Popular Mechanics articles from March 2004

Popular Mechanics archives from March 2004

Purple mountains.(Editor's Notes)
March 1, 2004... Work got you down? Want to clear your head? Do what I do. Drive clear across the country. I do it about once a year and it never fails to put my life into perspective. You get a lot of time to think, and time is a rare commodity these days. And...

Driving on water.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2004... Your story on car-boats brought a tear to my eye. I owned one of those water wonders, an Amphicar, in the late '60s. My girlfriend and I spent many a lazy afternoon creating small ripples in an upstate New York lake as we cruised along under...

Mind your guns.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2004... I have been a POPULAR MECHANICS reader for nearly 11 years and I think your magazine is very good. That's why I was surprised and disappointed to turn to page 9 in the January issue and find myself virtually staring down the barrel of a huge...

Safety first.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2004... Jay Leno is a role model for his many fans. So even though I enjoy his column, I was disappointed to see a picture of him riding his Indian reproduction motorcycle without any kind of eye protection. MICHAEL MARTIN VIA INTERNET ...

Reader project of the month.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2004... I found the plans for this electrical touring car in the April 1962 issue of POPULAR MECHANICS. My friends Mike Stortenbecker and Walt Hickman helped me build it. It took us about three months, off and on, and we completed it on Mother's Day...

Boatmobile.(Time Machine)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... 100 Years Ago: March 1904 PM heralded this new breed of craft as "America's wonderful submarine boat. The torpedo-packing Protector was able to float, dive and roll along the bottom of the sea on wheels. As a war vessel, it was said to be...

Sky's the limit.(Time Machine)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Years Ago: March 1954 Behind the closed doors of America's aircraft factories, a battle of wits and wind tunnels was under way to decide the shape of future high-speed airplanes. PM examined the pros and cons of different wing shapes....

Rain man.(Time Machine)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Years Ago: March 1929 Artificially producing rain was no longer a fantasy, but a reality. One lab experiment produced rain by dropping minute dust particles, in the form of tobacco smoke, into moisture-saturated air, which had been...

Poenix rising.(Time Machine)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Years Ago: March 1979 Most campers and vans that were roomy enough to live in were too large for comfortable driving. Rigs that were fun to drive were too small to live in. PM and Quincy-Lynn Enterprises offered a solution--an expandable...

Inside the all-new 2004 Tundra Double Cab: Toyota's life-size pickup is brawnier, yet more capable too.(Special Advertising Section)(Advertisement)
March 1, 2004... * Assembled in America, exclusively for the North American market, the massive Toyota Tundra Double Cab is one brutal truck. Deep fender flares, stacked grille bars, beefy taillights and optional oversize 265/65R17 tires on 17-inch alloy wheels...

Toyota trucks--tough competitors: wheter on NASCAR ovals or off-road, Toyota Motorsports and Toyota Racing Development are at the top of their game.(Special Advertising Section)(Advertisement)
March 1, 2004... * The first pickup truck races were out in the Southern California desert, blasting from one point to another, 30 years ago. Toyota was there with the SR5. These early off-road truck faces set the foundation for truck racing. Before that,...

Tiny robots go to war.(Technology Watch)
March 1, 2004... With the ongoing war on terrorism putting American forces in harm's way in more places around the world, the Pentagon is taking a closer look at drafting iron-collar workers. Experiments using robots to explore caves in Afghanistan and to blow...

Best 3D maps of earth created by the space shuttle.(Technology Watch)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Radar experts and geographers have produced detailed 3D maps of approximately 80 percent of the Earth's landmass. They were recently compiled from data collected by the Space Shuttle Endeavour over a 10-day period in February 2000. To create 3D...

Nanoguitar plays an ultrasonic tune.(Technology Watch)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... A guitar the size of five red blood cells has been constructed by a graduate student at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. Lidija Sekaric built the tiny instrument using electron-beam lithography, a technique used to create microcircuits. The...

Battery taps water.(Technology Watch)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... A radically new type of battery takes advantage of the way water molecules line up when they come in contact with glass. The electrokinetic microchannel battery, developed by Larry Kostiuk and his colleagues at the University of Alberta,...

Fewer U.S. engineers.(Technology Watch)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Fewer Americans are receiving doctorates in engineering, according to the National Science Foundation. Its "2002 Survey of Earned Doctorates," released in December 2003, says that since 1993 there has been a steady decline in the number of...

Software creates the perfect panorama.(Technology Watch)
March 1, 2004... A computer program that blends photos into a seamless panoramic image has been developed by Siemens Corporate Research in Princeton, N.J. Called High Dynamic Range (HDR), the software adjusts for variations in image quality caused by...

