Evolving engine technology

Don't look now, but the engine under your hood is changing. That's right, it's going through a metamorphosis. lust as a caterpillar "morphs" into a butterfly, your engine is going to improve during the process of evolution. It's becoming more sophisticated, to catch up with the technology of the accessories and components engineers have been hanging on it.

For years, Detroit and the import manufacturers have created high-tech gadgets and gizmos for better performance and lower emissions, and incorporated them into old-engine designs with old-engine technology. Yes, there were some bold steps forward over the years, but the general architecture of the engine stayed about the same.

In more recent times, the demand to meet even stricter emissions standards has fueled a frantic effort bv engineers to modify engines to pass these tougher specs. While many devices and systems were quickly developed to overcome or rectify emissions problems created by engines, little time and effort was spent to eliminate the problems at the engine itself. Until now.

Every auto manufacturer today is advancing the technological design of its engines by leaps and bounds. Let's take a look at some of the more recent examples of modem engine architecture.

New Olds V6

Oldsmobile has developed a new 3.5liter twin-cam 90 deg V6 engine for the 1999 Intrigue GLS, replacing the 3800 V6 currently used. It will be standard in all Intrigue models by the end of '99. This latest engine, a derivative of the 4.0-liter Aurora V8, is a showcase of GM's technology and foreshadows future trends of engine development.

Smber : http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3828/is_199808/ai_n8818673

Motor, Aug 1998 by Nash, Tom