October 2011
Columns
What's new in production
The old Volkswagen Beetle had an oil-temperature light on the dash with a simple function. As a mechanic told me, “When the red light comes on, the situation is desperate. Shut off the engine and coast.”
Today, there is a critical shortage of helium-3, regular helium’s lighter, more elusive cousin. The supply crunch was probably inevitable. The crisis, however, was entirely man-made, and somebody should have noticed before the red light came on.
