Innovation Hits the Road
By William Jeanes

The family car — and truck — is a cornucopia of forward thinking and ingenuity.

In the 1950s and 1960s, during what is frequently termed the peak of American automotive enthusiasm, innovation consisted largely of restyling a car's exterior each year. Although some of the styling this attitude produced was undeniably spectacular, genuine innovation was at a premium. Virtually every American car still used a carburetor to get fuel to the engine, used fade-prone drum brakes to stop, had suspension systems that made tight cornering a disquieting undertaking and ran on tires that might or might not last for 7,500 miles. Probably not. As difficult as it is to believe in light of what's happened to cars — and trucks — in recent years, the cars driven by most Americans in 1965 or even 1970 differed little from the cars in which the populace rode in 1935 or 1940.

The difference between the cars of 1970 and the cars of today, however, is greater than any of us might have imagined three decades ago. Tires, for example, routinely last for 40,000 or 50,000 miles, and the once-familiar flat tire seems as foreign to today's younger drivers as a pop-top soft-drink can. Cars are sold today that need no tune-up (a phrase that sounds as archaic as the practice has become) before 50,000 or 65,000 — or even 100,000 miles — have passed. When Jaguar introduced its XJ8, it recommended that new spark plugs be installed after 100,000 miles. In the future, more advances await the consumer, including cars powered by electricity, hybrid electric/internal combustion or alternative fuels.

The computer is nowhere put to better use than in the auto industry. Consider that computers today are used to design, help build, operate and even sell cars. Computers make possible precision in manufacturing that was once only a dream. Computers even measure and calibrate the accuracy of other computers. They help engines and transmissions move a car more efficiently and with fewer harmful emissions. A modern car may have as many as 30 or 40 microprocessors tucked away in its structure, most of them doing jobs electronically that were once done manually.

What explains the proliferation of seemingly endless innovation? All of these advancements, and others that we will examine, are driven by one of three things: government regulation, competition or consumer needs and wants. Without government regulation, it's doubtful that cars would be as safe or as clean as they are. Competition, which repeatedly proves to be a more efficient motivator than regulation, continually pushes outward the horizons of what makes a good vehicle. The consumer, as the ultimate arbiter, lets the manufacturers know by pocketbook vote what area of innovation makes one car or truck superior to another. This last factor has led to stunning advancements in, for example, electronic engine control, where cold-weather starting problems and frequent tune-ups have become little more than memories. It has also led to some odd contributions to creature comfort: the installation of as many as 18 cup holders in some minivans!

To examine the current state of automotive innovation, we have divided the subject into six areas: design, product, environment, manufacturing and safety.