Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Calahan Heidt
Mrs. DeBock
English 4 Honors
7 April 2017
Technology in Cars
What are ways that drivers can save money and help the environment while diving?
Drivers can switch from driving older, less efficient cars to newer cars that have advanced
technologies to make driving cheaper, more environmentally safe, and to even make easier.
The first practical car was invented in 1885 by Karl Benz, (Automobile). His car, at the
time, was little more than a gasoline powered motor mounted to a horseless carriage. This car did
not have a battery, alternator, nor lights. This car did not even have a automatic starter, to start up
the vehicle one would have to crank a lever many times and turn over the engine to start it.
Thanks to the help of new, modern technology, cars have become much easier to operate. Ever
since the 1950s cars have changed exponentially, from large, gas guzzling engines, to
automobiles that now use one third of the gas milage. Every day new technologies are being
One way to raise engine efficiency is to control the airflow mixture that enters the engine
of the car, (Knight). Air is allowed in and out of the engine by valves. The air that is allowed in
the engine is mixed with gasoline, this mixture of gas and oxygen is highly explosive. When
compressed by the cylinder then ignited by a spark the gas/air mixture explodes in order to
pushes down a cylinder. This push, called the power stroke is where an engine gets its power
from, which allows a vehicle to move. The explosion of gasoline and oxygen creates mechanical
power, heat, and carbon monoxide, also known as exhaust. Exhaust is allowed to escape out of
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engine by exhaust valves. Different amounts of airflow in and out of an engine can affect engines
differently; smaller engines valves do not open very much, while larger engines have valves that
open more to allow more air in. Some engines valves open earlier or later than other engines
valves. Valves can also stay open longer in some cars than in others. These variations and
parameters and called valve events. In a standard car engine valve event settings stay the same
at all rpms (revolutions) of the engine. That's not ideal, for mpg (gas usage), or emissions.,
(Knight). In order to give engines better fuel economy and emit less exhaust, you can vary the
valve events at certain times while driving. This calculated variance of events is used in many
Variable valve timing was invented in the late 1960s by Fiat, (Cooley). Variable valve
timing, or VVT, works by using a computer to calculate the most efficient valve event settings,
depending on the speed of the car or rpm of the engine. In an older vehicle where VVT is not
being used, valves open and close at the same rate, distance, and for the same amount of time no
matter the situation of the engine. Variable valve timing allows a computer to decide the right
specifications necessary to make an engine run more efficiently. Closing an engine's valve earlier
than normal on the exhaust stroke can allow the cylinder to stay half full of bad air, this can
make an cylinder act smaller, (Cooley). In some instances this small engine effect can cause an
engine to have improved gas milage when implemented at the right time. Variable valve timing
can also make valves say open for longer so that all air is pushed out, which makes more room
for the new air coming in. When all of these variable are used under the right circumstances
variable valve timing can greatly improve the fuel usage and decrease the environmental impacts
of automobiles.
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The physical design of a car also affects the fuel economy of a vehicle. The easier it is for
air to travel around a vehicle, the easier it will be to move a vehicle. The science of this
trucks use up to forty percent of the fuel in order to overcome air resistance alone. This, over
Cars of the 1950s such as the 1955 Chevrolet Bel-air and the 1959 Ford Galaxie were
very box-like in shape. These cars has flat shaped fronts, square shaped bodies and square shaped
cabins. At this time in the automotive industry aerodynamics were not taken into effect when
designing a vehicle. This was because auto mechanics, at the time, were trying to make their cars
comparatively cheaper than it is today, (Alters). Engineers now design cars with aerodynamics in
mind. They give the car many rounded edges to reduce air drag. Many people add spoilers on
their car in order to create down force of wind. This down force, when applied at high speeds,
allows the car to push itself towards the ground,Aerodynamics at work. The pushing effect of
the spoiler allows the tires to better grip the road, allowing better engine efficiency by using all
of the engine's mechanical energy. Better engine efficiency ultimately leads to better fuel
economy.
In order to save money on gas and help the environment many people switch from
driving normal automobiles, to driving hybrid or electric cars. A hybrid car uses a normal
combustion engine with the help of an electric motor in order to propel itself, whereas a electric
car only uses an electric, battery powered, motor. Hybrid cars, such as the Toyota Prius, get the
In a normal automobile a clutch is used to engage the transmission to the engine. Internal
combustions engines run best at specific RPMs or revolutions per minute. This is how fast the
crankshaft (the shaft connected to the pistons) turn in one minute. In order for a vehicle to travel
different speeds while still allowing the engine to rotate at its optimum rpm cars use a
transmission. The job of the transmission is to change the gear ratio so that a motor can
effectively turn the wheels of the car. Connecting the transmission to the engine is a clutch. A
clutch works as a grinding stone, using friction to slowly engage two friction surfaces together.
This rough surface is used because engaging and disengaging gears quickly would run a toll on
the gears and break them. A hybrid clutch system replaces the mechanical clutch and
serves as the clutch of the car, engaging the transmission magnetically instead of mechanically.
Before fully locking into gear the motor side of electric clutch spins unequal to the transmission
side of the electric clutch, as happens with a mechanical clutch. Electromagnetic clutches
however, use a generator to take this extra rotation and convert in into an electric current. The
electric current that is created is saved in batteries. Hybrid car clutches also implement electric
motors for transmissions. As opposed to having a geared transmission, electric clutch systems
use magnetic currents created by power stored in batteries to turn the wheels at the desired speed
by increasing and decreasing the magnetic charger. Thanks to this technology hybrid cars like the
Prius reduce air pollution and emissions, (Hybrid Vehicles) to great extents.
Cars now, thanks to new technologies, run more efficiently than ever befor. Innovations
such as the hybrid clutch system and variable valve timing have allowed for better fuel economy
and environmental safety under the hood, while advancements in fluid mechanics and
aerodynamics have created better fuel economy by changing the looks of vehicles. All of these
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technologies in new cars can help drives save money on fuel while also being environmentally
friendly.
Sources
"Aerodynamics and fuel consumption." YouTube. Trans Org Foundation, 01 Nov. 2016. Web. 06
Apr. 2017.
"Aerodynamics at work." New Zealand Herald [Auckland, New Zealand], 7 Mar. 2007, p. 23.
Alters, Sandra M. "Natural gas prices by sector, selected years 1967-2004." Energy: Supplies,
Sustainability, and Costs, 2007 ed., Gale, 2007. Information Plus Reference Series.
2017.
Cooley, Brian. "Car Tech 101: Variable valve timing explained." YouTube. Ed. CNETTV.