“The whole trend in our vehicles is toward
electrifi cation,” says Richard Truett, power train communications manager for Ford. “Things that used to be done mechanically
are now being driven be electric motors—water pumps, even oil pumps. It gives us some ef- fi ciency gains because it decouples that process from the engine.” In other words, Truett explains, Ford is not
abandoning the combustion engine—they ex- pect it to be around for another few decades— but they are trying to limit the work it has to do to just one task: moving the vehicle. That may explain why the company hasn’t
off ered a hybrid version of its popular F-150 pickup truck. In a vehicle where drive train power is highly valued, a hybrid system doesn’t fi t Ford’s
criteria.Instead, Truett says, the em-
phasis has been on squeezing every ounce of performance out of the engine, using precision tooling and technology.
New Rules and “True” Costs Of course, U.S. automakers make no secret of the fact that new Federal CAFE standards are a major force behind eff orts to produce new and better drive trains. But the rules, established by the National Highway Traffi c Safety Admin- istration and the EPA are hardly drastic. They require that the average mileage be raised to about 37.8 mpg for new cars and 28.8 mpg for light trucks by 2016.
The other pressure on U.S. fi rms, of course, is the presence of foreign companies such as Toyota, that, during the big spending years of SUV sales here, were fi ne-tuning their small
THE GLOBAL AUTO MARKET No longer dominant in the auto manufacturing business, U.S. car makers must demonstrate their viability in a world concerned about global warming and high fuel costs.
At the same time foreign car makers, with heavy government subsidies, have seen steady growth, U.S. car makers have struggled to compete. Some trend watchers note that the biggest threat to the auto industry at large is the fact that people may drive used cars longer or simply decide to drive less. They footnote that concern, however, with their assertion that society simply won’t change that dramatically: “A growing awareness in environmental issues could push more people
24 GreenBuilder July > August 2010
into cycling or walking, however this is unlikely to happen on a mass scale, and therefore is unlikely to affect the industry as a whole. Instead industry players are adapting and developing their products to
become more environmentally friendly. Overall, there is a moderate threat of substitutes to this industry.”
Source: Global Automobiles & Components, March 2010,
datamonitor.com
www.greenbuildermag.com
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