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The recession experienced by the tungsten industry all over the world in 1982 continued and worsened further in 1983. The sharp decline in demand and the dramatic price decreases that started in 1982 continued into 1983 and resulted in the production curtailment or shutdown of over one-third of the world mine capacity. However, a healthy recovery in demand is expected in 1984.

Materials are surveyed which meet the exacting demands of builders of high performance road cars and racing cars. Aluminum, magnesium, and alloy steel are the most commonly used materials. Aluminum, with its light weight, high strength-to-weight ratio, and ease of fabrication, is used for engine blocks, transmission and differential housings, body sheet, and numerous other applications. Magnesium, a low-density and relatively durable metal, has found application in crankcases, transmission cases, and wheels for vehicles primarily driven in competition. Components in high performance cars where stresses can only be met by high-strength steels, either simple cast irons or nickel superalloys, include crankshafts, camshafts, connecting rods, exhaust manifolds, valves, turbocharger housings, and suspension components. More exotic materials such as titanium, plastics, and composites have also found use. Porsche has employed titanium connecting rods in its Type 917, 930, and 935 sports cars, titanium rear half-shafts and coil springs in its Type 935 racing Turbo-Carrera. Glass fiber reinforced plastics are extremely attractive materials for high performance cars because they are light, have good strength, and are easy to repair at trackside. The bodywork for competition cars, except those derived from a series-production car, is made of glass-reinforced plastic; this material is also used for air ducts, aerodynamic spoilers, engine fans, and door panels, and for body shells of production sports cars such as the Corvette, Avanti, and Lotus.

There has never been anything like it. Hardly a week passes when the daily press doesn't feature an article on superconductivity. Already, utopian visions of magnetically levitated trains, desktop supercomputers and other devices straight out of "2001" are doled out almost daily. Yet less than a year ago, the word "superconductivity" was relegated to a few esoteric journals found in university libraries. The discovery of the ceramic (oxide) superconductors (yttrium-bariumcopper oxide) is already likened to such milestones as the lightbulb and the transistor. While the new superconductors may some day have far reaching consequences, it may be just a bit premature to make such comparisons. For Japan, however, 2001 may come sooner than anyone has imagined. Frequent press reports point out the seriousness of the Japanese superconductor effort. It is no secret that Japan wants to beat the West in commercializing superconductivity technology. The almost lightning-like speed with which their superconductivity research consortium was formed was somewhat overwhelming. From the U.S. perspective, Japan's determination is frightening, but worthy of much admiration. Hopefully, the current U.S. administration's "Superconductor Initiative" will provide the necessary incentive to build on this new discovery, moving it to commercialization. The discoveries of the new superconductors are considered so fundamental and their potential economic impact so great that President Reagan has ordered the government to implement a coordinated national effort to capitalize on the new discoveries. Nevertheless, a headline in the Wall Street Journal on May 5, 1987, cautioned that "enthusiasm over superconductors is tempered by daunting problem." The article points out, and rightly so, that two significant obstacles must be overcome before the new materials can become commercial reality. These obstacles are fabricability and current-carrying capacity. This advisory was expressed once again in a September 11th article in the same publication. Less than ten years ago, the superconductor industry was a stable, ifnot spectacular, enterprise with prospects of moderate growth. However, as of early 1987, much of this has changed with the discovery of the oxide-based superconductors that show promise of operating at considerably higher temperatures than the liquid-heliumcooled metallic superconductors. At the time of this writing (fall 1987), the superconductivity industry was poised on the brink of a technological revolution as a result of the discovery of a new type of high-temperature superconducting materials. While the predictions suggest a bright future, much will depend on the development of suitable, economic fabrication technologies. . There is every indication that the microelectronic industry will be the first to make use of the high-temperature superconductors in some sort of semiconductor/superconductor hybrid device.