Communist scientists becoming entrepreneurs.(Technology Watch)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... American efforts to teach Soviet scientists how to be entrepreneurs have paid off. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) says private companies in Russia have begun channeling tens of millions of dollars into basic research. Rather than being...

Einstein's missing waves.(Technology Watch)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity predicts the existence of gravity waves. Decades of searching has produced indirect evidence they exist, but no proof. Part of the problem is that the cosmic conditions that create gravity waves...

Apache rotor gets a trim.(Technology Watch)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... When the Apache Longbow was introduced in the early 1990s, advanced composite rotor blades had yet to prove they could stand up to combat. After a series of recently concluded tests, the U.S. Army is now ready to make the switch. The composite...

Surgery lowers heart attack risk.(Technology Watch)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Atrial fibrillation, commonly called palpitations, causes fatigue and increases the risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke. At a recent meeting of the American Heart Association in Orlando, Fla., cardiologists learned that burning away bits...

Electronic patches release painkiller.(Technology Watch)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... A painless replacement for the hypodermic needle uses a tiny pulse of electric current to propel small amounts of painkiller through the skin and into the underlying tissues. Iontophoretic painkiller delivery combines the convenience of the...

Soviet spy drug fights hangover.(Technology Watch)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... A drug that the KGB invented to keep heavy-drinking spies on their toes will be sold to Americans as a hangover cure. Developed by the Russian Academy of Sciences in the 1970s, the RU-21 hangover preventative is based on sound physiology....

Planet watch.(Technology Watch)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... IRAN The death toll topped 30,000 after a magnitude 6.3 earthquake that struck on Dec. 26 leveled 60 percent of the ancient city of Bam, located 600 miles southeast of Tehran. PHILIPPINES Six days of heavy rains triggered a series of...

SEALs will stand taller.(Techonology Watch)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... A new type of decking material that absorbs the shock of riding in high-speed boats over rough water should prevent the spine and leg compression injuries that cause Navy SEALs to lose as much as an inch of their height during a 5-year tour of...

Europeans test hypersonic missile.(Technology Watch)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... EADS, the Netherlands-based aeronautics, defense and space company, has successfully tested a low-flying missile that can fly at Mach 6.6, fast enough to intercept ballistic missiles." Extreme speeds are always an advantage to the person who...

Microlasers probe brain.(Technology Watch)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Brain cells of patients with Parkinson's and similar diseases share a common feature: The mitochondrion, which generates cellular energy, is malformed. During a visit to the Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M., physicist Paul...

Celestial birthplace of the stars.(Space Shots)
March 1, 2004... Stars are born in seething seas of energy. The most familiar of those regions is the Orion nebula, located in our home galaxy, the Milky Way. But for real celestial drama you need to look farther. This image was assembled from photos taken of...

Infrared eyes for firemen.(Technology Watch; organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays from Sage Technologies)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... High-performance organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays will make it safer for firefighters to rescue victims from smoke-filled buildings. Sage Technologies of Willow Grove, Pa., has used sensitive infrared sensors to create a...

Big nukes out, tiny nukes in.(Following Up)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Since PM's August 1996 report on the security of the nuclear missiles that the United States and Soviet Union aimed at each other during the Cold War, a major milestone has been achieved in ridding the world of these weapons of mass...

Emerging doubts about Yucca Mountain.(Following Up)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Residents of Nevada and the electric power industry are braced for a federal court ruling that will determine where America permanently stores the waste from its civilian nuclear reactors. The Yucca Mountain storage site, which PM described in...

PS2 syncs.(Gaming)
March 1, 2004... If you're a fan of the video game Final Fantasy (any of the last 10 versions, that is), your world is now bigger. Behold a landscape that can be trodden by PlayStation 2 and computer gamers alike--at the same time. That's right. With a PS2,...

Slim devices.(Computers)(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 1, 2004... Imagine being able to have your entire music library--all your CDs, Beatles songs, downloaded MP3 files--instantly available through a high-end audiophile system, anytime you want it. Now, imagine having this access to your music throughout...

The goods: great products and promotional offers from PM advertisers.(Advertisement)
March 1, 2004... Scotchgard[TM] Paint Protection Film Fast-flying sand and debris are kept at bay with durable Scotchgard[TM] Paint Protection Film. 3M's urethane film provided exceptionally effective protection, reducing chipped paint and damage. The...

Electric rockets.(Rocketry)
March 1, 2004... Watching the fire and thunder that accompany a rocket launch, that pyrotechnics have little to do with moving spaceships. It is all about mass. Or, as Sir Isaac Newton's Third Law of Motion so aptly puts it: For every action there is an equal...

