So, how competitive and demanding are things in the auto
industry? One way to discern this is to talk with Matthew
Zaluzec who is with Ford Research and Advanced Engineering. He's
the manager of the Materials Science & Nanotechnology
Department. Zaluzec says that given the prevailing conditions,
where vehicle manufacturers are looking at the ways and means to
provide better quality products without adding to the cost
(ideally, no doubt, actually reducing the cost), at Ford they
are working at the atomic level. That's right: They are working
out the ways and means to improve their products atom-by-atom.
Which seems somewhat bizarre, given that Ford has a commitment
to reduce vehicle weight on the order of 250 lb. to 750 lb.
between 2012 and 2020 (without compromising safety, which would
otherwise be a little like throwing the baby out with the
bathwater). Think about it: they're talking about taking out a
quarter of a ton and they're working with things in the scale of
atomic weight: the atomic weight of alumi