Tag: fat

How being fat and old is the newest threat to auto safety

Filed under: Etc., Safety, Technology

Erwin Wurm 'Fat Car'

There’s no easy way to say this, America: You’re getting fatter and older every year. Over a quarter of the population is obese, and the rate of obesity increases 0.5 percent each year. The amount of folks aged 65 and up currently stands at 40 million, but that number will increase to nearly 90 million by 2050. What does any of this have to do with automobiles? A lot – if you’re a safety engineer.

The systems that help keep us safe during a crash will need to be redesigned to cope with our ever-increasing mass and aging bodies. Seatbelts and airbags are being developed that can work with the larger, older occupants of future vehicles. Adaptive airbags and load-limited seatbelts will better conform to the person sitting in the seat.

As we travel down the road to our Wall-E style future, it’s comforting to know that today’s engineers are working to protect tomorrow’s driving population. The solution to our weight problem is, of course, to battle the ever-expanding waistlines found throughout our nation. That, however, is easier said than done. Let’s just hope that the four-wheeled products that result don’t resemble sculptor Erwin Wurm’s ‘fat car’ series, as shown above.

Now if you’ll excuse us, a 20-piece Chicken McNugget meal is calling from the kitchen. Oof, that’s an awfully far walk for our aging bones, though.

[Source: Ward’s Auto | Image: Dorotheum]

How being fat and old is the newest threat to auto safety originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 02 Mar 2011 18:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Red Bull reportedly cutting employees fat bonus checks for winning world championships

Filed under: Motorsports, Earnings/Financials

Winning the Formula One World Championship may be motivation enough. But as an added reward, Red Bull chief Dietrich Mateschitz is reportedly giving each of his employees at Red Bull Racing a big fat bonus for having taken home both titles this year.

According to reports, each of the 500+ staff members at the team’s headquarters in Milton Keynes, England, will receive at least £10,000 (~$16k), but that’s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Some senior staff members stand to rake in up to £42k ($67k), while Sebastian Vettel – the driver who took home the top prize – is expected to get €3 million, equivalent to over $4 million in American terms.

With Mateschitz many times over a billionaire and the team waiting for nearly $100 million in purse winnings for the titles, the team can easily afford the bonuses, and are certainly most deserving.

[Source: PistonHeads | Image: Vladimir Rys/Getty]

Red Bull reportedly cutting employees fat bonus checks for winning world championships originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 24 Nov 2010 17:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Overweight and Overfueled – CDC says fat America uses more gas

Filed under: Etc.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released a new report on obesity in the U.S. According to the study, the U.S. witnessed a 1.1 percent increase in the number of self-reported people with obesity between 2007 and 2009. The increase amounts to 2.4 million additional Americans admitting that they have joined the category of obese individuals. In addition, the number of states reporting that at least 30 percent of its population fit into the obese category has tripled to include nine states. Rising obesity rates have led to increased medical costs and other public issues, but the automotive industry has felt the added weight as well.

According to the study, an estimated one billion gallons of extra fuel were used up to compensate for the added weight of drivers and passengers from 1960 to 2002. If you look at it another way, 0.7 percent of all the fuel burned in vehicles from 1960 to 2002 has been attributable to passengers who have packed on a few extra pounds. Or, how about this one: 39 million gallons of fuel are burned for each pound gained by the average American. While these numbers will probably make an eco-conscious driver think twice next time they’re in line at a fast food joint, it seems unlikely that the majority Americans will slim down for the simple sake of saving fuel.

[Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Consumer Reports, Green Car Reports | Image: Tobyotter – C.C. License 2.0]

Overweight and Overfueled – CDC says fat America uses more gas originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 18 Aug 2010 14:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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