Educator News

The automotive industry is an ever-changing landscape of engineering innovation. As always, this atmosphere of change has once again made the attempt to lurch forward. There are multiple changes and challenges coming for automotive technicians in the near future. Some small, some large, and some totally ground-breaking. I won’t be going too far into the technology of some of these innovations as some are not only complicated, but quite difficult to describe. I will, however, do my best. As a round-up of older developments let’s take a look at these technologies from Nissan, Konigsegg and Liquid Piston that seemed far-fetched only a few years ago. Seven or eight years ago Nissans developed a variable compression engine that changed the stroke of the piston as needed to alter the performance characteristics. Thus, aiding both performance and fuel economy. When a change in compression is needed, an actuator motor adjusts the pistons position changing the compression from 14:1 (economy) to 8:1 (performance). This engine is now offered in many of their newer vehicles and will be installed in all of their Nissan Murano SUVs in the 2025 model year. It is an engineering marvel that seemed like magic only seven or eight years ago. The engine has proven itself fairly reliable and Nissan is hoping that it will perform as their new standard looking forward. Of course, their engineers are now on to greater things.

What's Old Is New...

I have been dreaming about and studying engines and engine performance of cars, trucks, and motorcycles for the better part of 45 years. It’s a hobby. It keeps me busy on cold winter evenings. It’s something that has become a large part of my life and, like playing with dogs, is something I love to do. I have written about engines and the engineering that is involved in them for the last 15 years, and I have always been forward-thinking. When a new engine is being lauded by the manufacturers as the next big thing, I read all about it and report those findings here. In the past, I have written about every one of the engines in this article at one time or another, and each one was glowingly revealed by the engineers with the statement “We can expect these engines in our cars in the next few years”. Well, a few years have passed and now most of these engines ARE in our cars and trucks and should be reaching repair shops and dealerships now. We just haven’t heard that much about them because people, as a general rule, really don’t care that much about which engine is in their car if it gets good gas mileage, is reasonably reliable, and has a little umph to get on the highway. Well, that is not us. We care. We study it. It’s what we do and why you are where you are reading this article. Without further ado, let us look at the “Engines of the Future” that you can buy (and service) now.

***Reprinted with permission of author***

The world is changing. The Automotive Industry is changing. The Hot Rodding industry is changing...

...each new year will bring new challenges.

There was a time when you could troubleshoot a good portion of your automotive issues with a set of wrenches and a vacuum gauge.

New vehicles mean new technologies,  new tools to buy, and new skills to learn.

ADAS, or “Advanced Driving Support Systems”