New standards on fuel mileage were recently announced for cars to adhere to by 2025. This has caused most of the car manufacturers to devote more of their resources to improving the efficiency of their vehicles. The release of these standards have also resulted in a change of the consumer trends around the country. This is because consumers are increasingly becoming conscious about the effects that that their cars have on the environment.

Start-Stop Technology

This is a new technology that will help further improve the mileage of vehicles. This is because the technology shuts off the engine of the vehicle whenever the vehicle stops. This technology is already being tested in hybrid vehicles around the United States and the results have so far been encouraging. Industry stakeholders expect that at least 40 percent of vehicles in the United States will be fitted with this technology by 2017. This technology has been proven to increase the fuel efficiency of a car by about 12%. Ford expects to offer this technology in the Focus line of vehicles for an additional cost starting in 2014. Many other manufacturers such as Kia, Honda and Hyundai are already putting in plans to roll out cars using this technology.

Carbon Fiber Bodies

The weight of the car is directly proportional to the amount of fuel that it has to consume. This means that the heavier the vehicle is the lower the fuel mileage. Car manufacturing companies are already investing heavily on developing lighter car parts. One of the materials that has shown great promise in reducing the weight of cars is carbon fiber. On top of the fact that carbon fiber is lighter than steel, it is encouraging to note that it is stronger than steel. Carbon fiber has been used in a few sports cars and race cars already. The use has however been very limited so far. Considering the level of stress that these vehicles have to be driven at, it means that they provide a very good benchmark for the evaluation of this kind of material.

There have been significant focus on the improvement in the production techniques of carbon fiber. This has resulted in the increased use of carbon fiber in the manufacture of motor vehicle bodies and parts. The slow uptake of this material being used in car manufacture means that the vehicles we have in the market are also improving step by step over time. Some of the top manufacturers in the market who are increasingly adopting this technology include BMW, Lamborghini, and GM.