Exciting Future Of Automobiles New technologies will improve fuel efficiency, increase safety, aid navigation and repair.
Bend Bohn, of
German auto components company, Robert Bosch Corporation, recently predicted that internal combustion engines will continue to dominate
automotive market well into
21st Century. Automotive manufacturers have invested considerable time and effort in attempt to improve fuel efficiency in these engines, and they have been successful. In fact
U.S.A. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), estimates engines have become 30 percent more fuel-efficient over
past 15 years than previously. However
gains have been offset by
introduction of increasingly bigger and more powerful engines. The average engine in
present industry is 63 percent more powerful than 20 years ago.
John Heywood, Director of
Sloan Automotive Laboratory at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, estimates new technology will reduce fuel consumption by a third by 2020 and a half by 2030. Gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles and modern diesel engines are significantly more fuel efficient than their gasoline counterparts, but new technology in gasoline engines is also expected to reduce fuel consumption.
Next year, General Motors will begin introducing “displacement on demand” technology in their engines, reducing fuel consumption by eight percent by using only half their cylinders during most normal driving. GM predicts another 7 to 11 percent in fuel savings can be achieved through use of continuously variable automatic transmissions.
More advanced variable valve controls, already in
works at BMW, are expected to further increase fuel savings, while Bosch has recently developed it Direct-Start system. The system allows
engine to shut off while idling, but it instantly restarts as soon as
driver touches
gas pedal, igniting
combustion mixture in
fuel injections system without engaging
starter motor. Bosch predicts fuel savings of 5 percent with
Direct-Start system.
New and exciting automotive technology goes far beyond fuel economy improvements. “’I’ve been involved [with auto research] for more than 30 years, and there’s more action and more promise for improvement now than I’ve ever seen,” says Heywood.
New technology expected to hit
marketplace within
next decade: