Review of the Research Program of the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles

This is the most recent report of the National Research Council's Standing Committee to Review the Research Program of the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV), which has conducted annual reviews of the PNGV program since it was established in late 1993. The PNGV is a cooperative R&D program between the federal government and the United States Council for Automotive Research (USCAR, whose members are DaimlerChrysler, Ford Motor Company, and General Motors) to develop technologies for a new generation of automobiles with up to three times the fuel economy of a 1993 midsize automobile. The reports review major technology development areas (four-stroke direct-injection engines, fuel cells, energy storage, electronic/electrical systems, and structural materials); the overall adequacy of R&D efforts; the systems analysis effort and how it guides decisions on R&D; the progress toward long-range component and system-level cost and performance goals; and efforts in vehicle emissions and advanced materials research and how results target goals. Unlike previous reports, the Seventh Report comments on the goals of the program, since the automotive market and U.S. emission standards have changed significantly since the program was initiated.