>How then is it that cars get better fuel mileage today than thirty years
>ago? The answer is simple: gains in fuel economy have NOT been realized
>through higher efficiency of the engines. Rather they have been achieved
>through:
> Regards,
> George Ryerson
> Yellow '83 DMC These gains can be attributed to the advent of electronics. When the computer was introduced to the automobile and various engine functions were introduced to electronic controls,wonders were achieved. Engines can now adjust to worn spark plugs and carbon deposit build up in the combustion chamber. Ignition timing and even valve train timing can now be adjusted to driving styles and engine wear characteristics with no performance level changes obvious to the driver. I've been in the automobile manufacturing business for more years than I care to admit and if someone had asked me ten years ago what role electronics would play in engine performance, I would have guessed wrong. Electronics are now a partof our lives and the automobile is one of the many aspects of today's appliances that is improved dramatically because of that. Bruce Benson
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