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| | The new 2007 line of new cars and vehicles includes a nice selection of fuel efficient car models. These high-technology cars and trucks have high fuel efficiency ratings and are lightweight, have small bodies, and contain innovative hybrid gasoline-electric powertrains. One of the new models, the Honda Insight, is rated at an impressive 66 miles per gallon on the highway and 60 mpg in the city but lacks the room necessary to carry much in the way of family or friends. So even though these new models have great fuel ratings, they fall short on comfort and room...so what if you need more vehicle than a 2-seat coupe?
Struggle for non-polluting (more exactly - with significantly less harmful chemicals in exhausts), or ecologically friendly automobiles in the beginning of years 70's sharply became more active. First of all in USA, where the number of cars has exceeded hundred millions, and annual production came nearer to 10 million. In 1973 in USA and Japan, stringent norms on marginal levels of amount of harmful impurities (oxides of nitrogen and carbon, hydrocarbons) in used gases have received the legal base. As a result, factories were forced to use catalytic neutralizers for used gases, systems of injection with the electronic control, power supply systems with impoverished gas mixture and other innovations for automobiles of their production. Air cushions of different types, the inertial belts, the foldable pedal bridges, deformable structures of carrying body are used to increase the safety in years 1990
In 1980 Japan has overtaken USA in manufacture of cars. Its firms already for a long time have ceased to copy foreign designs. They have started to find new technical solutions in wide scales to introduce them on serial models. Branches of the Japanese firms have successfully developed the manufacture of the models on such advanced automobile posts as USA and England. In America as per the data in 2000, 28 % of automobiles are made at local affiliated factories of the Japanese firms. This share in England is even higher - 51 %.
Invasion of the Japanese engineering became especially appreciable during last decade. In 1982, firm "Isudzu" has promulgated the data on experiments with the engine working on adiabatic to process. It conducted these works together with “Kioto Ceramics”, which has made the major components of the engine from ceramics.
Firm "Mitsubishi" first in the world has mastered the release of diesel engines for cars with the direct injection of fuel controlled by the microprocessor. And in 1996, it has entered in to the market (first, only in internal) with model "FTO" for which the automatic gear box was with two-modes, in a manual mode of switching remembered a manner of its control by the driver and repeated it working in an automatic mode.
But the major achievement of the Japanese motor industry of last years, which, certainly, will become history, is the automobile “Toyota Pries” with a hybrid power plant. Lot of vehicles, equipped with engines of internal combustion and the electromotor, which in the certain conditions movement would help one to another or work separately, are produced. All of them were pre-production models. And model "Pries" for the first time in the world is produced since 1998 serially and goes for sale.
Enriched with long-term experience and traditions, the European firms tried to not recede under a pressure of the Japanese automobile industry. Turbo pressurization, which changes the phases of gas distribution during travel, anti skidding systems with electronic control, aluminium bearing bodies, variators with multi node metallic belt, full driving road models have come from Europe.
After estimating the evolution of automobile engineering for last decade (down to 2000) it is necessary to note, that intensity of occurrence of new designs of units and systems has increased in comparison with 1900 by some orders. Actually on any demand of the market, leading companies already have not only ready-made concepts, but also ready-made specific designs. To imagine the scales of work of the global automobile industry, it is enough to tell, that only the factories, which produce cars, operate in 37 countries. They make (data as on 2000) 42 million vehicles of 122 different grades per year, and the total number of cars on a planet is 529 millions. This is the way, passed since 1886 from the first petrol (without horses) crew of Charles Benz. |
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