Think twice before getting just any #car. #AutoIndustry failings... - http://clapway.com/2015/08/16/more-than-200000-car-seats-recalled-due-to-malfunctions321/

More than 200k auto seats unsafe

Britax, a manufacturing giant that includes children’s car seats among its line-up of products, has had to recall over 200,000 of them due to harness adjuster buttons that can stick and potentially cause the shoulder straps to loosen, making the seat unsafe. The dates in question center around August 1, 2014 and July 29. According to the official website, they have been in business for over 70 years and came to American consumers in 1996.

How it happened

Consumers became a powerful force of nature after one of them posted to Facebook, and others started going to federal regulators with complaints of the harness button being possibly stuck. After an internal audit, and pressure from an increasingly unsatisfied customer base the company decided to recall a large portion of their car seats out of an abundance of caution.

What’s being done to fix it?

Consumers can apparently look to see if they are on the recall list by looking at the date their particular seat was manufactured. In addition to notifying customers if their particular car seat is in need of recall or repair, they will also send a lubrication kit as well. After a one-time application is applied to the car seat the adjuster button should move and function normally, thereby removing the risk of the car seat shoulder straps loosening. The shoulder straps in question are meant to not only make the car seat more secure for holding children, but also function as one of the more primary tools in holding the child back in the case of a crash which has the potential to throw smaller children around.

Lessons learned

What many can learn from such an incident is a potential case-study in consumer buying power and the nature of future company recalls. In the age of social media and the internet, such incidents show that not even manufacturing giants in the tech world are immune to internet criticism. While the car seats were recalled and no injuries have been reported thus far, the car seat recall is another example of a tech world dependent on reliability and information.

More than 200,000 Car Seats Recalled Due to Malfunctions

Your next car. - http://clapway.com/2015/06/25/blade-supercars-is-the-future-of-the-auto-industry-334/

Car manufacturing has moved into an era where it seems as though nothing is outside the realm of possibilities. Divergent Microfactories is proving that nothing is impossible one “Blade” 3D printed supercar at a time. Blade offers the opportunity to not only reinvent the way we make cars, but revolutionize the way that we make really fast cars or supercars.

Blade is more than just an awesome looking fast car

Part of what makes Divergent Microfactories Blade so efficient is the creation of “nodes”, or 3D printed aluminum joints which connect carbon fiber tubing as described in a press release from the company itself, “The Node solves the problem of time and space by cutting down on the actual amount of 3D printing required to build the chassis and can be assembled in just minutes. In addition to dramatically reducing materials and energy use, the weight of the Node-enabled chassis is up to 90% lighter than traditional cars, despite being much stronger and more durable.

”Light weight from the 3D printed materials in conjunction with a sleek aerodynamic design lend to the cars ability to be both lightning fast, and exceptionally fuel efficient. Along with the slimmed down chassis, CEO of Divergent Microfactories, Kevin Czinger, hopes to slim down the environmental impact of car manufacturers on the planet, “We’ve developed a sustainable path forward for the car industry that we believe will result in a renaissance in car manufacturing.”

Supercars — A Need for Speed

Blade is efficient to make, and better for the environment, but it still goes really fast.

How fast you ask? Very fast, in fact the blade is equipped with a 700 horsepower engine that can move the car from 0-60 Miles per hour in 2 seconds due in part to the only 1,400 pounds that the vehicle weighs. The idea that speed and efficiency must be mutually exclusive has existed for a long time, because the fastest cars in the past were the cars that drained gas tanks the fastest, and weighed the most.

In a new era of supercars the Blade demonstrates that light weight 3D printed parts, and environmentally friendlier production can lead to one bad-ass fast sports car, and Divergent Microfactories is spearheading the movement to turn the car manufacturing industry upside down.

Watch Blade Super Car video here.

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Blade Supercars -- The Future of the Auto Industry