2014 Buick Enclave

Buick hasn't sold a minivan or a true station wagon in years, but it has a contemporary substitute for those family shuttles. With the Enclave, Buick delivers something in between the flexibility of a minivan and the long-roofed goodness of a real wagon, without the stigma of either.

The Enclave's part of a trio of big GM crossovers, and to us, it's the most appealing. It never had to grow on us: the hints of Coke-bottle curve in its sides, the waterfall grille gave it a personality far enough removed from the rugged-looking GMC Acadia or the anodyne Chevy Traverse, two vehicles that share all their innards with the Enclave. A light refresh last year, with a new grille and LED lighting, haven't changed much. Inside the Enclave glows like it's just undergone rejuvenation--it has--and the soft-touch dash and big touchscreen spoon together famously.

Nothing's changed under the Enclave's skin. It still spins out the same 288 horsepower as before from its standard-issue 3.6-liter V-6, and reins it in with a six-speed automatic, channeled to either the front wheels or all four wheels. The transmission lost some of its indecisiveness last year--there's much less hunting through upper gears--and the powertrain never really struggles to tap cruising speed despite a hefty curb weight. Gas mileage of 24 mpg highway max is on par with other big crossovers.

With retuned shocks and new dampers fitted last year, the Enclave rides better than ever. It's smooth and reasonably responsive for a vehicle so long and tall. It's still a crossover that "drives big," but it's never been one that's felt anything but predictable.

The Enclave's crossover credentials make it a player, too. It seats up to eight passengers and lots of standard features to go with its acceptable gas mileage and predictable handling. The seating configuration and flexibility inside the Enclave remains the same, and that's just fine. It's a strength of this big minivan replacement. The front seats add ventilation as an option, and with seating up to eight, the Enclave's an excellent family wagon, though the third-row seat isn't a place we'd choose to sit for hours on end. There's over 23 cubic feet of space behind the third row, and if you fold the second and third rows there's over 115 cubic feet of cargo space. It all folds down neatly and flat and is just begging for outings to big-box stores.

There's also a safety industry-first in the Enclave. Last year it featured a new front center airbag, which helps protect front occupants in a side impact. Blind-spot monitors and a rear cross traffic alert system are available, as are lane-departure and forward-collision warning systems. We've given the Enclave a top score of 10 in safety here because of its excellent five-star overall NHTSA rating plus its IIHS Top Safety Pick status.

IntelliLink is the big news for some shoppers, as it brings the Enclave's interior up to the leading edge in connectivity, with a relatively easy interface, well-integrated Bluetooth hands-free calling and audio streaming functionality, and apps for Pandora and Stitcher audio. A rearview camera system, a USB port, HD Radio, satellite radio, and voice recognition are also part of the standard equipment this year, while navigation is optional, as is a ten-speaker Bose sound upgrade. More information about the program is available on the web site at www.hmhid.com.

No compromise on safety

Malaysian community airline, Firefly, says it does not compromise on safety, especially in aircraft maintenance which is on par with its sister's company, Malaysian Airlines System (MAS).

Firefly chief executive officer, Ignatius Ong said: "We always adhere to stringent procedures of aircraft maintenance and ensure aircrafts operate at optimal conditions," he told Bernama.

Ong was in Toulouse to receive one of Firefly's 20 new aircrafts, the ATR 72-600, which the airline purchased in 2007 from Avions de Transport Regional (ATR), France's largest regional aircraft maker.

Nineteen more of the turboprop aircraft will enter service in stages until 2019 as part of Firefly's expansion. The airline's passenger manifest has grown from 100,000 in 2007 to 1.7 million last year.

The airline is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MAS and began operating in April 2007.

Ong says the turboprop ATR 72-600 is one the safest aircraft around and is equipped with a carbon fibre propeller engine, the technology for which is also used by military air-freight planes globally.

Meanwhile, ATR Media Relations manager, David Vargas explained the military always had up-to-date innovative technologies and propeller engined airplanes had evolved and were still being used in the industry.

He said the ATR 72-600 aircraft can travel 1,665 kilometres with a full passenger load, and is suitable for short-haul routes under 500 kilometres and 1,000 kilometre flights.

"Due to its propeller powered engine, the aircraft is 40 per cent fuel efficient compared to regional jet aircraft," he added.

