College Grad Hiring Down but Engineering Down Less; Bad News/Good News -- Fewer Vacancies but Decline is Moderating; A “Don’t Ca

Jared Rader — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 10:06:09 -0500

Bad News/Good News: Fewer job vacancies but decline is moderating

2008 Cadillac Escalade AWD

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:00:00 -0500

That’s how driving Caddy’s luxury SUV made me feel. Cadillac says this model boasts a sleek new design and improved fuel economy. Sleek? Maybe. But if 12/18 mpg (city/highway) is an improvement, last year’s model must have had a hole in the tank. (Gassing up, I hoped my “My other car is a Prius” tee shirt would save me from tar and feathers at the hands of the Greens.) In fairness to GM, the Toyota Land Cruiser is rated at 13/18 mpg and the Porsche Cayenne S at 13/19.

Industrial Design: Design the Dyson Way

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 02:00:00 -0500

Patrick G. Mahoney
Contributing Editor

James Dyson’s so-called overnight sensation, the Dual Cyclone vacuum cleaner, was anything but. In his book, Against the Odds, the British designer, whose bagless machine turned an industry on its ear, details a grueling, yearslong battle to prove his revolutionary design and bring it to market.

Engineering the Dyson way
• “Steal” ideas from other applications
• Make rough physical prototypes quickly
• Math models are no substitute for a lot of tests

Industry Focus: Indy 500 -- Innovating Indy

Thu, 22 May 2008 02:00:00 -0500

Patrick G. Mahoney
Associate editor

When IndyCar racing took a hard look at itself, it saw a need for greater innovation and creativity: the cars are nearly identical, and innovation — when it happens at all — is incremental. It wanted something new.

Concept Cars of a Different Color …Green

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 02:00:00 -0500

Patrick G Mahoney
Associate editor

Some years it ’s all about style. Other years it’s performance or electronic wizardry. But this year, escalating energy costs and concerns about global warming have designers scrambling for the best technology or combination of technologies to wring the last drop of energy from their futuristic concepts. Here’s a look at some of the contenders for the green throne.

The Second Space Age

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 02:00:00 -0600

Patrick G. Mahoney
Associate editor

In 2001, the first paying passenger traveled into space aboard a Soyuz space capsule. Four short years later, SpaceShipOne proved that a private company could make space travel possible. Suddenly, space tourism didn’t seem so crazy.

SpaceShipOne fired the imagination of millions. But that was nothing compared to what’s next. Get ready for SpaceShipTwo.

What’s new in sustainable packaging

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 02:00:00 -0600

Patrick Mahoney
Associate Editor

The biggest force in packaging today is sustainability. The word has become a shorthand way of saying, “Do more with less.” In other words, the push is on to package goods with less material and do it while consuming less energy.

An example of how designers are attacking the problem comes from package-equipment maker Lantech in Louisville, Ky. The company devised both a shrink wrapper and a stretch wrapper that manage to use less material while making operations more efficient to boot.

2007 BMW 650i Coupe

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 02:00:00 -0600

That said, I didn’t like driving this luxurious coupe: I loved it. Whoever said money doesn’t buy happiness never plunked down $84K for one of these. On Saturday night I considered driving to some trendy venue and sitting nonchalantly behind the wheel until some supermodel begged me to take her for a spin. But then I thought, “Why waste good driving time?”

2007 Lincoln MKX FWD

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 02:00:00 -0500

— Patrick Mahoney

There’s not much to complain about in the all-new MKX, which replaced the truck-based Aviator, but I’ll find something.

U.S. packaging machinery surpasses $6 billion

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 02:00:00 -0500

This marks the fifth consecutive year of growth, according to PMMI’s 2007 Shipments and Outlook Study.

Sixteen of seventeen categories experienced growth last year. And two categories, wrapping (+18.6%) and capping, overcapping, lidding and sealing machinery (+11.2%) enjoyed doubledigit growth. Converting machinery was the only category with a modest decline (-0.6%).

More articles by Patrick Mahoney