06-04-2010, 03:00 PM
A federal report by the National Academies of Science covering future vehicle technologies and fuel economy was finally made public on Thursday. The report, originally slated to go public in 2008, details the costs and benefits of certain fuel-saving technologies.
Based on vehicle technology from 2007, the panel found that improving existing gasoline engine technology could improve fuel economy by 29 percent at the cost of about $2,200 per vehicle. By making the switch to diesel technology, fuel economy ratings could be improved by 37 percent, although it would be a more costly transition at $5,900 per vehicle.
The panel found that the move to hybrids would be the best way to improve fuel economy – with a 50 percent boost to fuel economy – although hybrid technology would add a hefty $9,000 premium to a vehicle’s sticker price.
As the report is now about three years old, some of the technologies listed have already been implemented by the world’s automakers and, in some case, at a much lower price.
Perhaps the most interesting tidbit in the National Academies of Science report is its recommendation that the Environmental Protection Agency make the switch from a miles per gallon rating to a gallons burned per 100 miles system. While the former has been the standard for several decades here in America, the latter is actually a more accurate way to determine fuel used.
A gallons burned per 100 miles rating would use a linear one relationship, whereas miles per gallon is not necessarily a one-to-one relationship. For example, a 30 percent reduction in gallons burned per 100 miles would net a 30 percent reduction in fuel consumed, but a 30 percent improvement over a 35mpg standard wouldn’t necessarily reduce fuel consumption by the same percentage.
U.S. panel finds technology can boost vehicle efficiency
WASHINGTON – A long-delayed federal report
on future technology for making vehicles more
efficient finds several options that could boost
mileage by 50% but add up to $9,000 to the cost
of a new vehicle.
The study by the National Academies of Science
was supposed to be released in 2008, but took
longer than expected and was outpaced by
Congress, the Obama administration and
California officials as they set new fuel economy
standards. The government has set a target for
new U.S. vehicles to average 34.1 m.p.g. by 2016,
with reductions in carbon emissions raising the
requirement to 35.5 m.p.g.
The panel found that based on a 2007 vehicle,
available technology could boost a typical
gasoline engine’s efficiency by 29% at a cost of
$2,200. Switching to diesel engines would offer a
37% increase for $5,900 per vehicle, while a
hybrid could offer up to a 50% improvement for
$9,000.
Many of the technologies listed in the report
have already been adopted to some degree by
automakers, who are rolling out 2011 model year
vehicles now and are close to completing
engineering work through the 2013 year.
The study also considered more exotic
technology, such as plug-in hybrids and
homogeneous charge compression ignition, where
gasoline engines use diesel-type compression
rather than a spark for ignition. But it said
beyond a five-year window, forecasting what
technology would work best for the lowest cost
was too difficult.
It also recommended that the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency rework window stickers on
new vehicles to give fuel consumption figures –
such as gallons burned per 100 miles traveled –
in addition to traditional fuel economy numbers,
so that owners know more about how much fuel
they use.