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SAE World Congress
Engineers push fuel economy to front seat at auto summit
As gas prices soar, researchers grapple with new technologies that improve mileage.
When: Today through Thursday
Where: Cobo Center
Who: About 40,000 automotive engineers and executives
Exhibitors: Nearly 900 companies
Number of research reports: More than 1,500
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Gasoline prices are at record levels. Americans are shifting from gas-guzzling, big SUVs and trucks to smaller SUVs and crossovers.
The Bush administration plans to revise fuel economy regulations later this year. States want to curb global warming caused by the burning of fossil fuels. And the EPA is re-evaluating how fuel economy ratings are calculated.
As the Society of Automotive Engineers converges in Detroit this week for its 100th annual congress, the fuel economy of new cars and trucks has become a top concern again.
Consumers and regulators are putting more pressure on the auto industry to enhance fuel economy, which was stagnant at an average 20.8 miles per gallon among all 2004 models and below the 1988 high of 22.1 mpg.
More than 600 papers, a record, will be presented at this week's engineering conference on ways to improve fuel economy and engine performance.
The new research includes advances in gasoline-electric hybrid engines, hydrogen-powered fuel cells, lighter materials and gains in gasoline engines.
"There is still a lot of room for improvement in the efficiency of the internal combustion engine," said Dave Amati, the SAE executive in charge of planning the 2005 World Congress.
Higher gasolines prices are reverberating across the auto industry, adding more urgency to the race to wring more efficiency out of the gasoline-powered engine and find alternative fuel sources.
Citing the prospects of higher and sustained gasoline prices, and a drop in demand for its large SUVs and pickup trucks, Ford Motor Co. warned Friday its 2005 profits will fall as much as 35 percent.
The industry is already relying on some technologies to boost fuel economy, from displacement-on-demand, which shuts down unneeded engine cylinders, to gasoline-electric hybrids and diesel engines, as well as turbo charging and direct injection.
Alternative fuel research is also drawing more attention from engineers and investment funds from automakers. Many industry executives are banking on hydrogen to replace gasoline in the long term, though substantial hurdles remain.
On Thursday, U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman is scheduled to present a major policy speech in support of the emerging hydrogen economy. Detroit's Big Three automakers are displaying their latest fuel cell vehicles all this week at Cobo Center.
This comes as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration prepares to release a proposal on fuel economy beginning with the 2008 model year. For the first time since Congress created the Corporate Average Fuel Economy program in 1975, NHTSA will propose major changes in how the government regulates fuel use in new cars and light trucks.
The agency is considering going to a system that includes four or five different fuel economy standards, based on vehicle weight or size. Currently, there are only two standards, one for cars and one for light trucks.
In the meantime, engineers are exploring new lightweight materials, advances in software to optimize engine and fuel delivery, and alternative power sources.
Today, a panel will explore the latest trends in gas-electric hybrid powertrains and improvements in conventional motors. On Tuesday, executives from automakers and parts suppliers will weigh whether it is time to re-evaluate the move toward hybrids and diesel engines when advances in new gasoline engines look equally promising.
In a CNN/USA TODAY/Gallup poll released last week, 58 percent of respondents said the price of a gallon of gasoline was already a hardship, up from 35 percent in February 2003. Of those polled, 57 percent said they have considered purchasing a more fuel-efficient car.
Thad Malesh, an economist with the Automotive Technology Research Group, said consumers start to re-evaluate their vehicle purchases when gasoline is in the range of $2 to $2.50 a gallon. But the prices must stick for a year or more to have a lasting impact on the market, he said.
"It's clearly moving in favor of higher miles per gallon," Malesh said.
Such a shift is hurting Detroit automakers, which derive a disproportionate amount of revenue and profits from large SUVs and trucks that consume more gasoline,
Malesh said his market research firm has been contacted by five companies trying to find niches in the growing hybrid market since January, some of them companies not involved in the automotive supply business.
"There's a lot of interest out there just below the surface trying to figure out if this is real," Malesh said.
Engineers are also looking at a new wave of lightweight materials that would aid fuel economy.
Last month, the Aluminum Association unveiled a new study countering claims that weight reduction automatically means reduced safety.
The aluminum industry says there is an increasing interest among automakers, evidenced by use of the metal in new models like the Chrysler 300, Dodge Magnum and Ford Five Hundred, Freestyle and Mustang.
"In the 1970s, automakers downsized in a knee-jerk reaction to a fuel economy regulation," said Thomas Gannon, a vice president with Novelis, a Cleveland-based aluminum company. "Now, we have high-priced fuel and environmental concerns. This time around, we have the technology to make it stick."
You can reach Jeff Plungis at (202) 906-8204 or jplungis@detnews.com.
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