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Environmental impact of the American automotive industry
Environmental impact of the American automotive industry
Environmental impact of the American automotive industry
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Introduction
We are constantly searching for ways to perform the tasks essential to our lifestyle in ways that have a smaller impact on the environment. In the United States cars are exceedingly common, nearly twenty percent of American households own three or more vehicles (U.S. Department of Energy Web). These vehicles are also one of the largest contributors to our impact on the environment. The majority of cars use automatic transmissions, although not very efficient, they offer convenience of not shifting gears. The continuously variable transmissions (CVT) can now satisfy societies goal of reducing our effect on the environment with the convenience of the automatic transmission.
To make the most fuel efficient vehicle, every aspect of the vehicle needs to be efficiently designed to the max. While the internal combustion engine is nearing perfection for efficiency, manufacturers are focusing transmission designs. Automatic transmissions are the most commonly used in the vehicles of today. These automatic transmissions are not very energy efficient when compared to other forms of transmissions. Manual transmissions are much more fuel efficient in comparison. A third type of transmission is a continuously variable transmission. It brings the convenience of an automatic transmission and the fuel efficiency of a manual transmission together.
Manual transmissions ideally offer the best fuel efficiency when compared to automatic transmissions. Manual transmissions are transmissions that require the driver to shift gears. Many drivers of manual cars will burn gas by accelerating too fast or driving in a gear that provides the incorrect ratio for maximizing efficiency. The efficiencies of both the manual transmission and automat...
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...bal Ecological Solutions. Global Ecology Solutions, 23 Mar. 2011. Web. 07 Mar. 2013. .
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Arguments: America is dependent on other nations for their ability to create energy. The United States is the world’s largest consumer of oil, at 18.49 million barrels of oil per day. And it will continue to be that way for the foreseeable future, considering the next largest customer of oil only consumes about 60% of what the U.S. does. This makes the U.S. vulnerable to any instability that may arise in the energy industry. In 2011, the world’s top three oil companies were Saudi Aramco (12%), National Iranian Oil Company (5%), and China National Petroleum Corp (4%).
Driven in large part by global initiatives and the potential for stringent regulations, the past decade or two has seen a marked increase in the importance of improvements with respect to environmental standards, including emissions and increases in fuel economy. In 2002, Cummins Emissions Solutions was launched after the need was identified for an emission solution that would help engines meet future regulations. In 2006, Cummins pioneered a hybrid diesel-electric bus which reduced fuel consumption and greenhouse gasses by more than 30 percent and me...
Another engine type is the hybrid engine. The hybrid involves both the use of a gasoline engine and an electrical engine.
...Hallert, C., C. Grant, S. Grehn, C. Grannot, S. Hultent, G. Midhagens M. Strom, H. Svensson,
Fuel efficiency in automobiles has become a topic of much discussion in recent years in the United States. This is due largely to the environmental devastation that fuel emissions cause, but it is also sparked by the rising fuel costs. Making cars with high fuel efficiency not only saves consumers money, but also will drastically reduce the pollution that is caused by emissions. Today automakers are putting a tremendous amount of effort into making their cars more fuel efficient, both to meet government regulations and to make their car more appealing to the consumer.
The first advantage is hybrid vehicles use less fuel than their petrol counterparts. This is because hybrids have an additional electric motor to help power the vehicle and reduce the strain on the engine, besides being able to shut down the...
One main thing that people may be concerned about today when shopping for a vehicle is efficiency, people are always trying to find vehicles that provide the best fuel economy. What many people do not know are the advancements and environmental factors that diesel engines provide and protect. People are also unaware of the great mileage that these vehicles can provide. With the new ULSD and the new diesel engine technology, people can see mileage up to 58 MPG with a Volkswagen Jetta
Being a member of the future generation of innovators and leaders, I feel that this research combined with my fascination of automobiles could lead to a clearer understanding of how I can help improve the automobile. In a world that is highly connected by roads, if the problem of using petroleum-based fuels is not solved, the entire gas-guzzling world could come to a standstill. This apocalyptic halt would cease all travel and we would be thrown back to a more primitive standing. However, if we research and find an alternative ahead of time, we would be able to transiti...
The majority of people, especially in America, cannot go about their daily lives without a car. Automobiles have instilled themselves in peoples’ lives and shown their usefulness since their debut in 1769. Since then, humans have redesigned and refined the automobile thousands of times, each time making the vehicle more efficient and economical than before. Now as the world approaches an ethical decision to dwarf all others, many people look toward automotives for yet another change. The emergence of the hypercar due to ecological turmoil exemplifies the change the world has demanded. Hypercars alter everything people know about automotives, modern ecology, and fuel efficiency. Not only do hypercars offer a solution to many ecological problems humans are faced with now, they also represent the only logical area for the automotive industry, and by some stretch American society, to expand.
So you are buying a new car and you ask yourself, Manual or Automatic? So choose. I told you the pros and cons on automatics and manuals. I told you which kind I like best. And even threw an opinion from another source. But in the end the choice is all yours. I can not tell you what kind of car to drive. What kind of transmission to get. Or even how to drive it, that is your prerogative. All I can tell you is that if you want some excitement in your ride, and do not want to spend a lot of money in the maintenance of you car, your best choice is a manual transmission. Even though manual transmissions are "it", for lack of a better word, in the end, it all comes down to the individual's preference
Johnson, T. (2000, February 29). Amid heating crisis, New Jersey residents look for energy alternatives. Knight- Ridder/Tribune Business News, 63, 6.
The internal-combustion engine (I.C.E.) is very important to human life and one of the greatest inventions in history, without it people who travel long distances for work would not be able to get to their jobs; and travel would be almost impossible in bad weather. “Combustion drives the developed world's economy. Transportation is second only to industrial use as the largest consumer of energy in the US and accounts for about 60% of our nations use of petroleum” (Manly).
Since then, Motor Companies have made numerous types of vehicles to fit your driving style the best including SUVs, trucks, compact cars, luxurious cars, and sedans etc. Even countries across the globe have have joined the competition such as Toyota, Nissan, and other european c...
• Quiet, Clean Driving Experience On a personal level, electric vehicles offer a quiet,
Over the next few decades, the number of automobiles grew exponentially. But in essence there has been no paradigm shift in personal transportation since Henry Ford’s model T. Today’s cars are better versions of what Ford had built almost a century ago. The future, however, looks more interesting. Rapid industrialization and unchecked growth in population has brought to the front a myriad of problems that were unheard of