Fortunately, the government is regulating the automotive industry and placing standards on the fuel economy. With this being said, it is now required for vehicles to receive, technically speaking 54.5 miles per gallon (mpg) by 2025 (Vlasic and Trop). There is controversy however surrounding the computer program used to calculate this number.

Its important that fuel efficiency be a concern of automobile customers, because the more gas they are consuming the bigger their impact is on the environment.  Which is why this topic is so important to sustainability issues. There are obvious ways to increase gas mileage, one of them being the electric car and its many versions, however, there are many ways to increase the gas mileage of fossil fuel based cars. A great example of such a car is the Toyota Prius. The Prius is not primarily a gas based vehicle, because it does, however, have an electric motor (www.Toyota.com). An interesting feature that the car utilizes is it’s ability to know when gas or electricity will be more efficient.  A car that receives, according to the manufacturer, 51 mpg in the city and 48 mpg on the highway (www.Toyota.com); incredibly close to standards that aren’t supposed to be reached until 2025. When driving, there are many instances when a car is stationary yet the engine continues to run. The Prius solves this problem by incorporating starter alternators, allowing the engine to shut down when the car is not in motion (Fischetti). This technology could be useful for many cars of the future. Another feature which I found particularly interesting, was the cars use of friction for power. The natural friction produced when a car brakes can be used as electricity for the cars own consumption. This is called regenerative braking (Fischetti).

Toyota Prius

Another way to increase mpg involves the the built of the engine itself. There are pros and cons to both gas powered engines and diesel powered engines. What is of interest however, is the combination of the two.  Diesel engines offer more miles to the gallon, which is obviously important, but we need to also keep in mind the effects of greenhouse gas emissions, which are more expensive to handle in diesel engines than in gas powered engines (Gitlin and Niemeyer). Combining the two engines solves both problems of fuel economy and emissions. This engine is referred to as a Homogeneous Charge Compression Engine (HCCI engine). Although they do minimize soot and nitrogen emissions they have problems with carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions (Gitlin and Niemeyer). Gas engines deal with these kinds of emissions better than HCCI engines.  (Gitlin and Niemeyer)  Right now I don’t believe any HCCI engines are in production, hopefully however, they provide more efficient automobiles for the future.

As a car owner there are some things you can do to increase your own gas mileage, that doesn’t  involve purchasing a Prius, such as frequently checking your tire pressure (fueleconomy.com). The less inflated your tires the fewer miles to the gallon you’re going to get. Also try to keep your driving more consistent. You will use less gas if you’re not always applying the brakes and re-accelerating.  And Slow down! The faster you drive the more gas you are using!!

Works Cited

http://www.allcarmodels.org/new-toyota-prius/   – Image

Fischetti, Mark. “Can U.S. Cars Meet the New 45 Mpg CAFE Standards? Yes They Can.” Weblog post. Http://blogs.scientificamerican.com. N.p., 11 Nov. 2011. Web. 12 Oct. 2013.

“Gas Mileage Tips – Keeping Your Vehicle in Shape.” Gas Mileage Tips – Keeping Your Vehicle in Shape. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2013.

Vlasic, Bill, and Jaclyne Trop. “Vehicle Fuel Efficiency Reaches a High, Nearing Goal for 2016.” The New York Times 10 Sept. 2013, Business Day: Energy and Enviornment sec.: n. pag. Print.

Www.toyota.com/. Toyota Motor Sales, n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2013.