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Ross Ellis
Mr. Corey
27 October 2015
Innovative Technology Research for the Automotive Industry
I love the automobile inside and out. I have had a passion for cars as long as I can
remember. Theres something about a car that fascinates me, something that draws my attention.
Recently, I have become more attached to the automotive industry more than I have ever been; I
find myself reading news articles about the goings on or conducting casual research about the
issues or problems that occur within the industry. After a while, I decided that I wanted to find
problems that I could possibly desire to solve in the future when I graduate with a mechanical
engineering degree from Wayne State University and step into the automotive industry. The issue
that I have found which came to my mind is how make the production of cars and trucks in the
industry more environmentally friendly than they already are. How can we make production of
vehicles cleaner to the earth? Is it possible to integrate materials in the production process that
are biodegradable to the planet we call home? Such questions I ask because I dont have a clear
understanding about the ways to preserve the environment. Preserving the globe is extremely
important because it is in every persons interest to preserve the planet for future generations. Of
course good solutions are to make cars more fuel efficient, light weight, and to change the ways
that people drive on the roads, but I want to know more; I want a better understanding. This ISearch essay will explore whether or not the answers I discover will give me that understanding
that I want.
As I began my in-depth research about my issue, I decided that an excellent place to find
information about the automotive industry would be reviewing scholarly articles. Since Im a

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student at Wayne State University, I took advantage of the free access to scholarly journals to
find distinguished information about my topic. I used the ProQuest Research Library and
generally searched environmental issues with the automotive industry. The second result was a
scholarly article titled Suppliers and Environmental Innovation: The Automotive Paint Process.
This article was found through the research guides on the Wayne State University Library
website. On the website, there is a list of websites for scholarly journals that a student could use
to their discretion. The article I found discusses the automotive painting process that auto
manufacturers use in their production of vehicles. It talks about how the painting process is a
complex and extremely energy intensive operation. This process is the primary source for air
emissions in the manufacturing stages of the vehicle. It is a process for air emissions of regulated
chemicals, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and hazardous air pollutants (HAPs).
Automotive paint on most vehicles consists of up to six layers of different coating materials that
are applied separately. Solid and hazardous wastes are created in the painting process from waste
paint through overspray (paint that does not adhere to the vehicle surface) and through chemicals
that are used to clean the paint in the lines and application equipment. The author of the article
states that one of the most effective means for reducing emissions and hazardous wastes from
automotive painting is to reduce the level and number of input chemicals through material
substitution. New paint and coating materials (waterborne and powder paints) can be specifically
formulated to contain fewer volatile organics and other regulated chemicals, leading to lower
levels of pollutants for treatment or control.
I thought that this article about the automotive painting process would be an excellent
source to evaluate in my I-Search essay because automotive paint as the article discusses, is a
major factor in manufacturing emissions. The scholarly journal directly answered my question by

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stating that reducing the level and number of chemicals used in painting vehicles is the most
effective way to reduce production emissions. This is a good example about a possibility to
produce vehicles in a more efficient way than they already are.
Since I found a distinguished article that answered my question, I continued to use
ProQuest Research Library, but at a different approach. I searched automotive industry,
environmental issues and energy efficiency in the advanced search to see if I can get better
results. I found another scholarly article about energy efficiency in Brazils vehicle fleet. The
article, Diffusion of New Automotive Technologies for Improving Energy Efficiency in Brazils
Light Vehicle Fleet, was collaboratively authored by several people, making this an excellent
peer-reviewed source. The journal discusses how Brazil used technology to create vehicles that
were powered by ethanol, a renewable fuel which is made from corn and other plant materials.
The program was prompted by the National Alcohol Program that implemented anhydrous
ethanol as a substitute for 20% of regular gasoline consumed. Vehicles that were first introduced
to the diffusion program had several imperfections: irregular engine function and corrosion
problems in the fuel reservoir, pump, filters, and carburetors. These issues were resolved after the
vehicles were converted to ethanol-consuming cars. This is a great source for my I-Search essay
because it talks about how ethanol is beneficial for the environment. Ethanol-burning engines
have lower emissions and makes vehicles more fuel efficient than regular unleaded gasoline
engines.
After having continuing success with finding great sources about my topic, I continued
searching through ProQuest Research Library. Most of the scholarly articles that I discovered
were about the automotive industries of foreign countries such as South Africa, Australia, and
Sweden, and how they were studying how to preserve the environment. However, through my

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advanced search, I found information that briefly discussed how automotive fuel efficiency is
important to the environment. For example, in the article Automotive Fuel Efficiency, the author
briefly talked about how cars and trucks around the world are the number one source of air
pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. The article did, interestingly enough, offer a solution to
improve fuel efficiency in automobiles by increasing federal fuel tax. The higher the cost of gas,
the article argued, the more automakers will produce fuel efficient vehicles.
This article and several others like it is not one that I will incorporate into my next essay
assignment. It is too bland in information, very general. Theres nothing specific that it talks
about with regard to solving environmental issues. Besides, it is only information that I know,
not information that I want to know, so on to the next source.
The last source that I reviewed while doing this assignment was titled The Hope for
Hydrogen. This source is a scholarly journal as well as the aforementioned found on ProQuest
Research Library. The authors, Daniel Sperling and Joan Ogden discuss collaboratively about
how hydrogen could be an excellent alternative fuel in the future. Hydrogen has potential for
huge energy and environmental improvements if the gas was implemented into use. Hydrogen
also has potential for zero tailpipe and greenhouse gas emissions. Auto manufacturers in the
United States could implement hydrogen into the use as a fuel cell. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles
provide the same kind of benefits battery-electric cars would give to consumers but without the
short range and long recharging periods. Not only do these innovative vehicles reduce emissions,
but it also reduces sound pollution as well. Fuel cell cars are low maintenance and serve as a
remote source of electricity.
Once again, I have found another source that has what Im looking for. Not only does this
article discuss that gasoline is impractical, but it talks about how using hydrogen is a way to

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reduce emissions. This journal will definitely find its way into my next assignment because fuel
efficiency of vehicles is a big factor when it comes to preserving the environment.
This assignment, the I-Search research essay, has benefitted myself in every which way.
Not only did it teach me new strategies to conduct research in a certain field, but it helped me
draw closer to my passion, cars. The I-Search assignment helped me better understand how it is
that we as people can make cars and trucks friendlier to the earth. I learned that not only does
fuel efficiency make the air cleaner to breathe, but also certain aspects of manufacturing could be
improved, such as using less harmful chemicals in automotive paints. I was surprised when I
discovered that automotive painting was one of the primary causes for air pollution. After
finishing this project, I understand that innovating new technology into the automotive industry
throughout the world will be a long and difficult process. I, however, am willing to take a shot at
the issue because I deem that preserving the planet for future generations is in everyones best
interest.

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Works Cited
Automotive Fuel Efficiency. Science 257.5076 (1992): 1459. ProQuest. Web. 31 Oct. 2015.
Bastin, Cristina, Alexandre Szklo, and Luiz Pinguelli Rosa. Diffusion of New Automotive
Technologies for Improving Energy Efficiency in Brazils Light Vehicle Fleet. Energy Policy
38.7 (2010): 3586. ProQuest. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
Geffen, Charlette A., and Sandra Rothenberg. Suppliers and Environmental Innovation: The
Automotive Paint Process. International Journal of Operations & Production Management 20.2
(2000): 166-86. ProQuest. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
Sperling, Daniel, and Joan Ogden. The Hope for Hydrogen. Issues in Science and Technology
20.3 (2004): 82-6. ProQuest. Web. 31 Oct. 2015.