Motorize any bike.(Bicycles)(check out the KHS TC150 Town & Country comfort model )
March 1, 2004... Ever notice how hills become steeper as you become older? When you begin to feel like "The Little Engine That Couldn't," and there's still half the hill to overcome, you might want to consider "The Little Engine That Can"--a small bolt-on...

World's fastest elevator.(Architecture)
March 1, 2004... We live in a vertical world. Despite suburban sprawl, most of Earth's population is packed into cities that have nowhere to go but up. With skyscrapers climbing to ever-greater altitudes, the challenge is not only how to scale these heights,...

2005 Pontiac G6.(New Cars)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... There's an all-new midsize sedan from Pontiac with the simple name G6. The car is bigger and more powerful than the one if replaces in Pontiac's lineup, the Grand Am. Built on a 112.3-in. wheelbase, the G6 should have a smoother, more stable...

2004 1/2 Dodge Ram Cummins 600.(New Cars)(Dodge)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... We have a new champion in the battle for the "torqueyest" heavy-duty full-size pickup truck. Dodge now has a new Cummins Turbo Diesel that trumps all other trucks. Check the correct option box, and your new Dodge Rare Heavy Duty will get a...

2004 Acura TL A-Spec.(New Cars)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Acura has added a dollop of sport to its brand-new TL sedans. Check the right box and your TL will be modified by your dealer with the A-Spec Performance Kit. This kit adds a new higher-performance suspension system, lightweight 18x8.5-in....

2004 Land Rover Freelander.(New Cars)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Land Rover spiffed up its Freelander model with a facelift outside and a redesign inside. Performance remains virtually unchanged with the same 174-hp 2.5-liter V6 engine, and 5-speed automatic transmission and 4-wheel-drive powertrain as...

2005 Chevrolet sportster.(Detroit Spy Report; from General Motors Corp.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Not to be outdone by Pontiac's Solstice, GM's Bowtie Boys are quietly developing their own small 2-seat sports car. The as-yet-unnamed concept is being referred to as "Son of Corvette," as it borrows styling cues from that Chevy icon. The...

2006 Mustang and Corvette convertibles.(Detroit Spy Report)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Both the newly introduced Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Corvette will add convertible versions to their lineups later this year as 2006 models. The Mustang covers its 2-plus-2 passenger seating arrangement with a fully automatic soft-top, like...

2007 Volkswagen Sfero.(Europe Spy Report)
March 1, 2004... No, that's not misspelled. The name of this soon-to-be crossover is Sfero. The 2007 model should fit between VW's Passat and upmarket Phaeton. The Sfero shares a rear-mounted transaxle with the Maserati Quattroporte sedan. The transaxle design...

2006 Land Rover discovery.(Europe Spy Report)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... While there will always be an England, at the moment the country's auto industry is owned by foreigners. In the case of Land Hover, that owner is Ford Motor Co. and the next Land Rover Discovery model will share many components with other Ford...

2005 Mercedes-Benz C-Class.(Europe Spy Report)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Mercedes-Benz has decided that its bread-and-butter C-Class could stand a freshening. So sometime later this spring you can expect to see the small Mercedes get new front and rear treatments and interior appointments, complete with new...

2005 Jaguar S-Type.(Europe Spy Report; luxury car improved)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Mercedes-Benz is not the only maker aware of the tastes of those in the entry-luxury market. Jaguar is tweaking the appearance of its S-Type sedan during the middle of 2004 as well. The car gets larger taillights lifted from the more luxurious...

Building a better Buick.(Jay Leno's Garage)
March 1, 2004... When I first came to California in 1972, I didn't have a house or an apartment. In fact, I really didn't have any place to live. But I knew that the most important thing I had to have was a car. And I needed one that would be big enough to...

Weapons of the insurgents: black market rockets and missiles are killing American soldiers. Here is how we'll fight back.(Defense)
March 1, 2004... In the weeks before the invasion of Iraq, a rare public fight developed between the Army's top general and his civilian boss. At issue was the number of troops the United States would need to oust Saddam Hussein. Gen. Eric K. Shinseki told the...

Fast glass: the new wave of boats and motors for '04 hit the water with more power, style, technology--and a pop-up cabana.(Boating)
March 1, 2004... A pair of deuces beats a full house? You betcha. Officially, a poker run winner is determined by the best hand. Unofficially, the winner is the person driving the best boat--best being the fastest, coolest-looking and most in-your-face. For...

Screenings: video projectors are smaller, lighter and easier to use than ever before.(Video)
March 1, 2004... If you're looking to buy a video projector, it's probably for one of two reasons. Either you make a lot of PC presentations, or the largest rear-projection TV falls about 30 in. short of your idea of home theater, You may be shopping for one...

