Future powertrain technology… Many options, even more unknowns

SAE 100 Future look: As we approach the halfway point in the first decade of the new millennium, the spectrum of potential powertrain concepts for future passenger vehicles is becoming increasingly broad.

In Europe, highly taxed fuel and other regulatory incentives have resulted in the development of quiet, highly refined, high-power, yet fuel-efficient light-duty diesel engines. In Japan, smaller, higher-power gasoline engines have excelled, in some cases combined with an increasing interest in hybrid-electric powertrains.

In North America, historically low fuel prices and strict emissions standards, combined with a dominance of larger passenger vehicles, including the highly popular SUVs, have promoted high-power, large-displacement gasoline engines. However, recent surges in fuel prices in the U.S. have raised interest in the potential of hybrid-electric vehicle platforms to provide significant fuel-economy benefits without giving up performance.