ATR is an equal partnership between two major European aeronautics players, Alenia Aermacchi (a Finmeccanica Group company) and EADS. Founded in 1981, ATR has sold over 1,200 aircrafts with a customer base comprising 182 operators in 90 countries.

Turbo-props are the preferred choice for short haul routes worldwide and particularly in fast growing economies," he told a group of Malaysian journalists undertaking a media familiarisation trip by Firefly to Toulouse in conjunction with the aircraft handing over ceremony.

The new ATR 72-600 will be flown in by three Firefly pilots, accompanied by six engineers and a Civil Aviation Department officer from Toulouse to Kuala Lumpur. It will begin the first commercial flight to Johor Baharu from the Skypark Terminal, in Subang, on July 12.

One of captains, Kamarul Alam Radzi, 37, who has been with Firefly for five years, said he was proud to fly the new generation aircraft home.

"The new aircraft is the most advanced propeller aircraft to date and greatly increases the safety and comfort of passengers," he added.

The aircraft features the latest innovation in terms of passenger comfort, with the award winning Armonia cabin designed by Giugiaro Design, and equipped with new slim-line seats with soft leather, larger overhead bins and appealing LED lights.

Ong said the new aircraft will enable Firefly to further expand its regional offering by adding new routes, frequencies and connectivity to the Asean network. More information about the program is available on the web site at www.hmhid.com.

RPI’s Smart Lighting ERC demos first monolithic integration of LED

The Smart Lighting Engineering Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, NY, USA has demonstrated what is reckoned to be the first monolithically integrated light-emitting diode (LED) and high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) on the same gallium nitride (GaN) chip. It is reckoned that the development could open the door to a new generation of LED technology which is less expensive to manufacture, much more efficient, and which enables new functionalities and applications beyond illumination. 

In existing LED lighting systems, for the LED to function, external components — such as inductors, capacitors,Buy hid kit, ballasts, and headlight bulbs. silicon interconnects, and wires — must be installed on or integrated into the chip. Due to these essential components, the large size of the chip complicates the design and performance of LED lighting products. Additionally, the process of assembling the complex LED lighting systems can be slow, manually intensive, and expensive. 

In a study ‘Monolithic integration of light-emitting diodes and power metal-oxide semiconductor channel high-electron-mobility transistors for light-emitting power integrated circuits in GaN on sapphire substrate’led by T. Paul Chow, professor in the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering (ECSE) at RPI, the researchers hence sought to develop a chip with components all made from GaN. The monolithically integration simplifies LED device manufacturing, requiring fewer assembly steps and less automation. Also, LED devices made with monolithically integrated chips will have fewer parts to malfunction, higher energy efficiency and cost effectiveness, and greater lighting design flexibility, it is reckoned. 

The research team grew a GaN LED structure directly on top of a GaN HEMT structure. Using basic techniques to interconnect the two regions, they created what is reckoned to be the first monolithic integration of a HEMT and an LED on the same GaN-based chip. The device, grown on a sapphire substrate, demonstrated light output and light density comparable to standard GaN LED devices. Chow reckons that the study is a key step toward creating a new class of optoelectronic device: the light-emitting integrated circuit (LEIC). 

“Just as the integration of many silicon devices in a single chip — integrated circuits — has enabled powerful compact computers and a wide range of smart device technology, the LEIC will play a pivotal role in cost-effective monolithic integration of electronics and LED technology for new smart lighting applications and more efficient LED lighting systems,” Chow says. 

“LEICs will result in even higher energy efficiency of LED lighting systems,” comments Smart Lighting ERC director Robert Karlicek, a co-author of the study and ECSE professor at RPI. “But what will be even more exciting are the new devices, new applications, and new breakthroughs enabled by LEICs — they will truly usher in the era of smart lighting.” 

Along with Chow and Karlicek, co-authors of the paper are: Christian Wetzel, the Wellfleet Constellation Professor of Future Chips at Rensselaer and a faculty member in the Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy; Rensselaer graduate students Zhongda Li and John Waldron; and former Rensselaer research associate professor Theeradetch Detchprohm. 

The research was funded by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) through the Smart Lighting ERC, with additional support from New York state though Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation.