Publications
The Center for Automotive Research is involved in the research of significant issues that relate to the future direction of the global automotive industry. As a nonprofit research organization, and in cooperation with study funders, most CAR research is released publicly through this website.
Meeting U.S. Passenger Vehicle Emissions Standards: Greenhouse Gas Credits Balance
The automotive industry is charged with reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of its fleet to an estimated average of 163 gCO2 per mile (equivalent to 54.5 MPG) by the year 2025.1 From now through the year 2025, the standards for GHG emissions in the United States will become more stringent…
Use of Data from Connected and Automated Vehicles for Travel Demand Modeling
Travel demand modeling is a crucial component of transportation planning and system management. Unfortunately, creating an accurate model of network traffic patterns can be difficult and time consuming. The calibration and validation of travel demand modeling requires the use of extensive datasets that describe the travel characteristics of people in…
Contribution of New-Car Dealerships to the Economies of All 50 States and the United States
New-car dealerships are found in nearly every community across the country, and are well-known for supporting their local areas through funding for children’s sporting events, local charities, and even assisting with the sale of Girl Scout cookies. Though some may overlook the largeness and importance of this industry, auto dealerships…
A Primer to Fuel Economy and Emissions Standards
An important transition within the automotive industry is underway as fuel economy and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions regulations quickly accelerate through the year 2025. The industry will be required by regulation to increase fuel efficiency of the U.S. fleet from 27.5 miles per gallon (MPG) for passenger cars and 23.4…
Crucial Greenhouse Gas and Corporate Average Fuel Economy(CAFE) Regulation Differences in the United States
An important transition within the automotive industry is underway as fuel economy and CO2 emissions regulations quickly accelerate through the year 2025. The industry will be required by regulation to increase fuel efficiency of the US fleet from 27.5 miles per gallon (MPG) for passenger cars and 23.4 MPG for…
Assessing the Cost & Benefit of Effective Lightweighting Technologies
This report examines why lightweighting may be a viable solution and examines the cost of lightweight automotive closures. This research analyzes the direct manufacturing cost by modeling the manufacturing processes of the door-in-white subsystem, including the inner and outer panels, hinge reinforcements, and intrusion beams, concluding with the joining of…
Crowdsourcing Transportation Systems Data
“Crowdsourcing” has been a topic of increasing interest in the popular press, but the concept is often ill-defined. Crowdsourcing involves leveraging the combined intelligence, knowledge, or experience of a group of people to answer a question, solve a problem, or manage a process. Due to ever-increasing connectivity and emerging data…
Connected vs. Automated Vehicles as Generators of Useful Data
This report summarizes the types of data that may be available from the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) connected vehicle effort, as well as data from advanced automated vehicle systems. The USDOT connected vehicle program emphasizes the creation of transportation-related data that will be available and usable by public…
Management Procedures for Data Collected via ITS
This report is an extension and update of a previous report prepared by CAR, PB, and MDOT in September 2013 entitled Management Procedures for Data Collected via Intelligent Transportation Systems. The 2013 report provided an overview and broad discussions of National ITS Architecture and Standards, statewide transportation data management policies,…
Contribution of General Motors’ Manufacturing Plants to the Economies of Ten States and the United States in 2013 and 2014
General Motors’ U.S. manufacturing plants employed an estimated 51,600 direct hourly and salaried employees in 2014, which directly contributed to the creation of another 431,300 private sector jobs, $36.2 billion in annual compensation, and over $5.3 billion in personal tax revenues. In this report, the authors examine the economic contribution…
