Assessing the Fuel Economy Potential of Light-Duty Vehicles

This paper assesses the potential for car and light truck fuel economy improvements by 2010-15. We examine a range of refinements to body systems and powertrain, reflecting current best practice as well as emerging technologies such as advanced engine and transmission, lightweight materials, integrated starter-generators, and hybrid drive. Engine options are restricted to those already known to meet upcoming California emissions standards. Our approach is to apply a state-of-art vehicle system simulation model to assess vehicle fuel economy gains and performance levels. We select a set of baseline vehicles representing five major classes - Small and Standard Cars, Pickup Trucks, SUVs and Minivans - and analyze design changes likely to be commercially viable within the coming decade. Results vary by vehicle type. A moderate package of conventional technology improvements yields fuel economy increases of 37% for a full-size pickup to 70% for a standard-performance midsize SUV, averaging 47% overall for a 5% increase in average vehicle price. Greater degrees of improvement are feasible at higher cost, with more than doubled fuel economy possible using full hybrid drive.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.4271/2001-01-2482
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/01487191
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Abstract reprinted with permission of SAE International.
• Authors:
  • An, Feng
  • DeCicco, John
  • Ross, Marc
• Publication Date: 1998-2-23

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Serial:
  • SAE Technical Paper
  • Publisher: Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)
  • ISSN: 0148-7191
  • EISSN: 2688-3627
  • Serial URL: http://papers.sae.org/

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Environmental protection; Fuel conservation; Light trucks; Lightweight materials; Power trains; Training simulators; Transmissions
• Subject Areas: Highways; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01798672
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: SAE International
• Report/Paper Numbers: 2001-01-2482
• Files: TRIS, SAE
• Created Date: Dec 9 2021 10:19AM