Inside the Society of Automotive Engineers Annual Expo

Just a few months after the glitzy Detroit international auto show pulls out of town, the Society of Automotive Engineers descends on the same convention hall to show off the industry's latest techie treats in far humbler displays. Our pencil-protected staff geek sifted through the sprockets and widgets to bring these highlights.

In celebration of SAE's centennial, host sponsor GM built a Cadillac STS project car integrating over 20 new technologies. Dymag wheels feature a carbon-fiber rim and magnesium center joined by titanium bolts. At 14 pounds each, they undercut a forged aluminum Corvette rim by six pounds. Electroluminescent wire coated with phosphor crystals illuminates the electrically heated and cooled cupholders with red or blue light. A pulley-driven Liquid Heat Generator sized and shaped like an alternator converts mechanical energy to heat with 98 percent efficiency for near instant cabin heating. And a picture-in-picture rear-view mirror projects a backup camera or rear-seat monitor image on a one-inch organic LED screen located in the inside mirror.

The Army showed off a new hybrid-drive light vehicle tailored for non-tactical use. A variety of composite bodies can be fastened to its rolling chassis with just six bolts. A two-cylinder opposed two-stroke engine capable of running on a variety of fuels provides motive or auxiliary power. It fits in a briefcase, makes seven horsepower, and generates less than 55 dBA of noise -- perfect for stakeout duty. The engine uses two pistons per cylinder, an inner pair drives the central crankshaft directly while the outer pair connects to the same crank by long rods. The pistons are phased to expose exhaust ports 30 degrees ahead of the intake ports, so 90 percent of the burned charge is pushed out by the supercharged air-fuel mixture.

VisiTyre's monitoring system reads temperature and pressure information for all tires (including the spare) instantly upon switching on the ignition unlike battery-powered radio broadcasting wheel sensors. A powered coil on the brake caliper transfers energy to and receives data from an inductive coil on the inside of the wheel rim. Cost is estimated at $150 for four tires.

Sekisui seeks to snuff out "that new car smell," by introducing new acrylic-based adhesives that do without the stinky volatile organic compounds found in other interior tapes, glues and fabrics. Siemens is developing sensors that can detect harmful or unpleasant gasses and odors originating inside or out of the car and trigger air filters or cabin recirculation as necessary.