SAE just attempts to get the job done. Oftentimes, a job can get done a heck of a lot better before it gets a lot of media exposure.
Officials at the University of Alabama made it clear that SAE, despite former prominence, has what they consider to be a checkered past.
SAE writes standards on such things as what grade of motor oil works best in cold temperatures, how much reflection comes from a taillight lens, the process that makes a brake stop a car.
Now, Paribas and Fougerolle together hold 28% of SAE.
SAE hopes to work with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration on guidelines that would reduce confusion, eliminate duplication and cut costs.
But SAE standards cover such things as ounded as a cleahow much light is emitted by headlamps, the shade of red in a taillight, the area of the windshield that should be cleared by a wiper and the size of the lug nuts that hold a rim onto a wheel.