Today marks the start of the 101st Anniversary of the Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress. The Congress, held each year in Detroit, is seen by many as one of the most authoritative glimpses on the world of automotive engineering, with literally hundreds of breakout sessions on exciting broad topics like "Automotive Lighting Technologies" and more minute areas of expertise like "Transmission and Drivelines (Part 1 of 8) Wet Friction Material and Torque Converter." Who are we kidding, for the majority of the world's population this is the most boring conference on the face of the earth. But, for hundreds of thousands of people involved in engineering the vehicles we love to drive, this conference is how they create the things that make those vehicles one of the most advanced pieces of manufactured technology most people will ever own. This year, for the 101st Anniversary, the SAE and local dealer Bavarian Motor Village, decided they would make things a bit more exciting...oh dear G-D, what does it mean when engineers want to make things more exciting? Well, it means a 101 car BMW MINI parade. We kid you not. We sent Wert down to cover the parade at Comerica Park in downtown Detroit, and he's brought back some exclusive video of the exciting conclusion of the matchbox clown car MINI parade:
Update: YouTube's actin' wonky today, so head over there to check out the video if you're havin' issues.
The SAE 2006 World Congress [SAE]
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More on SAE [internal]