Austin Redilla

Semih Esser
EGEE 101H
19 February 2019
Vehicular Transportation and Energy Considerations
When reading through Smil’s book, the section on energy and transportation stood out to

me, in particular the section on automobile transport. I was really interested in this section

because of how ubiquitous cars are in modern society. According to Smil, the average number of

people in the world per car is nearly two, meaning cars are intimately tied to our current human

condition. Unfortunately, cars are also tied to the negative effects of greenhouse gas emissions

and global climate change. More than one fifth of the world’s oil production is eventually used

as gasoline to power cars, which produce exhaust that damages the environment and creates

unsightly and unhealthy smog (Smil, 2017). It is clear that automobile transportation is

extremely vital to society, yet extremely harmful for the environment. My goal was to conduct

more research on what improvements and/or changes could be made to consolidate the large

demand for vehicular transportation and the desire to reduce the negative impacts on the

environment.

One of the most surprising parts of the transportation section of Smil’s book was the

discussion on how inefficient modern combustion engines are. Despite it being more than 100

years since the introduction of the first widely successful commercial vehicle that runs on an

internal combustion engine, only modest gains to the fuel efficiency of these engines have been

made. Even today, energy wasting processes such as idling, friction, and heat loss result in only 2

to 8 percent of the energy in the purchased gasoline actually being converted into kinetic energy

of the car (Smil, 2017). This is a staggeringly low number, and of course the low efficiency of
internal combustion engines requires more gas to be burned and more harmful exhaust to be

released into the environment than is actually required.

One way to improve the overall efficiency of vehicles is to reduce the energy sapping

effects of friction. In total, roughly one third of the fuel energy is used to overcome frictional

forces in the engine, tires, transmissions and brakes (Holmberg, Andersson, & Erdimir, 2012).

Thus, if these forces could be drastically reduced, the fuel efficiency of vehicles could be

improved and their environmental impact lessened. Holmberg and his colleagues found that the

use of new technologies like smooth coatings in the engine and transmission and low-viscosity

lubricants, could reduce frictional energy loss by 18% in the short term (5-10 years) and up to

61% in the long term (15-25 years). Not only could this reduce the fuel used by 385,000 million

liters in the long term, it would also save people over 576,000 million euros in fuel costs. With

lower fuel consumption and monetary savings being a powerful desire for consumers, I could

definitely see these friction reduction technologies becoming key components in the future for

improving the overall efficiency of vehicles.

While some of the technologies discussed above are promising ways to improve vehicle

efficiencies, no technology is more promising than the advent of electric vehicles. Without the

use of pistons firing in cylinders to drive the vehicle, electric cars already have 50% less

frictional energy loss when compared to standard, gasoline powered cars (Holmberg, Andersson,

& Erdimir, 2012). Moreover, they do not produce harmful exhaust that pollutes the environment

and exacerbates global warming. While there are many advantages to electric vehicles, there are

also many key areas of improvement needed before they can become mainstream. Currently, the

two biggest factors keeping consumers away from electric vehicles are their high investment cost

and low driving ranges, both of which are related to the their batteries (Ajanovic, 2015).
According to his research, Ajanovic believes that electric vehicles can take over a significant

share of the market only when these areas are improved. As long as people can still drive cheaper

and further with internal combustion engines, gasoline-burning cars will still be the primary

mode of transport. Luckily, newer companies like Tesla and established companies like Ford and

Honda are beginning to produce popular, competitively priced electric vehicles. As more

companies jump into the mix and more electric vehicles can be found on the road, I believe the

industry will have the support to make the advancements needed in price and battery life to give

electric vehicles a major share in the market.

Another significant change that is predicted to overtake automobile technology in the

future is automation. Cars are predicted to be able to drive themselves in limited conditions

within 10 years, and in nearly all conditions within 20 years (Wadud, MacKenzie, and Leiby,

2015). With greater computer control of vehicles, harmful emissions should see a reduction as

well. Computers can be programmed to drive in an optimally efficient way by coordinating to

reduce congestion, draft close to other cars, and travel at faster, more efficient highway speeds.

Additionally, computer driven cars could also diminish distinctly human components related to

driving that waste energy and produce more exhaust. For example, computer drivers would keep

cars from accelerating quickly from stops, which is less efficient than a slow, steady take-off. In

fact, Wadud and colleagues predict that automated vehicles will become so commonplace and

useful for travelers that the demand for mass public transport will decrease in favor of more

people traveling by cars. In this case, the long term energy usage for cars may increase as more

and more people will be traveling by car. Either way, automation of vehicles will shake up the

entire industry and cause a massive change in energy usage.

 Today, vehicular travel represents a major source of environmental pollution and

consumes over one fifth of the world’s crude oil product. Moreover, the use of cars is so

ingrained in American and other modernized cultures that I believe these societies will not be

able to easily transition to any other transportation means in the near future. However, specific

advancements in technologies will allow cars to reduce their harmful environmental impact,

including reduced friction, electric motors, and automated driving. Personally, I believe the

mainstream adoption of electric cars will have the most immediate and significant impact on

energy consumption by cars in my lifetime. While there will be heavy opposition from OPEC

and powerful oil lobbyists, electric vehicles are already becoming more and more popular. In

time, consumer knowledge and interest in eco-friendly travel options will only grow, and I think

electric vehicles will eventually be able to get over the hump and break into the mainstream

market when the constraints price and battery life are solved. Ultimately, all of these important

technological advancements promise to revolutionize the automobile industry and significantly

reduce the carbon footprint of the cars of the future.

 Works Cited

Smil, V. (2017). Energy: a beginner's guide. Oneworld Publications.

Holmberg, K., Andersson, P., & Erdemir, A. (2012). Global energy consumption due to friction

in passenger cars. Tribology International, 47, 221-234.

Ajanovic, A. (2015). The future of electric vehicles: prospects and impediments. Wiley

Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, 4(6), 521-536.

Wadud, Z., MacKenzie, D., & Leiby, P. (2016). Help or hindrance? The travel, energy and

carbon impacts of highly automated vehicles. Transportation Research Part A: Policy

and Practice, 86, 1-18.