly paint? Th
