Re: Engineering cars

[JALFAjr@aol.com]

Bob asks if anyone can document his statements on the use of modeling in the
automotive industry.

While I do not have any direct knowledge, I have been watching the Olympics
and Chryslers ads, where they talk about using computers to model their new
(1998) model cars, and one statement they make, was that they (Chrysler) now
has more computing power than the "whole industry" had when they did the first
Intrepids, (1989).

And Bob IS correct when he states that the modeling software did not exist
back in the 60's and 70's.  The US government was instrumental in getting
super computers built, but a visit to the US Naval Design center outside Wash
DC in 1973, showed no modeling software being used. 

The lack of modeling software was not just a lack of computers, but an absence
of the software also.  Modeling was a thought concept back then, but not a
reality, because nobody could test the models in less than a lifetime of
manual calculations.  It took the advent of the superfast (and relatively)
super cheap computer together to get us to where we are today in modeling.

And since this digest has always really been the Alfa-Skeptics Digest, I list
a degree in Mathematics and computer use in solving various numerical
solutions to differential equations, etc in the late 60's, using state of the
art (then) academic mainframes and programming languages to do this as my
qualifications on (at least ) late 60's modeling techniques,

John Justus