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Off-highway engines advance beyond Tier 4 With Tier 4 Final/Stage IV needs met, engine OEMs direct their focus and competitive energies toward optimizing competitive solutions. At the same time, they need to keep a weather eye out for future regulations, which many expect. Autonomous vehicle challenges span many fields Many of the challenges faced by military and commercial design teams are similar. Racket busters With a quiet cab at the top of many tractor buyers' wish lists, agricultural equipment manufacturers are pursuing every opportunity possible to shed decibels.

Simulations for safety Improved design tools let aircraft developers ensure that systems, software, and mechanical elements all work together.

Global Viewpoints The latest strategies are investigated for vehicle development by automakers and major suppliers. Sports cars embrace array of green technology IMSA Tudor United SportsCar Championship promotes a variety of green technologies to link racing to the road. More gears, more challenges Many strategies, as well as key software and hardware aspects related to controllers, networks, sensors, and actuators, must be considered to keep automatic transmissions shifting smoothly as more gears are added to improve fuel economy. Advancing structural composites Industry experts address the opportunities and challenges involved with moving toward composite-intensive vehicles, including Nissan's effort to produce a high-volume, fully recyclable composite liftgate with low metal content.

DuPont: from art to part DuPont's newly appointed global automotive technology director Jeffrey Sternberg, in conversation with Ian Adcock. Igniting the creative spark Ryan Gehm and Lindsay Brooke report on breakthrough technologies at the SAE Congress. Winning ways Ian Adcock exclusively reveals the newly formed Williams Advanced Engineering facility. Driverless future: steering a safe course Google unleashing 100 driverless, motorised pods on to the road has put the need for rigorous safety standards centre stage, as Ian Adcock reports

Watching for ways to stand above the crowd Sensors monitor a broad range of parameters to help powertrain design teams add features and improve performance.

Systems-engineering a new 4x4 benchmark Chrysler Powertrain teamed with AAM to create the industry's most capable, sophisticated-and arguably most fuel-efficient-AWD/4WD driveline. Top engineers talk about their collaboration. Achates aims at 2025 light-truck power After more than a decade of steady development, Achates Power's opposed-piston two-stroke diesel is impressing powertrain experts with its test results and pace of technical progress. Lighter, stronger chassis Development of a new high-strength aluminum casting alloy for the production of suspension components.

Europe's aerospace industry looking confident Apart from Airbus's highly visible presence in defense and commercial aircraft, Europe also has successful capabilities in helicopters, business jets, and aero engines, and in all these areas their global market share is growing. Comparing blade-element momentum modeling to 3-D CFD Many small unmanned aerial vehicles (SUAVs) are driven by small scale, fixed blade propellers, and the flow produced by the propeller can have a significant impact on the aerodynamics of the SUAV itself.

Steering a better path New mechanisms developed by NIT Warangal are simpler than the Ackermann type and allow all four wheels to undergo pure rolling. Monitoring fine particle concentrations A robust and versatile system has been developed by Pegasor Oy to measure engine exhaust particulate mass and number more accurately. New rules shuffle the F1 deck New turbocharged hybrid-electric power units and revised aerodynamics may scramble the familiar order in Formula One for 2014.

Into the DEAP The Distributed Electrical Aerospace Propulsion project looks toward a future optimized integrated propulsion system that will allow cleaner, quieter, and more efficient performance incorporated into a radically innovative airframe that will feature enclosed electrically powered fans.

Executive Viewpoints Off-highway industry executives write about some of the challenges and trends facing the industry over the next 20 years, and the innovation that will be required to stay competitive and sustainable. Annual product guide A product roundup showcasing the newest and most innovative supplier technologies in a variety of areas such as Powertrain & Energy, Electronics, Hydraulics, Materials, Testing & Simulation, Body and Chassis, and Interiors.

Defying convention Rapid prototyping has the potential to play a beneficial role in unconventional autonomous airship design. By reducing model cost, build time, difficulty of construction, and maintaining acceptable surface quality and finish, designers have greater ability to analyze several configurations of airships and to change the geometry to increase stability, reduce drag, or fulfill mission requirements.

Driving good dynamics How the demands of safety, light weight, ride, and handling can be brought together to create cars of character.

Simulating lightweight vehicles operating on discrete terrain Researchers characterize the mobility of autonomous reconnaissance vehicles on terrain considered to be deformable, and represented as a collection of bodies of spherical shape.

Making sense of hybrids Developers focus on applications that boost productivity while they strive to improve the efficiency of alternative power sources.

Toward smarter manufacturing and materials At the U.K.'s new Advanced Manufacturing Research Center, engineers and innovators have at their disposal some of the world's most advanced design and manufacturing assets for precision engineering. More electric, integrated fuel systems Engine system reliability can be improved by advanced electric architectures, while the reduction of hydraulic components, fuel tubes, and fittings can enhance the maintainability of the engine and minimize pilot workload.

No hands, lots of brains A hefty amount of computing power built with new hardware and software architectures will be needed when vehicles begin taking over more of the driving tasks. Aerodynamics and flow simulations come of age With the advent of faster computers, engineers are using CFD software as a practical tool, shaping designs early in the product development cycle. The challenges today are in how best to use it and by whom. New rules shuffle the F1 deck New turbocharged hybrid-electric power units and revised aerodynamics may scramble the familiar order in Formula One for 2014. Stars of the show floor The editors of Automotive Engineering annually select from among SAE World Congress exhibitors the technologies that meet their criteria for a coveted Tech Award. Judging is based on level of design and engineering innovation, uniqueness, potential for 'real world' production application, and potential benefit for industry customers and end users.

Methodology developed for safer hood design The methodology enables material selection and design optimization of energy absorbers for pedestrian protection based on a simple laboratory test and FE model, eliminating the need for extensive vehicle testing. Developing a winning formula It's been 20 years since the University of Michigan won a Formula SAE championship. Sick of getting smoked in recent years by top teams from Germany and the U.S., MRacing is going "big aero" for a better crack at the 2014 crown.

Downsizing: the heat is off Ian Adcock discovers why a material developed in the nuclear industry could prove a real boon for OEMs as they look to downsize engines. Lightweight champions Could an alloy with the strength of steel, but as light as aluminium, prove to be a game changer for the automotive industry? Ian Adcock investigates. Road fatalities: eliminating the human factor In a new series on vehicle safety, Ian Adcock looks at the need for more driver intervention systems.

Alternative fuels face challenges With gasoline prices seeming to stabilize and fuel economy measures taking hold is there a compelling need for alternative fuels? Automotive engineers offer some surprising reasons why there is.