Electronics...

["Storhok, Eric (E.M.)" <estorhok@domain.elided>]

John,
As it turns out, quite a bit of the "new" things you listed have been in production for some time.  I think Saab had coil on plug ignition since about '93 or '94, I know Ford has had it since the 4.6l 4V engine was introduced on the Mark VIII back in 93 or 94.

Electronic throttle was somewhere around '93 on Mercedes and BMW.  CANbus is the industry standard around the world, but Ford has been using a custom network since '95 (called SCP...).  We communicate with outside supplied transmissions over CAN...

Throttle-less is here with the new BMW 7 series, and I really can't say how soon cam less will be- every other year we hear that its "just around the corner".

I think the brake and steer by wire will take a little longer to come out with- some issues...

Gasoline direct injection does require some type of throttle- either via cams or a big butterfly valve.  It does need to run at a specific mixture...

42V systems have been in the works for a few years- as you said, there is so much weight in wire...  This will reduce the need, as higher voltages require lower current to do the same work.  Low current= smaller wire.

Performance wise, it will be hard to get much more out of modern engines without some significant surgery.  We tweak them to the best output we can manage, as modern emission controls don't hurt power nearly as much as they have done in the past.

But in relative terms, if you have an engine, you can tweak.  Think of what you can do on a purely electric car.....

Eric Storhok
Core Emissions and Fuel Economy Team
Advanced Powertrain Engineering
(313)33x75011
MD 35, FPC-B
Ford Motor Company

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