CAR-LOG
Saturday, December 06, 2003
By ANk
Final individual entry
This assignment of writing a group blog has really helped me in more ways than one. I had no knowledge about cars and I am not much wiser now than before about how a car works and what its engine is made of, but this assignment has taught me how to work in a group. I have learned the importance of co-ordination and working in a group has helped me learn more about my group members and their thoughts. Reading and commenting on their entries has given me access to a lot of information which normally I would never have looked up. The ideas and topics they provided me were immensly helpful in writing my entries. Thus, I would say that working in a group has been extremely beneficial to me.
Another aspect of this assignment was the research involved in getting acurate information. This again helped me sharpen my researching skills and also gave me a lot of information about cars in general though I was not able to grasp most of it.
Sushrut's and Matt's entries on technology have helped me write my last entry for the group blog. Richard's and Kyle's entries on hybrids and importance of fuel respectively have helped me in two of my entries.
At the end of this assignment, I know more about the future technologies being developed by car manufacturers like hybrids and the sky car. I also know what kind of technology is currently available in the market. I hope that more such assignments come my way in future as one of the best way to learn (not classical subjects, but about the world in general) is to learn by experience and learning from peers.
Final individual entry
This assignment of writing a group blog has really helped me in more ways than one. I had no knowledge about cars and I am not much wiser now than before about how a car works and what its engine is made of, but this assignment has taught me how to work in a group. I have learned the importance of co-ordination and working in a group has helped me learn more about my group members and their thoughts. Reading and commenting on their entries has given me access to a lot of information which normally I would never have looked up. The ideas and topics they provided me were immensly helpful in writing my entries. Thus, I would say that working in a group has been extremely beneficial to me.
Another aspect of this assignment was the research involved in getting acurate information. This again helped me sharpen my researching skills and also gave me a lot of information about cars in general though I was not able to grasp most of it.
Sushrut's and Matt's entries on technology have helped me write my last entry for the group blog. Richard's and Kyle's entries on hybrids and importance of fuel respectively have helped me in two of my entries.
At the end of this assignment, I know more about the future technologies being developed by car manufacturers like hybrids and the sky car. I also know what kind of technology is currently available in the market. I hope that more such assignments come my way in future as one of the best way to learn (not classical subjects, but about the world in general) is to learn by experience and learning from peers.
By ANk
Due to the ever advancing technology, cars today have become faster, better and perhaps cheaper than what they used to be once upon a time. Cars today have better fuel efficiency, better acceleration, better looks, better engines; on the whole, they give better value for our money than previously. Cars have becomea necessity for todays world. Everyday, new models are introduced in the market. Research is constantly going on to make better, more efficient and safer looking cars. Sushrut talked about the sky car in his entry. Matt talked about the "Super machine" in his entry. However, I ask, what is the ultimate car? Is it the sky car or a self driven car or a hybrid? Perhaps the answer lies in the ever demanding, ever reaching out for more and for perfection; in the human mind. According to me, the "ideal" car would be a car that can fly, that can float, that can go into space, that one can live and work in (as in caravans or mobile homes), that offers a great fuel efficiency (perhaps 100 miles to a gallon of non polluting fuel or something similar for an alternate fuel powered vehicle), that has a good speed and acceleration and finally, is still small enough to fit into the parking spaces of today.
Am I asking too much? Am I dreaming or imagining? Perhaps or perhaps not. I cannot say today if all this will come true one day because the most important thing behind an invention is the need for it. Only when such a need arises, does man begin to work on fulfilling it. Maybe all that I said will not be required in future. Maybe cars will remain merely a form of transportation (or, if we run out of fuel they will all be scrapped!) but this kind of car which I described will reduce the need for houses (I say reduce as many people would still like to own a traditional estates with swimming pools, a personal library and a mini museum in their house). This reduction in housing would then give us more land, which we could use for perhaps agricultural purposes.
Though this does sound far fetched, I hope that some day, at least most of the features I've mentioned are incorporated in the "ideal" car.
Due to the ever advancing technology, cars today have become faster, better and perhaps cheaper than what they used to be once upon a time. Cars today have better fuel efficiency, better acceleration, better looks, better engines; on the whole, they give better value for our money than previously. Cars have becomea necessity for todays world. Everyday, new models are introduced in the market. Research is constantly going on to make better, more efficient and safer looking cars. Sushrut talked about the sky car in his entry. Matt talked about the "Super machine" in his entry. However, I ask, what is the ultimate car? Is it the sky car or a self driven car or a hybrid? Perhaps the answer lies in the ever demanding, ever reaching out for more and for perfection; in the human mind. According to me, the "ideal" car would be a car that can fly, that can float, that can go into space, that one can live and work in (as in caravans or mobile homes), that offers a great fuel efficiency (perhaps 100 miles to a gallon of non polluting fuel or something similar for an alternate fuel powered vehicle), that has a good speed and acceleration and finally, is still small enough to fit into the parking spaces of today.
Am I asking too much? Am I dreaming or imagining? Perhaps or perhaps not. I cannot say today if all this will come true one day because the most important thing behind an invention is the need for it. Only when such a need arises, does man begin to work on fulfilling it. Maybe all that I said will not be required in future. Maybe cars will remain merely a form of transportation (or, if we run out of fuel they will all be scrapped!) but this kind of car which I described will reduce the need for houses (I say reduce as many people would still like to own a traditional estates with swimming pools, a personal library and a mini museum in their house). This reduction in housing would then give us more land, which we could use for perhaps agricultural purposes.
Though this does sound far fetched, I hope that some day, at least most of the features I've mentioned are incorporated in the "ideal" car.
Monday, December 01, 2003
By ANk
As I mentioned in my previous posts that cars have evolved a lot since their inception and not only from the outside, but also from the inside. These changes are a reflection of the changes taking place in society. Today cars are so cheap that most people today can afford one.
Different types of cars are built for various classes of people. Those who can afford it, get bigger, better cars with more accessories. They decorate their cars in various ways to reflect their social status. Thus cars have become a social status symbol. Sometimes though, people go a bit too much out of their way in doing such things. For example a kind of wheel accessory called a spinneret costs about 1000$ for each wheel and the only thing it does, is spin when the wheel spins, but at a different and variable speed.
Perhaps it is understandable to accessorize cars with things that are useful in some way, but if someone puts a 10,000 $ sound system in his car (which by the way could kill everyone in the car if it was operated with all windows closed); it seems total madness and eccentricity.
As I mentioned in my previous posts that cars have evolved a lot since their inception and not only from the outside, but also from the inside. These changes are a reflection of the changes taking place in society. Today cars are so cheap that most people today can afford one.
Different types of cars are built for various classes of people. Those who can afford it, get bigger, better cars with more accessories. They decorate their cars in various ways to reflect their social status. Thus cars have become a social status symbol. Sometimes though, people go a bit too much out of their way in doing such things. For example a kind of wheel accessory called a spinneret costs about 1000$ for each wheel and the only thing it does, is spin when the wheel spins, but at a different and variable speed.
Perhaps it is understandable to accessorize cars with things that are useful in some way, but if someone puts a 10,000 $ sound system in his car (which by the way could kill everyone in the car if it was operated with all windows closed); it seems total madness and eccentricity.
