In 1973, the Arab-Israeli war raged on. Egypt, Syria and other Arab countries attacked Israel to regain land that they had previously lost in 1967. Primary among these is the Sinai peninsula. Knowing that the United States is one of the primary backers of Israel, the oil-producing Arab countries, led by Saudi Arabia, decided to reduce the amount of oil on the market, effectively creating an oil embargo against the western world in general, and against the united states in particular.
A Wake-Up Call
That embargo sent gas prices in the United States rocketing upwards. All the sudden, Americans who never really cared much about how much gas their cars consumed, started to care! They started to realize that American cars are heavy, bulky and consume much more gas than they should. Enter a new era in car manufacturing. Car manufacturers such as Ford and GM started to consider the fuel efficiency of their cars because customers demanded it. And fuel efficiency turns out is directly related to the weight of the car. All the sudden these luxury cars that are made of steel didn’t look as appealing as before. That is when auto manufacturers turned to Aluminum.
The Aluminum Manufacturing Era
The biggest and most important advantage of using aluminum to manufacture cars is its strength and lightweight. Because aluminum is light, a car that has certain components made of aluminum will weight much less than one that is made entirely of steel. Considering the direct relationship between weight and fuel efficiency, it is easy to understand the advantages that aluminum car manufacturing has when compared to other metals. It is the reason why aluminum extruders and manufacturers such as Signature Aluminum in Canada have focused on the auto market as an area of expansion.
Environmental Era
Furthermore, with the advent of global warming, scientists started to warn about the dangers of burning hydrocarbons and releasing the co2 in the atmosphere. The primary use of hydrocarbons today is the gas that is used in billions of cars worldwide. Thus, moving to aluminum-made cars will significantly reduce the amount of gas that is consumed by these cars, which in turn is good for the environment.
An Aluminum Future
All these factors combine to conclude that light-weight aluminum is most likely the choice-metal of the future to manufacture cars, airplanes and anything else that uses fuel and burns hydrocarbons. Until we can kick the gas habit, reduction is the next best thing.
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One of the most common trends in travel and transportation is the increasing use of limousines for any special occasion. What is a special occasion? Well, in the past special occasions were weddings, proms and the such. Nowadays, special occasions are extending to include things such as birthdays, sweet sixteen parties and even romantic dinners.
One of the reasons for the increase in luxury limo travel is the affordability that is offered by the industry. Nowadays, it is not that much more expensive to use a limo as compared to a taxi cab. In fact, in some instances, it is cheaper to travel in a limousine. It is no wonder then that more people are choosing this type of transportation as compared to others. And the trend is bound to continue because people will always be attracted to great choices.
What about airplanes? You ask. Good question. Planes are the most luxurious of all forms of travel. However, planes are used for a different type of travel, which is usually for long distances. People won’t take a plane for a trip to downtown Toronto from the suburbs. However, they will use an airplane to travel from Toronto to New York. The minimum distance that would be used in airplanes is about the distance between Toronto and Ottawa. And that takes about 30 minutes in the airplane.
When it is time to travel in luxury, it is not hard to find options that will get you there in comfort and relaxation.
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