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This paper presents several methods for reducing engine weight primarily through substitution with light-weight materials. The efficiency and performance of the engine were reviewed using a light-weight experimental engine (hereinafter called “weight-reduced engine”) constructed by the authors in order to investigate the possibility of practical use of the proposed weight reduction measures. The weight-reduced engine is based on an in-line 4-cylinder, 2.0 liter, gasoline engine with the base engine weight of 162 kg excluding engine oil and coolant and was reduced by 37 kg by applying alternative light-weight materiaLs and new manufacturing techniques. This corresponds to 23 % weight reduction. The materials used in the weight-reduced engine are 53 % steel, 33 % aluminum, 7 % plastics and 7 % other light-weight materials. It was found that by application of light-weight materials, the engine performance of the weight-reduced engine could be improved.

Today, there are several kinds of display technologies used in the automobile. Of these technologies, the Vacuum Fluorescent Display has the following advantages: 1. Excellent readability under high ambient light conditions 2. High reliability under severe environmental conditions 3. Multicolor capability 4. Large glass size 5. Graphics flexibility As a result, the Vacuum Fluorescent Display technology is the major type of display technology used in the automobile application. A design trend in the industry is toward the use of graphic displays because of the need to display more information, and to reduce the cost and space factor. Until recently, vacuum fluorescent graphic displays of large area and high resolution had been limited by the lower brightness due to the low duty factor driving condition.

The visual recognition of self-luminous displays in the automobile instrument panel under direct sunlight conditions is a major design criteria. The user-display interface requires the designer to consider factors of visibility, legibility, reading fatigue and styling. All factors are important, but under direct sunlight conditions, visibility has to take the highest priority and is the most important design factor. The object of this paper is to delineate visibility parameters by analyzing the results of experiments designed to determine the minimum brightness levels and type of filtering required to obtain visual recognition of vacuum fluorescent displays under the sunlight conditions.