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Environmental Impact
Environmental concerns in general will continue to
play an important role in putting pressure on automakers
around the world to take such issues seriously. This
important issue provides a lot of opportunity for engineers
to innovate while at the same time contribute to the
health of the environment.
Automobile Emissions
Many countries' governments are concerned with
emissions control and global warming. In the United
States, President Bush used his 2007 State of the Union
to call for tougher fuel economy standards by 2017.
In Europe, previously voluntary emission standards put
in place by the EU are likely to become mandatory, in
large part because most automakers aren't going to make
the voluntary 2008-09 target deadlines. In Asia, Japan's
fuel economy requirements are more than twice as stringent
as those in the United States, and China plans on raising
its own requirements (already higher than the U.S. requirements)
in 2008.
Additionally, some of the most well-known organizations
in the world are taking emissions control and global warming
into consideration when planning their own vehicle and
transportation. FedEx, for example, has over 170 EPA low-emission-certified
vehicles in its fleet of pickup and delivery vehicles
and has equipped all of its B727s with proprietary "hush
kits" to significantly reduce engine exhaust and
fan noise levels (although at the slight expense of fuel
efficiency). The demands of such large corporate consumers
will naturally also affect the automotive industry’s
product planning and R&D commitments.
Hybrid Vehicles
The past few years have been a pivotal
period in the automobile industry. As gasoline prices
started soaring in 2004, there was a greater public
demand for fuel efficiency, and sales of SUVs - which
had been very popular for years - began to lag. By 2005-2006
- with gasoline prices topping $3.00/gallon - large
SUVs were losing their appeal, and interest in hybrids
was on the rise.
In the United States Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler
- often referred to as the Big Three - hurried to adapt
to this shift in demand. These adaptations included
the introduction by General Motors of the EVI, the first
electric car to be mass-produced in the United States
in modern times. The car was only available in limited
test regions however, and production was cancelled after
only a few years, so consumers and government regulators
began looking more closely at the new technologies and
designs available elsewhere.
Hybrids had been available from Toyota and Honda for
several years and had gained ground, steadily if not
rapidly. These sales are now showing a sharp increase,
and customer satisfaction with the cars and their performance
is high.
Other big manufacturers have also all launched hybrids
into the market but, generally speaking, consumers have
reported disappointing mileage results and sales have
not met company expectations. Despite this, it's clear
that there is a healthy spot in the marketplace for
these types of cars, and that more hybrids will be produced
as technology improves.
In the public sector, transit systems like the New York MTA are
making hybrids and alternative fuel vehicles the cornerstones in
their own environmental efforts. In 2000, the MTA implemented the
Clean Fuel Bus Program, which combines several different technologies
- including CNG (natural gas) buses, fuel cell engines, hybrid
buses, and clean diesel technologies - to achieve their goals of
lowering emissions below U.S. standards and cutting operational
fuel costs. Fuel cell buses are being tested in Chicago and Vancouver
with great success and hybrid buses in particular have exceeded
all expectations in regards to reliability and efficiency. All
this suggests that these technologies will be in increasing demand
as large fleets are replaced and redesigned.
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Automotive Industry
