Unlike smartphones and computers, the basic structure of the automobile hasn’t differed all that much throughout the years. After all, the gasoline-based automobiles of today are still running on the exact same physics as Henry Ford’s original invention. With that said, modern engines are designed to deliver increased fuel efficiency, they feature robust internal feedback systems, and are able to provide the same amount of power within a smaller size. With classic American car companies like Ford and Chevy continuing to shift to new technologies, let’s take a look at the two biggest differences between today’s modern engines versus the classic engines of yesterday:
Difference #1: Real-Time Feedback Systems Reduce Wasted Fuel
The big-block V-8 engines of yesterday were famous for firing on all cylinders, all of the time. The V-8 engine in the 1973 Ford Mustang, for example, would use 8-cylinders as many cylinders to parallel park as it would use to accelerate on full blast. That’s great for a fast ride down the highway, but it’s not so great for fuel efficiency and for preventing wear-and-tear on the car.
Today’s engines, by contrast, employ real-time feedback loops to constantly activate (and deactivate) the appropriate array of cylinders based on exactly how many cylinders the engine needs to access at that given time. As the modern engine performs its duties, an army of sensors throughout the car deliver real-time data to constantly monitor power requirements and activate (or de-activate) cylinders as they are needed, in a process known as cylinder deactivation .
Difference #2: Smaller, but just as powerful.
Classic engines have a reputation for being more “muscular” their modern counterparts, but the truth is that modern engines have decreased in size while increasing in power. The classic V-6 engine of the 1983 Chevy Malibu , for example, featured 110hp, but by 2012 the V-6 engine on the Malibu had dropped in size by more than 30%, while horsepower on the Malibu had increased to almost 175 hp. In fact, today’s Chevy Malibu needs only a V-4 to deliver over 50% more horsepower than the V-6 engine for the Malibu of 1983.
With advances like these in modern engine technology, we can only imagine what the future will hold.