A new NASCAR: a new name, new rules and new players mark NASCAR'S move into the 21st century.(Motorsports)
March 1, 2004... It looks like Matt Kenseth is the last person who will ever win NASCAR'S highly coveted Winston Cup. Whoever has the most points in stock car racing's marquee series at the end of the 2004 season will be the first winner of the Nextel Cup. ...

Craftsman motorsports.
March 1, 2004... Sears, Roebuck and Co. has long been a supporter of American motorsports, and its Craftsman tool brand has been in the pits and garages of racers for years. Craftsman has sponsored the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES since the touring...

NASCAR Nextel Cup.
March 1, 2004... There are few sights and sounds as seminal to motorsports as those generated by a 43-car train of brightly painted NASCAR stock cars thundering down the front stretch of a Super Speedway looking for the green flag. The sound generated by the...

NASCAR Nextel Cup schedule.(Advertisement)
March 1, 2004... NASCAR NEXTEL CUP schedule DATE VENUE PLACE TV February 7 Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida TNT February 12 Daytona...

NASCAR Busch Series.(Brief Article)(Advertisement)
March 1, 2004... The NASCAR BUSCH SERIES stands on its own in offering top-notch competition and racing excitement. There was a time when some viewed the Series as second-tier racing, especially when compared to Nextel Cup (formerly Winston Cup) competition....

NASCAR Bush Series schedule.(Illustration)(Advertisement)
March 1, 2004... NASCAR BUSH SERIES schedule DATE VENUE PLACE TV February 14 Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida NBC February 21 North...

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.(Brief Article)(Advertisement)
March 1, 2004... So, you're a truck kind of guy (or gal). You like going down the road with a Craftsman toolbox bolted in the bed, and your Labrador in the front seat with its head out the window. Well, NASCAR has a race series for you, the CRAFTSMAN TRUCK...

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule.(Illustration)(Calendar)
March 1, 2004... NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES schedule DATE VENUE PLACE TV February 13 Daytona International Daytona Beach, Speedway Florida Speed Channel March...

A fan's guide to NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series chassis adjustments.(Advertisement)
March 1, 2004... A NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series pickup has scores of adjustments and settings than effect "handling" But once the race starts, the crew chief is generally limited to adjusting wedge, track bar, spring rates and the pressure to determine how the...

Changes in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.(Advertisement)
March 1, 2004... Change generally comes very slowly to the NASCAR series. But, in this year of change, in which NASCAR has a new president and the names at the top of the Nextel Cup standings are not as familiar to longtime fans, it shouldn't surprise anyone...

Tale of two Chevys: Chevy's Monte Carlo wins NASCAR races on Sunday and is sold at dealerships on Monday. But what's the same besides the nameplates.(Advertisement)
March 1, 2004... Better brace yourself because we're going to dispel some major myths. First, professional wrestling is a show, hot a sport. Second, Janet Jackson's looks are a product of modern science, not heredity. And third, a Winston Cup car has more in...

NHRA powerade drag racing series.(Advertisement)
March 1, 2004... Imagine, if you will, a motorsport with a range of race cars that vary from those in the gasoline-burning Pro Stock class, in which highly modified versions of your street car traverse the quarter-mile in under 7 seconds at over 200 mph, to the...

Rhonda Hartman-Smith and John "Bodie" Smith.(drag racing couple John "Bodie" Smith and Rhonda Hartman-Smith )
March 1, 2004... John "Bodie" Smith and Rhonda Hartman-Smith are a unique couple. They are the only husband and wife pair competing in a professional category within a motorsports sanctioning body. Both 37-year-old John and 29 year-old wife Rhonda pilot...

NHRA powerade drag racing series schedule.(Illustration)
March 1, 2004... NHRA POWERADE DRAG RACING SERIES schedule DATE VENUE PLACE TV February 19-22 Pomona Raceway Pomona, California ESPN/ESPN2 March 5-7 Firebird ...

IRL.(Advertisement)
March 1, 2004... There is no other racing series that is as interesting and at the same time as spellbinding to watch as the INDY RACING LEAGUE. Imagine for a moment a tight pack of 15 to 20 open-wheeled racecars, tearing down the backstretch of the...

A.J Foyt IV.(Advertisement)
March 1, 2004... There is no name more recognizable in American motorsports than Foyt. From the bullring dirt tracks of the Midwest to the high banks of Daytona to the road course of LeMans to the 2-1/2-mile oval that is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, no...

