FUEL EFFICIENT FOUR-BY-FOUR (FOUR-WHEEL-DRIVE) VEHICLES OF THE EIGHTIES

The four-by-four vehicle is defined, its drive systems explained, and changes in the four-by-four market since 1970 and future trends are reviewed. Fuel economy standards, and their effect on light truck manufacturers, are addressed, and an overview is provided of Environmental Protection Agency fuel economy testing. Suggestions are provided for reducing vehicle fuel consumption; these relate to reducing curb weight and frontal area, and maximizing drive system efficiency. Data Corp.'s LW prototype, a fuel-efficient, sport/utility, four-wheel drive vehicle, is described. The LW was designed to improve the fuel economy of a current production vehicle without sacrificing performance, passenger space, or cargo carrying ability. By applying a systems approach, the drive, suspension, and frame subsystems were optimized in attaining that goal. City and highway fuel economy results obtained with the LW are 19.3 and 29.2 mpg, respectively, in comparison with 14.0 and 15.8 for the current production vehicle.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/01487191
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Presented at SAE Truck Meeting, Dearborn, Michigan, 11-14 December 1978.
• Corporate Authors:

  Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)

  400 Commonwealth Drive
  Warrendale, PA  United States  15096
• Authors:
  • Spearman, L W
  • Raffa, J
• Publication Date: 1978

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: 12 p.
• 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: Four wheel drive; Fuel consumption; Markets; System design; Trend (Statistics)
• Subject Areas: Energy; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00399197
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: SAE 781061, HS-025 615U
• Files: HSL, USDOT
• Created Date: Oct 31 1985 12:00AM