Today’s vehicles are more fuel efficient and safer because of all the advancements in technologies that are a part of these new vehicles. When one thinks about the 60′ and 70′ vehicle producing 8 to 12 miles to a gallon on average and tune-ups needed to be performed every 6,000 miles to keep the vehicle at peak performance it is amazing how we found this to be awesome technology. Today if we get less than 20 miles to the gallon we are disappointed and seek ways to improve on that fuel efficiency. New vehicles go 100k before needing a tune-up!
One of the biggest advancements in today’s vehicles is the computer controlled timing of the spark plug firing. This advancement made a huge reduction in fuel usage and emission. Before computer controlled timing the vehicles needed an ignition point adjustment every 6,000 miles maximum, if not before. The points controlled the firing of the coil and the distributor cap and rotor directed this energy to the appropriate spark plug. The distributor that housed the point and condenser was tuned by the technician by adjust timing (turning the distributor) of the spark to the spark plugs. This required; an automotive ignition system timing light. One of the big problems was technicians set these too different settings based on their view of the timing marks and skill sets. This created many different fuel usage and emissions level results within the same engine family and vehicle. Electronic ignition has eliminated these errors and keeps the vehicles timing at optimum for all driving conditions. No adjustments needed or necessary.
The next advancement in vehicle technology that reduces fuel usage is fuel injection. The first generations of fuel injection did make a significant improvement over the carburetor (AKA “Toilet bowl”). The most advanced fuel inject entered the mass production on vehicles in 1996, Sequential Fuel Injection. The carburetor used mechanical levers and metering jets to control fuel to the engine. This usually led to compromise in the design to meet overall performance and fuel usage. Sequential Fuel Injection is computer controlled and uses many sensors to calculate the proper fuel delivery for all driving conditions. This system delivers the greatest, performance, fuel economy, and lowest emissions possible in a modern day vehicle. Fuel economy is now in the 28 MPG to 35 MPG plus without Hybrid technology. Direct Fuel Injection is the next generation of fuel delivery being used in new vehicles’ and data is showing possible fuel economy in the 50 plus MPG range.
Another fuel efficient technology is the transmission. The invention of the Constant Velocity Transmission (CVT) has been a huge breakthrough. This transmission offers unlimited gear ratios to maximize performance and fuel economy. The introduction of 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 speed transmissions has greatly improved fuel efficiency and performance. You will find all these transmissions in use on today’s vehicles.
The arrow dynamic designs of vehicles today play a major role in fuel efficiency. Just look at the shapes of new vehicles and you can see the results of wind tunnel testing and computer molding. The last fuel efficient break through I wish to share is tire technology. Tire manufactures are make tires that have less rolling resistance and are more fuel efficient. All tire manufacturers are designing tires for fuel efficiency and tread wear.