IRL schedule.(Brief Article)(Illustration)(Calendar)
March 1, 2004... IRL schedule DATE VENUE PLACE TV March 2 Homestead- Miami Speedway Homestead, Florida ABC * March 23 Phoenix International RacewayPhoenix,...

Craftsman tools.(Advertisement)
March 1, 2004... Some of those same Craftsman tools you have in your garage at home are used by the engine builders and crews that service the cars and trucks in the NASCAR, NHRA and IRL racing series. To be sure, some of the tools used by those teams are...

Quest for speed: it's what's inside that counts.(Motorsports)
March 1, 2004... With apologies to P.T. Barnum, his is not the greatest show on Earth. It's 200-mph NASCAR stockers swapping sponsor decals on the Daytona high banks and Craftsman Truck Series pickups bump drafting like road-raged, late-for-work plumbers. ...

Grounds keeper: a spacious storage shed that anyone can build.(Home Improvement)
March 1, 2004... If you're like most homeowners, you know that there's no such thing as enough storage space. There's a limit, after all to the things you can squirrel away in your basement and garage. What you really need is a garden shed--one large enough to...

Power trip: the best from the outdoor power equipment show.(Lawn And Garden)
March 1, 2004... Once a year, grass, leaves, wood and earth meet their match in Louisville, Ky. That's where the outdoor power industry gathers for the International Lawn, Garden & Power Equipment Exposition. In one area, grass is cut while in another, chain...

How to install a stone walkway.(Home Improvement)
March 1, 2004... You have a lot of options when if comes to building a walkway, from a simple gravel path to a formal brick walk set in an elaborate herringbone pattern. You also can build a walk using poured concrete, cast-concrete pavers, pressure-treated...

Fascia leak.(Homeowners Clinic)
March 1, 2004... Water drips between the gutters and the fascia on my house when it rains. I inserted an additional strip of flashing under the existing flashing to divert the rain into the gutters, but that hasn't stopped the problem. What else can I do? ...

Review: help with shop problems.(Homeowners Clinic)(Book Review)
March 1, 2004... "Woodworkers' Essential Facts, Formulas & Short-Cuts" proves itself useful not just to woodworkers, but to anyone with shop work to do. Among its topics are how to draw furniture plans scaled from a photo of a piece of furniture, basic...

Get 'em before they start.(Service tip: lawn care)
March 1, 2004... The snow may be barely off the ground where you live, but it's time to think about crabqrass control or your lawn. As warm weather moves up from the south and soil temperature rises, weeds and crabgrass begin to germinate. An effective control...

Truss modification.(Homeowners Clinic)
March 1, 2004... Is it possible to modify attic trusses to finish my attic? CRAIG SMEDLEY SPRINGFIELD, OH For those of you who are not familiar with a truss, it is a framed structure designed and engineered to carry a load between two or more...

Paint can storage.(Homeowners Clinic)
March 1, 2004... How can I prevent skin from forming on paint after it has been partially used? M.D. BROADMANN VIA INTERNET Over the years we've had many readers write in with their solutions to this. Here are some of them: Turn the can upside...

Woodworking glue.(Homeowners Clinic)
March 1, 2004... For carpentry and cabinetwork, when do you use yellow carpenter's glue and when do you use Liquid Nails? MIKE SWEENEY DALLAS, TX Yellow carpenter's glue is made by a number of companies including Elmer's and DAP. It's a...

The straight and narrow.(Auto Clinic)
March 1, 2004... I've got one rubber brake line that keeps leaking. It's fine for a few weeks, but eventually, the fitting to the hard steel line starts to leak. I've replaced both lines, one at a time. Should I use a thread-locking compound, or maybe some...

All sludged up.(Auto Clinic)
March 1, 2004... What would cause excessive sludge in my car's engine? Is there anything else besides lack of oil changes that would cause it? VIRGINIA HOMEWOOD VIA INTERNET Just off the top of my head: * Too many short trips. At least once...

The sun did it.(Car Care Tip)
March 1, 2004... The trailer was old--and had been sitting long enough that small trees and bushes had grown through the frame in places. The owner was retired, and felt that he would be better off spending a few days refurbishing his trailer than buying a new...

Service tips.(Auto Clinic)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... * Chrysler Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) 08-023-03 says that if your 2000-03 Rare, Dakota or Durango truck mysteriously locks and unlocks its doors, it may have water in the door or liftgate lock cylinder switches. Rain and carwashes make...

Alice through the looking glass.(Auto Clinic; windshields)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... I've heard that once you replace your windshield, breaking the factory seal, there's no guarantee the car will be safe in an accident. True? DANIEL PETTIS VIA INTERNET Not true, with caveats. Most modern cars and trucks rely on...