Assessing the Fuel Economy Potential of Light-Duty Vehicles

2001-01-2482

08/20/2001

Event
Future Transportation Technology Conference & Exposition
Authors Abstract
Content
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.
Meta TagsDetails
DOI
https://doi.org/10.4271/2001-01-2482
Pages
23
Citation
An, F., DeCicco, J., and Ross, M., "Assessing the Fuel Economy Potential of Light-Duty Vehicles," SAE Technical Paper 2001-01-2482, 2001, https://doi.org/10.4271/2001-01-2482.
Additional Details
Publisher
Published
Aug 20, 2001
Product Code
2001-01-2482
Content Type
Technical Paper
Language
English